Benefits of IADB Actor Website
The main reason for signing up with IADB.com for a professional website is the fact that you will then have a website all about you. Whenever I meet professionals in an acting community I ask them if they have a website. Nine out of ten times I get a response that involves some sort of social media page or in a best case an IMDB profile. Well, okay - at least they made that step forward to get themselves online in the first place, but think about it. Facebook was originally created for college student's to chat online, and now is mainly used by high schoolers. And guess what "M" stands for in the IMDB. I'll tell you what it doesn't stand for: individuals, professionals, actors.
So what is the real reason why actors don't have their own websites to represent themselves? Most of the time it's as simple as money. I have been a web developer for about a decade, and if I was approached to build somebody a personal website I would probably give a price range somewhere between $300 and $3000. That's the reality. Then you have to get online hosting, which can cost you anywhere from $30 - $80 per year. That's an additional cost. And what happens if you are get bored with the website's appearance and want something new? Another $300 - $3000 cost for the new design.
I get it. That's why IADB is awesome. You practically skip the initial fee and jump right into hosting. And guess what, if you get bored with one design you can change it to other ones at no cost to you. There are plenty websites out there who offer out-of-the-box designs for everyone. Once again let me go back to what I said about Facebook and who it was built for. How can you make a same design for everyone? That makes no sense to me. But it's been done. I saw the same designs used for a babysitter and an actress. Website with plain background, many paragraphs of plain text, few links here and there, and a contact form. I thought to myself - it's not a website, it's an essay.
IADB websites focus on you within six main sections. Profile: Who are you, what do you do and what do you do well. Portfolio: Show yourself, show off your skills on video or in an audio file. Experience: what did you do and who did you work with. Training: what schools and classes have you attended, what did you learn. More: anything else can go here, awards, past events, your current resume, your links, etc. Contact: where are you right now, do you have a representing manager and a way to get in touch with you. Well, now, that's a website about you!
