Email Communication Tips Every Performing Artist Should Know

In this episode of The Artist Behind the Art, Jennifer breaks down one of the most overlooked, but career-defining, skills for performers: email communication. 

From contracts and travel logistics to casting follow-ups and rehearsal communication, the way you show up in your inbox says a lot about how you show up professionally.

This episode covers the practical habits and communication shifts that help artists build trust, stay organized, and support the career they’re working so hard to build.

In this episode:

•  Why email communication matters in circus careers 
•  How to write stronger subject lines 
•  Reply vs. Reply All 
•  Response time expectations 
•  How to organize responses clearly 
•  Why emotion and email don’t mix 
•  Email signatures, file naming, and professional presentation 
•  What materials every artist should have ready 
•  Small communication habits that quietly build trust and reputation 

Whether you’re auditioning, touring, negotiating contracts, or reaching out to casting. This episode is full of practical advice you can immediately apply.

Thanks so much for listening to The Artist Behind the Art.
This podcast exists to support performers in building sustainable, aligned, and castable careers — beyond just the skills.

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Most of the time, it’s not a complete overhaul.
 It’s a few missing tools and a few shifts in how you’re approaching the process.

That’s what takes you from second-guessing your work
 to becoming the artist who is ready to go for the opportunities you actually want.

If that resonates, I’d love to connect.

📩 Email me at jennifer@aretementorship.com

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Until next time — show up big and own the stage.

Transcript

Speaker 9 0:00

Welcome to The Artist Behind the Art, the podcast that lifts the curtain on what it takes to thrive as a professional performer. I'm your host, Jennifer Pierce, artist coach, creative strategist, and lifelong advocate for performers who are ready to go from unsure to unforgettable. This is where the gatekeeping ends and your journey to thriving in the industry begins. Let's dive

0:24

in.

Speaker 0:30

Welcome back to "The Artist Behind the Art." And today's podcast is all about something that is small in the grand aspect of our careers, but it is impactful because it shows that details matter. So today is all about how you are showing up in your email communication, and this is something that quietly impacts our career, and it's not something that we really get great instruction on. Growing up, I grew up in a world that communication and details mattered. My mom was a singer. She had her own band, so I really saw the modeling of constantly sending contracts, coordinating with clients, managing logistics, and I got to see what it looked like to handle communication professionally across a lot of moving parts. But in circus, this is something that is truly impactful to our career because this is where we negotiate our contracts, the details of our travel live, our rehearsal schedule, and every possible change and shift that happens leading up to the beginning of a show. So we really need to take a step back every once in a while and really evaluate how we are communicating, and this helps just show how detail-oriented we are and not only our commitment to our performance, but just how we are showing up and supporting the overall production. And after working with artists, I see how often this piece is missing, so I'm excited to walk you through the basics that I think make a gigantic difference, so you can communicate in a way that truly supports your career.

Speaker 2 2:27

So I think this first one is probably the hardest of them all, and it's also the most obvious. But we need to check our email consistently, and I mean minimum twice a day. And this is where you could even work in looking into casting calls and just making sure that you are seeing opportunities, when they come in right away, so then you can apply for them. But when you're sending out any type of communication or let's say you're waiting for a contract to come in or details that may need to be responded to, this is the most important part of your daily kind of schedule, I would say, that I would really set an alarm for. So then that way you're not missing anything, and if someone needs an answer quickly, you're just showing that extra level of respect to that production and showing up in a way that they're going, "Wow, this person is on top of their communication." So I think starting your day by checking your email and then before you go into your evening routine, checking as well. Just carving out that time I think is so simple but impactful, and then that way you will not miss opportunities. So once we actually get in the habit of checking our email, the next piece I think is something that gets overlooked, but I think it is going to be the difference between your email getting opened now or later. And this is your subject lines. This is where you can immediately make someone's life easier. And I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a casting director, and they are constantly having people sending emails, requests, and vying for their time and their energy. So if you want that to get to the top of their list, then making a subject line that

