Skip to main content

Using Formality When Communicating With Modeling Agencies

It's difficult for newbie models, especially young ones, to put the whole modeling industry into the right perspective when first starting out. The idea of strutting down catwalks, appearing in photoshoots and seeing published images of themselves in magazines is overwhelming, which often causes new models to overlook a lot of the "little things" that are much more important during this process.

I receive tons of emails and Facebook messages from so many aspiring models and there's one central theme I keep noticing: the lack of formality in their correspondence. Let me make one thing clear before any of you readers think that you're doing something wrong: when contacting me, it isn't supposed to be super formal--after all, I'm here to help and work with you so there's no real need to be super stuffy and proper with me. If you prefer to be formal, by all means, do what works for you...I just want to make clear that based on this post, I'm not requiring models that contact me to feel like they need to be super formal.

Where my main concern lies is that if newbie models are communicating with me so informally/casually, how will they phrase their communication with actual agencies and clients? While formality is important for both freelance and agency represented models, for this post I'm going to focus on the agency aspect since this is a common goal that most new models seek.

Formality in this sense means conducting yourself properly and using a business approach. Always remember: modeling agencies are BUSINESSES. Their goal is to make money and show their competition why they're better. So when you're submitting yourself to agencies, you have to be businesslike. Yes, that means even if you're 14, 15 or 16-years-old, when you appear in front of agencies at interviews and casting calls or are sending them your submissions via email or snail mail, you have to "talk" to them the right way.

Let's take a minute to further illustrate my point to help get the message across more effectively...

Many of the emails I get from aspiring models typically start off as follows:

- "Hi Dania!"
- "Dear Dania"
- "Hello/Hi"
- "Hello Ms. Denise"
- "Ms. Denise"
- "Ms. Dania"

Now here are some of the salutations I also get:

- "Hey hey hey!"
- "Hi!!!!!!"
- "What's up?"
- "Yo" (yes, I kid you not on that one, lol)
- "OMG..."

Can you see the difference? The first list is what I would call "formal," while the latter...yeah, you get it. So ask yourself this: which of those salutations would you use when composing an email or writing a cover letter to a modeling agency?

My young, dear, sweet, aspiring models...I understand that you're young and there's still a lot about the world you don't know or have direct experience with, including business matters, but if you want to get into modeling and deal with agencies and their high profile clients, you have to realize that you're entering a very grown-up world. While agencies and clients will keep in mind your age, they'll still have to treat you as a young adult.

Your first step is agency representation and that means contacting agencies with your interest. Even though talking to me is pretty causal and laid-back, I'm not an agent. Maximize your results by knowing and understanding the importance of addressing agencies formally. Even if you feel like you're being too formal, it's better than being too casual and having agencies think you're immature or juvenile.

I feel like this social media and Internet obsession has caused us, as a society, to get lazy and too comfortable with being super casual, talking and emailing like we text, etc. And that can be bad for trying to develop a businesslike attitude when dealing with agencies. By all means, hAvE FuN TXTNG & tLkNg Lyk Dis w/Ur FRENZ but not when communicating with agencies and their clients. Learn how to use proper grammar, complete sentences, etc. and believe me, you'll get a lot farther with agencies.

Comments

Grace said…
Great post! As we all move into emails, texting etc. it's so easy for young people to forget how to be formal in addressing others. Actually, with the complete absence of writing actual letters, many of us were probably never taught!

I remember in English in school we had a template for writing formal/informal letters to people, they should have that for email :P

Popular posts from this blog

Modeling & Pay Rates: How Much Should You Charge?

(This post is more targeted towards freelance models and not those with agency representation, although it may apply to those that have an agent but continue to find their own work.) A part of being a successful model is making money from the jobs that you book. However, being a freelance model comes with many challenges--figuring out what you should charge is one of them. I will say upfront that there are no established black and white rules when it comes to pay rates. Each modeling job is different, each client is different and budgets vary. Ultimately the factors that should influence what you charge should be the amount of experience you have, the strength of the images in your portfolio and the client's budget/needs. Not every client is going to pay what you want to charge. There may be times when you will be skipped over for charging too much or taken advantage of for charging too little. It's going to happen so be prepared for it and do not take it personally. It

What Are Male Models Supposed to Look Like?

The modeling world is filled with women. That's never been a secret and sadly, that often means male models fall by the wayside. There are successful male models in all categories across the industry but the fact that the modeling business revolves around women can make it challenging for newbies to figure out how to pursue their goals of male modeling. It is important to know that because there are different types of modeling categories out there, that means there are also different types of male models. They aren't all supposed to look alike and what ends up being in demand does change every year. Let's break down the common attributes that come with male modeling in various popular categories, shall we? THE MALE FASHION/RUNWAY/EDITORIAL MODEL These are the typical types of models most of us tend to think of when it comes to men in modeling. What is important to know and understand if you're an aspiring male model is that agencies have all different looks

Modeling and Weight

One of the first things I hear potential models ask is what the weight requirement for modeling is. Sometimes that is the main issue they worry about when it comes to pursuing modeling. Let me tell you right now that weight should NOT be one of those concerns. Obviously, the height requirement reigns supreme when measuring up to the modeling standards sought out by agencies. If you meet the height requirements--whether it's for fashion and runway or commercial/print--that is the first step towards starting on the path to modeling. How much you weigh shouldn't be your biggest fear. It is rare that anyone can look at someone and say, "Oh, my gosh, he/she looks like they are 5 pounds over our weight requirement!" It just isn't realistic. If you look at many modeling agency websites, they clearly list the age and height requirements--rarely, if at all do they list any weight restrictions. The general rule of thumb when it comes to weight is that for models who