VO BOSS’s first crossover episode! Anne and Gabby sit down this week with the take charge chick, Trish “The Dish” Basanyi! Trish has been playing the VO game since 1999 and shares some awesome insights into how her branding, voice, and marketing have changed over the years. Trish is also a co-host of one the oldest voiceover podcasts, Voiceover Cafe! Check out the link to their website below.
Takeaways
Quick Concepts from Today’s Episode:
If your voice is changing with your age, don't be in denial. Embrace it and consider rebranding.
Utilize social media for finding clients.
A direct email campaign has been working wonders for Trish recently.
Don’t be afraid to get out there and let your marketing strategy evolve with you.
Referenced in this Episode
Direct links to things we brought up ++
Transcript
VO: Today’s voiceover talent is more than just a pretty voice. Today’s voiceover talent has to be a boss. A VO B.O.S.S. Set yourself up with business owner’s strategies and success. With your host, Anne Ganguzza. Along with some of the strongest voices in our industry. Rock your business. Like a boss. A VO B.O.S.S.
Anne: Welcome to the VO B.O.S.S. Podcast. I’m your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my beautiful co-host, Gabby Nistico. Hey Gabby.
Gabby: Hey Anne.
Anne: Gabby, I’m truly excited today to talk to someone that I have known for years in the voiceover industry, and I like to think of her as a pioneer of a lot of things: Voice talent, podcast host extraordinaire, Trish Basanyi. Trish, thanks so much for joining us.
Trish: That’s probably one of the best introductions I have ever had. Thank you.
Anne: Well, it’s true. It’s true. I really have been following you for years. And I’ve always considered you to be a pioneer in this industry. Perhaps you could tell us a little bit about about yourself–and our listeners–how you got started in the business. And how you’ve evolved over the years.
Trish: Oh wow. Ok, well, how much time you got? First of all. No. I started kind of dabbling in the business in 1999. I did radio part-time. I was in corporate accounting for a full time job. I went to college for a little while but I didn’t windup getting a degree. I just didn’t have the focus for it. And I also didn’t know what I wanted to really do, so me continuing to spend money on, you know, for college credits that would probably never be use was kind of pointless for me. So I wound up just going into the work force when I was like 19. I was just kind of, you know, kinda lost. So I got into radio and I was a, you know, just an intern for a little while, and then they put me on the air. And one of my friends visited me during one of my air shifts and said–he said he was listening to me on the way to the radio station and said, “Oh, you should check out voiceover. You have a really great voice.” And I was like, “What’s that?” And, again, this was 1999 and he’s like, “Well, yeah, voiceovers! You know, commercials and that sort of thing.” And I’m like, “Okay.” So, I did my research online. Got a coach–blah blah blah. And fast-forward 5 years I did it part-time here and there. Sent out my demo to a million places in New York and in New Jersey, which is, you know, my home area, and in 2004 I quit my very last day job, Dusk, a corporate accounting job, and went full-time with VO. I was still doing radio part-time for the next couple of years. But, yeah, VO has been my only sole income since 2004. And it’s been a wild ride.
Anne: Wow.
Gabby: Think, you know, Anne and I both have kind of been there throughout and watched and seen. And we were talking earlier about how much we love your marketing, and how just an incredible journey you’ve been through with marketing your brand and and how iconic and memorable you’ve become. We talked a little about Trish the Dish, and how that’s, you know, you said you’re starting to get away from that, a little. But tell us a little about your branding process. You know, how some of that came about. The highs, the lows, all the good stuff.
Trish: Well, early on I just kinda had, you know, a basic kind of clip art thing that most people when, you know, you’re workin’ on a super low budget you just kinda throw together. Then I found someone named Nikki Saco, who you guys may be familiar with. She’s also a voiceover talent. She’s does Spanish VO and she’s also a graphic artist. So I somehow connected with her back in, like, 2008, I think? And we sat down basically, or, you know, virtually sat down–she’s in Florida–and kind of went over my ideas and I wanted to do Trish the Dish and do Purple, ’cause Purple is a passion of mine. It’s also–it’s just like, it’s probably a little scary, it’s like…
Anne: Purple is my first remembrance of you. For sure.–
Trish: Yeah. Yeah. Anne:–That of your brand.
