VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #451 – Keeping your Marketing Organized
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. And welcome to this week's edition of Voice Coaches Radio. I am Josh Heller and as always delighted to have you joining me here from the home studio in Rotterdam, New York as we continue our, uh, our social distancing editions of Voice Coaches Radio. Hopefully everyone is, uh, hopefully everyone's doing okay in this Twilight Zone episode in which we are currently living, um, and, uh, everyone is, is hopefully healthy and, uh, you know, that's, that's obviously the most important thing right now, it's, uh, it's obviously tough for everyone, but, uh, but we're all hanging in there, but we're not going to stop learning, we are not going to stop working, and we are not going to stop talking about voiceover, and so today we're going to continue doing what we've been doing for, for some time now, and that's taking a look back at what we've been doing.
At some of the archives at voice coaches radio and it's 12-14 plus years of archives of voice coaches radio and and some good nuggets in there. And what we're going to listen to today is a is a conversation that took place back in. I believe it was 2000 and 13. Teen, uh, with, uh, with Warren Garling and Mike Spring and, you know, what they were talking about, they're actually answering someone's question, but it was a great question that someone wrote in, uh, they were talking about how to stay organized, right?
How to make sure that, you know, when you're trying to follow up with people, when you are trying to keep track of all the different things that, that we do, trying to keep track of all the different people that we contact, you know, it can get overwhelming at times. And the last thing you want to do is... A, forget to call someone or forget to reach out to someone that you needed to or needed to follow up with and all of a sudden it becomes a lost opportunity, but on the other hand, you certainly don't want to be the person that is becoming a pest, right?
That's always contacting, that's, you know, bothering people. So it is a fine line, certainly, but being organized can help you kind of walk that line. Where you are being persistent, but you're not being a pain in the behind. So, uh, a good conversation between, uh, between Warren and Mike talking about that and about, uh, kind of best practices for how to make sure that you are staying organized and that you aren't forgetting contacts.
or becoming a pain to them.
So we're going to talk today about keeping track of your marketing efforts, perhaps, um, you know, setting up a system that works best for you. Now, you don't have to go out and buy this, this, you know, big database management thing. All right. Uh, or, or sales, you know, management software you can, Hey, if you got the bucks, go for it.
But, uh, you can set up something as simple as a diary, you know, where you're keeping it, uh, you know, longhand to, of course, using your computer and maybe a spreadsheet, right, Mike? Yeah.
I mean, this really is one of those. or wrong way to do it. I think the important thing is to recognize that keeping track of your contact is important.
Uh, and it's not the most glamorous part of voice acting. I mean, I get that. We all know it's like, you know, keeping track of things and keeping organized isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it is important because you want to know. who you've already reached out to, when you've contacted them, when it's appropriate to follow up with them.
You know, you don't, what you don't want to do is follow up with somebody or, or send a new contact email to somebody that you've already contacted. And then they're like, uh, yeah, I got your demo a couple of months ago. Why are you sending me another one? You know, it just doesn't make you look that professional.
So it is important to know kind of where you stand with everybody that you're reaching out to.
We've all been there. I, uh, when I first started my job here as marketing director over four, over six years ago now, wow. Um, I started keeping track, uh, when after, uh, making that mistake once or twice, I decided, now this isn't good.
To call the editor that I talked to about six months ago, and he said, uh, yeah, we're interested in something like this, and to call him again and introduce myself all over again and not remember that I had talked to the man, doesn't make any points. So the same thing goes for anybody that you're in contact with and trying to get some voice over business with.
Um, you want to keep, if not... Copious notes, at least notes that you understand briefly that say, and you can come up sometimes with even, you know, codes and initials that you put down that you've spoken with this person before. Or again, somewhere in this spreadsheet that you create or this, um, you know, diary you're going to keep to know when to call these people again.
And another benefit of keeping track of your contacts is eventually, once you start to get jobs, it will also let you kind of do some, some data mining, if you will. And what I mean by that is this. Let's say you have a spreadsheet of, you know, a hundred contacts. And out of those hundred people, let's say you've gotten twenty jobs.
