To Whom It May Concern
Sunday musings…
Having an agent in any area of the industry can get you to the door. Sometimes. However, you are still your own best representation.
Whether you are looking for an agent, a coach, a teacher. an audition - what are you sending out? Are you generic or specific? Are you sending short and sweet or epistles?
Time to up your email game!
Industry professionals are swamped with emails. What will make yours stand out?
Simply attaching your headshot and resume with links in your signature doesn’t do it necessarily.
Here are some suggestions to help you stand out in a sea of emails. These ideas come from my experience, and my conversations.
Know who you are addressing! No more “to whom it may concern”. Who are you trying to reach? Do your research! Even if you find the name of the artistic director for a company and can’t find a personalized email and have to send it to the general email, put that person’s name in the subject line! The salutation can err on the side of formal and not familiar. If pronouns are not listed, the full name is fine. If you truly cannot find who to address it to, try “Dear Creative Team” or something along those lines.
Use YOUR full name in the body of the email, not just your first name.
If you have someone who recommended you - say so. Give the relationship reference.
Say why you are emailing.
Get creative with your descriptives!
Add something unique about you that might peak their interest in clicking any links you have provided in the body of the email and/or in your signature.
This is important because they are swamped with emails that say “My name is BLAH BLAH and I am a BLAH soprano, I would love to audition for you - my link to my website is below.’
Boring. Not peaking my interest.
You might be the best thing since sliced bread, but if your email is beige as a ceiling, nobody would know. Nobody will know.
What makes you unique? What intrigues the reader? Figure that out for yourself and use it.
7. What have you done recently? Mention it. Yes, we’ve had Covid, so NOBODY has done a lot. Doesn’t mean there is nothing to share. It might be something you have picked up over Covid that has nothing to do with your industry but everything to do with YOU. Classes? Coachings? Changed teachers? Changed rep? Developing new rep? New recordings?
8. Keep it concise and easy to access. No epistles. 3 paragraphs is plenty. Links within the body of the email can be helpful.
9. Make sure you attach your headshot and resume!
10. Make sure your signature has a link to your website! No website? Recordings/youtube channel. (P.S. get a landing page for a website ASAP!)
Experiment with basic templates of this email so you can use it as an outline, and create a more personalized version every time you are sending something out.
Remember, the worst that can happen is you get no response. That’s not a “no” btw: Your email might not have been opened yet. Or it has been read and put in another folder to review.
If you do get an answered email and it’s a “sorry we can’t hear you right now” or something similar, it’s not a fail. Far from it. It’s an opportunity to keep the lines of communication open down the road. Next time you have a link to a performance, or a new video up, send it over. Who knows? It might land in the inbox of someone who is looking for an answer to a puzzle, and you could be it!
Out of sight out of mind. Stay in the consciousness of those who you want to know and those who you want to know YOU.
And before you ask, no you aren’t being annoying.
Just know your audience, and be conscious of why you are writing, what you are writing, and when.
Get creative, writing your letters. We want to meet YOU in that letter, not just receive attachments.
Okay - get to it!
with fondness & fierceness,