Speaker 4 4:35

gets to the point right away so they know that that email matters to them is going to be the difference maker. So an example could be if they had put out a casting for a juggler, having in the subject line "Juggler dash" and then your name. They know right away that this is something that is really going to hit the top of their list. Or if you are following up on an email, you had a conversation and they asked you to follow up on your availability, "Follow up availability dash your name." And this small shift is going to make a big difference in just the timely manner that the person gets back to you, and is just another way that you're really showing your professionalism. All right, so the next one is making sure that when the person actually opens the email, how do we make this smoother for the person reading it? How do we really, uh, make sure that they... We're capturing their attention? You have to think, again, we're all busy, we're moving at such a fast pace these days. So if you are following up from a invitation that they gave to you to reach out to them from an audition, don't assume that they are gonna remember you. We want to give them context right away. "Hi, I'm following up from the audition in Las Vegas where we met," period, and then go on to give that really short synopsis so they can connect you to then the invitation that they extended. Or, "Hi, we met at..." And then that way it's just gonna save time, and it's gonna show awareness of just the connection that you had made, and then it's gonna move that relationship forward. And I think when we can really get to the point and make our requests, and then from there kind of volley that ball over, then that is going to just start off the relationship in a really fantastic place. All right. Here's an odd one that I, I personally struggle with this still to this day. So you receive an email, and there are many names at the top. So this is a do I reply or do I reply all? And this is something you want to really, um, be very intentional about. And so we want to make sure that who needs to be part of this email chain? Was the list of people that were in this email just to make sure that- the announcement went out to the whole cast. Do you need to then reply all in your response of that you received this email? Or if it's asking for some travel details, does this need to just go to the singular person that sent it out, or does it need to go out to everyone? And I think this is where when you go into a contract negotiation, be very, very intentional about seeing who's included in the email and the instructions that you get, because sometimes they will be very intentional in saying, "Please reply all." Other times, they may just give instructions per email. So I think this is where things can get messy if we're not paying attention, and we need to make sure that we are being respectful in the response. But if it is something that everyone needs to be included, please make sure that you reply all. But if it is something that is, you can tell that everyone is just CC'd. If everyone, if it's on the, the CC end of it, usually that means everyone's just being kept in the loop of communication. So really make sure to look at the email, and if you need to go through, read it a few times before replying, so then that way you can make sure that you are just showing respectfully that you did read their email and that you are following up in the most intentional way possible. All right. So when you get an email, what is the right response time? This one's big because I think this is where we can get caught up if an email, we don't have the immediate answer. I know this is a big one for me. I often will then stall out and say, "Oh, I gotta find out this information." But we want to aim To respond within 12 to 24 hours. I would say that is a minimum response time, and that's where we can really show our professionalism. And if you don't know the answer, that's where you can say, "Thank you so much. I've reviewed your email, and will follow up with the answer by..." whatever that time is. You can give them context of why you're not answering. It might be they're asking for your availability. I need to narrow down when the end of my last contract is. I will get back to you within 24 hours." And this is gonna build trust, and they are gonna know that you are somebody that respects their time, and then that also, that way, that puts a little bit of fire under your action, making sure that you follow through, and this does not slip through the crack of just what you need to do next. So I always, in life, the biggest thing for me is thinking about, can I answer this right away, or is this something that is, needs, um, like I call it an in-progress, um, item, where it's gonna take three steps to completion. But the first step is acknowledging that I received the email and that I now know that I need to go and find the answer for them. So really think about how can you respond in a timely way, and if you don't have the answer, when are you gonna give the answer? And that way, you are going to always be on the side of respecting everyone's time, and then also holding yourself accountable.

