Promotional Modeling

Becoming a promotional model is a great way to gain experience and increase your exposure in a certain industry. Whether your goal is to become a full-time model or just to have fun, meet new people, and make some extra cash, it can help get you there.

With jobs paying $20 an hour and up, it's a great way to earn extra money on the side of your full-time job or while going to school. Also, many agencies have various competitions and contests allowing you to win anything from money to magazine covers.

There are many different types of promotions ranging from tradeshows to red carpet events. You can pick which events you want to work for and which ones you want to pass on. Very few industries allow you to manage your entire career yourself.

A great site to get started in is Promo Models. It's free to sign up and very easy and you'll immediately start receiving emails with jobs in your area. So what are you waiting for? Get started now!

Remember what a model defines: you are representing something, everyone is looking look at you and up to you, so be sure to be at your best. Always act with kindness, have discipline, good work and moral standards, and the number one thing for doing anything in life: having fun.
-Alan G.

Always smile and look down to earth. Your goal is to never meet a stranger. That means people who meet you for the first time feel like they have known you their whole lives because of how you communicate with them.
-Jessica M.

It is absolutely crucial to be on time and dependable. If you are, you will always be contacted first for the job before others are. You may even be promoted to the event manager where you can make double to triple the amount of the rest of the models.
-Ashley W.

When given a job find the location a day or 2 before the actual event. That way, you know for sure where it is and you wont be late. If that's not possible, leave extra early for the event and give yourself plenty of time to allow for traffic or bad directions.
-Mike S.

Never stop working. The job can be a lot of fun, but it's still a job. If you're done doing your task then ask someone else if they need help or ask for more work that needs to be done. Remember, clients fill out customer satisfaction surveys at the end of each event that they give to the staffing agencies. They can make you or break you.
-Deanna F.

If you can't do an event you already committed to, call at least 24-48 hours ahead of time to let the agency that staffed you know. If you don't, it makes it harder to find someone last minute to cover for you and you'll probably be 86'ed . . . meaning the agency will NEVER contact you again for work.
-Emily H. (an employee of Promo Models)

First and foremost, when you contact an agency about jobs, ask questions about its company, or how to sign up to be a model, BE PUNCTUAL. I know not all of us can write like Hemingway, but at least proofread your email. You should be using proper punctuation and check your spelling at the very least. The highest paying promotional modeling jobs require communication with potential customers and the ability to relay certain messages about the product you are promoting to people who know nothing about it. If you can't compose a simple email, I'll usually assume you won't be able to communicate well in person either.

Second, your pictures are also very important(the pictures in this module are perfect). Most staffing agencies have many, many models and can't take the time to meet each one in person. All we have to judge you by are your pictures. While professional pictures are usually not required, you still want to have high quality photos: meaning they are focused and properly cropped. Also, you should provide both a head shot and a body shot. For an example of one agency's photo requirements, click here.

Your pictures should be only of you and while this may seem like common sense, should not contain any alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, or whatever else falls in that category. You want to come off looking professional, not like you're probably not going to show up to an early morning promotion due to a hang over.

Finally, when you are submitting a personal statement, try to think of something that will make you stand out. If you're not very creative, then point out how you would contribute to the company. The worst thing you could probably write is "Everyone tells me I should model." That's nice and all, but we care about your personality, references, approachability, communications skills. While a pretty face is obviously important, it's not the only factor involved when we are deciding who is going to work certain events. There are millions of pretty girls (and attractive guys) in this field. Unfortunatley, it's not going to make you stand out.