Networking in voiceover

In voice-over as in all business ventures we think a lot about networking, and numerous articles have been appearing about it lately in various internet haunts that I frequent, including voice actor haunts like the Voice Registry Blog. It’s an indispensable activity, intimately related to marketing. But, it is not marketing and it shouldn’t look like it. It's just making connections of all kinds in all kinds of ways. What does it look like for you?

I have several formal outlets for networking: my local Chamber of Commerce, my local Ad Club, and another local group called Hidden Tech. The Chamber has the most regular meetings – a monthly “Arrive at 5”, quarterly breakfast meetings, and in addition I’m a member of its tourism committee. The Ad Club has a monthly luncheon series and an annual holiday party. Hidden Tech meets occasionally. I have not seen any measurable benefit to my business from the Chamber or the Ad Club - but then, I'm not measuring! A member of Hidden Tech needed a favor, which I was able to perform, which led to her giving me a spot as a speaker in a program she was organising, which led to a reporter writing a story about me for the local paper, which led to a call from a toy maker who needed a voice for a talking doll. My goal in participating in these various organisations is to be part of a community, which is especially important for those of us who work alone. When I go to these meetings, my challenge as a shy person is to talk to one or two people in some depth (not the trap-your-neighbor-and-talk-their-ear-off kind of depth, more like, find something that interests them and get them to talk about it). I want to make sure they know what I do for a living, and everybody asks, just as I ask everybody what they do. But nobody wants a sales talk at a party – what a turn-off! For thoughts on how not to network see a recent article by Ilse Benun.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this – at networking events, far more often than we voice actors hear “oh, you do voice-overs? I might have a job for you!” we hear, “I’ve always wanted to get into that – how did you get started?” There is nothing to be lost by giving a helpful answer to that question. Although I didn’t get started in this business by asking a voice actor how to do it – I was already in the demo-in-hand marketing phase before I ever talked to a working voice actor besides my coach – I hope I will never be too busy to try to give somebody a hand if they need one. We are always hoping somebody will give us a hand and we need to make sure the universe is balanced! I really like what casting director Bonnie Gillespie has to say about that in her column, The Actor’s Voice:

How often do you meet with new-to-town, enthusiastic, completely-clueless-to-the-biz actors upon whose lives you could make a huge positive impact, just by showing them how to format their resumé or where to download sides? Not too often, right? ("Why would I? What's in it for me? Who has the time?" Exactly.) Well, let's seek to change that. Do a little mentoring. Pay it forward. Invest in a relationship with someone who offers you absolutely nothing whatsoever in return....It could even connect you with someone whose career will skyrocket long before yours does, and that person might be so grateful to you for the early support that you'll benefit in ways you never imagined possible.


Hear hear! At the very least, being helpful makes the world a more pleasant place for our own selfish selves - that's worthwhile in and of itself, isn't it??

Blogging is another way that I network. Most of what I write is just more internet noise, but occasionally something will resonate with people and then I get a lot of email about it. Most of the people I hear from are other voice actors, which is a great boon in this age of isolation. It’s really nice when people email and leave comments at my blog, and I try to do it myself at other blogs. If you’ve never left a comment here, please think about doing it – as soon as you leave a comment, you become visible – people learn that you exist. That’s a good thing! So leave one here, and then go to some of the blogs listed on the right and leave a comment there too.

I have to say that, so far, social networking has not taken up much of my networking time-budget. I have a profile at the major sites and a bunch of others, and have spent some time reviewing others’ profiles for possible connections. But I spend more than enough time on the computer as it is, and I SO do not need another reason to be here – there are more efficient ways to connect with colleagues and with potential clients, and I’m too old to be using them for friendship-related stuff (as it was so well stated at Beyond Madison Avenue: “social networking is only social if you’re alone”).

I think the most important thing to remember is that any networking you do as a voice actor and business person is like creating a garden from bare soil – you don’t plant only one kind of plant, such that your garden will look great for a week when all the flowers are blooming, and then there’s nothing going on at all. You’re planting for the present and for the future – a variety of annuals with different blooming times, a variety of perennials and shrubs and even some trees. Aim for great diversity, so that there is always something going on in your garden. Although I can't point to concrete ways that my business has benefited from all of my networking activities, I never know when some little seed I've planted at a party might take root and grow into something wonderful. It takes 3-5 years to establish a business, so get out there in the dirt and get busy!! And don’t forget to leave a comment to tell me how your garden grows.

Note on 5 Feb 2008: another article on acting and networking! It's in the air - as it always should be.

I love my Ad Club.

Today was the season finale for the monthly luncheon series sponsored by the Ad Club of Western Massachusetts, a group I joined last December. I enjoy their events tremendously, always finding congenial people to talk to. Most of their gatherings are sit-down affairs, a venue I as a shy person find much easier than cocktail party-type get-togethers where I have to seek people out actively in order to connect. Today’s event was at the lovely Delaney House, a setting guaranteed to put guests in a convivial mood. I headed for a table with just one person seated there, thinking that relieving somebody else’s solitude would be a better idea than crashing a crowd, and thus I spent a very pleasant meal talking with a man who works for a company that produces in-theater advertising.

