Modeling and talent agencies have the power to transform a total unknown into a world-famous star. Millions of people flock to their doors, answer their ads and send them photos every year - all at the hope of getting signed, getting work and getting famous. And that is why the climate in the world of aspiring models is so ideal for top rate scam artists.

Modeling and talent scam artists will take your money, crush your dreams and not lose a minute of sleep over it. They are always a few steps ahead of the law, and have refined their trade to sharp point.

Here are some of the most common scams currently found in the modeling industry. If you feel you've been a victim of any of these scams or double-dealings, contact law enforcement immediately!

1. Legitimate modeling agencies never use small newspaper classified ads to find talent. If you're learning about a "top Hollywood agency" in the local Penny Saver, you can be sure you won't find the girls from The Hills interning there. Think about it. There's an abundance of talent approaching real agencies every day - why would they need to find more via a $25, 100 word print ad?

2. You should never have to pay a dime of your own money to be represented. Real modeling and talent agencies do not charge their models for representation. An agency will (obviously!) take their cut when you get booked, but will never ask for your hard earned cash up front. If they do, run far away (then contact the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org)

3. Beware the photographer hard-sell! Many unscrupulous agencies will push you towards their "recommended" photographer. Oh they'll make him sound great - as if not working with him means you aren't even serious about success. But don't be fooled! Chances are, the photographer is kicking back money to the so-called agency - which is illegal! Pick your own photographer and forget about the agency that's pushing the hard sell on you.

4. There's no such thing as a guarantee (no matter how great you look). Many less-than-up front agencies with give aspiring models an iron-clad guarantee that they will get work and make money. NO AGENCY can promise such a thing. Whether or not you get booked for a job depends upon a variety of factors that no entity can control. Look into an agency's past successes and then make a judgment about whether or not you want to move forward.

5. Don't go nude. One of the most potentially dangerous situations an aspiring model can encounter, is a photographer that pressures individuals to pose naked during their first shoot. This kind of behavior should set off warning bells very quickly. Many times, these so-called professionals will claim that they want to create a bond between themselves and their subject. And going nude will do the trick. Baloney! Never, ever do anything of this nature if you don't feel comfortable or have received personal references or recommendations about the photographer.

Identifying prospects has come a long way since the days of simple list buying. With the hype flying fast and furious, sometimes it’s difficult to sort out truth from fiction and to put things in the proper perspective. Without worshipping buzzwords, however, two of the most important developments in recent years have been the rise of statistics and databases. These have allowed companies to create more accurate profiles of their prospects, even giving rise to the term “prospect modeling” itself. Let’s see how these two developments have helped shape prospect modeling.

Types

With the creation of commercial databases of Census data in the late 1970’s, the first easily-available customer demographics were born. Using these statistics allowed companies a high-level view of customers and their behavior. Coupling this with statistical analysees of that data, updating the data (with between Census polls and surveys), and bringing in other sources (such as driver’s license records, courthouse records, and so forth) allowed for the classification of people into certain population strata, generally called types. Single mothers might be a type; new homeowners might be another type; residents of cities with a population over one million people might be another type. These types are as specific or as general as the data allows, although it is difficult to narrow down to prospects of a particular business without purchase data. Still, these statistics allow the establishment of certain types of customers and potential customers, providing that first pass at bringing prospects into focus.

Specificity

Because companies themselves have purchase data, they can use it to correlate general demographic data to provide detailed information about their customers and potential new customers. Additionally, they can pull together relevant data measurements and discard irrelevant ones, thus sharpening their focus further. In a nutshell, having statistics allows you to determine trends and customers in the abstract, while adding purchase data to the mix allows you to determine characteristics of customers in the specific – your customers and potential customers. Thus statistics allow for a great deal of specificity in prospect modeling.

