Best Tips I follow as a Freelance Voice Actor

It’s very easy to lose sight of goals and purpose in the nitty-gritty, day-to-day operations of a freelance and entrepreneurial enterprise. But, there is nothing like working for yourself!! My three top tips…

Be specific… about what you need to do to market yourself. You DO NOT need to cover ALL the ground, just the ground that is specific to your business. The paths to sharing your business with the right people are MANY. And, indeed, many people claim to have the answers. The truth is, your business (and its marketing plan) need a specific plan that can benefit from certain marketing avenues. Find what works best for YOUR business, but only choose a few marketing mediums, not every medium.

Do the math… regarding monthly expenses and income. Your business is only viable if it can stay afloat financially over the medium and long term. Throwing caution to the wind is a fun, risk-taking attitude, but if the numbers don’t add up, you need to figure out how they can. Further, you risk burning out if you don’t do your homework in this area. How can your business make the most money? What makes sense financially? No matter how uncomfortable, make the numbers make sense.

Don’t worry… about how you’re going to do it or you’ll never get started! As a big picture thinker, I can become caught up in worrying about the details. I could never have imagined doing so many things that are easy for me now. Doing the work in front of you is what will take you where you need to go. Where you end up is likely inconceivable to your present self! Put one foot in front of the other and get going!

Further… consider online services that will likely work well over the long haul. Find a good accounting software. I recommend Freshbooks, 17Hats, or Invoice2Go. Find an email marketing system that works best for you. I’ve been working with iContact and MailChimp. Use the social media that is logical for your business. I prefer LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for a professional presence, but YouTube and SoundCloud are important to me because of the multimedia aspect of my business.

One of the mantras that has stuck with me from broadcasting school…

“The more pre-production you do, the better the production.”

Spend the time upfront researching ways to save time, money, and energy particular to your business and workflow preferences, because once you’re in the middle of it, you’ll wish you did!