
An actor’s online presence is reflective of his or her brand, so ensuring it’s up to code, current, captivating, and easy to navigate is part of your job as a working actor—who wants to continue working! Check out these mistakes actors often make on their websites.
Too Many Headshots
Studies show that when people have too many options to choose from, they’re likely to not make a choice at all. When it comes to headshots, we don’t need to see all the options, we just need to see the best ones. Work with your team (friends included) to narrow down which photos most clearly and flatteringly represent you and your look. If this is someone’s first encounter with you, it’s not wise to overwhelm them with options.
Not Having Your Contact Information Readily Available
Make sure your contact information is easy to find. A casting director perusing your site on their smartphone is not going to spend extra time searching for how to get in touch with you. If you have an agent, lead with their email or phone number; it helps legitimize you. If you have yet to land representation, make sure your email is there—and that it’s simple and to the point. (Th3eatErLuvrr2378@aol.com isn’t going to cut it!)
Not Being Mobile-Friendly
Don’t make your website a frustration. With more and more people working from their smart phones, ensuring yours is mobile friendly is crucial to getting the most traffic to your site and to your brand. Otherwise you’re going to leave people wishing they’d never come at all.
Not Having a Reel
While headshots are great, having video evidence of your talent and how it can evolve is even better. It can show your range, as well as how your look can translate on screen. So be sure to include it on your main page, and make sure it’s not set on autoplay!
Having an Undownloadable Résumé
Making your résumé easy to download is crucial. Forcing an agent or a casting director to copy and paste, or print your whole page, is a lot more work and a lot more ink than anyone wants to dedicate to getting an actor’s résumé offline.
Not Linking to Social Media
Having a website should be one part of many when it comes to your online presence. It’s OK if you have a preferred platform when it comes to Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. But linking to all your active accounts will do wonders for your image as well as build a following. The key is to hook them with your site and then get them to want more!
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