You might have heard about actors going on press junkets, publicity tours, and working with publicists to get their name out in the world and more attention for their films, TV shows, or personal projects. If you’ve ever wondered how that process works and whether you can get these opportunities for yourself, you’re in the right place! What many actors don’t realize is that you don’t have to be a famous celebrity actor to leverage PR, press, and media opportunities for your acting career.

What is PR & why should actors care about it?

PR stands for Public Relations. “Publicity” literally just means “attention or notice given to something or someone”. In the industry you might hear “publicity”, “press”, “media”, “PR” thrown around somewhat interchangeably. While there are nuances between them, overall these opportunities are intended to introduce you, your name, and your “agenda” to a larger, or new audience. The exposure can help your career by sending new fans and followers to follow you on social media, visit your website, and become invested in you and your career. It can also introduce you to potential collaborators, or other press outlets who might ALSO want to invite you to participate in their show.

For example, if you are a guest on a podcast, you are being introduced to an audience who already are excited about the show and host. Therefore they are an open and eager group who will likely tune in to hear what you have to say. Over the course of the episode, they get to know you, your personal brand, and what you have to offer the world and are now aware of your brand and hopefully feel connected to you. After the episode, they’ll give you a follow on Instagram where they will continue to get to know you online, become a fan of yours, and hopefully later support you in your future endeavors.

The more of these PR opportunities you take part in, inevitably, the more you’ll be offered and that cycle will continue to help you grow your online presence and get your name out. The more people who know about you, the more opportunities will float your way. “Work creates work” applies for doing great work on set as well as when marketing our careers, too!

What type of publicity opportunities are out there for actors?

There are so many different ways, channels, and opportunities for press and PR for artists to target, depending on your personal brand and interests. Here are 9 publicity opportunities actors and performers can get:

• Podcast Guest

• YouTube Show Guest

• Instagram Live Guest

• Event Guest Speaker or Panelist

• Featured Written Interview on Blogs, Magazines, News Outlets

• Guest Post on Brand Blogs, Email Newsletters, Social Media, etc.

• Quoted in News or Online Publications

• Live Interviews on News Outlets

• Brand Partner / Influencer

Within each of these types of media outlets there are a range of sizes of the brands - some newer outlets will likely have a smaller audience and be easier to secure a spot with. On the flip side, other outlets that are large and well-established will have huge audiences but also a much higher competition to secure a spot. Each actor and creator will need to judge for themselves which publications and outlets are the right “targets” for them depending on the stage of their career, marketing efforts, and following.

TLDR: If you aren’t booking huge roles in huge projects with celebrities, don’t expect to get a Vogue, Rolling Stones, or red carpet interview. But there are a TON of other publications that you can and should target to build up more credibility and grow your following.

How PR works 

While there are always variations in each brand, business, or publication’s processes, these are the industry-standard basic steps and materials to keep in mind to come across with a strong first impression.

1. Research the types of PR opportunities available that are a match for your personal brand, audience demographics, career goals, and brand story topics. (If you don’t have these in place yet, you need to figure that out first! And if you need help, schedule a session with me!)

2. Identify the media outlets you would like to target to partner with. Gather the contact emails associated with them.

3. Send a pitch to each outlet expressing how you’d like to partner and why you’re a great fit for their program. Attach your press kit. (If you don’t have an actor press kit, check out this workshop for step-by-step help!)

4. If you don’t hear back in 7-10 days, send a polite follow up.

5. If you do get a response, you’ll communicate back and forth to arrange details and start the collaboration.

6. Make sure your social media profiles, website, etc. are strategically prepped so that you are ready for all the new traffic headed your way!

7. The project airs/is released/event happens and you get to greet all your new followers!

8. Repeat the cycle!

What is an actor press kit

A press kit is a pre-planned, strategic set of materials that consist of a combination of text, images, and video to provide information about a person, company, organization or cause. It’s sent to various media contacts as part of pitches for features as well as to provide content for promotional use on their respective outlets.You might also hear press kits referred to as an actor’s EPK (electronic press kit), or media kit.

Press kits have evolved over the years, but today, most actors have their press kits as either a PDF or a page on their website (or via a landing page service). Both options allow the actor to develop a design that visually represents their personal brand and is easy to send along with an email, or link out from Direct Messages on social media. The press kit, when done well, shares exactly who you are, and what you have to offer the world in a way that impresses and inspires brands and media outlets to want to work with you. Your achievements, impressive data, and brand story/topics should be clearly outlined in your actor EPK.

Do actors need a publicist? When do I get a publicist? 

Yes and no, depending on what stage of your journey you are on. If you are a new actor, or a working actor booking a co-star here or there, you do not need a publicist and would be wasting your money on one. Even if you have booked a juicy guest star or guest recurring character, you likely do not need to hire a publicist (unless you ALSO are generating a ton of attention through your own marketing efforts/channels). While each situation is nuanced, these are a few green flags that would alert you to consider hiring a publicist:

• You have been cast in a heavy supporting, recurring guest star, lead, or series regular role in a BUZZ WORTHY project (i.e. this project is one that everyone is watching, is already proven to be super popular, has huge names attached, etc.)

• You have been cast in a lead or series regular role in a promising project (i.e. it’s primed to be a hit, names attached, major network or streaming service)

• You have generated notoriety or a following on your own to a huge degree and want to try to leverage it.

In every other situation, you likely will not benefit from a publicist and will shell out a lot of money to learn that the hard way. Note that many publicists will offer monthly retainer services, so if you’re on the fence, or somewhere close to but not quite meeting those green flags above, doing a trial month might allow you to feel it out.

The benefits of a publicist (when you’re at the right stage to have one), is that they have those professional relationships with the big publications and events already in tact. They’re on first-name basis with the folks running the show at all the places where if you sent a personal email it would likely slip through the cracks. So if your brand is at a stage where you’ve “generated that level of potential value”, that’s when a publicist can really take that brand you’ve built and leverage it to get you in the door to the big leagues.

If your career is not at that stage and you hire a publicist…they’ll do exactly what you could do yourself and aim for the lower hanging fruit (publications) that are more attainable.

Do I need to have a booking to get publicity for my acting career?

Absolutely not! No bookings are required to land publicity opportunities, but for certain outlets, it can certainly make it easier. If you have a strong personal brand, brand story, and defined value to offer the world, though, you don’t need to have bookings, awards, or celebrity status to start building PR. You just need to start building your own marketing efforts and online community to show that your brand has value.

Ready to Get Started with Press and Pr for Your Acting career?

There are two ways I can help you:

1. If you want to a step-by-step guide to creating your own press kit, sign up for my on-demand Actor Press Kit Workshop.

2. If you want hands-on support to define your personal brand story, research publicity opportunities that are right for you, design press kits, and write pitches to help you land those spots, sign up for a 1-1 Coaching Session with me!

I love using my dual-careers (actor and marketing consultant) to support other creatives and I’m so glad you’re here!