“Making it” and getting work is something a lot of creatives simultaneously completely over-value and over-complicate.
We draw lines where we’re “not a success unless X”, and we think that making money or connecting with other influential creative people must be a difficult endeavor.
Today I’ve got a tale of two emails for you. It’s a story of how you connect – even with questions that seem dumb – and how easily it is to fail completely even when you’ve got talent and are trying your best.
The Best Question
This story begins with an email from one of you who I’m 100% certain is on my list. It’s a super valid question, and I have no doubt a bunch of you ask yourselves this regularly.
“Hi, Adam!
Thanks for your wisdom that you put out through emails and your blog! I greatly appreciate it.
Quick question: I’m struggling financially but have lots of friends in game development (not just in audio, but in most disciplines). How do I ask them for work without sounding needy or desperate?
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely
[This part’s private]”
First of all- this is a fantastic email. Though it asks a question whose answer I wish by this point were more obvious to people – it has more pros than cons.
It’s to the point, and very clear with what the “ask” is. I’ll answer this type of email until I’m blue in the face because I really want to help you folks.
Most importantly, though, this email asks a question I know that many of you struggle with.
How do you get work without coming off like someone who is begging for work?
Great question. The best part is you inherently know that being a beggar won’t get you work!
The answer to this can be quick and simple. But, I’d much rather answer with an illustration of a different email I received shortly after.
Because it’s the perfect illustration of what not to do.
I got so frustrated by it that I went on a mini-rant privately and then tweeted about it.
You know how you don’t get audio work, in any entertainment industry?
Unsolicited email to an audio professional’s personal account begging for a job.
(ie: “asking to see if there’s any work available”)
Provide value. Provide value. Provide value. Provide value.
— Adam T. Croft (@adamtcroft) October 4, 2018
(and to be clear – I didn’t do that because I hate the sender or I’m mad at them or whatever. I did that because I want them to do better, damn it!)
The Worst Email
First off – this was sent to my personal email account.
Sometimes I send email from there without thinking about it – but I sure as hell don’t intentionally publicize it.
Second – a second copy of this message was sent to my LinkedIn. You know… just in case I missed the email to my personal account.
Those are the first two no-no’s… without you ever even seeing the email.
But here’s the message in most of it’s glory.
“Hi Adam,
How are you doing? I was just writing to see if you might be in need of any additional custom music for any of your projects? I just recently wrote music for [game the sender is proud of – YouTube link included]
Years ago, I interned with [apparently famous game person I don’t know because I don’t pay attention to who is famous in game audio], one of the composers for [big game studio and their big game], but most recently I’ve returned from [big non-US cities] to record an orchestra for [other person I don’t know and their new project] that you can see more of here: [email sender’s website]
It was good to meet you and I hope we can work together soon!
All the best,
[again, this part is private]”
I hope initially that this provides some visual contrast with the first email.
Think critically for a minute, before I break into my opinions. What, exactly, is different between this email and the first and what is this second one doing wrong specifically? Beyond sending a cold, unsolicited email to my personal email address.
I believe there’s a good chance a lot of you will look at that and go
“Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong. Why are you overreacting?”
Pay attention. I’ve been guilty of this too when I was young, desperate, and had no idea what I was doing.
Let’s break down a few things.
1. It’s a cold email
To harp on the point – cold email is hard to succeed with for a reason. You’re literally knocking on someone’s door without any heads up, I don’t know you, and you’re asking me to hook you up with money.
Quite literally – go re-read. This person is literally going “hey, got any extra work for me?” and then trying to get me impressed with some YouTube clips.
Here’s the cold, hard truth of the matter of networking with anyone.
What’s in it for the person you’re soliciting?
2. There’s no value
Piggybacking off that last sentence –
What’s in it for me?
The difficult reality of life that you must wrap your head around especially with creative work is that nobody cares about you. It’s a somewhat ugly truth about humanity, especially in Western/developed countries (no, I’m not going to break this down) that we’re very focused on ourselves.
Even you do this, almost every day.
You think you’ll make some super legendary music and that people will care forever? People will worship your feet? Clients will knock down your door? You won’t have to hunt for work anymore?
They will – but only for a hot minute. To everyone but your most ardent fans – the people you connect deeply with – you’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done.
But quite honestly – that says absolutely nothing about the quality of your work. It says everything about other people’s selfishness.
If you’re “popular” or did something “cool” – other people want to associate with you because it makes them feel propped up.
It’s all about them.
Like I said, kind of ugly, right?
But with the cold email, where you’re not giving something – you’re being inherently selfish yourself.
Instead of saying
“hey thanks for the thing you did, I found it personally useful and I really appreciate you”
You’re saying
“Hey, got anything to give me? Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie! Here’s why! I’m SO GOOD!”
Again. Imagine knocking on my door unannounced – I didn’t even tell you where I live and I don’t know you – and you did that.
Your primary focus must be what’s in it for the other person?
3. We’re not friends
“How are you?”
“It was good to meet you and I hope we can work together soon!”
So… we didn’t meet. We haven’t met. It doesn’t matter how good or bad I am.
I know you want something, what do you want from me?
Even when I know someone – with the exception of when I’m pretty solid friends with them – I tend to keep my communication as short as possible if I’m doing the outreach to them.
It’s a solid rule of thumb to assume everyone’s extremely busy and has no time for you. Very similarly to how you would with a resume or a demo.