Trish: And that’s by design. But it’s also just something that I just naturally feel, you know, towards the…So. Yeah, so, Nikki and I–Nikki really came up with most of it. I mean, I told–I gave her Trish the Dish as a moniker. The idea of a dish and I basically let her run with it. And she came back with some really great and cool ideas. If anybody is familiar with my logo it’s a dish with chopsticks and it’s got like a swak, like a lipstick print. And we originally tried a fork instead of the chopsticks and it just didn’t–the fork just didn’t work. So it was something about the angular feature of the chopsticks that you can take the two of them and cross them and like put them in different things. And that’s kinda how we wound up–how we wound up with it. So, yeah. We tried a few fonts but it really didn’t take that long. It was really–I was pretty pleased with most of the stuff that Nikki came back with. So, you know, kinda happened pretty quickly. She just gave me all of the version for my business card and for post cards and the regular logo and different background colors and we just kinda went from there. And I’ve been, honestly, I’ve been using it ever since. And it’s been, yeah, it’s been 9 years.
Anne: Wow.
Gabby: And you ran with it. You plastered that puppy.
Trish: Oh yes!
Anne: We’re talking longevity. And I do wanna come back to the Purple. Because I think you were, you know, Purple, and purple in your hair and purple everywhere before it was even like now it’s a thing, you know what I mean? But you were like, years ago, you already had purple in your hair. And that was such a trademark for you and really I think helped you to evolve that brand. And I really commend you for having a brand that’s lasted 9 years. And you did mention, little bit, about how you’re evolving, which I think is great as well.
Trish: Yeah, I’ve been thinking about altering it a little bit. I’m startin’ to get a little older. My voice isn’t as young and fun as it was. Basically, I’ve been kind of, you know, getting more of the mom roles or the middle age roles, and that’s, you know, it happens. It’s–You kinda have to– you know, denying it is not going to do you any good. ‘Cause you’re just not gonna book anything then. So, you know, at leats for–you know, that’s how I feel is like, “Alright, well it’s just something that comes with the life. And you get a little older and your voice gets a little older.
Anne: It happened to me too!
Trish: And, yeah. And you just kinda have to go with it. So, I like the whole Trish the Dish. I still have clients that, you know, email me, “Hey Dish, what’s up?” or “Can you do this for me, today” or whatever. So, I don’t know, it could still be another three years before I do anything.
Gabby: It’s smart, though. Trish, we were just talking about this. We’re ahead of the curve on the Purple and the hair banding and the personal brand aspect of things and now you’re ahead of the next curve. You know that it’s coming. You’re aware, I think it’s fantastic. I’m excited. I look forward to seeing, you know, where it heads and what’s next in that evolution.
Trish: You know, it’s funny, though, I mean, just thinking about changing the logo that I’ve had for so long. It’s still fresh to me. Like, it’s still–it’s still something that I really like. And so changing it would be hard. If anything it wouldn’t be a total– no, it wouldn’t be a 180 by any mean. It would be more of a, just like a refresh, you know?
Anne: Sure.
Trish: It would still be similar to–and I would stick with the colors and stuff. But, you know, it’s like it’s so odd, but when I look at my business cards and my, you know, the website and… It hasn’t gotten old for me. Just the logo itself is still really fresh and cool, and, I don’t know, maybe it’s just because I’m attached to it. You know? So I might have to start to talking to people that are a little further removed from it just to get some– get some real opinions.
Anne: I think it really has become a part of you. And I think it’s actually smart to maybe not change it complete because, you know, if you think of the evolution of like Coke or Pepsi, right? Throughout the years, the main essence of it remains the same. Because I do believe it’s really an inherent part of you and an inherent part of your personality. And so–and the fact that you love it so much, that says a lot. And I don’t–It’s too hard, I think, to completely change. You know, and there’s a lot invested in your brand.
Trish: Yeah, definitely. You know, the Purple thing kinda just happened. I actually did start that in 2008. It was right before voice–the voice conference.
Gabby: I remember that!
Anne: You did.
Trish: Yeah. And it was, like, the week before I left for LA, and I went in to–I found a new hair guy from one of my girlfriends, at the time, that was dying her hair fire engine red ’cause she was the local rock chick on the rock station, and she was doing, like, the fire engine red bangs and like–and I was like, “Oh! Who does your hair?” And so I wound up seeing my hairdresser, Austin, for the first time like a week before I went to Voice. And I still like it.
