How to get more producing clients: Find your one-liner
I have a friend who is getting into production. He’s gaining the skills to be a good producer. But he hasn’t produced a shoot entirely on his own yet.
And therein lies the predicament.
He’s hesitant to tell people he’s a producer, because technically he isn’t. But he isn’t getting producing gigs because he can’t tell anyone that he’s a producer. Networking is difficult when you can only tell people what you want to do someday.
This is an issue a lot of us run into when we’re developing a new skill or offering. We don’t want to be “that guy,” claiming a title we haven’t earned. But we also don’t want to wait around for a non-existent boss to “promote” us from the proverbial mail room.
So what do you do?
Develop an optimistic one-liner.
When I started posting informational videos about freelancing in 2018, I did so after months and months of wanting to. The trouble was I had only freelanced for two years. I didn’t want to be “that guy.” But I did want to share insights and grow a community. And everything changed when I wrote the right one-liner. I said “I’m talking about freelancing not because I’m particularly successful yet, but because I’m learning a lot and I think you could benefit from it.” I said this one-liner at the beginning of every episode. And it was essential to give me the confidence to finally publish.
Finding the right one-liner for your new project is huge. I would advise my producer friend to say “I’m a producer. I’ve produced mostly small social shoots, but I’m always looking to work on bigger projects.” It tells people what he’s done, and what he’s up to, without being dishonest.
Find your one-liner so you can get to work.
P.S. I just launched a Producing Guide called How To Produce A Video Shoot (without pulling out your hair). It’s a 15,000-word guide that teaches you every thing you need to know about producing digital content. It’s live now, and it would mean the world to me if you checked it out, or shared it with a friend.
