Hello beautiful people!
Let’s cover the cover letter.
Nobody likes writing a cover letter — even after they get good at it — and that’s largely because it’s just weird.
Whether it’s a letter sent to a casting office in an attempt to introduce yourself for the first time or one sent to a potential agent or manager hoping to land representation, the stakes are high and that means we start off disliking this whole thing.
But I’ve created a way for you to get some language for your cover letter while keeping it way more fun a process at the same time.
Here’s a mindset shift for you to embrace about the cover letter right now: The purpose of the cover letter is NOT what you think. You probably think its purpose includes getting cast, getting signed, stuff like that, right?
Nope!
The purpose of the cover letter is to initiate — or continue building — a relationship. Period.
Think about how you feel when someone attempts to create a relationship with you. What works? What feels weird? How do you feel when you receive correspondence from a stranger, and it’s all so formulaic? (Oh, and in case you think buyers can’t tell when you’ve used a formula, a template, or a blueprint, we can. We’ve received too many of them to believe you authentically and painstakingly crafted the very specific, identical words in such a thing. You didn’t. You filled in a form all Mad Libs style. And it feels like that on the receiving end. Every time.)
Ours is a relationship business. Our investment in understanding how best to connect with those high on our target list is worth every moment we spend researching them and leaning into making the connection real! It’s a big reason that creating a small-but-mighty target list is so valuable (more on the deep-dive of that process coming soon).
When you’re doing a mass mailing to every buyer in your market (and beyond), your outreach feels as personal as the Bed Bath & Beyond postcard.
When you’re learning who this ONE person is in the world (not just in YOUR world), taking time to see where your intersection with this person happens authentically, and then leaning in toward that organic intersection with intention, you’re hastening a process that was going to happen anyway. You’re simply letting them know that there’s a specific problem you know they have in their business (your research proved as much)… and that you’re a potential direct solution for that problem. Someday. No pressure.
Holy crap, cover letters just got less scary!
Today’s work (Part One): Ask your best friend to write a cover letter for you. Low-stakes, no stress, super straightforward, nothing that takes days to make happen. Just see what they would toss onto a page if introducing you to someone. Do this for one another in the comments below if you’d like! Mine the contents of this letter for brand words as well as for phrases about your professionalism and bankability as a show business commodity.
Today’s work (Part Two): Go through old emails from previous buyers including casting directors, your agent, directors, producers, writers, fellow actors you’ve worked with and find words and phrases about your badassery that you can use for everything from buoying your mood to creating testimonials. Create a praise folder and begin actively placing messages that praise you into it so that you always have a go-to spot for language you can put into cover letters as well as use as full-on blurbs on your website or in your other marketing materials.
Let what others say about you lead you to what you choose to say about yourself in your next cover letter! And don’t stress if this process seems difficult at first. It just may be… until you reframe it from being a high-stakes way of introducing yourself to someone who can’t be bothered to know you exist into the crafting of a message that describes the solution to a problem for someone who regularly has such problems!
Ah… much better!
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
