Jonathan Tilley Was Out Guest
I have to admit, that when Diana Birdsall and I got Jonathan Tilley to come on our weekly Clubhouse, I got a little fan-girled out for a quick minute. If you don’t know Jonathan, he is quite fabulous. He runs a genius marketing course for voice actors and other creatives called League of List Builders to teach about direct marketing to clients. Diana and I both took his class years ago, and as full-time professional talents and coaches, have used his methods with great success to build our own businesses. Jonathan also teaches about specialty topics like Instagram marketing, selfie techniques, lighting….so basically he is a marketing g-d and everything that comes out of his mouth is pure brilliance plus he is lovely and kind and so fun. See why I was excited to have him on our panel? So in case you missed it ( and I don’t know why you would miss it but if you did…) here is a recap based on my notes from Jonathan Tilley’s panel with us:
What is the beauty if marketing?
Our chat with Jonathan started out with this pivotal question. Jonathan talked about the importance of authenticity and being a real person to the people we reach out to. We talked about how our goal really is to make connections so that we can ultimately build relationships and get to know people and actually make deep connections. Our marketing should be friendly and down to earth.
Instant Gratification Doesn’t Work
Researching the people we are marketing to is essential. Jonathan gave the example of Starbucks. If we wanted to find a Starbucks, we wouldn’t just set out. We would take the time to see which Starbucks was closest to us. In this world where we all want everything right away, marketing is the one time where we need to take our time and learn about who we are marketing to, whether or us a podcast, ad agency, or video production company. We need to know a little about them BEFORE we reach out.
The Subject Line Matters
After years in voice over, I can tell you it is still hard to know what to put in the subject line. Jonathan says it should be clear and professional. The subject line should say who you are and what you offer. After all, this is a way people often make sure an email is not spam, so if you are a “Female Professional Voice Talent” say that.
Making a Personal Connection
Jonathan talks about how everyone loves compliments, and the best way to engage is to make people feel good with something that you genuinely feel. So, if you are reaching out to a video production company that you would like t work with, look at the work they have done on their website and social media. Write a personalized letter to them and tell them what you liked and why it resonated with you. A heartfelt compliment goes a long way!
Promoting Yourself Without Seeming Like a Spammy Braggart
This is a tricky one for a lot of people. We want to sing from the clouds how great it would be to work with this ad agency/vide production company/agent but then it’s about us and not about them. Jonathan talks about how making them feel good starts with showing that you understand what problems they are dealing with and what the solutions are. Speak the clients language: “On an ideal day you get work done under budget and ahead of time. I’d love to make your day a little easier. I specialize in……some brands I’ve worked with are (insert 3 examples). That is the kind of language that is client centered and works for them.
As a tip, Jonathan suggested googling production house nightmares and dream stories. He suggested it would be a great way to get insights into their pain points and desires.
Follow Ups
Jonathan recommends monthly follow ups. I have to say, I was surprised by this. For years I have done quarterly follow ups. Jonathan reminded us that it often takes a minimum of 5 correspondences to get a potential client to engage, so whether they reply or not, monthly follow ups are best. These correspondences should also be individualized and interesting. Remember, our goal is to build a relationship.
Jonathan also shared another fun way to follow up is to share testimonials from clients cleverly interwoven with a behind the scenes glimpse of what was really going on. So if you have a rave review that talks about your stellar performance, but in reality you were a ball of phlegm sipping throat coat between each line, it balances the testimonial.
What if You’re New and Don’t Have Street Cred?
We had a few folks ask Jonathan how to reach out to potential clients when they are brand new to voiceover. They had been told “fake it til’ you make it” but wanted to know how you have credibility without a client list? Jonathan encouraged everyone that nothing should stop you from going after your dream clients. All you need is a demo, a website, the internet, and time. Typically, you want to attach an MP3 of your time. You need to carefully craft your personalized letters to talk about how you can best support their needs, and shine, regardless of your time in VO.
working while my family is outside enjoying a beautiful day together. I never feel like I am missing out because I have very specific goals and I am on a mission. Often having fun and reaching one’s goals are mutually exclusive. That brings me to my current conflict, I am a mom of twins, and my twins are rising seniors in high school. College visits are not only an essential part of the admissions process, but my twins have unique interests, so they are looking at entirely different schools. At the moment, all of my values as a parent and goals as a solopreneur are being put to the test: am I steady enough to juggle everything and be there for my kids while continuing to fuel my business? I have felt tremendous pressure, and been having a constant mental struggle, until our weekly Clubhouse today.
is an on-going course that you can still take! Since then, I have followed Jonathan and continued to learn from him regularly on social media. I went to school for Political Science and History, so there was a major gap in my marketing knowledge. I studied with Jonathan to fill said gap. Anyway, the Clubhouse is meant to help others in the community, but this one hour with Jonathan left me feeling so re-inspired. It reminded me
So if you asked me when I got into voice over what I dreamt of doing, I would have told you that “I want to be a Disney princess,”or “I hope to book a target commercial.” Never did I utter the words, “I want to do radio imaging.” Why? Because I had no idea that this genre of voice over even existed, or what it meant to be a female radio imaging voice for a station. I actually attended a GVAA webinar that J. Michael Collins did on radio imaging and a light bulb went off in my head. All of this energy, enthusiasm, and passion that I was constantly having to tone down for my conversational commercial voice over reads was what made me perfect for radio imaging! That enthusiasm was the essential ingredient for station liners, stingers, promos… anything necessary in imaging! 
