What photos, videos & text do you really need to sell yourself as a singer, dancer, band, musician, magician or other entertainment act? What are the must-haves if you want to get bookings, gigs and auditions?
We see thousands of new publicity profiles every year and there is one thing that becomes very obvious, very quickly when you take a look at the types of profiles that our members create…
Talent + Good Publicity = Bookings
Even over the past year, our members who have adapted, added Virtual Services and continued to update their profile have been the ones who have continued to get regular online and advance bookings.
This is not only the case with the profiles on our website but applies to any channel you are using to market your act – from the photos, videos & text you use on your own entertainment website, to the ones you use on social media or in the publicity packs you’re sending out to agents.
We have lots of other detailed guides to help you with photography, video & writing your bio here. You can also find some great advice on the publicity you will need for applying for Cruise Jobs in ‘How to Get Cruise Contracts’ (you will need to be registered with us for access to this and the other sections of the Essential Guide to Marketing for Entertainers) but here we want to take a quick look at the essentials you will need to promote your act…
So what do you really need in the way of publicity? Do you need to spend lots of money on a photos shoot and professional video? And what do you need to include in your bio?
Photography for Entertainers
Let’s get started with the basics for all photography that you include in your professional publicity, both on your Entertainers Worldwide profile and anywhere else you are promoting your act.
What you need:
- Clear, high resolution, well-lit photos . We can’t over-state this – low-quality/blurry photography makes you look un-professional and won’t sell you to agents or bookers.
- At least one, clear, fairly recent headshot
- At least 5 photos
- At least 2 photos that show you performing or represent your act-type. For example, if you are a musician, you need a photo of you playing or at least holding your instrument. If you’re a magician, photos of you holding cards or props. Singers should have photos of them performing or holding a microphone. Bands need photography that includes all members together, either with their instruments or performing.
- Photos of you in your professional clothes/costume
In short, your photos should tell a story about you – they should be an effective representation of your act and what makes you different.
You don’t need to spend a fortune on professional photography for this – if you already have clear photos, we can do the rest for you with our photo editing service for entertainers. You can see examples of our photo editing for entertainers here.
And don’t forget, because we want to really promote our professional-looking acts, once you have uploaded your professional photos to your entertainers worldwide profile, just submit them for review (just click the blue ‘Get More Gigs’ button on you log-in dashboard) and you will increase your profile quality score and appear higher on our search results pages.
Showreels for Entertainers
Video has become a must-have for all entertainers promoting their act – now that anyone can get good, clear footage on their phones, video is everywhere. And since bookers get to see videos of other acts all over social media, they will also want to see yours before they book you.
The same can be said of Cruise bookers and agents, who are also unlikely to contact you about cruise ship entertainment jobs if they haven’t seen a video of you in action. Professional publicity is different to the type of materials you would expect to post on social media, (although obviously you can post your professional showreels on social too) so what kind of video do you need for your Entertainers Worldwide profile, your website or to apply for auditions & gigs?
- Good, clear video footage. Again, this is a must – it needs to be a high resolution and well-lit with clear video and sound quality. Use a tripod for all your videos to make sure the camera is steady.
- Use a microphone to record your video if possible, to ensure you have good sound quality (this is particularly important for singers, bands & musicians)
- Your general showreel should ideally show three or four different performance types. So for singers, 3-4 different songs, for dancers 3-4 different dances, for magicians 3-4 tricks. It should act as your ‘highlights’ and be your main selling tool.
- Your general showreel can also include text that highlights any awards you have, highlights about your act and possibly some testimonials.
- Ideally you should also have additional videos of other performances.
You’ll find a more extensive guide to creating your videos here. As with your photos, a professionally shot showreel or promotional video is the ideal, but if you have clear video footage, we can create a professional showreel for you with our video editing service for entertainers.
And just as with your photos, make sure you submit your videos for review on the ‘Get More Gigs’ tab, so your act appears at the top of our listings.
How to Write Biographies & Act Descriptions for Entertainers
We know it can be difficult to get started when you have nothing but a blank piece of paper in front of you…but please don’t make the mistake of just writing a quick couple of lines and hoping your photos and videos will do all the talking.
We have a detailed guide to writing a singer, dancer, musician, magician or entertainer bio here. But to help you even more we’ve created this quick template so that all you need to do is answer each of the questions and ta-dah! Your bio is ready!
Just answer each of the questions below with as much detail as possible….
(For your Entertainers Worldwide profile, the first two sections can go into your ‘Profile Act/Show Information’ (also add words like award-winning here if they apply!). The rest can go in your ‘Additional Info’.)
A little tip here…Imagine you are your ideal booker and then write your answers as if you are talking to them and selling them your act.
- Describe your act. What is it? How long is your set? What can you do?
- What makes you different/interesting/exciting? What positive feedback do you get regularly about your show? What do your audience think is different about you?
- How long have you been performing? Who have you performed for? Have you performed in pubs, on cruise ships for example?
- Are you available for hire as a wedding entertainer? Couples looking to hire entertainment for their wedding will be interested to see your most recent performances – if you have footage of you playing during ceremonies, meals and the evening reception include them in your publicity.
- If you’ve only recently started performing, describe you training
- Include any top testimonials
- Include any awards, or competitions
That’s it, you’ve written your bio – now just spell and grammar check it and you’re ready to use it on your Entertainers Worldwide profile, your own website, on your ‘About Us’ social media page sections and anywhere else you use to promote yourself.
One last tip on this – make sure you update it regularly with any new experience, awards or testimonials and of course, don’t forget to submit it to us through the ‘Get More Gigs’ tab so your profile appears higher up the search results.
We hope you’ve found this quick guide helpful. We have plenty more resources in our blog, as well as our amazing Essential Guide to Marketing for Entertainers (just register here for free to get immediate access).
If you would like more advice like this, to receive free job & gig email alerts and regular promotions, you can register with us here for free.