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Whit
Backstage Pass


Joined: 27 Feb 2009
Posts: 431
Location: Cincinnati

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:34 am    Post subject: MarketingMarketingMarketing Reply with quote

Don't they know I'm an ACTOR!!!!!
Heh.

Seriously though, I have much much much to learn about the business side of things. I'm reading Guerrilla Marketing, just sent out my first batch of keeping in touch emails that *gasp* ask for referrals, have my website (which is bare bones and not fancy but for now that's ok I guess) and will be redoing my commercial demo soon which will give me another reason to reach out...

I'm not doing bad. But I want more. Anyone here who felt totally challenged on the business end of things and managed to wrap their head around it?

Today I'm researching vo marketing mainly...it's hard when I have no auditions from any of my agents and v123 has nothing worth it/right for me.

Marketing thoughts and ideas to improve one's business sense welcome here. Thanks for any replies. Going back to voice over xtra to read more and try to get smarter. And to get my client/potential client database more organized.
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imaginator
The Thirteenth Floor


Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 1348
Location: raleigh, nc

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

...you have agents?

whit, i am right there with you. have only in the past three weeks started asking other voiceover friends for referrals to studios/agencies/agents they would feel alright introducing/recommending me to.

have also only now started sending out that dreaded first contact email (instead of the calls which i still dread and may yet have to make). am keeping track of who i contact/how/and when, plus results (if any) on a little excel document for now.

i've been surprised that a few of my first "targets" have actually made a personal reply. no work or promises of course. but it is encouraging when i expected complete silence.

like you, i have all but abadoned the P2P model. there are just too many hungry birds out there, able to zoom in on every crumb that's thrown out. and for all i know, they're working for chicken feed.

better to seek possibilities where my own style is useful. internet searches, and reading the particulars of dozens and dozens of websites so far have not only helped me contact some people in the way they want to be contacted...but has also shown me lots of places i either wouldn't fit or don't want to be associated with!

may your own efforts surpass mine. contact me personally if you ever want to compare notes.
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rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog
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cyclometh
King's Row


Joined: 06 Aug 2010
Posts: 1051
Location: Olympia, WA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm interested in how you go about selecting the "targets" (a loaded and negative word, but the only one I have to hand right now) for being contacted. Assume you're sitting down at your desk and you want to find someone who may be a customer- where do you start?

I've been working on establishing contacts in various ways but the "cold contact" aspect of things still is a dark art and I'm interested to hear what people have to say about their experiences.

Great thread idea, by the way- thanks for starting it, whit.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net
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imaginator
The Thirteenth Floor


Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 1348
Location: raleigh, nc

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

so far, i've typed in a search for "recording studios" and the name of a market. while checking these individually to see if (1) they accept out of town talent and (2) if they pay anything worth pursuing or (3) if they even need voiceovers...i accidentally found several online listings of voice talent and voice services and followed those as well.

also am looking at the list of isdn users on digifon to see if i can find studios which have-and-use the service. i have to look up each individual studio by website (and in some cases, i find they're out of business...or if they don't even have a website, i figure they're not likely to do the kind of business i do).

those are just a couple of things. i'm sure there are many and more efficient others.

again...props to whit for inspiring the discussion. i hope to learn more.
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rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog
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Whit
Backstage Pass


Joined: 27 Feb 2009
Posts: 431
Location: Cincinnati

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey guys! I'm glad you're into talking about this. Smile

More about what I'm doing...

I have a bunch of contacts in the ad/production community around here (cinci) from when I worked at my old fab studio. I try to stay in touch and send them updated demos, but other than something new to send on or say, I always feel at a loss. To be honest, some of them see me as the old "receptionist" as most of my work for them was behind the scenes and presented to them by someone else. I wonder if that stops them from taking me as seriously as I'd like them to. Or maybe I just think they see me that way and it makes me shy.

I've read on here before that you need to keep up with people more and have something about them that you've heard to contact them about... an award winning campaign, a film debut, promotion, agency change. I'm going to try to keep up more and put that into practice. Basically, just try to make better friendships out of acquaintanceships.

I dig on v123 and have made some great contacts there, but of course it's only one piece of the puzzle. My agents (3) are another piece. But none of that is enough. I'm considering looking for additional representation. I think Bob said he had 6? You know, yeah, I'm not considering that I'm gonna do that. There. Smile

And woot! Got an email back from a person I worked for a while while back and it was very positive. And now I have a sort of template for future follow ups with new clients.

Corey, I think a good place to start is local recording studios, post houses, ad agencies and video production companies. They are all certainly my starting point.
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imaginator
The Thirteenth Floor


Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 1348
Location: raleigh, nc

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i used some of my down time to take action on an otherwise silly idea a couple of weeks ago with my "very last aflac audition of all" skit. in some cases, i added a link to that in my email as a little gem of free entertainment. a gift. a bonus. of course the audio is a youtube video which, as an image, has nothing but a slide of what it is, and who dunnit, with my name and website sitting there through the whole thing.

i also touted an updated commercial demo, which has a bank spot with a voice delivery i'm not normally known for, but which seems to be much-requested. in other words, something specific my reader might be able to use to make his/her own clients happy and prosperous.

and in one case, i was even able to alert the outfit that one of the links on its website (the male voice talent link) wasn't working. that got an immediate and friendly response.

now whether it ever turns into work....
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rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog
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Whit
Backstage Pass


Joined: 27 Feb 2009
Posts: 431
Location: Cincinnati

PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rowell, that is mega creative! Excellent out of the box thinking.
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Karen Souer
Contributore Level V


Joined: 28 Feb 2011
Posts: 151
Location: Gastonia, NC

PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know that my Dad (Bob Souer) is big into leaving people with a good impression, thus having yourself being in mind later when folks need somebody, but it seems like that "first step" is the hard part, isn't it? Myself, for my own ventures, have just been trying to keep simple, short and polite, since so many people think noise is the way to stand above the crowd Smile.

I'll be following this, I am curious what other discussion might occur, even tho I'm not looking for VO work, the same kind of things apply to me too.
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Any project, any size, I can help.
karensouer.com
voiceoverassistant.com/blog/
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justindtorres



Joined: 25 Aug 2011
Posts: 14
Location: NYC

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm just starting the dreaded hill of marketing and I feel your pain. I also work with voices.com and v123, and voices has gotten me smaller but consistent jobs may wanna try that as well.

I was wondering, if I'm looking for non-union agents, should I specify non-exclusive. Are all agents non-exclusive (when it comes to non-union)
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http://www.justindtorres.com

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-880581076

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Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/everythingvoiceover
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