The program speaker today was Randy Snow, V.P. and Creative Director at R&R Advertising in Las Vegas. Randy is in charge of the highly successful “What happens here, stays here” campaign for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). He’s also an accomplished speaker and had our rapt attention for 45 minutes while he told the history of that campaign. Some of the ads are super funny and I loved them all (even though none of them had voiceover!).

The LVCVA is obviously a big client. After 9/11 they were very concerned – about a lot of things, of course, but one big concern was what would happen to the tourism industry in this country. Randy Snow had an idea (borrowed from Sam Walton), which was to ask the customers. Thousands of people were stranded in Las Vegas then and Snow and his team went out with note pads and talked to people. They asked them – "what should we do?" Almost everyone they spoke with said the same thing: when we start to recover from this disaster and start to think about traveling again, we probably aren’t going to feel like going to the Middle East or even Europe. You need to be here for us. Keep doing what you’re doing. So that’s exactly what they did. They’ve been doing it ever since, and there has been no diminution whatsoever in travel to Vegas since that time.

I don’t know where I’ve been in the years since these ads started running but I had only seen one of them on television. Here’s a great one: "The Wedding". I’ve never been to Las Vegas and have never felt the urge, but after seeing all those ads, I just might up and go and be somebody else for a few days. Not sure who, but I’ll find out when I get there!

When it came time to pick the door prize winners, Randy Snow pulled the business cards from the basket and handed them to the President of the Ad Club. I saw him pull mine out and the President looked at it and turned it over and felt it and said, “ooh, what a nice card!” Score another one for Vaskevich Studios, who designed those as a gift. I’m a very lucky gal to have such beautiful cards (and I made sure that Mr. Snow got one to keep).

I seem to have gotten myself onto the Event Planning Committee for next season. Not sure where I will find the time, but usually the busier I am the more efficient I am. And busy and efficient are both good things.

Voice artist wins big at Ad Club of Western Massachusetts event.

My friend and fellow voice talent Steve Anthony reminded me a few weeks ago of the existence of the Ad Club of Western Massachusetts. Although I had looked at their membership list some time ago, I have not really given them the attention they deserve. And after hearing a testimonial from Janet Ault on Pat Fraley’s Gypsy’s Guide to the Business of Voiceover (she describes how her experience volunteering at her local ad club’s golfing tournament led to a VO gig that covered her own investment and then some) I decided to explore and get out of the studio again. I reserved a spot at this month’s Ad Club luncheon, which took place yesterday at the Sheraton in Springfield.

I arrived about 15 minutes late since my directions took me as far as Main Street and then dropped me like a hot potato, so I had to do a bit of hunting to find the place. When I walked into the hotel ballroom and saw the sea of over a hundred unfamiliar faces I just took the first seat I saw and hoped for the best – that whoever I was seated next to would be open to talking to a stranger, and that I would be able to make intelligent conversation.

I needn’t have worried. To my left was the Director of Communications at the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, who told me fascinating things about the history of his organisation (my family was adopted last month by a terrific German Shepherd, and I love hearing about guide dogs). Next to him was a gentleman in sales from a production company I had been trying to get noticed by for 2 years. When I told him I do voiceovers he got animated and asked for a business card as they are always looking for new talent. That was as far as I got with my table mates before the program started – a talk by internet journalist and blogger Tish Grier. We heard about some of the key elements of blogging, such as the importance of having biographical information on your blog page so that readers can connect with you, the ethical ramifications of blogging, and much more.

After the talk there was, unexpectedly, a raffle. Several companies had contributed prizes and the winners' names were pulled from a basket that had been at the registration table labeled “add your business card if you would like to be on our mailing list”. The first three winners received a teddy bear from Hampden Bank. After that, I suddenly envisioned myself winning a prize. I rarely win anything in raffles or contests, and yet I felt this so keenly that I actually took my little satchel off my lap so I could get up in case I won something and had to go claim my prize. And can you believe it, my card was the next one pulled from that basket. This prize had been donated by Business West, and it was two tickets to an Arlo Guthrie concert next month. I LOVE Arlo Guthrie. How did they know?? I bounded up to the front of the room to receive this amazing gift, and floated back to my seat with it. Luckily for me my benefactor at Business West stopped at my table on her way out of the room and I had a chance to tell her how very much I appreciated those tickets – but I think she had already figured that out.

Yes, this particular expedition away from the studio was definitely a winner. I came away with much more than I brought, and gave away my last business card, which is a good thing, because my new ones are waiting for me. Which may mean another road trip. Oh and by the way – the gig I missed by being away for a few hours last week? That gentleman called me yesterday and told me his client had not liked the voice he’d had to hire instead of mine.

The karmic forces of the last week are making me dizzy.