Tag: Promotions

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How Long Does It Take To Succeed

It’s perhaps one of the most common questions I’m asked by new talent trying to get started in the voice over industry. “How long does it take before you make it?” 

What they’re really asking is, “can I make a quick buck? Or will it take time and effort?”

Too many people get into this business looking for the shortest distance between two points. Those points being the beginning and the success.

How Long Does It Take To Succeed

You actually are going to have to put in time. Put in effort. How much depends on you and your level of commitment. When I started full time a couple years ago, I felt like I was working around the clock. Some days, I actually was. I was always auditioning, prospecting, reading, learning, growing, improving. And with all that time, effort and investment, success started to come.

It was not an easy road. It’s still not an easy road.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it’s not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Og Mandino

Invest To Success

The_Greatest_Salesman_in_the_World_book_coverIf you want to succeed in voice over, it’s not just about submitting 50 auditions a day. Or even 10. In fact, some days, I don’t audition at all, but there’s still plenty of work for me.

This is a business, like any business. Which means you need to learn all aspects of business from sales to marketing to promotions and all points in between. As you take this journey towards voice over greatness, invest in education along the way. You wouldn’t believe how much you can learn simply by reading the right books!

Want a good one to get started with? I recommend The Greatest Salesman in the World. You’ll be able to read it in an afternoon, and for a month after you’ll still be pondering all the wisdom you gathered.

QUESTION: How long have you been on your journey towards success?share

 

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Stop Treating Voice Over Like Retail

Here’s the thing about retail. The primary way retail draws us in is through sales. Deep discounts. Price rollbacks. The lure of savings is too much for us to resist.

“Why wouldn’t I buy it,” you reason? It’s 50% off!”

Just remember that whatever it is you’re buying, it was likely marked up 200% before it was discounted 50%.

Service Is Not Retail

know-your-worthHere’s where I see a lot of voice talent going wrong. They’re treating their voice over business like retail. But it’s not retail a business. You’re not selling a product. There’s no mark-up to be able to mark down and still profit.

Voice over is a service business.

Let me ask you, when’s the last time you took your car to the mechanic because they were offering a discount on their hourly shop rate? Never? That’s what I thought.

Don’t Devalue Your Service

Is there room for negotiating in voice over? Sure there is, to an extent. But if your primary marketing strategy is offering deeply discounted rates… you’re doing it wrong!

You’re devaluing your service and in turn devaluing yourself. That, believe it or not, actually devalues the industry as a whole.

Remember. You’re not selling a product. Your selling a service. Price yours accordingly.

QUESTION: Do you know your worth?

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Tis The Season For Christmas Cards

I know what you’re thinking. “Shut up, Marc. It’s the first week of October! Can we at least get through Halloween first? Or thanksgiving?”

That’s fine. Hurl your frustrations. I can take them.

Meanwhile, I was in a K-Mart in Niagara Falls, NY this weekend. Their entire Christmas display, trees and all, was already set up!

Start Now

christmas cards for clientsThe reason I mention Christmas cards this early in October is because now is the time to start, if you’re creating you own for your business.

Whether you send a card to your clients just to wish them a happy holiday, or send a marketing piece of some form or fashion, waiting much longer to get the ball rolling could be the difference between the pieces arriving in time for Christmas or after the holidays are over.

Timeline For Success

Think about it. If you create your piece now, how long will it take to get it produced? Will your printer need a week? Two weeks? The service I use is a lot cheaper if I take a two week delivery date.

If you don’t design the piece yourself, you’ll also need to factor in time for the actual design. What does that add to your timeline? Another week? Maybe two?

My Christmas card, which I self designed, will go to the printer early this week. That means I should have my finished product sometime close to the end of October.

I’ve got close to 200 of these Christmas cards which I will hand write a note on. That right there is another big time commitment. Especially if you write as slow as I do!! By the time my cards are ready to go into the mail, it’s going to be well into November.

Add another week or two weeks for mail delivery, depending on where the card is heading to, and my clients should have their cards early in December.

Perfect timing!

It’s Not Too Early

I know a lot of you don’t want to think about Christmas yet, and that’s fair. It does seem like it comes earlier and earlier every year. Just remember, I’m not asking you to put your tree up. You don’t even have to start buying gifts yet.

This is just a friendly reminder that if you’re creating custom pieces for direct mail delivery, it’s definitely not too early to get started on the process. In fact, if you wait too much longer, it could end up being too late!

QUESTION: Do you send Christmas cards to your voice over clients?

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A Demo For All Seasons

Show of hands… who was ready for September?

Yeah. None of us. That’s what I thought. Is it just me, or did summer come and go exceptionally fast? That sounds so cliche, but seriously. Blink. Of. An.Eye!

Now that we’re into September it’s time to start thinking about what lies ahead. Specifically, a few major holidays. Continue reading A Demo For All Seasons