Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship! Yes, voice-over and being an entrepreneur are one in the same, and one of the great adventures in this industry is finding your clients through marketing.
How will you attract business opportunities if no one knows you exist? Any entrepreneur will testify that having a solid marketing plan is the key to a successful business. “Know your customer, have a strategy, be consistent, automate your processes, improve your SEO, have a presence on social media, availability is essential, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera,” said every marketing guru out there.
Some would say marketing is the least exciting part of the VO business, but having a shift in perspective could make it the most fun aspect of the job. Look at marketing through the eyes of a child: play, have fun, and think outside of the box. It’s about having a creative mindset.
“Creativity is not a talent. Creativity has little to do with IQ. People who are described as creative have developed a particular facility of getting themselves into a particular mood or state of mind that allows their natural creativity to emerge.” – John Cleese
Unleash your inner kiddo.
When I first started my production company, I had no idea how to market myself. I utilized all of the free marketing guides Forbes had to offer and signed up with a social media management platform. Marketing took up 60 percent of my time and it was difficult to keep up with, even with the assistance of an automated social media tool. It became a chore and I started to procrastinate reaching out to prospective clients and creating content. Then I hired an incredible marketing coach, who taught me how to tap into my creativity and actually made marketing fun. So, I’m sharing my own personal creative process with you.
“Summon up that courage and put yourself out there. Be your authentic, beautiful self!”
1. Get in the zone!
Sometimes we take life a little too seriously. I’ve found that when I’m stressed or overworked there is zero inspiration. I tune out the world and draw, play an instrument, sing, dance, or decorate. These activities make me happy, keep me present, and put me in a magical inspiration-receiving mindset. Now I’m in the creative zone. What creative activities make you happy and inspired?
2. Shift your focus.
Now that I’m in my zone of creativity, the focus shifts to whatever goal needs to be achieved. For example, reaching out to toy companies to represent the voice of their brand.
3. Play = Work.
Continuing with the toy company example; don’t just send an email, actually make something using their product. I recently had a baby and have been looking for new ways in which to stimulate his imagination. Having that childlike mindset matched with an entrepreneurial spirit, I created a show, Hudson’s House of Shadow Puppets, and tagged the business that made the product. The CEO loved the content so much that they offered me a contract to do all of their narration.
4. Play More!
Remember being a kid and running through the store and testing out all of the toys/games? This is another way to unconventionally market yourself.
Here are a few examples:
- (if possible) change the display laptops and computer screens in any electronics section to your voice-over/business website
- leave your business cards under the napkins of your favorite restaurants
- make funny (but informative) mock promos for your favorite local businesses and tag them
Reminder: there is absolutely everything right about shameless self-promotion.
5. Make like-minded friends…and play with them.
- When minds are focused on the same goal, people tend to manifest much quicker and more powerfully together. After moving to LA, I attended many VO community events and made a lot of creative friends. During our time outside the booth, we would collaborate and make fun content together (animated shorts, cosplay, cooking, comedy bits, etc.). I felt like I was seven years old again, playing with my friends. It helped me unconsciously expand my skills and imagination. In addition to the uptick in content creation, collaboration helps expand the reach with social media audiences to include potential clients.
And there you have it! Hopefully, this will be the catalyst to get you started on a path of creative marketing. Remember that you are unique and your clients will see and appreciate your authenticity. Use these techniques to develop your own fun processes and remember to share your successes with the VO Community. We are all in this together and I’m rooting for you!
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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