Location (Geodemographic Statistics)

Yet another way that statistics can aid in modeling prospects is through geodemographic data; this data correlates Census and commercial data with geography, identifying where current customers and likely new customers reside, work, or even shop. This type of information may be more useful than it first appears. For instance, if you knew that likely customers lived in the Northeastern U.S, as opposed to the Midwest, you might be able to play off of regional identification to more effectively market your wares. Or if you knew that your customers shopped in large urban centers, but lived in the nearby suburbs, or dwelled primarily in zip code 32901, then you have more clues about them which can help you model new prospects even more efficiently. Why is that? New prospects have much in common with current customers, and the more you know your current customers, the more you will know your future customers.

Plus size modeling is a growing industry that is gaining popularity and acceptance throughout the world. Because plus size models and modeling has gained popularity in the last ten years, the opportunities have broadened considerable, but all modeling shoots for a plus size model are not the same. Plus size models will discover major differences between shoots, whether operating as a free agent or with representation and between different markets.

When you decide you want to try plus size modeling, you need to consider whether you want or can get representation right away, or if you want to act as a free agent. Finding representation can get you into many doors, but in some cases, if you are just starting out, you may want to be a free agent and market yourself to build your portfolio and get experience.

Finding representation can be challenging. You'll need some photos of yourself and you may need to try several agencies before you find the right one. Some agents want to see professional headshots, while others prefer a simple Polaroid. In many cases, they prefer to see your “raw material” and then they'll help you find and cultivate a desirable plus size model “look.” If you find representation, you should remember that the agent is working for you but you still need to take an active interest in your own modeling career. You should know what kinds of jobs they are promoting you for and why you are or are not getting jobs.

As a free agent you may have more flexibility, but you'll need to carefully protect yourself and make sure you're booking legitimate, paying jobs. Regardless of your status, you should constantly seek feedback, and do your best not to take it personally. Consider yourself a product that will be effective selling a product, or not. You may need to alter your look, gain weight, tone up or change your hair to be more marketable. Make sure you remember on thing; you won't be right for every job no matter what you do.

If you want to be a plus size model, you do need to consider that there are different kinds of plus size modeling and different markets for different sizes. Here is an interesting guide to some of the different markets and needs for plus size models.

Plus Size Lingerie Modeling: Really good plus size lingerie models are hard to find. Not only are companies and agencies looking for well proportioned and sexy women from sizes 10 to 18, they are also looking for toned, curvy bodies that will really make their photos pop! In many cases, a lingerie photo shoot will also be different than that of a catalog or fashion shoot. They may want sensual, sexy or even playful moods and you need to be comfortable with your body and your sexuality to project the right feelings.

Plus size catalog photo shoots for clothing are very different than plus size lingerie modeling. Most companies are looking for plus size models that are from sizes 10 to 18 with well proportioned bodies, pretty faces and positive, professional attitudes. Since plus size clothing is designed to flatter fuller figures, you may not have to worry about being as toned as for plus size lingerie. In many cases, these shoots are more about smiling, laughing, and being active. If you are modeling plus size swimwear or active-wear, you may need to have a more toned physique.

Plus size fashion shoots will always favor the prepared. Although you may or may not be showing a lot of skin, couture plus size fashion will fit better and look better if you are well toned and filling out the clothes in all the right places. Additionally, high fashion is frequently made of higher end silks and satins which are less forgiving than cottons and knits. With strong abs and smooth lines that show off your gorgeous curves, a fashion house or magazine will be far more likely to book you again.

Finally, different geographic markets call for different sized plus size models. For instance, the UK market favors sizes 12 and 14, American client's book specific sizes anywhere from 10 to 18 while the Italian market targets sizes 12 to 16. Markets like South America are just introducing plus models while the German market still favors sizes 8 to 12.

One unifying factor is certainly attitude. If you are a go getter who arrives at every shoot upbeat and prepared to work, you are more likely to be a successful plus size model. The plus size models that realty stand out are always well groomed and ready to slip into whatever role they are called on to perform. Whether portraying a confident business woman or a sexy siren the most successful plus size models glow with inner confidence. The best plus models know that they are sexy and beautiful because of their curves, not in spite of them.

