Marketing isn’t selling.

Marketing is telling a story, and either prepping the buyer for a sales pitch, or – better yet – leading the buyer to decide on their own that they want or need your service (product).
One of the most effective marketing tools I’ve ever used scored another win this morning. A buyer came to my door (figuratively) and asked to buy what I sell – non-fiction audiobook narration.

Backstory:

One of my coaches is Sean Pratt, a prolific audiobook narrator with close to 1,000 titles in his resume. Before narrating, Sean spent years hitting the boards in New York and other cities as a classically trained theater actor. A thespian of the highest rank.
As an actor, he would regularly send postcards – with his face and a listing of his recent work – to casting directors and theater managers, hoping the card would arrive at the precise moment the CD was looking to fill a role that Sean was “perfect” for.
The postcards went out like clockwork. Month after month. Drip, drip, drip.
He has encouraged me to do the same. Only now, emails have replaced the ubiquitous little cards.
Every time one of my narration projects is released, I send a simple “text-only” email to a small list of people who have some influence in decision making related to audiobook production. Casting Directors, publishers, agents, prolific authors. Anyone who might at some point be searching for a voice or style that matches mine. (See an example above).
And it works. Two weeks ago a publisher who gets my little “postcards” sent me an email after receiving the last one. The “postcard” had reminded him that one of his authors was looking for a narrator and that I’d be a good fit.

Bada-bing. Bada-boom.

I’ll start recording that book in about two weeks.
Never underestimate the power of a good idea.

(By the way – If you’d like to receive the little postcard mailing, send me your email with POSTCARD LIST in the subject line).