Ever wondered what it takes to book gigs and campaigns? Our friends over at One-Eyed Jack have compiled a quick guide on the 6 things you should know about getting booked. Compiled by Manuela Dias de Deus, One-Eyed Jack has got your back.
Who is Manuela Dias de Deus?:
Manuela Dias de Deus founded One-eyed Jack in 2011. She serves as Communications Chair on the board of the Cape Town chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization and has served as a judge for the Loeries (Africa & Middle East). At the helm of this award-winning integrated marketing agency, she and her team have scooped significant awards for media relations, sponsorship, influencer relations, event creation and reputation management; predominantly for lifestyle brands.
Manuela on One-Eyed Jack: As a marketing agency, we book loads of artists, content creators and influencers for our campaigns and events, so we have our finger on the pulse with who’s doing what, and which personalities are nailing it with thumb-stopping content. An up-and-coming talent recently asked us how he can get booked for more of our projects, and his intrigue at our response was so enlightening that we thought we’d share some of the take outs.
#1 THE BASICS
Let’s use well-known comedian, Donovan Goliath, for example. This guy has got the basics waxed! We recently did an influencer onboarding shoot and he arrived five minutes before the call time, was charming to our client, interacted so well with the other influencers and flagged up with the videographers and photographers that there was some specific content that he wanted to be captured as he had ‘an idea’. Sure, Donovan’s a professional and some of you reading this might just be starting out, but just being warm, on time and on-the-ball goes a long way with agencies and brands.
#2 AN IDEA
This is the biggie. Creativity, bring it. If you’re booked for a shoot, or a gig, or a campaign; give a shit. Don’t just show up. Think about why you’re being booked and bring your A-game, consistently. It’s the talent that goes the extra mile, suggesting adding a little something to take their performance/contribution up a notch that we consider booking first, as bringing the magic for our clients is what One-eyed Jack’s known for.
#3 GREAT CONTENT
The main aim of the game. We’re always on the lookout for new talent for our campaigns, so if something that you’ve created pops up on our feed that makes us stop and click, then you’ve got our attention. Photos, reels, captions; these are what we look at to see if you’ll resonate with our target audience.
#4 RESULTS
Obvs. For social media, it’s all about engagement, you know that. But what you might not know is what the industry benchmarks are. Each agency or campaign will have its own KPIs, so ask the agency what’s expected from you. Set KPIs and deliverables upfront. Here’s an idea of what’s good to aim for.
| Number of followers: | Good Engagement | High Engagement |
| Up to 5,000 | 7-10% | Above 10% |
| 5,000 to 20,000 | 5-7% | Above 7% |
| 20,000 to 100,000 | 3 to 6% | Above 6% |
| 100,000 – 1m | 2 to 4% | Above 3 – 4% |
| 1m+ | 1,5% | Above 2% |
Note: the engagement rates are for organic reach. Paid campaigns will have different metrics.
#5 GOOD MANAGEMENT
Some of you manage yourselves, some of you have managers. The last thing we want to do is upset the apple cart, but my goodness, some of you are terribly looked after. Calls aren’t returned, quotes aren’t sent, and availability isn’t given. If I had a rand for every time I’ve overheard someone in the team saying ‘Oh no, don’t book them, their management is a mare’, I’d be rich. This person/company is managing your career, expect more and hold them accountable. And if you manage yourself, try to move away from a free email address (like Yahoo), as soon as you can, registering ‘artist@whateveryouwant.co.za’ is cheaper than you think. It looks more professional and people will take you more seriously from the start.
#6 MONEY MONEY MONEY
You have the talent and you know how to use it to start earning the big bucks, but how do you quote? Money is often a tricky subject to navigate as you don’t want to outprice yourself, but you also also don’t want to ‘earn via exposure’.
It starts with your pricing model; know your worth but also understand the market and be competitive and negotiable to a degree. Do research, ask agencies and fellow talent what they’d charge for similar work. Understand the full scope and fringe benefits that you may gain by partaking in certain campaigns, sometimes it’s not only about the rand value.
Next, your quote, be as comprehensive as possible by listing costs such as travel and accommodation upfront. It’s such a pain when costs aren’t communicated at the beginning of a project, as an agency can’t really go back to their client and ask for more money once the quote has been approved. Stipulate your payment terms, 50% upfront and the remaining 50% once the deliverables have been met is generally the way things work. A contract or an SLA is also necessary so that there are no grey areas. Finally, acknowledge when payment has been received and thank the client for the work.
Want extra guidelines? The team at One-eyed Jack is putting together a workshop and mentorship programme later this year. Drop them your details and they’ll be in touch once it’s all set up, or just fire them a question at info@one-eyedjack.co.za and they’ll holler back.