Uh, so, eventually what you can do is you can kind of go back and look at that list and see what those 20 jobs are and see if they have anything in common. Is it a particular kind of company? Were the jobs a particular kind of thing? Maybe you'll find out that you have a knack for doing corporate based training materials.
Out of those 20 jobs, maybe 15 of them were in the corporate or business world and they were training materials. Or maybe you'll find out you have a knack for for doing, you know, high energy commercials and also you might find out that maybe you're, you're kind of spread out and you're pretty good at doing everything.
But if you keep good track of these things and who you've contacted and who you've gotten jobs through and what kind of jobs they were, it'll give you an overall idea. Maybe give you some, some, you know, thoughts on where to focus your next marketing efforts moving forward.
One of the most important things to have is, uh, a way to be reminded that you need to be in touch with someone again, and that's very easy because most of the computers, most of, you know, the, the, the pads that you get today are going to have some sort of calendar program in them, so you can easily put a little tickler on the calendar that says this is somebody that you haven't spoken to in three or four months and that you should get back in touch with.
Let them know you're alive. Let them know you're still doing this and let them know you still want to do work for them. So again, between having a Spreadsheet and of course having a calendar that can remind you of follow up calls that you want to do. You've pretty much, you know, got it and, and it doesn't have to be anything more complicated than that.
Exactly. And again, I think the important thing to remember here is that this doesn't have to be a time consuming process. You know, whether it's a spreadsheet or a handwritten on a legal pad, whatever. Take five minutes once a week and just kind of make a note of who you contacted that week while they're still fresh in your memory, you know, jot down a couple of quick notes and just.
Just enough information so that you can keep track of everything and keep organized. Like I said earlier, it's not glamorous, it's not the exciting part of this field, but it will help you in the long run as you start to build success and get busier and busier.
So we got a great conversation between Warren and Mike, uh, back in, I believe 2013, again, talking about making sure you're staying organized.
In your marketing plan, making sure that you are keeping up with who you've talked to when you've talked to how you've reached out to where things were left. Being organized is going to help you really stay on the ball with that. And, and, and, you know, the other thing they mentioned with those, those reminders, Hey, don't forget, you said you were going to reach back out to this person three months ago.
Now's the time to do it. Setting those reminders and, and it's so easy to do nowadays is absolutely a great tool because let's be honest, you know, uh, hopefully. There's a lot of these people that you're reaching out to and hopefully there's a lot of contacts that you're making and yeah it can get a little confusing at times and sure it can be tough to keep track of all this but these things will certainly help you keep track better and again will help you walk that line between being persistent and being a pain and don't get me wrong you're going across the that line, it's going to happen.
But having this information is key. Having this information is going to make it so much easier for you to have those, to have that kind of ammunition so that you know, okay, I know when I talk to this person, I know who I talked to at this company. I know, I, you know, how we, we We contacted, and I also know where we left things, right?
Where did we leave things? They told me, well, we'll see what, uh, we'll see what happens. I'll keep you in mind. Great. It's been a few months. Anything come up? Right. So a, a, again, it just is kind of helping you kind of bridge that gap. Information is key, and this is just one more way to keep organized with that information.
So, uh, a again, a, uh, a great question that was asked and a great answer that was given, uh, back in, uh, in 2013 with Warren. And Mike, and we will continue to take a look back at the, uh, at the classes or at the, uh, voice coaches, radio episodes that were, uh, since we have the time to, uh, to comb through those and find those, uh, find those gems in there that, that really still are, um, you know, not just important, but are still important today are still important seven years later.
That's still just as important as it was back then. So we'll continue to do that as we continue to stay home and stay safe. So again, I hope everyone is doing okay. Everyone's, you know, it's as healthy as we can be and as sane as. possible. Um, but, uh, we do always appreciate you turning in here to voice coaches radio.
You want to get in touch with me, any questions that you might have, right? It was a question that was sent in that led to that discussion, but any questions that you might have moving forward, let me know. All right. Let me know. [email protected] is the way to get in touch with me. Best way to get in touch with me, again, [email protected]. Just shoot me a note, let me know if there's something you want to discuss, something you want to talk to. Maybe you just want to vent, that's fine too. We are here for that, but we certainly would be happy to, uh, to answer any questions you might have, uh, on the podcast or, uh, or, or certainly off to the side if that's, uh, if that's requested as well.
