Joy Donnell believes in pursuing the legacy, not the currency. She is Founder and former CEO of entertainment and celebrity PR/branding firm, 720 PR, a Partner at Opulent Pictures, a publicity consultant and international speaker on the subjects of reputation maintenance and self-publicity. Joy has helped thousands of entertainers, entrepreneurs, and creatives realize the power of their own publicity and DO IT IN PUBLIC. Joy can be discovered online at www.doitinpublic.com.

Ms. Joy,

Last month, I got to attend a friend’s movie premiere in NY. I’m a working actor in the city and I mostly do character work. When my friend flew in for his premiere, he invited me to tag along. Truth be told, tagging along was all I planned to do. My boy had other plans and pulled me onto the red carpet. It was my first red carpet. I wasn’t prepared but I manned up and took my photos. That went really well.

The next part went really wrong. I’ve never done an interview and when I found myself in front of a camera crew, I froze. I stuttered. I sounded completely stupid. I stumbled over the name of my current show. I forgot to even mention the movie I just did opposite some big names.

I’m bruised but I’m not giving up. Now that I’ve done a red carpet, I want to do more. Do you have a quick tip on how I can be better prepared for the next one?

―Barely Carpet Burned in Brooklyn

Mr. Carpet,

I like your attitude! Shake it off! The great thing about the experience you just had is that you now know what to expect. It’s like riding a rollercoaster. You look at it with one impression. You feel really nervous the first time because you don’t know what’s coming. Once you get past the first ride, you can ride it again and feel less fear because you’ve gained familiarity. Use this to your advantage and learn your lines before you go on the carpet.

You don’t strike me as the type of guy who auditions without knowing the lines. Red carpets work the same way. Memorize your key points: the names of current work, the names of key colleagues you acted opposite of, what studios are involved (if any), where folks can see your work, and so on. Know these points well enough to be natural, conversational and personable while communicating them. Practice them in your mind and aloud.

Also take time to learn about the event you’re attending and have fun buzz phrases ready in relation to it. This may sound like a no-brainer, but I once saw someone attend a charity event and space about the name of the foundation or why they were there. That kind of thing can make you look dumb or like a publicity hound. Either case should be avoided.

Train yourself for this the way you train yourself for your craft and you should do just fine.

Keep Rising!

Ms. Joy,

I’m not sure what to do. I don’t have a manager or a mentor. I’m pretty much on my own in this regard and just getting lucky to find work. People back home are still shocked that I moved to LA.

I recently landed a TV show on one of the cable networks. The network has actually been publicizing the show a lot and it’s getting some buzz. It just premiered last week and so far the ratings are really good.

I spent over 3 months on set, so I know I have screen time, but of course I have no idea how much of my role was cut or included yet. I’m not a lead or anything, just one of the recurring, quirky characters. I haven’t told anyone that I’m in this show. Should I?

I’m still waiting for my episodes to start airing. They should be on 3 weeks from now. I don’t want to start telling everyone I’m on the show and then find out that my role has been cut down to 5 seconds.

What should I do?

― Ingenue in Irvine

Ms. Ingenue,

I understand why you don’t want to start shouting from the rooftops just yet. No one wants to get embarrassed. If people get the impression that you have 20 minutes of uncut, mesmerizing monologue only to see you have two exciting utterances at the most, well, you might feel like you misled everyone. So… Don’t! Don’t exaggerate or give people the wrong impression. Don’t downplay yourself, either. Just tell the truth and be tasteful with your publicity. Once your role starts airing and you have ideas about your actual face time, then you can choose whether or not to get bolder.

Most actors I know feel upset when they don’t have work to talk about. You have work that just premiered and is being publicized by the network right now. You can’t get more current than that! First of all, let your immediate contacts know about the show. You want them to watch, spread the word to their friends, and maybe be your personal cheerleading crew.

Tell your inner circle exactly what you need and make it easy for people to support you. Nothing is more frustrating than getting an email with half-baked, confusing instructions. If you need them to watch, state it. If you want to post it on Facebook, talk about the show at the beauty salon, or gather a viewing party, ask them to do exactly that. Send out an email blast letting your folks know you’re on the show, ask them to do what you need them to do and be sure to include the network and air times in Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific. Shoot, if you can, even tell them what channel the network is on based on their cable provider. Remember, you want their help and support so, do the hard work for them.

Make watching the show a Facebook event and invite attendees. Don’t get obnoxious with this though. By now, you have some idea about who amongst your Facebook contacts is receptive to an event invitation and who isn’t. If you’re iffy about someone, pull back from that urge to bombard them with event emails and send a personal email instead.

Leave your house and start networking in person. If your show is hot right now, there’s no time like the present. Go to events, cocktail parties, and socials. This is a great time to meet new people- whether they be industry or not- and spark new conversations.

Once your character debuts on the show, you can adjust your strategy. If your character is getting a good amount of time and is memorable, feel free to get more gumption. Look at getting press, especially back in your home town.

Don’t pretend you’re starring as the lead on the show. Don’t give people the impression that you even steal the show. But, whatever you do, don’t just let this opportunity pass silently by.

Keep rising!

Joy

If you have a publicity or PR-related question to ask Joy, send it to joy@doitinpublic.com with the subject “Ask Joy”.