It never ceases to amaze me how things come full circle.
Just a couple of years ago, telling someone you had a YouTube show would yield a polite head nod, maybe an “oh cool” and not much more.
Today, being a YouTuber puts you in pretty good company. You’re sharing a platform with Academy Award and Golden Globe nominees!
Going from the silver screen to a YouTube channel would have raised many eyebrows and people around town would have “started talking” just a couple of years ago.
Today however, there is an entire section in the William Morris (WME) Handbook about how to leverage YouTube for their clients.
If you want the inside scoop on what’s on those pages read on so you too can Become a YouTube Sensation and Turn It Into Mainstream Acting Work.
It’s simple. Here’s how…
The #1 search engine in the world is Google. No surprise there!
Care to take a wild guess what the #2 search engine in the world is? [drum roll] YouTube!
It is now far more than a place you go to watch cat videos and the evolution of dance, dance (though that one never gets old). Over 1 Billion people spend at least an hour a day on YouTube searching for everything from entertainment, to news, cooking tips, and even car and home repair stuff.
Before we get to the nuts and bolts of how to use YouTube as an actor, you first have to understand that there are 3 vastly different types of YouTubers.
Group 1 is in it for the money. They put up tons of content, place as many ads as possible in their videos, and hope to earn a living from their efforts.
Group 2 is in it for the attention. This group knows that if they play their cards right and put out quality content, they have the potential to reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of people and leverage that attention into bigger things.
Group 3 is a tiny group of YouTubers that have mastered how to earn a living (sometimes a multimillion dollar living) while also gaining and leveraging massive attention.
You should strive to fall into Group 3, and this what WME does for their rising talent.
The formula is simple: Good Content + Attention X Social Proof = YouTube Mastery
The big mistake that actors typically make when they go the YouTube route is that they default to “acting.” So, they get their actor friends together, tap a director someone knows and they film a bunch of shorts.
This fails 99% of the time because you have to catch someone who is, for example, in the mood to watch an indie short about whatever it is that your short is about, at the exact time it miraculously pops up on their YouTube feed.
Even if the production value and the talent in the short is incredible, that’s still only 1/3 of the equation remember. These videos don’t often get shared because, when you share something with a friend, it’s because you think that friend is in the same mood you’re in at the time you share it or you feel they need it for some reason or another (like they need a good laugh or something like that).
If it’s not shared, there’s not much attention going to your videos. And, when there’s not attention, there’s no social proof.
Not only is this a very time consuming way to create content, it usually leads to quitting after a while because there’s so much other stuff that’s more pressing. Even if the content is stellar, it’s just such an uphill battle!
So, in the words of social media architect to the stars and Fortune 500 Gary Vaynerchuck, “don’t create, document.”
That’s what “sells” on YouTube. We’re still very much in the era of the reality show and there’s no signs of that changing any time soon. It’s simply moving to a different platform.
It’s why the most successful channels, tend to be centered around daily Vlogs. Even channels that start to gain traction through other ways, like product demonstrations and unboxing for example, really take off when the creator of that channel, starts to share the more personal details and let’s the viewers into their lives a bit.
So, if you’re looking to jump into YouTube, that’s where you should start. Rather than choosing between creating a channel that is topic-centric vs you-centric, put them together!
It may sound harsh, but if no one knows you and you launch a personal vlog…who’s going to watch?
No one knows or cares about you at the very onset, but they care about “the actor’s life.” Make it about that and do a vlog to go along with it.
Document your actor’s life and you will hook the audience that’s searching for content about actors, acting, how to make it as an actor, etc. Then, they will fall in love with you and will follow you to the end.
A word of warning: be prepared to be genuine, even when it’s uncomfortable.
So many of us actors sugar coat things and put a positive spin on it, but that comes across as ingenuine. Your audience would rather see you breakdown in tears after being passed over for a role, you were dying to get and thought you were a shoe in for, than see you brag about how you didn’t need that role because you have another 10 audition lined up.
