Most actors do not need a publicist until they have something worth promoting. Hire one four to five months before a release worth promoting, or when you are building a press record for a visa.
Until then, you can pitch press yourself, and a lot of actors should.
Kym here. I have more than 80 film and TV credits, and here is how I think about press, with and without a publicist.
A publicist contacts outlets for you. They proof your written interview answers, which gives you a buffer against saying something stupid.
They also get you invited to carpets and events, arrange brand endorsement deals, and keep relationships with press and event organisers going.
That last one is the real value. You emailing a morning show is not the same as your publicist ringing the producer they had lunch with last week.
Bigger projects have their own publicity team, so let your agent sort out who your press runs through. Outlets like Deadline will not run an announcement another outlet ran first.
At the time I recorded the class, a low budget publicist ran about three to five hundred dollars a month. Most cost between 750 and 3,000 dollars a month, usually for three to five months.
That is why timing matters. You cannot get press with nothing going on.
Only if you are one of the one or two leads. Otherwise the publicity will not be centred on you, so your own press is your responsibility.
On low budget films it is often worse. Producers frequently spend everything in production and post, and have nothing left for P and A, which is print and advertising.
My husband Andrew Steel was the lead in Wish Man, a film about the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He contacted Make-A-Wish Australia directly, and they emailed their list about the film.
The filmmakers did not.
Getting press is three steps:
Horror film, horror people. Monster trucks, monster truck people.
Newsworthy means something people can engage with: an event, a film, a charity they can donate to, or a story that entertains, educates, inspires or informs.
And press comes in three types. Written is magazines, newspapers and blogs.
Visual is TV interviews, online video interviews and red carpets. Audio is radio and podcasts.
Before you look for a single outlet, list your angles:
Then Google the outlets covering each one. The hometown angle keeps working even after you move, and something like Voyage LA is low hanging fruit.
I prefer a personal email to a press release, which reads as spam.
Put a short personal note on top. Underneath, write the article as it could be written, with a catchy headline:
Girl from Logan makes it big in Sydney TV series
Then say what the project is about, where people can see it and why they should watch. Always include the release date and links.
They will not copy and paste it. But it shows them what the story could be.
Pitch three to four months before release, because you will need time to follow up. If you hear nothing, forward your original email one to two weeks later and say you are following up.
Reaching out as yourself is completely fine:
My name is (your name) and I've just come back from LA. I've recently worked on a project that touches on this topic. I love that you cover it and I'd love to have a chat.
Yes. In the class I show actors who cannot afford one how to set up as their own publicist: a professional name, an email account, an email signature and a domain name, because a Gmail address may not open doors.
Publicists pitch editors they have never met all the time, so a new name in an inbox is perfectly normal. A few actor friends can even share one.
Some are. Carpet photos look good on your website, your IMDb page and a visa application.
What you do not want is a photo from every carpet in town. I once skipped a screening carpet with two brand logos and one photographer, because I do not want to be the person who shows up to the opening of a paper bag.
The signal is Getty Images or WireImage. If they are there, walk it, because those photos stay online permanently.
A few rules:
Weaker carpet photos should stay off your IMDb page, though they can still help bulk out a visa application. For more on that, see the O-1B visa for actors.
Keep a press tracker with two tabs: publications you have contacted, and publications you have been in, with the contact's name and the link.
Add every piece to a press folder your agent can open, and tell them when it lands. Press is news your reps want.
The full class, Social Media, Branding, Press and Publicity, covers your public image, the pitch, carpets and tracking step by step. It sits in our social and branding hub, next to social media for actors.
You can watch it with a 7-day free trial.
When the class was recorded, a low budget publicist ran about three to five hundred dollars a month, and most publicists charged between 750 and 3,000 dollars a month, usually for three to five months. Prices change, so ask a few for current rates.
Four to five months before a release worth promoting, or when you are building a press record for a visa. Before you have something people can engage with, a publicist has nothing to pitch.
Yes. Build a list of angles, find the outlets that cover them, and send a personal note with the story written out underneath, plus the release date and links.
Follow up one to two weeks later.
A personal email usually works better. Press releases tend to read as spam.
A short note on top of the article as it could be written shows the outlet exactly what the story is.
Small carpets usually have no list, so just arrive early. For a big premiere, ring the production company, ask who is handling publicity, and ask to be added to the carpet list.