Hello beautiful people!
Let’s spy on the tools in use at the next-tier!
Huh?
Listen up!
Okay. So did you get the warning about not doing this if you’re in a bad headspace for comparing yourself to others, thinking that life’s unfair, or otherwise going through a bout of low enoughness? Please take that seriously. I present the Self-Management for Actors tools so they can help you, not so you can beat yourself up with them!
Assuming you’re in a great headspace for this, let’s take a dive and see what we find!
Today’s work: Using IMDb-Pro and your first hell-yes target agency’s or management firm’s client roster, open up these folks in new tabs and start checking out their IMAGES section. Does your target agency have clients with loads of red carpet events? (Ooh! Any below-the-radar events that you could add to your recon from Day 58, so you could do some organic networking like you promised you would in Day 41 and Day 18?) Are all the headshots similar in composition, color scheme, and vibe? Can you track a particular photographer thanks to photo credits or watermarks?
Download the SMFA Hot Sheet of recommended photographers whose galleries are a great place to cross-reference the images you’re seeing at IMDb-Pro. What patterns are you finding in the demo footage your target rep’s clients have in the VIDEOS section at IMDb? Is everything super short? Very funny? While you’re at it, are you noticing any consistency in things like the fonts used for lower-thirds or music beds in place under the montage or intro/outro sections?
For my non-showbiz creatives, your work is the same, but using the tools that are essential in your niche. At the very least, a visit to your pace cars’ websites and social media to learn what folks whose businesses are a tier above yours HAVE will be illuminating. Easy opt-in for a regular email blast? Easy download of a free PDF or MP3? An online store/shopping cart situation? Photos of people sharing words of praise about their offerings? Can you opt in for a few of these things to start learning how it feels to be on the consumer end of their goodies and notice how you’d like your buyers to feel by comparison?
Extra credit: Pop over to these actors’ websites (listed in the top info block at IMDb-Pro, or available via a good Google) and even use the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) to see earlier-tier versions of these tools, so you can get a sense of how these actors’ tools looked when they first caught the eye of these reps you’re now targeting. (My non-showbiz creatives can make good use of that Wayback Machine too! Same warning about the comparison-itis though!!)
Can you track even more patterns about how much of a social media presence certain agency’s clients tend to have? Does everyone repped by Management 360 have a YouTube channel with a subscriber base of more than 1000? Is everyone in the TalentWorks stable ridiculously tough to find online? Ooh, and what does that mean about the Fascinate advantage — Day 39 — to which TalentWorks may be attracted?
Again, without spiraling into some weird bout of comparison-itis that is no damn good for you, what can you learn about the “class” you’re hoping to join? See it like college. You’re learning whether your number-one school is all about the jocks or the brains. You’re learning whether it’s a party school or a political machine. You’re learning whether you’re going to be expected to be out at every function looking your best or in by curfew reading a stack of scripts.
All of which are phenomenal things to learn before you do your damndest to get in for a meeting with these folks!
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