Anne: And it still looks great.
Trish: Thanks. I mean–and now it’s like–now it’s all over the place. You know, but you were the first. I’m telling you.
Trish: It’s good to know.
Gabby: So, tell us a little about your podcast. Tell us a little about the Voiceover Cafe. We know that’s been very successful. You’ve been doing it for a while.
Trish: Terry and I started back in 2006, when we had never even met in person.
Gabby: What?
Trish: We met online. Like, just kind of in voiceover’s–the voiceover circle’s that existed even before Facebook. Before Voiceover Universe. We were doing–we were marketing each oth–like– not marketing each other. Marketing ourselves. The same way and so we actually came across each other a few times. And he reached out and said, “Hey, I kinda want to do this podcast…” And I’m like, “What’s a podcast?” You know, this is 2006, you know, this is like 11 years ago. And so that kind of just mutated into this really cool show that was called “Voiceovers on Demand” and then we took a hiatus for about 4 years, or so. Rebran–And then kinda picked the idea back up. Rebranded it “The Voiceover Cafe.” Added a couple of people and kind of turned it into a bit of a fun radio drama, at times. But also talks, you know,–some times we had guests. Sometimes we have, you know, it’s just us. We do a roundtable discussion. Sometimes we’ll do little skits. The earlier–we haven’t done skits in a while. But the other guys on the show are Jordan Reynolds, well me–it’s Terry Daniel and me, and Sean Caldwell, Peter Bishop, and Mat Cowlrick. So we just kinda–
Gabby: It’s a great group.
Anne: Yeah.
Trish: Yeah, it’s a–they’re really fun guys and we just–we have fun. So we’re not as disciplined when it comes to recording. It’s a lot of fun for us. We don’t make any money from it so it’s kinda more of just a labor of love. And I actually do the post production on the show, so whenever we do the recording I’m the one that does the post on it for editing, you know, doing the beds, you know, putting the intros and outros and everything. So, I, you know, I do the production on the show. The guys just how up. And you know…
Anne: Of course!
Trish: Sorry. They’re gonna get me for that one.
Anne: They are.
Trish: Yeah, but Terry’s tough to pin down. He’s really busy and it’s hard. I can’t host this show by myself. We tried that once and it wound up being a total disaster because I just don’t have that kind of talent. Honestly. Like, I don’t have that skill of hurting cats, basically, is what you have to do when it comes to that many people, you know, 6 people on the line.
Anne: Yeah, you do have a lot of people.
Trish: You know. So yeah. So, yeah, we just kinda basically we just do what we can, and sometimes Sean Caldwell fills in as a host when Terry, you know, can’t make it or isn’t available. So it’s voiceovercafe.org if you wanna check it out. We, again, we did one show–there’s been a joke going around. So we hosted, as you may know, the voiceover mixer.
Anne: Yes. Yes, just recently.
Trish: Yeah, in New York city. So we put our name on it, but there’s a joke going around that we through more parties than we do shows per year. And that’s true as of last year.–
Anne: It’s a brand! It’s a brand. Trish:–We did one show in May of this year and that was it. And I don’t think we’re gonna get another one out before the end of the year.
Anne: Well, 2018 is comin’ so, you know.
Trish: Yeah… Yeah. So, we’ll have to see.
Anne: It’s an impressive group. It’s an impressive group. And, again, I have to say, though, that, you know, longevity and being pioneers, I mean, in voiceover pod–you would think, right? Voiceover artists, we would have pod–like there would be around every corner you’d have another podcast, but in reality that’s not the case. And you guys were probably the very first one that I can even think of.
Trish: I think we were. Yeah. That I know of.
Anne: Yeah. That started that.
Trish: It was so weird, because me and Terry were at Voice, and we just happened to be riding in the elevator together and this couple, like, is riding in the elevator with us and their whispering to each other and all of a sudden the guy, you know, the husband, kinda chuckles and he looks at us and he’s like, “Are you guys Terry and Trish from Voiceovers on Demand?” And we–we lost it! I mean, it was so bizarre and that was from Voiceover Universe, I think, that we really got our start with that.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Trish: And then once we rebranded people–not a lot of people–I mean, people showed up at the mixer and they’re like, “What’s the Voiceover Cafe?” And I’m like, “Oh God. We got some marketing to do on this.”
