Five Ways to Get More Submissions for Your Project

After working hard on filling out your project’s information, submitting it for review and getting the green light, it’s finally been posted to the Casting Billboard. However, your project isn’t receiving as many submissions as you’d hoped. What happened? In these times, there’s always a learning opportunity, and we’re here to help your project get back on track.

Why are submissions for my project low?

Your project may be attracting fewer submissions than expected for a number of reasons. Here are five possible explanations for why this might happen and what you can do to resolve them. Keep in mind that these tips pertain to receiving submissions from actors. If you’re looking to crew your project, those jobs can be posted on Staff Me Up as Casting Networks does not allow postings for crew jobs.

The project type: Sometimes actors may not be as interested in certain types of projects, such as audiobooks, cabaret shows or other obscure project types. It could even be an obscure genre or niche that actors may not normally work in. There is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to projects, but there are always perks like meal, travel or hotel accommodations that you can add to your roles to sweeten the deal. Beefing up your project’s synopsis with interesting details can also help as it will give actors a greater insight into what they’ll be getting into. You can also include names of other actors that have worked in your other projects to help further show that you have great concepts.

Rates: The professionals you’re seeking may not agree with the rates you’ve set. Many actors have day jobs, and they’ll have to justify taking time off to work on your projects. If you’re newer to the game, you might not know what the industry standard rates are – a $125-$150 day rate minimum is a good rule of thumb. If this is a low-paying or unpaid gig, you might be having trouble finding help if you do not have other forms of monetary value to provide, such as reimbursement for gas.

Viewing options: Make sure you give the run and usage of the project to let your performers know where your project will be seen. At the end of the day, your actors want their work to be seen by others, and where your project will be shown can impact the amount of submissions you receive. For example, projects that will be shown at a film festival will receive more submissions than a class project. If this is a project with a limited audience, consider uploading the finished work to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo to widen your reach without costing you a dime.

The role description: Sometimes performers find the role description too general and choose not to submit. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to cast a wide net, but sometimes the net might be too wide. When this happens, actors may not identify with the role, understand the plot or know what you’re looking for. When creating your roles, beef them up with specific details to make them sound more interesting and professional. It will also help to add additional notes to your sides.

Here’s a quick recap of ways to encourage more submissions:

• Use industry-standard day rates.
• Add attractive perks such as travel reimbursement and meal plans to sweeten the pot.
• Provide additional viewing options such as uploading your finished project to YouTube and Vimeo.
• Be detailed with your role descriptions and project synopsis!

 
It’s time to put these notes into action and get your project completed. Sign up or log in to Casting Networks and start receiving more submissions for your projects now!

Learn more:
Creating and Publishing Projects
CASTING DIRECTORS: I want more submissions for my roles, but I don’t want to create a new project. Is there a way to do that?
Creating Projects and Submitting for Approval