How do I sell a vocal Swiss army knife?

Let’s be clear, I don’t like marketing myself, I’m not good at, it’s not in my nature. To big myself up and crow about how great I am or be all smiles with someone simply because I want a job feels fake and vacuous to me. I know it is ‘all in the game’ to be constantly creating ‘look at me, I’m talking into a microphone’ posts along with an inane question to encourage replies on Instagram or be crowing on Facebook and LinkedIn about how amazing I’ve just been doing the 'best VO job EVER' with obligatory accompanyment of ‘here I am beside the mic, here I am in front of a mic, here I am with both amazing hair and headphones next to a mic’ photos. Personally, I really struggle with it, when I do them it makes me cringe. Maybe Bill Hicks’ routine on marketing and advertising has influenced me too much?

Anyway, despite my personal issues with it I have been doing some marketing ‘courses’, hoping to learn how to sell a versatile voice actor. Generally these seem to be to be the most important 2 steps:

Step 1- Narrow your market, find your USP and pigeon hole yourself - Oh crap!!

Mmmm..How do I do that? I can tell you what I am not. I’m not the bubbly 20 something with a London-esque accent that you hear on just about every TV advert trying to sell you stuff you don’t need…..stop it… get out of my head ‘Fight Club’, don’t invade my narrative, but the thing is, I can be that voice if you need it....Step right up....

OK… Focus….Stay on target.....

You see, I get most of my work playing multiple characters with different accents. I often end up playing 3 or more characters in the same animation or game, that’s my forte, being many different characters, of different ages and genders from many different countries and regions, as my logo suggests: I’m a vocal chameleon. I’m not one of those VOs who gets work just being themselves in their native accent. About 90% of my work is done in other accents from my native Scottish brogue, and I am rarely just my cutesy, girl next door, bubbly self:) My USP is that I’m a real character actor, professionally trained, specialising in characters and accents. I can be anything you want me to be. So can I pigeon hole myself as a versatile multitool of the voice world, a vocal Swiss army knife, a voice actor chameleon? Is that even pigeon holing? When casting directors give your email or reel 5 seconds before they decide yes or no, how do inflict your full range on them? How do you get them to try Willy Wonka’s ever lasting gobstopper long enough to get the full range of flavours? I don’t care if they turn into a large blueberry and get rolled away, at least they tried all courses.

I know that casting directors roll their eyes when an actor says they can do all accents and characters convincingly, I’ve seen Braveheart, How to Train your Dragon 2 (sorry Cate) and Russel Crow’s Robin hood. Once, at an audition the casting director did their eye rolling at me regarding the accents and then went “go on then!’. After accent 7 he was getting pissed off that he couldn’t catch me out.

OK…..Back to my marketing course:

Step 2 : Engage with clients by posting about your work in an open ended fashion. Ask questions ……Oh ffs!!  I’m going to have a cup of tea.

Mmmmm….. Potential marketing opportunity?

Here's me drinking tea next to a mic while wearing headphones! What's your favourite type of tea?