Voice actors need to market themselves, but what's the best way to do this? There is a new-ish trend for today's entrepreneurs, marketing in a way that is the most effective. Let's talk about it.
The newest marketing trend in voiceover is really effective. - 4:24
Hey guys, welcome to another edition of The Gift of Gab. Today we are gonna talk about one of the newest marketing trends that you're gonna hear about on YouTube and elsewhere called "niching down." I've actually talked about this in some of my other videos, but we're going to talk about it today, too.
All right, so what the hell is niching down? Well it is another marketing trend of which there are many, and I'm gonna be honest, right... it's not really new. It's recycled, it's technically an older idea that's just being repackaged and rebranded in its own right to seem new. Niching down is actually what I talked about in this video here. It references niche marketing being very specific about what you do best and target marketing, focusing on that skill set to make sure that you have a steady income, a steady supply of work in that specific area, cultivating that work, then potentially breaking out or branching out into another area. I also referred to it especially as it relates to voice over as being pigeonholed because that is a common term in the acting community for an actor who regularly takes on, basically, the same acting role over and over and over again and is known for a specific portrayal. And hey, as actors go, we're okay with that if it's paying the bills. I will gladly play the same part day in and day out, no problem.
Ultimately it's saying, "Okay, as a voice actor, I have all of these different avenues, I have all of these different areas in which I could make a living. Commercial, narration, corporate, industrial, audio books, promo... right? I mean the list just keeps going. There's so much stuff, there's just so much, and it's realizing, "But what am I the best at? I can't be amazing at all of those things." Jack of all trades, master of none, that whole thing come to mind? It can mean you're good at a variety of those things, but you can only be great at maybe one or two.
So for me in my career, it was knowing that great - for me, really - is the commercial sector and that's where I shine, and so that's where I focus. That for me is my niche, right? That's the niching down part. When I was starting out, I was kind of creating that funnel and knowing that I had to really hone in on those commercial skills. The other stuff? Not so much. At the top, the top of my funnel? I don't make any bones about it -- it's audiobooks. It's way up there because I don't... I suck at them! I'm okay with that! I don't like them, I don't jive with them, it doesn't make sense for me, so I just bypass them altogether.
Does it mean I couldn't? Does it mean I would never? No, but I'm just not going to spend the time there. But it consistently goes from there with all the other skill sets that I kind of go, "Ehhh..." I mean, long form, some types of corporate narration, medical narration, I'm not a huge fan of that either. To really be able to come to that place of saying, "Okay, this is where I want to put the majority of my time, the majority of my effort, focus my branding, focus my marketing, and focus on my networking, and really developing the relationships that are going to help me build this business."
Take a look at this other video. It'll give you some more insights into this whole process I'm talking about, do a little bit of research on the web on niching down and see if that resonates with you, if it's something that can be of help in your career moving forward. I hope this helps! Take it easy.
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Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover, Charlotte, North Carolina, Voiceover Demo, Voiceover Coaching Advice, Working Actors, Los Angeles, New York, How to Be a Better Voice Actor, marketing, networking, niche, typecast, niching down, marketing trends, digital marketing