Author: Chris Cunningham
Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisclickup
We spend $20k/month on content at ClickUp and get 250M+ impressions. Everyone asks me for the secret sauce, so here it is. We stopped hiring "content creators" and started hiring unemployed actors from LA...
Sounds crazy. I know. But read to the end & I promise it'll make sense.
There are literally thousands of insanely talented actors with theatre training, improv experience, and zero work. They're fighting for background roles just to pay the rent.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn/TikTok Influencers want $10k/month to recycle the same hooks everyone else uses.
Here's how I accidently tapped into the actor ecosystem...
I first found Luke when he was doing TikToks for another company. They let him go. I hired him 10 minutes after he texted me.
First month, Luke didn't even know what ClickUp was. We had to teach him what project management software does.
Now he's the face of our brand, creating videos that hit 100+ million views making fun of corporate life.
Luke worked because he could act. That was it.
So I started thinking about where else in LA I could find people like him.
The Groundlings came up in a conversation. That's the top improv group in LA where Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig trained, so I went and cherry-picked actors from their roster.
Best decision I've ever made for ClickUp's content engine.
Here's what this actually costs:
➝ Beginner actor: $60-80k/year
➝ Experienced actor: $100-130k/year
➝ Comedy writers: $100-150/hour for our Monday writer's room
➝ Background talent: $200-300/day when we need them
Compare that to "social media experts" charging $7-10k per video.
But wait, it gets better. The added bonus is that actors are actually professionals...
They show up on time.
They memorize lines.
They take direction without ego.
They're trained to entertain humans, not game algorithms.
Unlike most content creators, all actors want is consistent work and someone who believes in them.
The talent's all in LA and NYC, desperate for work, and they'll transform your content for less than you're paying that agency right now.
Thoughts?
Sounds crazy. I know. But read to the end & I promise it'll make sense.
There are literally thousands of insanely talented actors with theatre training, improv experience, and zero work. They're fighting for background roles just to pay the rent.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn/TikTok Influencers want $10k/month to recycle the same hooks everyone else uses.
Here's how I accidently tapped into the actor ecosystem...
I first found Luke when he was doing TikToks for another company. They let him go. I hired him 10 minutes after he texted me.
First month, Luke didn't even know what ClickUp was. We had to teach him what project management software does.
Now he's the face of our brand, creating videos that hit 100+ million views making fun of corporate life.
Luke worked because he could act. That was it.
So I started thinking about where else in LA I could find people like him.
The Groundlings came up in a conversation. That's the top improv group in LA where Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig trained, so I went and cherry-picked actors from their roster.
Best decision I've ever made for ClickUp's content engine.
Here's what this actually costs:
➝ Beginner actor: $60-80k/year
➝ Experienced actor: $100-130k/year
➝ Comedy writers: $100-150/hour for our Monday writer's room
➝ Background talent: $200-300/day when we need them
Compare that to "social media experts" charging $7-10k per video.
But wait, it gets better. The added bonus is that actors are actually professionals...
They show up on time.
They memorize lines.
They take direction without ego.
They're trained to entertain humans, not game algorithms.
Unlike most content creators, all actors want is consistent work and someone who believes in them.
The talent's all in LA and NYC, desperate for work, and they'll transform your content for less than you're paying that agency right now.
Thoughts?