The team at OneVoice put together an all-star panel for Radio Imaging. I am elated to be on stage with these folks. In addition to me, the others include Randy Thomas, Joe Cipriano, AJ McKay, Paul Cartwright, and Brent Williams. I have to say, to be up there with Randy blows my mind a little. When J. Michael and AJ did my first multi-format imaging demo back in 2017, and I asked how to get started in radio imaging, JMC connected me with Randy. She suggested that I fly out to LA for her VO Mastery conference, which turned out to be amazing. Since then, she has been a mentor to me. While there, I took a master class with Joe Cipriano in promos. It was incredible. I had been a working pro for quite some time at that point, but was new to radio imaging. To be on a stage with them means so much. If you don’t know, in addition to voicing countless radio stations around the country, Randy has announced the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and the Tonys! Joe Cipriano is a man who typically needs no introduction, but just in case you’ve been locked in a broom closet, he has been the voice of Fox and CBS for over 25 years.
When I first looked at this line up, I was ecstatic, then I got nervous. Then I realized the very reason I was nervous is why I need to be on the panel. You see, unlike people like Randy and AJ, I did not work into radio imaging because of a background in radio or work as a DJ. I know lots of brilliant talents… Issa Lopez, Chad Ericson, Josh Goodman, Jeff Berlin… who all started as DJs and got into imaging. I am different. I came to voice over in my mid-thirties. I have always booked a lot of commercials. I love doing commercials. I have a ton of energy, and I needed to find what else was in that category. I love working with my radio stations for imaging. From CHR, to Christian, to Oldies to Adult Hits, I am happy in many formats. But you can’t just record a demo and hope that the universe sends you work. Having work in imaging requires consistent, daily follow up. It takes commitment and hard work. It takes determination. Talent and the ability to voice the liners is only a small part of booking imaging work, especially for those of us not from Radio. So I am on this panel to talk about how a determined, hardworking, focused, ambitious voice actor built a solid radio imaging business all on her own.
commercial campaign, getting signed by an agent, and seeing an old friend. Why is a new demo so exciting? A voice over demo means opportunity. It is a new moment for us to say here I am, listen to this. This is what I can do for you! As a full-time, professional voice over talent, there are plenty of other female voice over actors booking lots of commercials. How do I make myself get noticed? The demo. So who you do your demo with, the coach and producer you choose to spend your time and money with matters, a lot. I have worked with some of the top coaches in the field, and I can tell you that I have had outstanding experiences and I have had experiences hat should have been better. Now that I am work as a 
that show both your range and are appropriate for your brand. If you have dream VO clients, this is the time to include those scripts. So for example, if you are doing an automotive demos, and you love Audi, you would include an Audi script. If you are doing a commercial demo and you love shopping at target, why not include a target spot? The scripts should not simply descend from above on demo day, be handed to you, and recorded. They should be meaningful to you and they should show both your range and what matters to you. They can be an interesting glimpse into your interests too! So, it is very important that you can easily talk to your 
This is really important. Demo producers typically send you their preferred order, but at the end of the day the demo is yours to live with and their preferred order matters less than your preferred order. I personally have had demo producers make changes without any fuss, and I worked with others who refuse to make any changes at all and insist that it must stay the way it is.
The job of a 
There are talent agents who cast voice actors all over the counts, and they, too, are outstanding for career and rates advice in voice over. A good agent not only secures industry leading rates, they also direct you reads and let you know when you are on the mark and when you need improvement. An agent has both business savvy and a good ear, so if you are lucky enough to be on their roster, work with them! Seek their guidance and build a rapport. You can learn so much for a good agent. Both you and the agent benefit from you learning as much as possible, so they would likely want to help as much as they can.
I have blogged before about my accountability group, but I cannot stress enough how much this group has helped me daily to grow my business and make better choices. They have pushed me beyond boundaries I would have never thought to challenge, and they have made me look beyond. I am so much better because I am in the company of these women.
As I said before, there were elements of my previous branding that I loved. I loved a lot of the pink. I did not love the contrast between the pink and the black. Instead of the bubbles I had before, we whose to do something that combined my favorite flowers and leopard print. Again, I wanted this to have some edge to it, while retaining some warmth.
