Personally, I’m never too comfortable with the word “success”. That means I’ve arrived, and that implies a certain stoppage of progress. If you’ve “arrived”…then where do you go from there?
[Well, I’m not opposed to stopping briefly to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor, but in my mind it’s never good to stay there too long.]
The other school of thought is that the successful person who has arrived shows stability, maturity, dependability, and some people (clients?) like to put you in a category and keep you there. Admittedly, not always a bad place to be.
But sooner or later, change forces your hand. An extreme example: are you still sending demos on a CD?
LAYERS
The big question with constantly re-tooling your sound, your brand, your marketing, your presentation, etc. is how deep to go? Is it possible to spruce-up some things but keep some of the flavor? I believe so, yes. For instance, this year I changed the entire look of my website, made it “responsive”, and integrated my blog into the same site. BUT I kept my logo, and my “CourVO” branding. Financial feasibility may answer this question for you.
But building off my ill-fated demo example above, no — I don’t send CD’s…I don’t even email on request. I’m taking advantage of VoiceZam‘s latest technology to build demo links into my email signature, and thereby proactively sending my demos in every email. If that email gets forwarded, then the demo gets repurposed yet again.
WHEN?
The other pertinent question in the re-tooling question is…when? My take is that if you start to see your own stuff as “stale” it’s time to take action. You see it more than anyone else, so by the time YOU think it’s old, not everyone else will…but still the timing is right to be proactive. Those of us who are afflicted with perfectionism or obsessive-compulsive-disorder may be susceptible to too MUCH tinkering. Then it’s time to ask a spouse or friend who knows you well.
Below is a list of elements of your voice-over business you may want to consider “refurbishing”. Placed in more-or-less order of priority:
- brand
- logo
- demo
- slogan
- website
- biz cards
- headshot
- social media strategy
- niche (voice focus)
- email signature
- marketing approach
What’s missing from the list?
CourVO
