Whether you’re already a master of your craft or you’re still learning, events and workshops are a great way to add some new skills to your repertoire.
Here we’ve rounded up 4 events happening in November for actors:
Working freelance is incredible for so many reasons, but freelancers can suffer from dips in their motivation just as much as your typical employees can.
If (like me) you’ve ever worked an office job before, you’ll put your hand up and admit that there were a couple of days where you just found it really hard to motivate yourself.
That’s normal.
You’re human.
It’s very easy to beat yourself up about this, to bully yourself when you procrastinate or eek out that deadline.
But that’s not helpful.
So here are some helpful things you can do to rejuvenate yourself and get back into the swing of things:
It’s tought being a freelance writer.
Until you’ve built up a client portfolio, chances are you’re scouring the web looking for opportunities to write – and get paid for it.
To make your life a bit easier, we’ve rounded up 7 websites for you to add to your bookmarks right now.
We’ve rounded up the top 6 skills to help you grow your career in 2019. Whether you’re a freelancer that runs their own business, or a creative mind marketing your work to the masses, here are 6 skills we think might be useful for you in the coming year.
A recent study by Harvard University showed that men tend to get better economic results out of negotiation, and that whilst women negotiate assertively on behalf of other people (or their company) they’re less likely to be as forceful when negotiating for themselves.
Whatever stage of your career you’re at, negotiation skills are crucial- whether you’re bartering down a third party provider or sat in front of your boss, asking for a payrise. The study also showed that the gender gap when it comes to negotiating narrows when women have been on a negotiation training course… if you needed another reason!
Analytic skills aren’t just for digital marketers and finance managers, they’re for anyone responsible for calculating business growth, forecasting results or problem-solving an issue. Having a solid analytic foundation is key as you work your way up the career ladder and are expected to be more and more involved with big-picture business plans.
You don’t have to be a numbers-whiz either: data analytics skills can help you calculate things like employee turnover, identify fraud and manage your own business.
Honing your strategic management skills is a great way to ensure you’re ready for the jump between middle management and being part of the senior team. Despite this, Forbes reported that less than 10% of leaders exhibit strategic skills, and tend to fall-back on fire-fighting operational skills, which can lead to a lack of overall direction for the company or team they’re working in.
If you can sharpen your own strategic know-how you’re putting yourself in a very strong position versus your competition.
Did you know that in 2018 only one in five small-to-medium business were run by women? And that in the UK, there are nearly twice as many male entrepreneurs than women?
If 2019 is the year you strike out of your own and put your business-nouse to use for your own projects, then an entrepreneurship course might be just the thing to give you a the competence (and confidence!) to make it on your own (and balance out those statistics).
Whilst you can’t learn the passion that entrepreneurship demands, you certainly can learn how to manage every aspect of your business (as likely you’ll start as your own CEO, CMO, CFO and office administrator).
It might sound basic, but excellent writing is one of the most common skills asked for by employers – and it’s also one of the biggest employee skills gaps according to a 2018 report.
This doesn’t just mean writing in a way that’s grammatically correct: different industries needs different types of writing. For example, you might need to learn shorthand in order to take business minutes accurately, or you might need to learn how to write bid proposals, reports, white papers or specifications.
Think about your current career path and whether there’s any writing elements that feel like they’ll push you out of your comfort zone, because those are great places to start building your skills.
Public speaking seems to evoke one of two reactions in people: either they shrug, or they immediately break out into a cold sweat. If you’re in the latter camp, then you’re not alone. In fact, nearly 25% of people say they have Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking.
A study by Psychology Today suggests that a large part of the fear comes from how skilled you perceive yourself as being at public speaking (and on the flip-side, being a confident public speaker does not entail being a skilled public speaker). So whether you’re a shrugger or a sweater, put public-speaking on your “done” list in 2019.
Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.
Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com
YouTube is a great tool for learning new things, getting the inside scoop on your industry and finding out what’s going on with your fellow actors.
Whether you yourself have a YouTube channel or not, you should make the most of it. So we’ve rounded up 3 great channels that’ll get you started into your YouTube foray.
1. Backstage
Backstage has over 50k subscribers already – and it’s easy to see why. With a selection of acting tips, insider info from casting directors and one-on-ones with agents, you can spend days going down this rabbit hole of information.
Just keep a notepad and pen at the ready to jot down any great new ideas!
2. Tips on Acting
Run by Amy Jo Berman, who spent 20 years as a casting director and former VP of casting at HBO, she posts videos that answer a whole bunch of questions from the wider acting community.