They would rather see a time lapse of you waiting to read for 3 hours, only to be dismissed by casting after 20 seconds of reading, than see you driving down sunset in a rented sports car. The former connects, later makes them hit next.
If you watch some of the vlogger’s content, you will see that it comes across as improvised and I don’t know if haphazard is the right word but it’s close enough so let’s go with it.
However, there is a very clear format to their content, when you pay attention. So, come up with a theme for your channel, I gave you a great example above, but it doesn’t have to be that as long as it relates to acting somehow (think movie reviews, episode recaps, etc.), then plan a format.
It could be as simple as a different topic each day: Marketing Mondays, Improv Tuesdays, Workout Wednesdays, etc.
There are so many interesting people around that you can just strike up a conversation with and document it, especially if you’re in the LA area or NYC. Tap someone on the shoulder and you just might run into a fellow actor that will talk your ear off about what they have going on and what they’ve done in their career so far. Many of them will have super interesting stories.
I still do this all the time (though without a camera)! I once talked to Howie Mandel about the ripeness of cantaloupes at Whole Foods for a couple minutes all the while thinking “this guy has a familiar face.”
I advised Bernie Mac (RIP) at Best Buy on what headphones he should get for the long flight he was going to be boarding soon. Truthfully I recognized him instantly, but I didn’t want to come off as stalker fan until after I talked to him for a minute lol.
Look up some channels that are also about the topic you have chosen and model them. Use their same keywords and notice how they write their headlines and which thumbnails get them the most views.
Above all, start from where you. Remember the equation: Good Content + Attention X Social Proof = YouTube Mastery
Production quality is nowhere in there (with 1 caveat I’ll get to in a sec but it only applies to those behind the camera). You don’t have to save up for a fancy HD DSLR camera with a Super Lens. You don’t need anything besides the phone in your pocket to shoot, edit, and upload the videos.
Once you master YouTube, the sky doesn’t even begin to describe the limit!
You could leverage that attention into major motion pictures like Akwafina, the YouTuber and self proclaimed best Asian Female Rapper. You can catch her in Ocean’s 8 playing a leading role alongside Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, and scores of other superstars.
With enough attention and social proof, you will inevitably cross over to the “main stream.”
I’ve given you a couple of solid ideas on how to create good content and if you want to run your ideas by me shoot me an email or leave a comment below.
The trickiest part about mastering YouTube is getting attention. It goes hand in hand with social proof and they are rather interchangeable.
You need to have a bit of traction for people to watch your videos. Clicking on a video that has 6 views (if it even shows up in your feed) usually leads to you scrolling to see what else there is. I can help you get the ball rolling and send a guaranteed number of views your way.
Shoot me an email to find out more.
Way too many actors have ignored YouTube for too long and it’s starting to leave them behind. Imagine going into an audition and already having a successful channel that shows casting that you are dedicated to your craft and talented.
Combine this with a solid industry reputation and your career will shoot skyward.
See when you audition for something, the CD is not simply judging you on your talent and how suitable you are for the part.
They must also take into account, your reliability, work ethic, reputation as I mentioned above, and your marketability. This along with a few other factors make up your castability index.
It’s why I put this together to help you ensure that your reputation and your castability index match your goals.
A YouTube channel goes hand in hand with this and is the perfect way for you to showcase your talent, work ethic, dedication, and so much more.
While they will won’t publicly confirm what’s in the works, I have it on good authority that “Web Series” is going to soon be a big factor for IMDb credits and STARmeter rankings.
So, if you haven’t paid much attention to your IMDb (the world’s #1 place for casting to discover up and coming talent before anyone else) you should check this out. It was created to give you an advantage over what is already steep competition in the industry.
Combine this with mastering YouTube and the career you sometimes didn’t even dare to dream of is yours for the taking.
See you at the top,
Scott
P.S. If you also work behind the camera, we can help to boost your MOVIEmeter so that your films get the attention they deserve. Shoot me an email to find out more.
Remember the production quality caveat that applies to you? YouTube is the perfect place to showcase your skills, Neistat style. Let me know if want to know more about this.