VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Don G.]

Assuming a person has the requisite professional level of talent and experience, how would you put the following things in order of importance:

• demo
• web site
• representation (agent)
• marketing

I realize that without a great demo, you probably won't get representation, and that really all those things come into play to be successful. But we all know people who are using 10 year old demos who are as busy as any of us. And we know people who are average in talent, but are constantly on the phone prospecting and getting themselves as much work as they can handle.

So how would you prioritize, if you wanted to give your business a shot in the arm?

[richgates]

Don:

I would put them in the order you have them although marketing is really a part of each process. Your demo should have your contact information including your website, I think that getting an agent and marketing really go hand in hand and you should be doing both at the same time since most of the VO's that I know get a bulk of their work on their own and not through their agent. YMMV though.

[Yoda117]

I'd swap the last two (you need to market yourself to get work, you need work to show an agent that you can bring in $ and are worth representing), but Rich is correct in that marketing should be involved in every step somehow. I mean, every opportunity to get your name out there (in a positive light) should be taken
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[Bailey]

[steveanthony]

I would add 'networking' to that list.

[bobsouer]

[Rognog]

Alot of people have good demos & websites and some people have representation. In my humble opinion it's marketing that separates the pros from the schmoes. I think demo & marketing are tied for first, then website, then representation.
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[TC]

In my voiceover classes here in Chicago, I was told repeatedly to:

1) Get good enough to make a demo

2) Make a demo

3) Use that demo to get an agent

4) Market yourself (with your demo, a Web site, postcards, networking, phone calls etc.)

That's basically what I did, though some of it overlapped. And that makes sense for me because in this market there is a lot of work being done locally in which the booking gets done through the eight or ten union and non-union talent agencies that represent voice actors. I do get occasional work on my own via the Web, but my most lucrative opportunities come through my local agents. My top priority was to get a demo that would get me an agent who could start sending me out on auditions in town right away.

But if I were in a market that didn't have all the work we have here, and I had to work mainly with out-of-town producers, getting hired through sites like Voices.com or through my own efforts, I think I'd switch steps 3 and 4 -- I'd market myself and get work and build up my own portfolio, and then I'd start trying to get representation.

Of course, then you'd have to include another step, maybe at No. 2 -- Build home studio. I did that simultaneously with getting my demo and agent, just because I knew I wanted to create as many opportunities for myself as possible. But if I had been forced to make a choice (like if I could only afford a demo or a studio but not both), I would have gotten the demo and the agent first before building the studio.

[billelder]

Somewhere in there should be "Chocolate Chip Cookies." They keep me going!

[Bailey]

[Yoda117]

[JimRon]

[gkarnes]

Good thread....I am working on step one.....almost ready to put together a demo....

I have biz cards coming....working on list of folks to market too....

[Lizden]

I agree with Bob (Gee! What a surprise!):
• demo
• web site
• marketing
• representation (agent)

AND:
COFFEE!!!!!!!!

Liz
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[robert jadah]

I'm getting all weary and needful of a lie-down just reading about all this marketing energy.
And while I realize that Voice2007, pantheons of seminars, and the mushrooming voice- coaching industry have made it the newest mantra, I tremble for the agents and production people who are about to be assaulted with this Shock and Awe campaign.
Poor souls; 10,000 voice talents are about to deluge them with co-ordinated mic-less imagery, slate-less demos, and e-mail news.
Casualties will be high.

Meanwhile, I offer hope for the couch-inclined.
1) Rustle up a semi-enthused agent; preferrably one with very few voice talents. (This is easier than it is made out to be. It took me 3 hours, including 90 minutes' travel time). Have a nap and call it a day.
2) Do very well in the few auditions your generally listless agent musters up for you. (Please note that if you cannot do this, all the marketing energy in the world is not anyway going to help you.) Have a nap and call it a day.
3) Do very well in the few gigs you win at voice sites. Have a nap and call it a day.
4) Once a year, mail, send or deliver a sweet momento to all the good people you impressed in 2) and 3) above. This is your toughest day of the year, so take a few days' vacation.
5) For up to three hours a day, relentlessly answer all voice-related phone calls and e-mail generated by 2), 3), and 4) above. Have a nap, and call it a day.
6) Learn to live happily and comfortably on less than a six-figure income, knowing you're doing what you love doing. And voicing on top of that.