So don't be a stranger. And again, everyone, please, please, please stay safe out there. We, uh. We want to make sure we're talking with you next week. So again, stay safe, stay well. And until next time so long, everyone. Visit voice coaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
At some of the archives at voice coaches radio and it's 12-14 plus years of archives of voice coaches radio and and some good nuggets in there. And what we're going to listen to today is a is a conversation that took place back in. I believe it was 2000 and 13. Teen, uh, with, uh, with Warren Garling and Mike Spring and, you know, what they were talking about, they're actually answering someone's question, but it was a great question that someone wrote in, uh, they were talking about how to stay organized, right?
How to make sure that, you know, when you're trying to follow up with people, when you are trying to keep track of all the different things that, that we do, trying to keep track of all the different people that we contact, you know, it can get overwhelming at times. And the last thing you want to do is... A, forget to call someone or forget to reach out to someone that you needed to or needed to follow up with and all of a sudden it becomes a lost opportunity, but on the other hand, you certainly don't want to be the person that is becoming a pest, right?
That's always contacting, that's, you know, bothering people. So it is a fine line, certainly, but being organized can help you kind of walk that line. Where you are being persistent, but you're not being a pain in the behind. So, uh, a good conversation between, uh, between Warren and Mike talking about that and about, uh, kind of best practices for how to make sure that you are staying organized and that you aren't forgetting contacts.
or becoming a pain to them.
So we're going to talk today about keeping track of your marketing efforts, perhaps, um, you know, setting up a system that works best for you. Now, you don't have to go out and buy this, this, you know, big database management thing. All right. Uh, or, or sales, you know, management software you can, Hey, if you got the bucks, go for it.
But, uh, you can set up something as simple as a diary, you know, where you're keeping it, uh, you know, longhand to, of course, using your computer and maybe a spreadsheet, right, Mike? Yeah.
I mean, this really is one of those. or wrong way to do it. I think the important thing is to recognize that keeping track of your contact is important.
Uh, and it's not the most glamorous part of voice acting. I mean, I get that. We all know it's like, you know, keeping track of things and keeping organized isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it is important because you want to know. who you've already reached out to, when you've contacted them, when it's appropriate to follow up with them.
You know, you don't, what you don't want to do is follow up with somebody or, or send a new contact email to somebody that you've already contacted. And then they're like, uh, yeah, I got your demo a couple of months ago. Why are you sending me another one? You know, it just doesn't make you look that professional.
So it is important to know kind of where you stand with everybody that you're reaching out to.
We've all been there. I, uh, when I first started my job here as marketing director over four, over six years ago now, wow. Um, I started keeping track, uh, when after, uh, making that mistake once or twice, I decided, now this isn't good.
To call the editor that I talked to about six months ago, and he said, uh, yeah, we're interested in something like this, and to call him again and introduce myself all over again and not remember that I had talked to the man, doesn't make any points. So the same thing goes for anybody that you're in contact with and trying to get some voice over business with.
Um, you want to keep, if not... Copious notes, at least notes that you understand briefly that say, and you can come up sometimes with even, you know, codes and initials that you put down that you've spoken with this person before. Or again, somewhere in this spreadsheet that you create or this, um, you know, diary you're going to keep to know when to call these people again.
And another benefit of keeping track of your contacts is eventually, once you start to get jobs, it will also let you kind of do some, some data mining, if you will. And what I mean by that is this. Let's say you have a spreadsheet of, you know, a hundred contacts. And out of those hundred people, let's say you've gotten twenty jobs.
Uh, so, eventually what you can do is you can kind of go back and look at that list and see what those 20 jobs are and see if they have anything in common. Is it a particular kind of company? Were the jobs a particular kind of thing? Maybe you'll find out that you have a knack for doing corporate based training materials.
Out of those 20 jobs, maybe 15 of them were in the corporate or business world and they were training materials. Or maybe you'll find out you have a knack for for doing, you know, high energy commercials and also you might find out that maybe you're, you're kind of spread out and you're pretty good at doing everything.
