“Marry Your Market” was the headline of an article I read in Radio and Records magazine back in about 1992.
I’m a voiceover now, but as a radio presenter then, this article meant being fully integrated into the market your radio station served. It’s a simple premise. If you’re fully absorbed into what’s going on around you and in your listener’s lives, and reflect that back in what you do on air, you will be rewarded with listeners who like what you’re doing.
For many actors it’s the same thing, they look to what’s happening in their area to find work and connections upon which they can develop a career. It’s very much a community.
What Does Community Mean In Today’s World?
As a UK based (Leeds) voiceover, the temptation is to follow the same path. Seek out production houses in Leeds, and get work from them. It’s what works right?
Actually, no. For voiceover artists your market is completely different. Your market is diverse. It is far flung, and thanks to the internet it is global.
If as a voiceover, you’re thinking, “what production companies are there in my town and near here”, you’re doing it wrong.
In recent years, I’ve worked with clients in Leeds, Keighley, York, London, Manchester, Huddersfield, Kent and Bristol. Wow. That’s quite diverse. It’s only half the story. I’ve also worked with clients in the US, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Poland, France, The Caribbean, India, China and the Middle East.
It means a change of mind-set. You don’t need to be the only person your customer ever thinks about. You don’t need to “own” a market. You just need to be the person they think of when they have a particular need, for a particular voiceover.
Divorce your market. And look for other fish in the sea. It’s a big ocean out there.
Tony Collins Fogarty is a UK Voiceover based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with over 25 years broadcast experience.