So you're a voice actor. You got the demos, you got the gear, maybe even you got a few clients under your belt. But let me cut to the chase. None of that matters if no one knows you exist. Now, this is not a video about manifesting clients. This is about building a marketing machine that actually gets you booked and hired on a regular basis. And no, we're not talking about sitting on the P2P's, the pay-to-plays, the casting sites all day. That's playing the audition lottery. We're talking about real strategies, ones that... actually work. Now this video is your starting point but your timing is amazing because we actually go a lot deeper in our upcoming free webinar series, The Rise of the Self-Made Voice Actor. That's coming up and it's packed with actionable steps, proven strategies, and client-winning frameworks. But for today in this video we're going to break down a few smart strategic ways, doable ways, that you can use to market yourself as a voice actor. First, one of the biggest marketing mistakes almost everybody makes, I think we even talked about this last week, stop trying to talk to everybody. Well, you know, I can do commercials, audiobooks, video games, medical narration, technical narration, I can do voicemail greetings and meditation apps and network promo. Well, good for you. And I honestly mean good for you. The more you can do and the more range you have, the better it is for your voiceover business. But clients don't want a Swiss army knife. They want a scalpel. They want somebody who can solve their problem. So instead of shouting into the void with very generic vanilla messaging, niche down. For example, if you're looking to book corporate work, let's say explainers, then your LinkedIn profile, your website shouldn't scream Jack of all trades. It should scream corporate specialist. Specificity, my friends, is not limiting. It's liberating. It makes your message more clear, makes your outreach more effective, and it makes your value instantly identifiable. Build a brand, not a profile. A casting profile is a parking space, but a personal brand? That's a billboard. Most voice actors, especially newer voice actors, are focused on the pay-to-plays, the online casting sites. But the problem is, those sites do not belong to you. Your client base, however, should. Those platforms can change the rules at any time and God knows they have or they could go belly up and you are screwed. You gotta build a personal brand for yourself that works even when you're not online. What does that look like? A website that shows who you serve, how you serve them. and what you do and shows it fast. Messaging that speaks to your client's needs and not your passion for storytelling. It's not about you. A visual identity that feels at least professional and not like stitched together in Canva at two in the morning. An email signature that doesn't trip span filters. Fact is, if you're not reaching out and actively pursuing work with prospects, then you're by definition sitting around waiting for work. And that's not a strategy kids, that's a lottery. Direct marketing to prospects is the most predictable and scalable way to build your voiceover business. And no, it doesn't mean spamming a thousand people with generic messaging that starts out, I hope this email finds you well. It means finding companies that are already using voice actors, explainer video studios, e-learning developers, podcast editors. The list is literally limitless. Next, researching who the decision makers, the people that actually hire us, are. By the way, they're on LinkedIn. And sending, well-crafted but more importantly, relevant emails that show that you know what that prospect's needs are, what their problems are, what their pain points are, and how you can solve them. This is one of the core pillars that we teach in our free three-webinar series, The Rise of the Self-Made Voice Actor. Because when it's done right, it works like a friggin' charm. And no, it's not about being pushy or being salesy. Use LinkedIn like a pro and not like a lurker. A lot of people think that LinkedIn is like a resume graveyard. You gotta be better than that. You're a business owner, man. LinkedIn is your digital handshake. It's where people go to vet you, get to know you. It's where clients are already, in some cases, hiring. So let's clean up your LinkedIn act. Start with your headline. Make it client-facing. Make it about them. Helping brands sound more human, slash. corporate narration specialist beats the hell out of voice actor self-employed. In the about section, use that opportunity to speak to your client's needs and not the voiceover fantasy you've had since childhood. In the activity feed in LinkedIn, post, comment, engage in real conversations with real people. If you're lurking kids, you're losing. A strategic, well-developed LinkedIn presence increases your credibility and makes sure email outreach many times over by orders of magnitude more effective. Let's talk about demos. Yes, your demo should be professional. You should never DIY a demo. Well, in very rare cases. You should have professional demos, but more importantly, they should be relevant. If you're trying to book medical narration and your demo has a beer ad and a wacky cartoon voice, that's noise. That's not value. That's not targeting. Your demo is a sales tool. It should showcase your range within the genre you're targeting. How you solve the client's problem through, for example, clear, credible delivery. And it should be industry specific for that genre in terms of tone and pacing and all the technical stuff that goes into your demo and into your reads. And finally, I'm going to say this again, one demo per genre. No Frankenstein reads, no... Skip to a minute seven in to hear my corporate shit. Next, leverage the power of consistency. You don't need to post daily. You don't need a podcast. What you need is consistency. What does that actually look like? One, maybe two, client focus posts a week on LinkedIn. 50 direct outreach emails every day. Maybe reach out once a quarter to your past clients. Consistency builds trust and trust builds bookings. And it's not about trying to be everywhere on every platform. It's about being reliably and consistently visible to the right people. Next, upgrade your email game. If your email outreach looks like, hi, I'm a voice actor, let me know if you need one, you are doing it so wrong. Effective introductory emails do these three things. They show an understanding of your client's needs and challenges. They mention concisely how you solve them, and they include a call to action to listen to your demos. Now, if you want to... shortcut. That's exactly why I created VO Client Connect GPT, a custom AI tool that drafts smart strategic email drafts for voice actors so that you can cut to the chase and edit those down to be in your authentic real human voice. And lastly, mindset matters. Yeah, really. And this is where most voice actors tap the fuck out. And I've talked to dozens of them. They try marketing for two weeks, they don't get any replies, and then they claim It's not working. But marketing... marketing's not a microwave, guys. It's a crockpot. It's a slow cooker. The results take time, but they compound over time. You're not gonna hear back on every email you send today. Not even close. Not every LinkedIn post or social media post is gonna go viral. And your first 100, 200, Tim Friedlander, president of the National Association of Voice Actors, famously says he didn't book one gig in his first 1000 auditions. That's probably not going to happen to you, but the first couple hundred you might go over. But if you're doing the right things consistently, you're going to start booking. That's why inside the Rise of the Self-Made Voice Actors, a three webinar series by the way, we don't just focus on tactics. We focus on building a gritty, no bullshit mindset that's not going to fall apart like a wet paper towel at the first no. All right, let's wrap it up. The seven marketing moves that actually work. Number one, niche down your message, clarity wins. Number two, build a brand. not just a profile. Number three, use direct outreach the right way. Number four, use LinkedIn as a marketing tool. Number five, targeted demos for each genre. Number six, stay consistent when it's quiet. And number seven, work on your mindset. Because at the end of the day, your ability to stay into this game all comes down to the mental game. Now if you want the whole skinny, I highly recommend signing up for The Rise of the Self-Made Voice Actor. It's coming up soon. I'll put the link in the description and show notes below. Because today, in this episode, we just scratched the surface, kids. If you want the full blueprint, the proven step-by-step strategies, the frameworks, the examples, the systems that actually work, you need to attend The Rise of the Self-Made Voice Actor. It's free, it's live, and yes, there will be replays, I promise you, for a limited time. And it's built for voice actors who are tired of guessing and really want to start getting strategic. Register now, save your seat. You'll walk away with a plan, not puffery, not theory. A real usable plan to start booking better clients and building a career that actually pays. If this video helped you, if it brought you value, if you learned something from it, sign up for the series. But more importantly, share this video with another voice actor you think it might be able to help. The more we help each other, the more we talk, the more we exchange ideas and information in a civil and rational way, the better, stronger industry. we're going to have for everybody. Thanks to Nava for all you do. You guys should get the Nobel Peace Prize in voiceover. Thanks so much for your support, and we'll see you back here again next week.