Tag: Marketing

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Should I Be Marketing While I’m Waiting For A New Voice Over Demo

Here’s what I know… as voice actors (and creatives) if we can find an excuse to not have to market ourselves and our services, we’ll try and find it. Not because we don’t want to book gigs. Just because so many VO’s feel overwhelmed, frustrated and confused by marketing.

With that in mind when I’m asked – at least once a week – “should I be marketing myself since I’m planning on making a new demo?” I often assume it’s another talent looking for a reason to not have to do marketing… at least for another few weeks.

That said, it is a fair question.

If the demo you’re currently working with is dated, or it’s a demo you’re not proud of, then it makes sense that you wouldn’t want to market it to potential new clients. At the same time, if your new demo is coming really soon (as in, you’ve already recorded it and it will be delivered in a few weeks) I can understand why you’d want to hold off.

If you’re going to be sending something to people, you want to send them your most current and best quality demo!

Does that mean you can take some time off from marketing? Chill on the beach? Snooze in the hammock in your backyard?

Sorry. No. Get your butt back in the office! 😉

If you’re waiting for a new demo to be delivered before you start sending out emails to your leads and prospects, there’s still plenty of work you can do to get ready in the meantime.

Such as… finding those leads and prospects!

Marketing your #voiceover business is an ongoing process. There’s ALWAYS something to do.
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Once that new demo arrives, you want to be ready to start marketing it immediately. The only way you can do that is if you’ve got a database built up and ready to start contacting.

In the weeks before the new demo comes, make your mission to find as many leads as possible and get them into your CRM (Free Training: What is CRM?). Get those leads sorted, tagged and organized so that the day your new demo arrives, you’re ready to begin emailing them!

Marketing is an ongoing process. Something that never ends, whether you’ve got your demo yet or not. There’s ALWAYS something you can be doing!

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Finding Leads Locally – GVAA Training Event

There are countless opportunities for voice over that exist right in your own backyard. Leads you haven’t even thought of, let alone reached out to. Leads that can open a lot of doors, and leads that may very well come with a lot less competition than other typical methods like agents and online casting.

You just need to know where to look.

Join me for an exclusive new training event with the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) May 25th at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. In this two hour webinar I’ll give you all kinds of ideas on where to look and how to make the connection so you can start Finding Leads Locally.

Reserve your spot now at http://msvo.me/gvaalocalleads

GV

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4 Criteria For Giving Up On A Lead

“Never throw away a lead.”

I teach this over and over and over in my courses and coaching. Just because you don’t get an answer the first time you reach out, or even the second time you reach out, does that mean you give up?

Not only no. HECK NO!

I’ve told stories of leads I’ve pursed for as much as three years before I ever booked a voice over with them. Was it worth it? You bet!

That said, people do still ask if there’s ever a time when you should give up on a lead. There are a few criteria where I consider it acceptable to move on. After all, you don’t want to waste your time on a pursuit that will never produce fruit!

4 Criteria For Giving Up On A Lead

They specially ask you to.
From time to time, this will happen. For one reason or another, and sometimes more or less politely than others, a lead will ask you to no longer contact them. This is NOT the time for one final pitch. It’s a time to apologize for any inconvenience, thank them for their time, and let them know you’ll no longer contact them.

All Their Social Profiles Are Outdated
If you jump onto their Facebook page and it hasn’t been updated since 2014, that could be a red flag. If you search their Twitter profile and it looks the same… another red flag. Sometimes companies close. Merge with other companies. Change names. If there hasn’t been new posts in a year or two, it’s probably ok to move on.

Their Website / Portfolio Hasn’t Been Updated
Similar to social media, when is the last time their portfolio has been updated? If it’s been a year or two, it’s possible they’re no longer active. Double check their Vimeo and YouTube channels to see if there’s any recent activity. If you find nothing, go ahead and move on.

Their Pricing Isn’t In Line With Your Rates
If a company posts pricing on their website, check the rates. If they’re cranking out 90 second videos for $499, do you suppose their going to spend $250 on a professional voice over? Unlikely! Don’t even bother reaching out. If they don’t share pricing, but you get a negative response to your rates, it’s time to move on!

