As an actor you have probably felt the stress of the industry at one point or another. The frantic searching for that next job, audition, or maybe even agent or manager. You have gone to the workshops, been to the classes and cattle calls, but still you are at a point of despair; how do you get attention from important people in the industry? There are many, many ways to get the attention you very well deserve and crave so much, but those ways do not necessarily involve spending a ton of money to get your headshots, resumes, and cover letters printed, not to mention paying for the postage to get these things sent off.
Sending out your headshots to different casting directors, agents, and managers did have credence some years ago. That was before email and Internet was as readily accessible as it is now. 10 or 15 years ago, it was practically a rite of passage to send out headshots and resumes to get called in to be seen by someone, anyone. These days, there are far cheaper ways to make yourself known to the world of acting and entertainment, ways that I would look into before even thinking about printing and sending out headshots.
Some ways that you can self promote without sending out pictures is to upload audition tapes or monologues onto YouTube or Vimeo (which is my website of choice because it looks more professional to me and it takes less time to upload with better quality). Put up your links on your website and then promote, promote, promote. Push the link to your website as if your life depended on it (because it does depend on it a little bit) and get people to see your website. Ask friends to share it. Ask family to share the link too.
When you feel comfortable with your amazing website and the quality of your videos and are ready to send it around to people in the industry, find their emails online (usually located just underneath their phone number or address if it is an agency or manager you are looking for) and just write a nice email stating that you are looking for an agent/ manager and that you have attached the link to your website with your reel on it. You are far more likely to get attention that way then sending out photos, and plus, its less wasteful both in money as well as paper use!
Long story short is, sending out photos and resumes is a thing of the past, we are in the digital age and your promotion should be in the digital age too!