Welcome To The Actors’ Green Room
In Hollywood the Green Room is where the talent hangs out before they go on to a TV set. Usually it’s got food and drinks and everything they want or need to feel good and ready to do their thing. And this is Your Green Room for your Smart Girls Package!
Take your time, mill around, check things out, hang out, have fun and enjoy taking this step in your career! We can’t give you real food and drinks, but we’ll do everything we can here in the Virtual Green Room to get you ready to go.
FILLING OUT THE MAIN FORM
To get you started, you will need to fill out the main Form we have asking you for all kinds of information about you and your background in acting. You received this in the original email we sent you, but here is the link again: Online Actor’s Form.
If you’ve already begun to fill it out and you saved it, don’t start over! Instead, you should look in your email box to find the Email that contains a link for you to edit what you already started.
That form has quite a few questions and they don’t all have to be done at once. You can go back and edit as many times as you want until you’re ready to submit it to Smart Girls. After that, you won’t be able to change the form, though you can let us know if you need to correct something and we will do it manually.
After you complete the form, then go on and send your headshot(s) and resume. From there, we will draft your letter and get the ball rolling! We look forward to it!
Here are the links to the remaining sections of the Green Room.
Putting Your Mailing Together
Results To Expect
Average Number of Calls
Picture & Resume
Signing the Letters
Putting the Labels On the Envelope
Postage & Packaging
Updating Smart Girls
Sweet Spot Target Marketing Video
STARTING YOUR ACTOR MAILING
To get started, fill it out the form as much as possible. If you’re not sure about some things, give it your best shot and make a note stating “I’m not sure about this but I think….” Don’t be a perfectionist. If you don’t have answers and you start stressing out, just leave it blank.
Some of the items you can start gathering to send back to us or to answer inside the form are:
- Your headshot & resume.
- Your links. If you have an Actors Access Page, IMDB page, website or any other links to your materials online, then please send those.
- Link to New Headshots (if relevant). If you have new headshots and you want us to help you pick out which ones to use, then send us the link and password to where those are. Also, please narrow them down to 10 or 12 shots that you think might be right.
- Website link to your movie website. Also a blurb on the role you play in it. Business details like any deal you have, festivals it’s won, the name actors in it, budget, release date. Any other promo info.
- Info on any credits you have gotten over the past 2 or 3 years. Or anything else you want to mention like classes, etc.
Please email all of your materials at once after you have gathered everything! Email them to: support@smartg.com
PUTTING YOUR MAILING TOGETHER
This video goes over how to prepare your mailing in detail. A shorter version follows. And after that, it is written in text.
DETAILED EXPLANATION ON PREPARING YOUR MAILING
SHORT EXPLANATION ON PREPARING YOUR MAILING
RESULTS TO EXPECT
Get your mailing out as soon as possible after getting your completed materials from Smart Girls. We recommend that you send all your packages out at the same time rather than in waves. Once you send them out, you could start getting calls from agents or managers anywhere from the very next day up to four weeks later.
Although they sometimes call after that, you should start your next plan of action at that point, whether you got an agent from the mailing or not. Utilize your listings to make notes as you get calls.
AVERAGE NUMBER OF CALLS
The average number of calls is TWO (2). You may get many more calls than that, or you may get two, or you may get none, or anywhere in between. Do not take it personally if you don’t get calls, just get back at it! Also, if you get calls immediately, don’t assume you’ll get a bunch more. You get what you get when you get them. Deal with each call professionally and individually.
Doing an agent and-or manager mailing is taking a step toward promoting yourself in your career. But whatever results you get, do not think of it as either the end of your chances nor the launch of stardom. It is one major step in the process of becoming a Working Actor.
PICTURE & RESUME
Get your photo duplicated as an 8×10” headshot. If you get it on photo paper, get a matte finish. If you get litho paper, get a glossy finish. Cut your resume to 8X10” and staple one to the back of each of your photos. If you are sending more than one photo per envelope, staple a resume to each of them. You can use either 2 or 4 staples, meaning top and bottom center or one in each corner.
SIGNING THE LETTERS
The letters are in alphabetical order by the name of the agency. Sign each letter right above your printed name which is near the bottom of letter. Paperclip your letter to the front of your picture(s).
PUTTING THE LABELS ON THE ENVELOPE
Smart Girls supplies you with the main address labels and your return labels. The main address labels are in order going left to right by rows/across. (Agents and Managers are alphabetized by the company name, and casting directors are alphabetized by the person’s last name.) Place the main address label in the middle of the envelope and your return address label in the upper left-hand corner. The stamp goes in the upper right corner of the envelope.
Once the labels are on the envelopes, place the paper-clipped packet of your headshot/resume and letter in a 9X12” envelope.
You don’t need a see-through envelope. Get a simple, plain, clean looking white 9″x12″ envelope. You do not need to put a cardboard inside to protect your headshot.
Then use ONLY a piece of tape to seal the envelope. Do not make it difficult to open up the envelope by sealing it with cement glue and double wrap tape and extra layers of protection to secure your beauticious headshot. Make it extra easy to open your envelope and pull out your materials without defacing your headshot. Putting high security measures on it will inhibit this intention.
POSTAGE & PACKAGING
Check with the United States Post Office for current postage rates for submissions of one letter and up to 2 headshots/resumes. You can purchase self-adhesive stamps from the United States Post Office for the applicable postage. If you have more than 2 photos to put it in, weigh it at the post office to make sure you have correct postage. Postage is around $1.25 per package and you can get self-adhesive stamps. Don’t get the Forever stamps. Instead prepare a package and take it to the Post Office and have them weigh it and tell you how much it will cost. You can even prepare them all, take them all with you, and put the stamps on there to save yourself a trip. The main thing is that they will give you the best combo of stamps to get to the exact amount of postage you need.
UPDATING SMART GIRLS
Please call to let us know who calls you or if you hear of any changes at the agency. You can reach us at 818-907-6511 to report in, to discuss the agents you got calls from, or to inform us of changes.
SWEET SPOT TARGETING: UNDERSTANDING THE 75 AGENTS OR MANAGERS WE SELECT FOR YOU
One of the common questions actors have has to do with how we select the best 75 for you. This video explains an important concept that we call “Sweet Spot Targeting.”
Okay, that’s it for now. Let us know how it goes. Thank you for doing business with Smart Girls. Good luck!