Self-Promotion

  If you wish to become a freelance model, (absent of agency representation) the most important thing to learn is the art and tactics of self-promotion. This will be essential.

Tools of the trade

The online portfolio and composite cards are very important - see the section entitled, "tools of the trade". Here you will be given all the information and specifications you will need in compiling  your sales personal sales tools.

Exposing yourself

Since you have chosen to go "solo," it's your responsibility to get your name and face out in the various markets. For example, if you are planning on being a swimsuit model it would be tactically wise to research all sources (internet, magazines, catalogs, calendars, etc. that would need the talents of a swimsuit model. You would then plan on how you were going to get your photos in front of that source of clients. eMail has fast out paced the package in the US mail. Anthrax scares and nuts using the postal service makes your package a long shot to get to the right person the first try unless you have an inside track.   More - eMail suggestion here.

On-line exposure

Never has it been so easy for prospective clients to view your photographs, stats and contact details, than with the presently booming internet. There are many web sites out there that will "host" your portfolio or a small collection of images. Some charge a fee, some don't - and it's really up to you to decide which is the most professional and suitable for your needs. This is our favorite.

One factor, however, that is extremely important to remember is this; make sure the site you choose has good rankings in search engines or has numerous links leading to it from other sources. You will be depending on their traffic, as well as that from your sources. Also, if the site pushes adult pictures/material you may want to carefully think about it. Would Disney or Sony hire you off such a site?

Personal webpages

If you want to promote yourself as aggressively as possible, then you really need your own personal webpage. It is sometimes possible to get free services in this area, but if you want your web site's address to reflect your name, e.g. AmericasFavoriteSweetheart.com then you will have to pay for the right to use such a name. Elite Looks will help you register a unique domain name and the annual fee is just $15.00 per year. Elite Looks also has packages that will encompass everything you need and will run from $10-$30 per month.

It is common for models to post their online photos with various modeling promotion sites and forums around the internet and link them back to their personal web site where a more extensive and comprehensive collection of images is available.  This is a popular method for harvesting the net.

Since creating and maintaining a personal webpage will require the knowledge or the hiring of someone with the knowledge of HTML (internet programming language), make-sure that you will have the time to dedicate to this task. Because so many models have asked who designed our site and are in need of someone to design theirs, we recommend our designers at AmericasFavoriteGraphics.com

On-line competitions

Other ways of getting your face seen by others. Post your images with various sites that hold competitions and users vote for their favorite contestants. Here are some of our favorites:
SexiestWomanInTheWorld.com
MissMotorSports.com
AmericasFavoriteSweetheart.com
AreYouMyGoddess.com

 

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