As a voiceover artist, you're probably already familiar with the concept that your demo is your calling card, and understand just how critical it can be for securing work in the industry. In today's rapidly expanding digital landscape, it's more important than ever to be able to target and speak to your potential clients, not only with your demo, but in your online marketing efforts as well. These potential customers may have varying degrees of experience in hiring voiceover talent, and the more you can help to educate them in the process, the closer you will be to booking the job!

Here are ten tips to help you to reach your target market for a successful 2016!

Embrace Technology: Marketing and Technology have collided. Consider utilizing technologies such as VoiceZam, Sound Cloud, and YouTube for distributing your demo to prospective clients, as well as assigning tags for increased SEO. Familiarize yourself with cutting edge ISDN replacement technologies such as ipDTL to increase your business offerings. The investment you make in familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of new technology platforms will pay off, now and in the future. Build a comprehensive online presence: Consumers online are searching for products and services, surfing across websites, and socializing on the top social networks. You need to be everywhere your prospects are, so they can find you, learn more about you, LISTEN to your demo, and ultimately buy from you. You to be in the right place at the right time in order to give consumers the information and confidence they need to make the decision to buy from you instead of a competitor. Buy Your Personal Domain: Every person is his or her own personal brand, especially if you own your own business and consider yourself an entrepreneur. Having FirstNameLastName.com is key to being searchable and having people find you easily by name, as opposed to having a generic voice brand that may show up on the fourth page of a Google search. You can use your personal domain as a core site for any other brands you represent. It’s your identity so you should protect it, even if you haven’t created a website. Keep in mind that anyone can buy your name and turn it into a website. And there are plenty of domain squatters out there too, buying up domains in hopes of selling it to you later at an inflated rate. Once your website is created, make sure to display your demos prominently on your home page so that your clients can easily access them with minimal clicking or scrolling. Know your Vocal Demographic: Where does your voice fit? What ages and vocal ranges can you perform? Child? Teen? Young Adult? Middle Aged? Adult Senior? In today’s educated consumer society, most companies look to hire a voice that is within the same target market, as it tends to increase sales. Think of how you purchase today - more than likely you have asked a peer in your target market for product recommendations. What clients will be searching for your sound? Know your Vocal Branding Words: What words describe your sound? Alluring, Lively, Articulate? Intellectual, Urban, Exotic? Ask your coach or friends to describe your voice to help you brand your sound. These words can be built into your online profiles and in your website to help describe your brand and will be indexed and searchable in most every social media platform as well as your favorite search engines Have a demo for each market: You should have a demo and a written description for each market category your business serves, i.e. Commercial, promo, Radio/Imaging, Animation, Audiobooks, eLearning, Corporate Narration, Medical Narration, etc. Remember that text in your website and online profiles is indexed for search engines so it will be helpful when people are searching for specific voices to fit their needs. Be relevant for today’s market! Define Your Target Customer: Just like building a character and analyzing scripts in voiceover, the better you know your target customer, the better you can serve them with your business. Are they (B2B) casting directors, talent agents, advertising agencies, broadcasting companies, production companies, media companies, e-learning companies, etc? Are they (B2C) potential direct customers – company specific ie Hoag Hospital, Verizon, Disney, Xerox? What is their gender, age, and income level? Have a spot on your demo for each Target Customer: Today's demo needs to be more than just a showcase of your voice, it needs to have an underlying marketing and advertising strategy that is specific to your genre, as well as the ability to target the markets that you intend to reach. Your demo should have a variety of spots that speak to different industries, brands, and products within your established target market(s). Be current and pay attention to Pop Culture. Who is hiring and what type of voice is being hired for a particular industry? Know where Your Clients Live Online: Do your homework - how do your existing and potential customers use social media? How can you get in front of them to educate them on your services? Check out the activity on your competitor’s social media profile pages to help determine your target audience or do a keyword search on social media platforms to find conversations around your market. Listen and Engage: (more than talking!) Finally, realize that ITS NOT ABOUT YOU. It’s not even about your business! It’s all about how you can serve your client. What is their pain point? How can you help them to get more business? How can you help them to elevate their brand? Strategize from a place of how you can best serve and you will be well on your way to targeting a successful 2016!

Anne is a full time Voice Talent, Coach and Producer located in Orange County, CA, and offers private coaching and mentoring to students in person, as well as via Skype and ipDTL. For more information, please visit her websites at: http://anneganguzza.com and http://vopeeps.com