Voice over, like life is marketing. And marketing is finding a way to give people what they are looking for. I never buy anything really from the late night "Sham Wow" guys, marketing guru's and snake oil salesmen. But I have to admit I do love to listen to a well performed, well written and well delivered sales presentation. Listening to them is an education. Watch them and what they do. Companies spend millions on advertising and it's not random. They have polls, focus groups, surveys and countless other ways to determine what people want and how to give it to them. You can take advantage of what they do by paying attention to advertising.
Whatever you do, who you are, you're always selling. Everything we do in business, industry and even interpersonal relationships comes down to marketing. Nothing happens until something is sold. Products and services have to be marketed no matter how good they are. We sell ourselves with our personalities, our VOICES, our eye contact, our confidence, our attitude. Whatever your training or education, the one with the best first impression still wins. And that is marketing.
In voice over, we are usually selling something. That's why people hire us. It's not necessarily a product. Sometimes it's an idea, a concept, a service. So we are adept at selling with our voices. But before we get to the point where we are in the studio doing a recording, we have to sell ourselves. It does not matter whether you're doing a TV or radio slot for a car dealership, a fund raiser for a non-profit or a corporate training video. You are selling.
As voice over professionals, we really need to make sure we make a study out of marketing. Not just because we are selling for others, but because we want to keep working. there is an element of self preservation in the study of marketing and since the techniques are changing on a regular basis, we need to make sure we keep up.
How do we market our services? Well, we start by making sure we are ready to put ourselves out there. Making sure we are competitive. This is a very competitive business, and we need to find way's to stand out. Once you have the confidence, the training and the skills, you need to make sure you have a plan to evaluate every script you read, every audition you go on and every meeting you take. Run over your internal script. Plan it out.
Think about your audience. Who are they. What is the message you are trying to convey and what audience are you trying to reach. Once you understand who your audience is, and what they're looking for you need to make things "pop". How can you create interest in the first few words.
You should always be asking yourself these questions. They are not just about "recording" voice overs . They are also the questions you ask yourself in order to make a great presentation to a client, agent or at an audition with people sitting right in front of you.
Always remember your audience. Who they are, what do they want and HOW CAN YOU BEST GIVE IT TO THEM.
"You can get what you want by giving enough other people exactly what they want" – Zig Ziglar