Let's assume you're after what we're after: to work steadily as a professional talent, earning a decent living while scratching your aesthetic itch. It can be done, you know. People do it every day.
Voiceover is a start-up business, just like any business. It requires attention to detail on a variety of fronts: in your performance, in the production and marketing of your demo, in your pursuit of representation, and so on.
The problem, however, is far too many people focus on details that are of no consequence to the overall goal of establishing, maintaining, and forwarding their career in this business. So many of us concentrate almost solely on maintaining our performance skills, while others put a majority of their attention on remaining in step with advancing technology. The result with either scenario is we forfeit any real advancement of our careers by omitting some of the most basic self-promotional skills. So what do you need to know to create and advance your small business as a working talent? My mission is to help you maneuver through the industry minefield with greater ease than ever before -- even if it may be contrary to so-called "conventional wisdom."
To succeed in this or any business, you must promote. Question is: how?
Simply put there are two distinctly different forms of promotion: one is to establish representation with the talent agents, and the other is to make your name known and familiar with those most likely to hire you as a voice talent. Promoting yourself to the talent agents is a wholly separate endeavor from your ongoing promotion, which will remain your job well after you have secured representation from a handful of reliable talent agents in multiple regions -- if you hope to expose yourself to the greatest number of opportunities.
With promotional strategies for voice talent, contrary to what you might assume, you don't need an agent prior to promoting yourself professionally with those most likely to hire you. I have a production service that offers a strategic marketing plan with seven remarkable, direct-mail mailing lists designed to promote voiceover talent only. And I continuously update these lists every month, so you can promote yourself to the greatest number of professional contacts available anywhere! The lists do not include talent agents, only Creatives and production professionals most likely to hire you as a voice talent.
Promotion is the primary reason you have a voiceover demo in the first place. Promotion is the "secret sauce" that can genuinely increase the success rate of your career and business. There are a number of ways to promote and a number of different people to promote to. So get out there and promote - and show them you mean business!