The Truth About Why Voiceover Marketing Fails
Voiceover Marketing
Introduction
As a voice actor, I know marketing is essential to growing my business and getting more clients. However, marketing is far from the magical solution many believe it to be. Inspired by the Forbes article “Marketing Does Not Work: The Truth,” I want to share insights on why voiceover marketing campaigns often fall short, how to see every outreach effort as a win, and why–when it comes to finding the best marketing strategy–you are your own guru.
The Illusion of Guaranteed Success
As voice actors, we often make the mistake of assuming that if we have the secret recipe marketing plan, we’ll automatically become super successful. But the truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy for all of us in the voiceover game. Even if you could put tons of money into ads on high-traffic sites like Google and Facebook that wouldn’t necessarily guarantee success. A lot of things, like what’s hot in the market, how people react, and unexpected curveballs, can affect how well a marketing campaign works. I know. It would be nice if there was an easy solution! But knowing the truth about marketing will save you so much time and sanity. You’ll be open to the truth of what does really work so you can leverage it in your voiceover business.
The Importance of Continuous Testing and Optimization
Marketing isn’t something you do just once and put on repeat. It’s a constant cycle of trying things out, fine-tuning, and ramping up. And yeah, I know the frustration of “failed” marketing efforts (more on that in the next paragraph). But it’s important to keep the right mindset. We’re going for quick wins; marketing is experimentation and iteration. With that mindset, we can find those little gems of success and make them work for us. That means paying attention to the numbers, figuring out what’s not working, and coming up with new strategies to get better results.
Why Even Your Failures Are Wins
Instead of seeing low-success marketing efforts as failures, we should view them as wins. I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Each “no” gives us valuable insight into what is and–just as importantly–what isn’t working (for you and at the current moment; what works today may not work in a year, and what works for one voice actor may not work for the next. More on this in the next paragraph). It allows us to refine our approach and ensure that our future marketing efforts are more targeted and effective. Instead of dwelling on failures, let’s shift our perspective and see them as valuable learning experiences that will ultimately lead us to success.
Be Your Own VO Guru
It’s tempting to look for the “quick fix” when it comes to marketing. Which usually means either winging it or buying someone else’s “proven” strategy. And while it’s always good to learn from others, no one else’s business is exactly like yours. Which means that when it comes to marketing your business, you’re the expert! Now, you may not have all the marketing savvy and tech know-how to implement a marketing strategy (so you may need some help with implementing), but when it comes to taking stock of what’s working and what’s not, you’re the most qualified person to recognize the ingredients for a tailored and effective marketing plan.
A Problem-Solving Approach to Marketing
There’s a reason your marketing isn’t working. And it’s your job to figure out why. If something isn’t working, the worst thing you can do is to just keep repeating it. Be willing to assess your efforts honestly, view all feedback as data to help you make better decisions, and pivot when you need to. So if something isn’t going as planned, it’s key to pinpoint the reasons and come up with a plan to fix it. This could mean fine-tuning our target market, improving our demo reels, or revisiting our website design and branding. By having a problem-solving mentality, you can effectively handle the challenges of marketing and see better results in the long run.
Conclusion
Basically, being a good marketer won’t automatically make you a successful voice actor. There are a lot of things that can affect how well your marketing works and there’s no one “perfect” way to do it. But, if you keep your expectations realistic, keep trying new things and making them better, and focus on finding solutions rather than just getting results, you can improve your chances of success. Be consistent. Watch what’s working and what isn’t. Be willing to pivot when necessary. This is the only way to make marketing “work.”
