9 Mantra to Sell Yourself Better as Voice Over Actor
You see a friend or a colleague having another full schedule, updating his/her demo with their latest project, and sharing it with the rest of the voice over community, while you on the other hand is not exactly in the place you wish to be in, career wise. So you ask yourself, what am I doing wrong?
Like any business, voice over business is a numbers game. You need to attract clients and agents to hire you for that plum project to stay above water. You may have all the right skills and talent, but you can fall short in selling your voice to the right clients.
Your sales and marketing plan doesn’t need to start with an elaborate scheme. You can work with this 9 simple mantra and start reeling in those numbers.
Love Yourself
Before you can convince anyone to hire you, you need to be genuinely in-love with your work. You know that you are that good, that you can listen to yourself all day (hmm, not technically all day). It is not being pompous or overly confident, it just about being proud of what you do. Think about it, if you can’t stand listening to yourself, how would others feel?
You have to be passionate with being a voice over. You love being in front of the mic – doing various voice characters, showing different emotions and creating imagery with just your voice. You enjoy the hours spent inside your recording booth and look forward to a full day of work.
A successful salesperson is someone who believes in his product – how else can he put across his message that his product is worth buying if he does not understand how it works and how it can make wonders in his client’s life?
Same thing goes with being a voice over. This passion and love in what you do will manifest when you communicate with clients (present ones and prospective), when you audition, when you mingle with the rest of the voice over community, when you create your profile or work on your website, and in every recording you make. You can sell and present yourself better if you believe that you are good at what you do and that you can make a difference in your client’s project and business (maybe even with their lives).
Be Focused
Don’t be a Jack or Jane of all trades and master of none!
A common mistake when growing your voice over business is spreading yourself thin. Yes it is good to be exposed and experienced in different types of work, but once you find the niche that you are most comfortable and capable of doing, focus on it, build on it so that you will excel and stand out. Don’t be just another fish on the pond.
Who is your ideal client? Who do you want to work with?
Knowing the voice over niche you want to penetrate will also push you to focus all your marketing efforts in that area. If you are aware of who your ideal clients are, you would want to be where they are; you can create specific strategies targeting these clients; design your profile or website and demo that are attractive to them; and create content that would put you within their radar.
Be Selective
Being selective means choosing where you sell your voice. With the reach and the possibilities the internet has given voiceovers in the last 5 years, it is tempting to join every single voice over and freelancer sites (again, spreading yourself thin). Don’t sell yourself short by competing against amateurs and breaking your back over small-fry projects that won’t help you get your name out.
If you want to be known as a big fish, swim in the big pond.
Associate yourself with other professional and experienced talents by being where they are – and for sure this is where your ideal clients are also fishing.
Repeat…
I love my work
I am focused
I am discerning
But wait, we said 9 mantra…
First focus on these three mantra and reflect on your answers for these questions:
Is my passion reflected in my words and work?
What is my niche?
Am I looking for work in the right marketplace?
Once you have a better understanding of your work and your value, you can move on to how fostering relationships can help sell your voice.
Stay tuned…
