In the recent interview with my colleague and coach Terry Daniel, I asked him:
The big thing most coaches run into, is resistance from the student to do certain things they don’t feel like doing. What are some of the things some students resist?
Terry answered:
“Some students are resistant to the marketing process. At times, it can be overwhelming, but nothing will happen unless you get your demos in front of the ears of VO buyers and agents. This is one of the reasons we put a great deal of attention on marketing in our top beginner’s course.”
Coaching people myself, I recognize this very much. Some students have this dream of narrating audiobooks all day long, going from one book to the next. Or they imagine themselves going into some fancy recording studio to record cartoons or video games that will reach millions of people.
If only this were true!
If you want to be serious about a voice over career, you have to face the stuff the people peddling their trainings on YouTube, or the P2P marketing departments rarely talk about:
The TEDIOUS, BORING, UNGLAMOROUS stuff that comes with running a real BUSINESS.
You see, hobbyists don’t have to concern themselves with keeping the books, doing invoices, reminding clients to pay, marketing, social media, making sure you are insured, paying the bills without knowing when your next job will come along… and the BIG one:
FINDING WORK
Even prize-winning voice over veterans with a long resume on Audible and IMDb have to make sure they stay in the picture, and on the minds of their agents and clients. This alone could easily be a full-time job.
Let me share an insight you’re not going to like:
Most creative freelance businesses fail, not due to lack of talent, but because people only want to do the fun stuff.
Well, if that’s what you want to do, make it a hobby. Not a profession. You’ll be a lot happier and feel way less pressure.
If, on the other hand, you want to be a successful freelancer and have a sustainable career, you’ve got to be willing to do the stuff that nobody likes to do, but that needs to be done anyway.
Alternatively, outsource the things you don’t like to do (or are not so good at), and focus on your strengths. Believe me, this is the only way your business has any chance of growing.
Indeed! As a friend/client of mine (Dr. Melissa Caudle – author, publisher, screen-writer, and film producer) once told me, you may be the next Ernest Hemingway, but unless you are willing to do the work of marketing yourself and running a business, you will most likely remain just that – the NEXT Ernest Hemingway.
Wise words, indeed!
Thanks for the reminder. Every profession has work – and the fun stuff.
The fun is worth the work, but one comes before the other.
He may be controversial, but he said something that I’ll never forget and that I greatly identify with: “I’m a businessman who just HAPPENS to do voiceovers.” That has stuck with me…and it’s been with me through all of my other pursuits as well, voiceovers notwithstanding. You must establish the vehicle for success in order to put your craft on it and go places. No vehicle? No success.
By the way that was Bill DeWees….sorry…forgot to mention who I was talking about.
Thanks Paul,once again this blog gets down and dirty such like marketing and I love cold calling afterall I am only two lips away from my next potential client and then building a successful collaboration with them,yes indeed coaches refine my pipes,but then I gotta run the snake of marketing to get unclogged! Your awesome Paul and your testimony of bouncing back remains to me unmatched..