But if you keep good track of these things and who you've contacted and who you've gotten jobs through and what kind of jobs they were, it'll give you an overall idea. Maybe give you some, some, you know, thoughts on where to focus your next marketing efforts moving forward.
One of the most important things to have is, uh, a way to be reminded that you need to be in touch with someone again, and that's very easy because most of the computers, most of, you know, the, the, the pads that you get today are going to have some sort of calendar program in them, so you can easily put a little tickler on the calendar that says this is somebody that you haven't spoken to in three or four months and that you should get back in touch with.
Let them know you're alive. Let them know you're still doing this and let them know you still want to do work for them. So again, between having a Spreadsheet and of course having a calendar that can remind you of follow up calls that you want to do. You've pretty much, you know, got it and, and it doesn't have to be anything more complicated than that.
Exactly. And again, I think the important thing to remember here is that this doesn't have to be a time consuming process. You know, whether it's a spreadsheet or a handwritten on a legal pad, whatever. Take five minutes once a week and just kind of make a note of who you contacted that week while they're still fresh in your memory, you know, jot down a couple of quick notes and just.
Just enough information so that you can keep track of everything and keep organized. Like I said earlier, it's not glamorous, it's not the exciting part of this field, but it will help you in the long run as you start to build success and get busier and busier.
So we got a great conversation between Warren and Mike, uh, back in, I believe 2013, again, talking about making sure you're staying organized.
In your marketing plan, making sure that you are keeping up with who you've talked to when you've talked to how you've reached out to where things were left. Being organized is going to help you really stay on the ball with that. And, and, and, you know, the other thing they mentioned with those, those reminders, Hey, don't forget, you said you were going to reach back out to this person three months ago.
Now's the time to do it. Setting those reminders and, and it's so easy to do nowadays is absolutely a great tool because let's be honest, you know, uh, hopefully. There's a lot of these people that you're reaching out to and hopefully there's a lot of contacts that you're making and yeah it can get a little confusing at times and sure it can be tough to keep track of all this but these things will certainly help you keep track better and again will help you walk that line between being persistent and being a pain and don't get me wrong you're going across the that line, it's going to happen.
But having this information is key. Having this information is going to make it so much easier for you to have those, to have that kind of ammunition so that you know, okay, I know when I talk to this person, I know who I talked to at this company. I know, I, you know, how we, we We contacted, and I also know where we left things, right?
Where did we leave things? They told me, well, we'll see what, uh, we'll see what happens. I'll keep you in mind. Great. It's been a few months. Anything come up? Right. So a, a, again, it just is kind of helping you kind of bridge that gap. Information is key, and this is just one more way to keep organized with that information.
So, uh, a again, a, uh, a great question that was asked and a great answer that was given, uh, back in, uh, in 2013 with Warren. And Mike, and we will continue to take a look back at the, uh, at the classes or at the, uh, voice coaches, radio episodes that were, uh, since we have the time to, uh, to comb through those and find those, uh, find those gems in there that, that really still are, um, you know, not just important, but are still important today are still important seven years later.
That's still just as important as it was back then. So we'll continue to do that as we continue to stay home and stay safe. So again, I hope everyone is doing okay. Everyone's, you know, it's as healthy as we can be and as sane as. possible. Um, but, uh, we do always appreciate you turning in here to voice coaches radio.
You want to get in touch with me, any questions that you might have, right? It was a question that was sent in that led to that discussion, but any questions that you might have moving forward, let me know. All right. Let me know. [email protected] is the way to get in touch with me. Best way to get in touch with me, again, [email protected]. Just shoot me a note, let me know if there's something you want to discuss, something you want to talk to. Maybe you just want to vent, that's fine too. We are here for that, but we certainly would be happy to, uh, to answer any questions you might have, uh, on the podcast or, uh, or, or certainly off to the side if that's, uh, if that's requested as well.
So don't be a stranger. And again, everyone, please, please, please stay safe out there. We, uh. We want to make sure we're talking with you next week. So again, stay safe, stay well. And until next time so long, everyone. Visit voice coaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
In a recap episode of Voice Coaches Radio, team members Mike and Warren discuss the importance of keeping voice over industry contacts and marketing information organized.
