Apply the #1 Business Principle to Get More Auditions

Hello everyone! In this post, I’m going to explain to you one simple way to become more successful as an actor. Specifically, how to get more auditions this year. Are you ready?

Let’s begin!

‘Acting is a business’. You’ve heard this one before right? Everyone says it and I’ll admit, I used to nod along and say ‘acting is a business, yeah!’ but I didn’t really understand what it meant. At least, I didn’t really understand how it impacted me.

Very few people take this saying to heart – and that means that very few people are leveraging the insider business techniques to leverage their acting careers. Think about what a successful business person knows – marketing, audience relationships, return on investment, key performance indicators…these skills and techniques, for the most part, apply to our acting, even if they sound ‘technical’ and ‘boring.’

One principle we can use – one that business people have been using for a long time – and one that I am particularly fond of! – is the 80/20 principle.

'The 80/20 Principle (or Pareto's Law) is a maxim which asserts that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event. In business, a goal of the 80-20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority. For instance, once managers identify factors that are critical to their company's success, they should give those factors the most focus.

Although the 80-20 axiom is frequently used in business and economics, you can apply the concept to any field—such as wealth distribution, personal finance, spending habits, and even infidelity in personal relationships.' (www.investopedia.com)

So how can we use this principle for us as actors? Well, it’s simple. If 80 percent of your outcome is determined by 20 percent of your input, then you need to start focusing on the 20 percent!

Look, I get it. Creatives are…well, creative! We have many ideas bursting out of us. Some of us, like myself, are multi-passionate. You sing, you draw, you dance, you act, you play tennis…! Now, I’m not saying not to be multi-passionate, but instead, to focus on what is bringing you the MOST return.

So, how did I do this?

When I graduated from my Masters degree (I studied Advanced Theatre Practice at RCSSD), I found myself in a bit of a conundrum.

I had a Spotlight account, a Mandy account, a Backstage account. I was auditioning through friends, had joined several actor Facebook groups, and was looking for opportunities I saw on social media…

Does this sound familiar?

But after reading some business books – by the way, let me know below if you’d like me to make a post recommending my favourite and easily digestible business books and I’ll make one – I realised I could use Pareto’s Law to aid me in becoming a more successful actor. After all, acting is a business and that makes us business people. We need to start applying these business principles!

So what did I do? I sat down and I reflected upon the acting opportunities I’d had since graduating. I’d been on a UK Theatre tour with non zero one theatre company, I’d created my own show about racism and sexism in the UK that had been picked up by consequential theatres, I’d performed in immersive shows…

And I realised!

Many of my acting opportunities had come through friends in the industry or people I knew. They were not through Facebook groups or found by scrolling through Twitter! And knowing this allowed me to narrow down my focus. I stopped checking social media because I realised while it did offer SOME acting opportunity, it wasn’t enough to justify the time I was spending on it. But who did justify the time? Well, my friends in the industry.

Now please don’t’ despair if you’re thinking that you don’t know many people in the industry. That’s not the point. The point is: ascertain where the MOST of your outcome is coming from.

Maybe it’s coming from a subscription to Backstage…then great, keep it!

Maybe it’s from Facebook groups for actors, from your weekly acting class – perhaps your teacher keeps pointing you to great auditions…amazing.

The first step is to identify where YOUR 20% is coming from.

The second step is to MAXIMISE that 20%. That’s right…put the majority of your focus onto that 20%. It feels weird, because we often feel like we should be doing ‘more’ and thus spread ourselves too thin.

But really, the most productive and impactful way is to find out what keeps working and KEEP DOING THAT.

So, if you find that it’s been through Facebook groups, up your engagement in those groups. Get to know more people.

If you’re great at making your own work…then keep doing that. Focus on the quality of your work and on getting it in front of the right people. (It’s not getting your work in front of more people, but the RIGHT people, that makes the difference).

If 80% of your acting jobs are coming from auditions your agent puts you up for, then ask your agent what more you can do to help you get even more auditions that are suitable for you.

For the person who is getting opportunities through their acting teacher, find out how to benefit your teacher. How can you help out? (I’m not saying fake being nice for more auditions, by the way! But if your teacher has been such a help to you, isn’t it worth buying them a coffee or recommending them to other actors to increase your teacher’s business?) Think of it this way: if the relationship is working, put more effort into it and it will bless you both.

And if it’s through contacts, then check in with those contacts! See how they are. Relationships are important!

So, to recap:

80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

Identify that 20% and then, pour your time, energy and focus into that 20%.

It is essentially prioritising the most important things – simple, right?

That’s all for today.

I hope this was helpful.

Comment below if I’ve given you new food for thought or if you’d like me to go more in depth on a particular aspect of acting.

See you next time!

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ACTOR IN 2021 USING PARETO'S LAW | HOW TO GET MORE AUDITIONS IN 2021 - YouTube

Nikki xo