Make Them Smile
That, my friends, is the last of four boxes from Amazon. In other words - in your face, mall shoppers! Sorry. 'Couldn't control my excitement. But I literally smile whenever I see the "Amazon smile" on a box.
I am a Prime member. That means that I pay $79US ever year, just to get free two-day shipping on many items or upgrade to one-day shipping for only about four bucks! It makes me feel like an Amazon VIP. I have had great experiences with this company and so pre-paying almost eighty dollars to a company that makes me smile is very easy. To take it a step further, I am also an Amazon Associate and subscribe to their S3 service (a way to serve media efficiently and at low cost without having to use my own bandwidth.) I will probably continue to add more services as needed if they provide it. All because they know how to make me smile.
Everyone in the voiceover, creative, or other freelance business understands that we are problem solvers; that we are service providers; that we aim to please. However, receiving this shipment today made me realize that it's as simple as "make them smile." Our goal as voiceover artists is to make them smile; make the producer smile; make the buyer smile. Just make them smile. By acknowledging a specific physical human reaction as our goal versus a somewhat ambiguous emotion, our focus becomes more intense and our actions in our business and craft more effective.
The pretzel man on the corner makes me smile when he wraps a napkin around my soda can. The deli I frequent in the morning makes me smile when they begin to prepare my coffee the second I walk through the door. The subway train conductor makes me smile when he or she sees me coming down the stairs and doesn't close the doors on me (that one's rare, but it happens.) All of these actions don't cost these other "service providers" much at all, but they understand the importance of a small gesture that can add so much to my day and almost instantly make me smile. That's why I continue to gladly give them my hard-earned money. They give me the proverbial happy ending (no Full Metal Jacket jokes please.)
If you continue to make them smile, the mere mention of your name (or sight of your logo) will instill confidence in the person who's making the decision to hire you. Someone wisely said that the way to make it in the voice-over business is summarized in two simple steps:
- Stay in the "game"
- Don't starve
I will now add a third:
- Make them smile
So, despite the fact that those boxes I received today were full of princess toys and other pink items, they made me smile and I will be back for more (not princess stuff though - I have my fill I think. Maybe the Barbie dollhouse - that thing is cool! It has an elevator!)
Now, excuse me while I go narrate some sports promos.
-Anthony
Comments [0]