Speaker 5 11:03

Okay, so see if this is something that you do now or if this is something you're like, "Yes, I'm immediately putting into practice today." So this is all about staying organized in your email replies. So often there are going to be multiple questions within the body of an email, and this might be... I'm gonna give you an example. You are doing a show and, um, they are asking about costumes. They're asking about, uh, when you're going to arrive. They might be asking about some needs of your props. So there are multiple layers to this email that are very important to answer all of the questions, and I think we want to make sure that we are making sure that we not only answer all of the questions that are being asked, we are also making sure it is easy to read. So this is where I usually will advise artists to take the body of the email. So you're gonna, uh, go ahead and start your reply, but then you are gonna copy and paste the body of the director's email into your response. And then from there, remove all of the in-betweens, but just leave all of the questions in there. So then that way you can say, "Hi, X. My responses are in bold below." And that way you can go through each question, and you can itemize your responses. And this is going to make sure that you hold all of the answers to all of the questions and that there is clarity, and you also know how to show up. You know what to bring. You also then know the other questions to ask so that at the end of this email chain and when you show up for your performance, you are 100% organized, and you know that all of the details have been managed. As much as people that are coordinating events want to be 100% on top of things, especially if we have specificity within our act, it is so important that this is where we get to have that conversation back and forth, and then they see the details that we also need. So if they're asking about a costume, maybe as you go through the details, you go, "Oh, okay, I'm doing two acts. I need to ask about the gap of time in between my two performances to make sure that I am set up for success." So I think what this does is this not only gives you the, uh, ability to clearly communicate and answer all of the questions, but it also is this place and invitation to make sure that all of the details have been managed in the best way possible.

Speaker 6 14:06

Okay, the next one is important, but it comes with a caveat. So if you are getting emails about details, a casting agent or a director may want you to say, "Received" on the email. So then that way there's acknowledgement that you have received the details, you're organized, you're paying attention, and they know that you are just on top of everything. And I say it comes with a caveat because depending on how many people are in the chain of this email, if they receive 50 received, this may be something that they don't want. So I think this is one that you can set up at the beginning of a contract, beginning of when you are starting, uh, going into a production, and ask the, whoever this is, "Would you like me to send a reply to acknowledge that I have received the email?" And then that way they can say, "I will let you know that I would like the reply in the email. Thank you so much for asking," or, "Yes, every time, please say received." And this one goes a long way in them knowing that everyone is just on the same page instead of wondering, is the email getting to somebody? Did it go to their spam? And, but I think this one definitely comes with the establish this at the beginning of the relationship, so then that way you know if this is a go or a no-go.

Speaker 7 15:40

All right. We all know the feeling of we have gotten the invitation to send a casting director an email. They have asked for you to follow up, and this is where we want to be very clear in our email, and we don't want to overcomplicate this. This is the place where we want to focus on clarity in our email, and it's so hard because we want them to know everything we can do. We wanna share all of the details, but this is where if someone has to search for your point, you're going to lose them. So really focus on the, that intro that we talked about earlier, making sure that you give them that point of reference, and then from there, a very short paragraph with a clear message and a clear ask or the clear follow-up. You've asked me to follow up with this information, and then that way you can very clearly list that in the email at, that they had asked for it, and this is what you have been, that's, this is what you're sending. So make sure that in your emails, keep it clear, not long, and very concise, and then they will just... That's gonna start off your relationship with a lot of respect. All right. Next one. This one's hard, but it's important because we have all been in a place where we are in an emotionally charged place, whether we are involved in a show and things are not going the way that they were presented or you're having a conflict with a cast member. There's just something that feels frustrating, unclear, and just in general it, it's, it's really making your day-to-day rehearsals or performance very difficult, and we need to make sure to keep emotion out of our email. This is where sometimes it might be best to write that emotional email and obviously maybe send it to a friend, but don't, don't put the person in the, uh, the, the, uh, to send. Um, write the email, get the emotion out, feel all the feels, but then from there we need to pause and because an email is not the place to process emotion. It's the place where we communicate clearly, where we are able to say clearly what is wrong and ask for help with the solution. And I think if we all take the step back and we do create the space for us to Have the emotion, but then from there say, "What do I truly want to happen in this situation? And what is really feasible?" Because sometimes what we want and what the reality is, is possible are two different things. So you have to really think about longevity in your career and think about what is that impact going to be, and what, what are you feeling now, and in five years are you gonna look back and it's not really gonna matter? So I, I think we need to be very careful of the ask because we want to think long-term. So just-- This doesn't mean that you don't share emotion with somebody that you truly trust, but it does mean that the relationship that you have between whoever you are emailing, this is a professional one, and this is where it needs to be very clear of how this is impacting your work and what you would be requesting, and also just saying what are some solutions. You could always present a few solutions, but really making sure that the ask is reasonable and that it is something that you really can live with long-term.