Never give up on a lead unless you have a justifiable reason.
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Move On; But Don’t Delete

If you’re using a CRM (like Nimble) don’t delete the contact from your database. Instead, mark them as a “Dead Lead.”

Why? If you remove them from your database entirely, you run the risk of forgetting about it. A year from now, when you’re searching for new leads, you may inadvertently add them back and reach out again.

If they remain in your database as “Dead” you can save yourself the time and embarrassment.

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Are You Prepared For The Long Game?

In a perfect world, we’d send an introductory email to a new voice over lead, they’d ask to hear our demos, love our demos, immediately hire us, and tell all their friends about how fantastic we are.

Oh, and they’d also pay us full rate up front!!

Alas, this is not a perfect world.

Bummer, right?

Write this down: Marketing is about building relationships and relationship building takes time.

Occasionally, you’re going to send the right email to the right person at the right time and it’s going to turn into opportunity immediately. Most of the time, it’s going to take time.

I could tell you stories of leads I’ve worked for weeks, months, and one that actually took THREE YEARS before they became a regular client.

There are a couple of key takeaways here…

  • Prepare for the long game.
  • Be patient.
  • Never throw away a lead (unless they ask you to).
  • Don’t give up!
Marketing is about building relationships and relationship building takes time.
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Statistics have previously shown that 80% of sales come between the fifth and twelfth contact. Some experts say that in today’s always connected world, where we’re constantly inundated with messages via social media and mobile devices, those numbers could be much higher!

In other words, this is going to take more effort than simply sending one email.

Pro Tip: A week after you send your introduction, if you don’t hear back, send a simple follow up.

Marketing is an ongoing effort. The campaign never truly ends. Even after you book the first job, you still need to have a plan to stay top of mind so there will be a second, third and fourth job.

Hang in there. There could be a hundred different reasons why your initial communication didn’t turn into work. Not the least of which is, maybe they don’t need a voice over right now. But maybe three months from now they will!

That’s why you’ve always go to be reaching out. Always got to be marketing. Always have to be staying top of mind!

The number of opportunities you’ll have is going to be directly connected to your ability to do this.

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What Is Marketing?

“What exactly is marketing?”

I’m glad you asked!

The answer; everything! That’s right… everything is marketing!

I’ve found clients via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Searches, Email and more. Leads are everywhere and every good lead becomes a potential client if you play your cards right.

The flip side of that coin… clients have also found me via all of those different channels.

And that’s why everything is marketing.

Everything Is Marketing

As you put yourself out there on the interwebs, your name and thereby your brand / business, becomes something that can be found. Discovered. Examined. Researched.

Ask yourself; What kind of marketing messages are you putting out into the world? Not the intentional ones. I’m talking about the unintentional ones!

If a client finds your Twitter stream, what will they see? A person / voice actor who seems to be happy, easy to work with, fun, engaging and professional?

Or will they find a miserable grouch with strong, polarizing opinions who consistently shares inappropriate content?

In other words, the kind of person a business would never want to have associated with their brand.

Marketing can find you work or cost you work. It all depends on how you’re portraying yourself and how others perceive you.

As I always say, “Beware what you share!”

How Will You Be Perceived

When clients have found me via social media and ultimately reached out to me with voice over opportunities, they’ve already done their research. They know a lot about the kind of person I am, and the kind of business I run. They know they can trust me to be a voice associated with their brand.

Are the things your sharing offering the same reassuring messages?

If a client searches your social media, what kind of person will they find?
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Using social media to build your brand isn’t just about posting links to your websites, demos and projects you’ve worked on. It’s not about telling the world over and over that you’re a voice actor looking for work. It’s not all about posting pictures of your studio or talking about the latest gig and/or client you booked.

As a voice actor, you are the brand!

Beyond how you promote your business, how you live (and share) your life and personality online also becomes a very strong marketing message.