Her mission is to take the “struggling” out of “struggling actor” – if that sounds good to you, you can find her channel below!
3. Act on This – The TV Actor’s Network
This YouTube channel is run by Ross Grant, a very enthusiastic Brit who has pulled together an online community of TV actors and populates his Vlog with a series of videos on what you need to know about the acting business and how to pay your bills using acting (and just acting!)
A bit of a newer blog, but with over 1k subscribers already, surely one to watch!
Happy watching!
Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.
Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com
Freelance is awesome. You get to set your own hours, play by your own rules and (hopefully) spend your time doing something you love doing.
But there’s also a downside to working freelance.
And that’s if you’re not working, you’re not earning.
But how do you get good, regular gigs?
Now anyone with a passion for radio will know that if you sat behind your microphone and read straight off a script all day, your listeners would be bored as heck.
That’s because writing a blog and actually doing a radio show (or podcast) are two wildly different things.
When we speak, we make fun little inflections with our voice and odd sounds as we pause and try and remember the word we’re looking for.
When we write, we’re doing it at our own time and at our own pace, (and we can totally just Google that word).
So why on earth then are we telling you to combine oil and water into a Blogcast?
Some of you may have already seen the little adverts popping up in between pictures of your friends on Facebook messenger.
Facebook messenger advertising has been around for a while, although dropping them in the middle of conversations is relatively new. Here’s what you need to know:
Adverts in Facebook messenger look nearly the same as the advertisements on the home page. They will have your page name, a short headline, an image, and then a button for people to click. That can take them straight through to ticket sales, album downloads, your website – whatever it is you’re trying to achieve.
Source: Facebook.com
Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels.com
You can send your advert to anyone that’s interacted with your page before with a personal message, or a series of them. So let’s say for example they’ve watched your videos, followed your page, and now you want to get them to come to your show. You can set up a Facebook Ads campaign that lands straight into the messenger inbox, telling them all about your awesome act.
What’s more, the number of people who click through from messenger is massively bigger than your typical home-page ads.
Photo by Burst on Pexels.com
The normal Facebook advertisements allow you to narrow down your audience. You don’t want to shout out to 12 year olds and 60 year olds when you know your shows are best for 18-35.
You can also set it up based on location. That means you can target people local in London for your London shows, Dublin for your Dublin shows, and so on.
It gaves you way more freedom than traditional Facebook ads.
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com
Messenger is a taking app, right? And what better way to get to know your audience than by talking to them. When you pop an add into messenger, people are more likely to get talking to you. That’s great if you want to build your audience’s loyalty, or simply get them chatting. Because when they’re chatting to you, chances are they’re also chatting to their friends about you.
And we all know how powerful word of mouth advertising is!
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Facebook advertising is daunting if you’ve never done it before. It feels like a million steps and you’re never quite sure whether you’ve chosen the right settings, or whether you’re taking a stab in the dark.
Facebook seems to realise this, too. Which is why they’ve got a bunch of free courses that you can take before you embark on any new advertising.
Super helpful if this is your first time using Facebook ads.
Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.
Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com
The very first Burdett Trust Awards was held on 24th May 2018 at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London, hosted by Call the Midwife actress Helen George. Thank you to all the attendees, brilliant nominees and congratulations to all our deserving winners. Please find the winners list below. Young People’s Health winner (sponsored by Bircham […]
via Burdett Trust Award Winners 2018 — Burdett Trust for Nursing
Did you know that if you’re an actor or actress you’re entitled to the same NUS discounts that students are?
If you’re on Spotlight or are a member of BECTU you’re entitled to an NUS extra card.
NUS Extra is the number one student discount card in the U.K., and with it you have access to over 200 discounts.
A card costs £12 for a year but you can also buy 2 year and 3 year cards.
Discounts include:
Just got to https://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/ and put Spotlight or BECTU as your place of study. And say hello to all the perks of being a student again!
Penguin in the Room @prartsmarketing is a group of creatives with an arts marketing dream: penguin stepping our way into the arts industry and helping other creatives flourish! Specialising in online marketing, social media, branding, copy writing, media coaching and web design for actors, artists, casting directors, agents, production companies, theatre companies and creative individuals.
Contact us any time for penguin chats via email:info@penguinintheroom.com or Facebook.com/penguinintheroom or waddle over to our website: www.penguinintheroom.com
The Penguin in the Room Blog 