Speaker 8 19:41

Okay, so this next one is fun, and I think it is something that can quietly work for you every time you send an email. And this is your email signature, this is somewhere that we can have a headshot at the bottom. On Canva, they make this really fun and easy to incorporate into your email. And this is where we can list all of our different disciplines. This is where our social media handle can be there. Um, all of these different fun information, your website. This is something where all of that information can live. It can have color, it can speak to who you are as an artist, and that way you're not having to itemize, you don't have to type these out every time. It just is there ready at the end of your email, and it just is one of those very small tweaks that you can make where somebody can just meet you on a different level and have an easy way to learn more about you. So, love the email signature feature. All right, so this is another one that says you know a lot about small details, naming your files professionally. So if you are adding attachments to an email, you wanna make sure that it's not "Final video 34 tweaked edit." We want to make sure it is your name dot aerial reel, or it is the name of the act, full act diamonds dot your name. Clean, organized, professional, and then that way when they share the files, if something ever gets lost, they know who it is, and then they can tie it back to you. And then that way, this is going to help just pull that thread through all of your communication and just show that you know how to show up All right, this is a big one, having your materials ready. Because when opportunity comes, you want to be ready. So have your bio, your headshot, your resume, your measurements, your rider, your demo reel all in one place, saved in different formats. This is something that you don't want to be searching for when someone asks for it. This is, you want to be able to retrieve these quickly and have them in different formats, so if you are submitting to a hub, then that way you have it in whatever format that they are asking for. And this is something that I think evolves over time, because this is constantly shifting. But if you find that there is a new format, go back and anything that you have, make sure that you have that as a resource, so then that way when the opportunity comes, you can reply to it fast. So again, bio, that is something that we want to have a nice short one and a longer one. That way if you're about to travel or someone asks for it and you're in the middle of a contract, it's not something that is gonna take your energy. You already have it ready to go. You have your different headshots that are ready to go, your resume that's updated. Measurements are a big one. That is one that you want to have just those all ready. There are kind of the standard ones if you look up that you can then have ready to go. If you have any specificity around your props, your equipment, have a rider for that so they understand how much does your prop weigh, if it is something that needs to be shipped. These are, the different things are just going to make your life so much easier. Okay, the last one is one that I find that is, really makes just writing detailed emails easier on us over the long time. Any time that you Really have to pause and take time for an email, whether it's for a submission or you're reaching out with a cold call or it's a follow-up, and you really feel like it was a really strong email. Save that in a draft file. So then that way, when you need to reply to something, you can pull out the bones of an email and you can reuse the portions that really make sense, that you really dialed in, that felt concise, that felt like it explained who you were as an artist. And this is just helps you stay calm under pressure. It helps you avoid mistakes, whether it's spelling or grammar, and it keeps your communication consistent. And I think this is something that as we build this kind of, uh, email repertoire, it just makes our life so much easier. So guys, these all are just small things, but this is something that just really builds our career. Because before someone hires you, before they meet you, this is where they can experience you as a human and really know how you are gonna show up. And this is where we can separate ourselves not just by what we do on stage, but how we show up in anything that we do as an artist.

Speaker 10 25:18

Hey guys, I wanted to invite you to join the waitlist for my next act creation mentorship, Own The Stage. If you're looking for someone who can hold your vision, give you the tools to move through creative roadblocks, and keep you accountable to what casting is actually looking for and what the industry is asking for, this is for you. If you're listening right now and you feel like you have the talent, but when it comes to act creation, something just isn't fully clicking, I'd love to connect with you because most of the time it's not a complete overhaul, it's a few missing tools, a few shifts in how you're approaching the process, and that's the difference between staying stuck and second-guessing and becoming the artist who is ready to go for the opportunities you actually want. If you feel like that is you, email me at jennifer@aretementorship.com so we can connect and see if this mentorship is the right fit for you. You can also DM me on Instagram at The Artist Behind the Art. I would truly love to connect with you and help you move from where you are to where you are meant to be.