Anne: But I remember, Trish, back in the day you were one of the first people to really be on Twitter. You started the whole voiceover industry being on social media. Why was it important. People were like, what’s Twitter? Why do I need to be on Twitter for? Or what do I need…I think you focused mainly on Twitter in the beginning, right?
Trish: I did. Yeah. Definitely. I made a lot of clients, met a lot of clients and made a lot of money, actually, on Twitter. And a lot of times that would be the topic that I taught on when I was asked to speak at a lot of different conferences and stuff, so people got to know me pretty well with that. But, honestly, like, you know, I’m single. I don’t have kids. It was like social media was such a norm for me. Like, it was, you know, I didn’t have any other responsibilities. So, you know, it was like well I might as well just check this out. I’m also a night owl. So, even when I’m not out socializing, you know, a lot of my friends obviously can’t stay out ’til 2 am during the week, you know. And so I’m up. So social media was great for me because when I was done working, like voicing, I would do marketing on social media and I just really latched onto it. It was fun for me and, you know, yeah. I still love Twitter, I don’t use it as often as I used to, but I kinda go in phases with the different avenues. You know. Of social media.
Anne: So what are your thoughts, now, about social media in marketing today for your voiceover business?
Trish: They’re still really huge, but I use, actually, LinkedIn for the most part, these days. And, honestly, I just do a lot of research online, like not even with social media. Like, I market, you know, like I market myself, I guess, by putting my stuff out there on social media a little bit, but I have been getting a lot of good responses and getting some really good clients by actually reaching out directly, not by people finding me on social media. I’ve more, you know, just gotten into going on LinkedIn or the old Google Search still works. Like, you know, just going and searches for, you know, ad agencies. I have a couple of niches. Like, I do a lot of medical commercials. There’s actually ad agencies that specify in just medi–like only take medical clients and that’s basically all that they do. And the same thing goes for, like, casinos. There’s gaming ad agencies and that sort of thing. So I kinda found a few niches and– or niches–and, you know, yeah, I have a lot of book friends.
Anne: We always discuss niche or niche. We’re always discussing that.
Trish: Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, so, you know, reaching out directly and shooting them an email, honestly. I rarely pick up the phone anymore. I found that email is much less intrusive. And that’s actually really what’s been working for me. You know, Gabby, we were talking about it. You were mentioning evolving and you kinda–that’s kind of how it’s how marketing has evolved for me. So, it’s kind of been interesting. And I’m not saying that I wont go back to social media as a main form, but right now, I kind of, I have–what’s working right now is–that’s what’s working so I might as well, I’m gonna stick with it and see what happens.
Gabby: You are a take charge chick and most definitely a B.O.S.S. And that’s why we wanted to talk to you, girl, so hell yeah!
Trish: Yay!
Gabby: How can our listeners get in touch with you? Check out what you do? See you on the web? All that great stuff.
Trish: It’s voiceoversbytrish.com, that’s voicevoers plural. You can find me pretty easily.
Anne: Well, Trish, thanks so much for taking the time out to talk with us today. I’ve been a big fan. Been following you for lots of years. And thanks so much for really, you know, being out that and being pioneering such cool stuff here in the industry. And you’ve actually been a source– a really great resource for other talent in the industry to learn from, so thank you for that.
Trish: Aw, well, thank you ladies. I appreciate being in that realm. I’m honored and I see you guys the same way, so it’s, you know. Hopefully I’ll get out there and see you guys at some point.
Anne: For sure!
Gabby: Soon! Soon, soon. Yeah.
Anne: Big thanks to our sponsor, ipDTL, guys, for our quality connection and recording. You too can find out more at ipdtl.com.
Gabby: And make sure to check us out on Facebook and iTunes and Stitcher and Twitter and YoutTube. Like us. Connect with us. We’re everywhere, it’s not hard to find VO B.O.S.S. that’s for sure.
Anne: And don’t forget to come to voboss.com for a specific information on our B.O.S.S. University classes and our products. We’ve got some cool new swag comin’ out. So, we look forward to seein’ you guys next week, and thank so much for joining us!
Gabby: Bye!
Anne: Bye! VO: Join us next week for another addition of VO B.O.S.S., with your host Anne Ganguzza and Gabby Nistico. All rights reserved. Anne Ganguzza voice talent in association with Three Moon Media. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via ipDTL.