Why I Love Working With Actors
Throughout my twenties, I was frantic. Obsessive. Crazy. All I wanted was success. I wanted to become known.
I wanted a small amount of fame and a big amount of money. Or a big amount of fame and a BIGGER amount of money! Maybe that's just the millennial in me speaking?
Anyway, as a photographer, I lived a life outside the boundaries and expectations of, how should I say... "normal" society. I could press snooze as many times as I wanted and binge watch Breaking Bad whenever there were no clients around.
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Although I shot headshots, I also loved helping my clients come up with strategies to move their acting careers forward. I didn't just want to take pictures – I wanted to help actors use their headshots to actually book more work!
And like Walter White from Breaking Bad, I had dreams of one day building my own empire (not a meth lab). A famous headshot studio that would change the industry forever! I tried everything to reach that goal. For ten years, I blogged. I posted on social media. I sent out newsletters. I read business and marketing books. I asked anyone I knew for advice. I tried to get my website found on Google. I even sold my soul attending networking events. Every single week for TWO YEARS. Well, it worked! Or so I thought...
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Here's the thing... Don't you hate it when you're feeling stressed about something and everyone around you says, "Hey, you're doing well, you should be happy!"
My company City Headshots made it to be the first hit on Google for "headshots NYC." We were rated #1 on Google with over 200 reviews, two locations, and a team of employees. And we typically shot anywhere from 30-50 people per week.
On top of that, we worked with numerous actors each month shooting and editing reels.
All that success was great, but deep down I knew I could be doing more.
I desperately wanted to help actors with their marketing, because that's where my deepest passion was. I loved planning out a long term strategy for the actors I'd shoot headshots with, and I'd always get so excited hearing of their success stories!
But it felt like no matter what I did, people just wouldn't pay me to help them with it for some reason.
So even with the success of my other companies, I still felt stuck.
I was angry. Why was it so hard? Was there some secret formula out there that could get me out of this trap? Or is it actually not possible to become super successful unless you're one of the lucky few born into it?
My company City Headshots made it to be the first hit on Google for "headshots NYC." We were rated #1 on Google with over 200 reviews, two locations, and a team of employees. And we typically shot anywhere from 30-50 people per week.
On top of that, we worked with numerous actors each month shooting and editing reels.
All that success was great, but deep down I knew I could be doing more.
I desperately wanted to help actors with their marketing, because that's where my deepest passion was. I loved planning out a long term strategy for the actors I'd shoot headshots with, and I'd always get so excited hearing of their success stories!
But it felt like no matter what I did, people just wouldn't pay me to help them with it for some reason.
So even with the success of my other companies, I still felt stuck.
I was angry. Why was it so hard? Was there some secret formula out there that could get me out of this trap? Or is it actually not possible to become super successful unless you're one of the lucky few born into it?
Hmmmm...
I realized something needed to change.
So I asked myself... "Was becoming super rich and successful what I really wanted?"
What kind of absurd, unspecific, and quite frankly, selfish goal was that?
I thought about it and realized that wanting success would never get me there. Wanting success for its own sake is useless because it's not sustainable and it's self-focused.
If there's one lesson I've learned over the past decade of running my business, it's this: The only way to move beyond the realm of "good enough" is to ask yourself the following question:
So I asked myself... "Was becoming super rich and successful what I really wanted?"
What kind of absurd, unspecific, and quite frankly, selfish goal was that?
I thought about it and realized that wanting success would never get me there. Wanting success for its own sake is useless because it's not sustainable and it's self-focused.
If there's one lesson I've learned over the past decade of running my business, it's this: The only way to move beyond the realm of "good enough" is to ask yourself the following question:
"How can I go about helping and serving others at the deepest level and in a way that will truly change their lives?"
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And that's when I realized exactly what needed to change:
I needed to get my content out there so actors could access it for free, use what they learned, and see the results. And so I began creating YouTube videos. I began writing in-depth articles, doing interviews with industry experts, and much more. And I've put all this content out there at no cost. And actors are seeing results. And then many come back for my much more in-depth, paid content. It took me ten years to figure it out. But I'm passionate about my work again. I'm staying up late into the night answering all kinds of cool emails from actors who read and engage with my emails. My business is growing. I'm waking up extremely early without an alarm again! And best of all, I'm actually having a genuine impact on the lives of thousands of actors. |
I'm inviting you to join me on this journey.
If you have a penchant for thinking differently and believe that success will come to those who break the mold and stop letting fear hold them back, then I'd love for you to join me.
Every week I send out the most helpful strategies I've learned on actor marketing to the thousands of people on my mailing list – strategies I've learned by studying businesses across hundreds of industries.
If you're interested in getting these free emails, please join me by signing up. I'll start by sending you The Actor's Toolkit, which has my favorite three hacks to help you start booking more work (in as little as 21 days).
Every week I send out the most helpful strategies I've learned on actor marketing to the thousands of people on my mailing list – strategies I've learned by studying businesses across hundreds of industries.
If you're interested in getting these free emails, please join me by signing up. I'll start by sending you The Actor's Toolkit, which has my favorite three hacks to help you start booking more work (in as little as 21 days).
Professional Bio
Just in case you're interested, here's some background on me:
Martin Bentsen, NYU Tisch alumnus, has run numerous educational seminars on branding and marketing strategies for actors at The Actor's Green Room, Actor's Connection, and NYU; has written a 207-page book called Get Cast: Book More Acting Work by Thinking "Outside the Industry"; and is a member of both the National Association of Sales Professionals and Sales & Marketing Executives International, two highly acclaimed marketing organizations in the United States.
Martin graduated in 2011 with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts' Film and Television program with a focus on directing and in 2010, he founded City Headshots®, which, according to Yelp, is ranked the #1 headshot studio in New York City. City Headshots currently employs seven people and has affiliate locations in New York, Denver, Chicago, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Some of City Headshots’ repeat clients include well known companies such as LinkedIn Corp, Facebook, and American Express, and many of its photos have been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
As a business owner who has grown from zero to over half a million dollars per year, Martin not only understands the intricacies of marketing and finding clients, but also what it takes for actors to successfully navigate the industry and make themselves memorable. He coaches actors one-on-one with their branding, marketing, and management strategies, and in how they conduct themselves with agents, managers, and casting directors. His clients have landed Broadway roles, booked major television shows, and signed with top agencies.
Martin’s long term goal is to end the cliche of "The Starving Artist."
Martin Bentsen, NYU Tisch alumnus, has run numerous educational seminars on branding and marketing strategies for actors at The Actor's Green Room, Actor's Connection, and NYU; has written a 207-page book called Get Cast: Book More Acting Work by Thinking "Outside the Industry"; and is a member of both the National Association of Sales Professionals and Sales & Marketing Executives International, two highly acclaimed marketing organizations in the United States.
Martin graduated in 2011 with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts' Film and Television program with a focus on directing and in 2010, he founded City Headshots®, which, according to Yelp, is ranked the #1 headshot studio in New York City. City Headshots currently employs seven people and has affiliate locations in New York, Denver, Chicago, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Some of City Headshots’ repeat clients include well known companies such as LinkedIn Corp, Facebook, and American Express, and many of its photos have been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
As a business owner who has grown from zero to over half a million dollars per year, Martin not only understands the intricacies of marketing and finding clients, but also what it takes for actors to successfully navigate the industry and make themselves memorable. He coaches actors one-on-one with their branding, marketing, and management strategies, and in how they conduct themselves with agents, managers, and casting directors. His clients have landed Broadway roles, booked major television shows, and signed with top agencies.
Martin’s long term goal is to end the cliche of "The Starving Artist."