There are thousands of alternative careers for actors but you probably don’t want to be doing the 9 to 5. Why else would you have chosen to become an actor? You want something different! As a TV and film stuntman, I wanted something different too. I didn’t want the 9 to 5 job, although I’ve had many.
As time wore on I realised I couldn’t keep going in the same direction without some major changes. I was working for minimum wage on a building yard forecourt picking up rubbish in my late 30’s! It wasn’t what I had planned, or wanted. I was looking for alternative careers for actors, and stuntmen!
Alternative Careers For Actors
Work is always very precarious in the film industry so I have always been a little pragmatic and found alternatives. After doing some buying and selling on ebay I found a little niche which seemed to me to be the perfect flexible career opportunity. I bought an ebook and downloaded it from ebay. This seemed to me the perfect sales model. Automate downloads from the internet and generate automated income from the internet.
I pursued this idea for several years and created my own ebooks too. You can check them out here. The internet offered an option which allowed me to work for myself in between jobs. You can drop in and out of work, without upsetting a boss, and you can make sales from work you have done previously.
Affiliate Marketing
The idea of selling digital products automatically over the internet inspired me. It eventually led me to become an affiliate marketer. Initially I tried to ‘go it alone’ by creating and selling my own products on the internet. It was difficult and most of my efforts led to disappointment.
I didn’t realise what I was doing wrong and it was only when I got the right training did things start working for me. Affiliate marketing worked for me because I wanted my own business to work on in between jobs. I didn’t want another minimum wage job that was never going to amount to anything. Suppose I wanted to change careers later down the line? I was trained for nothing else! The more energy I put into working minimum wage jobs the less I was able to do anything else, except film and tv work. When the work dried up I was back to the same old crappy jobs.
Flexibilty
Actors are in and out of work continously. You might get a call and have to go to a casting at the last minute. This makes holding down a normal job incredibly difficult. If you get a part you might be gone for several months at a time. Then when you’re back you are back to square one!
With affilaite marketing you can not only work on your business around existing work and still take the jobs, but you can also work while away from your laptop. Build your business up around other work and eventually it can completely replace your acting career, if you want it to. It gives you options and doesn’t tie you in either way.
What’s Involved?
Affiliate marketing basically involves promoting and selling other people’s products online. You don’t need to build or own your own products and can simply send website or internet ‘traffic’ to offers online. The selling and delivery of products is done automatically, by the product owners. You can simply refer website traffic and earn commissions based on sales. With digital products this can be as much as 40-50% of the sale price.
Affiliates can lean to their strengths online. If you’re an actor you might prefer to create videos in order to promote various products online. Some affilaites prefer writing articles and creating other types of content. You don’t need to do this and can set up advertising platforms to generate sales instead. There’s many ways to drive targeted traffic to products and services, whether it be blogging, video creation or just running paid advertising.
The Power Of Leverage
One of the most exciting things about the internet is its ability to reach a global audience. Couple this with the sale of digital products and you have huge potential. Digital products can be automatically downloaded. This means there are very little costs involved with storage or postage. The savings are passed on to affiliates who promote goods and services online.
Content created years earlier can still bring in sales. Advertising platforms can reach thousands of people with your affiliate links. Email ‘autoresponders’ – (email marketing service providers) let you communicate with thousands of people at once and deliver many digital products simultaneously. This gives you the ability to create multiple sales, and with the right business model, a scalable income.
The Affordability Of An Online Business
For most people building their own business is out of their reach. The costs involved put most people off. It requires getting a loan or getting yourself in debt. An online business is far more achievable for almost anyone. Costs are much lower to start an online business. A physical business also ties you to a location and a business premises. Physical businesses don’t make the best alternative careers for actors, simply because it is less flexible than an online business.
There is no business premises to rent, you don’t need any employees and you don’t need to buy in any stock. All you need is a website and the right tools and strategies to promote products online. Anyone can learn how to run a profitable online business with the right training and resources.
Getting The Right Training From The Start
If you’re serious about alternative careers for actors, you need to get the right training to build a serious income from an online business. Anyone can start their own affiliate business simply by throwing up a website and putting some affiliate banners on it. However, from someone who has tried this and failed many times, I would highly recommend getting the right training and advice from the start. It can make the difference between success online and failure. For starters you can spend a huge amount of time learning. You need to learn and then implement that knowledge to get started as soon as possible.
The Right Products
The right products can also make a huge difference to whether you succeed or fail online. Digital products, for example pay much larger commissions than physical products. Sometimes 40-50% of their sale price. Just knowing this means you can earn more for the same activity online.
The Right Business Model
Selling single point of sale products can make you a nice commission. However, selling memberhsip product can make you a nice, consistant income. Just your choice of products can make a massive difference to you in your affiliate business.
Learn more and access an online digital sales platform which can give you all the tools necessary to build a profitable online business. Access here. As far as alternative careers for actors go, nothing comes as close in terms of flexiblity and income potential.