Successful people have followed certain strategies or models to achieve successes. Whether they are athletes, who always perform at the highest level, or businessmen who own titan companies, or salesmen who always exceed their sales targets every month, what make them achieve all these successes?

For every outcome that is produced, it is a result of an action. To achieve success, one may need to take a lot of different actions so as to find out what is the best action that will produce the best outcome.

Everyone can achieve what they want if they find out what are the exact strategies or actions that successful role models of their desired industry did. By finding out what they did, and applying the same action, you will be able to produce similar results. It will save you the most precious asset of your life, which is time.

You will not need to spend the time on trial and error to find out the right action to take, if you model somebody who has already found it.

We have been subconsciously modeling people since we were young. When we are babies, we tend to model how our parents walked, and we transformed ourselves from the days of crawling to walking. If a child finds that his or her father is very righteous and responsible, the child will most probably adopt the same characteristics of his father when he or she grows up.

If you're a writer, and even if you've yet to sell a word, you know you're a writer. Many writers know who they are from a young age, as soon as they realize that someone writes the stories they love to read. With other writers, the love of writing, and the knowledge that they're a writer, sneaks up on them.

So here you are, a newly minted freelance writer, and of course you write, but now you want to sell your writing. As we discussed in Part One of the this article, the fundamental of freelance writing is that people make money from your words. For those people to make money from your words, the words you hope to sell must be in a certain form - a novel, a screenplay, a white paper, a Yellow Pages advertisement, a Web site - your buyers buy a bunch of words in some form or other.

The Key To Form: Audience And Response

The key to any form, is AUDIENCE and RESPONSE. As with most of the fundamentals of freelance writing, most writers write for years without becoming aware of this bedrock requirement. I managed to write successfully for at least a decade without having a clue about what I was doing. Had I learned audience/ response earlier, I'm sure I would have had an easier time of both writing and selling my writing.

Always keep audience/ response in the back of your mind. It applies to everything you write, and ensuring that your writing is laser-targeted to audience/ response ensures that any piece of writing sells.

When a piece of writing isn't working, the clue is often in audience/ response. For example, let's say you've written a mystery novel. You try to sell it, but it's rejected. You remember audience/ response. OK, the audience is people who love mysteries - they love working out puzzles. The response required is for them to read to the end of the novel by continually finding clues and solutions. Understanding this, you revise your novel. You discover how to create characters with secrets and a great mystery puzzle by modeling six mystery novels, then you create another outline for your own. When you've finished, each character in the novel has a secret for the reader to discover, and a greatly enhanced primary puzzle. Your novel sells.

Tip: Write It Down - Who's The Audience? What's The Required Response?

Don't try to keep audience/ response in your head. It doesn't work. Write it down. Stick audience/ response on your computer monitor where you can see it.

You can write in any form by modeling examples of the form. You model by: collecting examples, outlining those examples, and writing practice outlines of those models.

Modeling A Form: Collect Examples, Outline Them, And Create Practice Outlines

A "model" is defined as a "system or thing, used as an example to follow or imitate".

Modeling a form works for everything you want to write. It works for novels, articles, advertisements, nonfiction books: whatever the form, find examples, and outline them. Then create your own practice outlines for your current project in that particular form.

Yes, this is a lot of work. However, it's work that you must do. Nowadays, editors don't edit - they don't have time. They expect that your article or book will be pretty much in its final form. If you're writing copy, it's also vital that you model what works (copywriters keep "swipe" files of models so they can copy forms), because your clients are counting on you.

Modeling isn't copying, per se. You're not copying words. You're copying form, structure, and voice.

I know many writers who baulk at this kind of analysis. If this is you, you can shorten the process. For example, let's say you want to write an article for a magazine. Collect six issues of the magazine. Read all the articles. Then find six example articles of the kind of article you want to write. Read those examples several times each, with close attention. Make some notes for yourself, thinking about why certain headlines were used (write this down - writing something down fixes it in your mind). Count the number of words in each article. Count the anecdotes, and count the number of people quoted. Now write your own article.