Are You Dreaming To Be An Actor? 

You Will Fail If Don't Take It As A "Business" And You As A "Product" Among Thousands

All Top Bollywood or Hollywood stars had eventually realized that 'Acting' is not only just a dream and a passion but a 'Business' like any other and they are not only  an 'Actor' but a 'Product' which requires a professional marketing and promotional skills of the highest level. It's like manufacturing a soft drink or a toothpaste in a highly crowded market of millions of similar products and trying to be a Coca-Cola or Colgate.
They really worked hard on this aspect alone initially and later hired top marketing agencies to promote them. (TOI 239, 12 07 2015)

In simple words, you have to create, market and promote your image as an actor vigorously and repeatedly.

• In the worlds of publicity, marketing, advertising and elsewhere, one of the common term is “repeat the message.” This is an important concept that has been utilized since the beginning. Any household name, whether we’re talking Samsung, McDonald’s or Coca-Cola, has employed this, and in no small way. Their message is repeated over and over again to the public. But how can this be interpreted and used to your advantage in the world of acting? In my experience, it’s through, as I termed it “Image Bombardment” or “continuity of Branding.”

• But before you can repeat a message to media, you first need to have one. This is where “branding” comes in. What’s branding? It’s essentially creating a unique name, image or identity for a product or person in the customer’s mind in order to establish a particular type of something that is significant and unique.
• In case of relevance to the acting world, where you want to promote yourself (product) to casting directors, production houses, coordinators, producers and to all others related to the industry-

You must:

1. Create a unique name for yourself
2. A clear image, for example- Romantic actor, Hot and Sexy actor, Action actor, Tough guy, Innocent actor, Sly actor or Villain, Finest and the great actor, Comedic actor, Simpleton (villager), Versatile actor etc.   

Let’s take two examples. If you think of Akshay Kumar, you immediately get a clear concept: action hero -type. You even have physical mannerisms come to mind—incredible stunts.  Or Shah Rukh Khan, finest and the great actor. Viewers love him because he’s so versatile, transforming into a character instantly and in totality. They don’t even need to say anything; they can just squint their eyes, start making “the face,” and you immediately get knocked out...just whistling and clapping in a cinema hall, that’s they are identified.
Similar are the examples of female actors like Bipasha Basu as a hot and sexy actor or Vidya Balan as a versatile or Priyanka Chopra as “ All in One” actor (Brains, beauty, action, a truly versatile).
These actors have become legends in this era. Their “image” or brand is unforgettable. Partially due to this uniqueness, and partially due to the persistent continuity employed in marketing and promotion. Their “message” of uniqueness has been repeated over and over. Their “brand” literally has gone unchanged for a considerable period. And once their “brand” was firmly established, you then saw them shift into comedies and other genres. Whether this was planned or not, just realize the result: type firmly established, on-screen personality repeated, and is now the household name.

Of course, they possess another uniqueness- persistence and perseverance in continuously developing their acting craft and taking their career and self as a “Business” model.

However, in actors where I see this violated all too often, is with online presence: websites and social media and portfolio profiles. There should be a clear message and it should be repeated. Yet many times I find myself looking at someone and having difficulty discovering who they are or what they’re about. A Facebook or Twitter with a title that has nothing to do with the person’s name, with irrelevant imagery and a bio that fails to even state what they do. Several social media accounts scattered about, all with varying and often absurd “who I am”.
And to top if off, featured images (avatars) completely different from each other and sometimes unrecognizable. This sort of inconsistency may be fine for a well-established name or for a member of the general public, but if you’re getting started in the film | TV industry and trying to “build a name for yourself,” it’s bad.

Image (Branding) and maintaining a continuity in the image are two of the first things an actor must work for the success of his/her acting career as a business.

When I was younger, I used to wonder why iconic brands like Colgate and Bata needed to advertise. I mean, why spend so much when everybody already knows all about them? But that’s the point. And that’s how they reached and maintained their classic level: a clear message that defines and expresses the brand; message maintained and never wavered from; message repeated again and again. Regardless of whether you like or agree with these giants, you can learn from them. And you can’t deny their success.

Conclusion

In a nutshell: Discover who you are. Find a way to capture and express your message to others. Be consistent with that identity and message. Repeat it.
Partly based on source