Most people will include the friendly quips above as a way to soften communication. It’s “friendly” – it acts like we’re cool, we’re pals, assumes I’m a nice person (I’m not), and whatever happy go lucky.
Email me, ask me your question, but confidently ask it straight and don’t beat around the bush. You’re just sugaring up that you want something from me – and I don’t find that friendly, I find it rude. So do a bunch of game devs and other people you’re trying to get work from.
4. Lack of confidence
The email oozes a lack of self-confidence.
A business teacher of mine once gave me a phrase I love –
“If you’ve gotta say it – you ain’t it.”
I’m glad that this person’s done a chunk of work they’re super proud of. Good on them! But coming at me cold and tossing their resume at me speaks with a tone of desperation.
Also, look at the wording –
“I was just writing to see if you might be in need of any additional custom music for any of your projects?“
Put on your most scared, walking on eggshells voice for a minute and read that.
“I was just… just writing… I was wondering if you might… maybe… need some music… perhaps?”
That’s how I read that sentence.
What about this –
“Could you use any custom music for your current projects?”
Why don’t you use that?
Oh…
Probably because you’re afraid I’ll say no.
Oh… well… you’re probably feeling pretty awkward right about now, yeah?
5. What you’ve done barely matters
You know why I’ve been in the entertainment industry over a decade? Why I was able to jump to a completely different super corporate high-level industry of architectural consulting and jump back?
It’s not because of my resume.
For most of my career, my resume hasn’t meant hardly anything.
My resume is the initial barrier to a conversation with anyone that works with a big company. I spend my days at PopCap Games for the moment, and the conversation about my resume lasted less than ten seconds.
“Oh, I see you’ve done some legitimate work! Cool!”
Then it was over.
It’s been that way since I first broke in. I did a little bit of work for some brands people would recognize, and filed away some neat stories in my brain. Now they’re ice breakers – then we move onto what my potential future client needs and dreams of. From there, it’s my job to say “yeah, I can totally fulfill your vision and then some” or “Sorry, I’m not the right person – but I might be able to find them”
6. Audio people don’t make work for audio people
Some of you are going to think
“But Adam – I got my very first gig from someone in audio!”
I actually did this for my buddy Akash Thakkar – I got him the very first gig he landed in Seattle, at an audio meetup.
He never comes to audio meetups to get work anymore, because he’s smart. He got lucky once.
But you know what?
I didn’t actually have the work. I wasn’t employing Akash.
I was getting married and I was moving to a new job and I needed to bail well on my old job. I needed someone who could take over for me. Akash seemed like he was capable of doing the job.
He had no idea what he was doing – but he said yes anyway. Welcome to breaking in sometim.es…
You know who was actually employing Akash?
A film director.
You know who actually employs Akash now?
Creative directors of independent game studios.
You know where those people hang out?
Not at audio meetups.
I’m gainfully employed as a technical sound designer. I also have 3 side businesses that eventually are going to become my full time income.
I’ve literally never needed to employ a composer in my life.
So at best – this email is reaching out to me to try and get me interested in their work to then suggest to a decision maker that we should provide this person work.
Then the decision maker is another gateway.
Oh, by the way, that decision maker also writes music. So… losing effort all around.
Network with audio people for friendship, for business camaraderie, for advice, and for the occasional “hey I’m too busy can you take this client on for me because I trust you”
Go find producers, creative directors, film directors, music supervisors, and hang out with them to get work. Provide those people value.
What Else Can You Do?
Ideally, the second email never even gets to me – right? There’s almost no positive I can take away from it.
I’m sure the sender is a good person and means well. But the likelihood is that this wasn’t just sent to me, is wasting other people’s time, and is ruining this person’s chances of getting work even if they’re talented.
So what – if you’re like the first email – can you do not to do this?
Provide value.
That’s it.
I was asked by DM on Twitter what I mean by this. Here’s the conversation re-written, names removed.
“Hey Adam, in regards to your unsolicited emails to audio pro’s tweet…
I’m kinda guilty of that, what advice would you give to making sure you do provide value?
That’s something I find very hard to get across… in any application if I’m honest.”
(So, the person is guilty of that, and at least they’re trying to be honest with themselves. Great job!)
My response:
“You’re over complicating it.
You’ve held a door open for someone instead of making them run for it.
You’ve provided a valuable connection between two people, or information about a topic you’re knowledgeable about that someone needed.
That’s value.
I’m doing it for you right now.
I’ll high five a bunch of people at the office today to provide good vibes.
I also have a ton of free content for you, and some paid. Perhaps you get enough value from this and my posts that you build enough of a relationship to give my paid stuff a shot.
It’s no more magic than that.
It’s also an incredibly slow burn.
It’s being ready when the opportunity presents itself and increasing the odds of an opportunity instead of hoping, praying, and begging for it.”
That’s probably the best way I can sum it up for now. Even at 6am, barely awake, when I wrote that DM.
I have full confidence in you that you’re entirely capable of making great connections and getting well paid work.
You – yes, you specifically who is arguing with me in your brain right now – are not an incredibly special failure.
You’re not incapable.
You’re probably just scared and overwhelmed.
Breathe, relax, and remind yourself what I already know – you have every ability to succeed. Now put one thing on your task list for the day that you’ve taken away from all of these words, and do it.
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