Looking for more work? Great! Introducing Create Crowd. EP #288 - Amy Marshall

Do you want to know how to get hired by ad agencies as a videographer? Well, in today's episode, I'm talking to an agency producer, Amy Marshall, who's based in Adelaide, South Australia, who's been working in the agency space for 20 plus years now. Amy shared with me that agencies are crying out for great creatives. Just now there's a shortage of great creatives. So if you're not reaching out to agencies and making a point of connecting with them and agency producers, there's a very good chance you are leaving golden opportunities on the table. Now, Amy is also the founder of CreateCrowd.com which is a platform that connects agencies with creatives. This is a fantastic conversation and I ask Amy specifically, how should a videographer reach out and connect with an agency? This is gonna be an exceptional episode. You're gonna really love it.

Welcome to the Video Business Accelerator podcast. Each week we unco the secrets to creating a wildly successful and scalable video production business. With your host, Dan Lenny, discover how the accelerator program is transforming the lives of our members at www.videobusinessaccelerator.com. enjoy this episode.

Amy, thanks for taking some time out of the day to chat with us. I'd love to, for you to share with my audience because I think it's really, really relevant what Create Crowd is and, and why.

Yeah, sure. Thank you for having me, by the way. Very happy to be here and very happy to talk about Create Crowd. Create Crowd started last year and it was a small burn of an, of an idea that kind of ended up in the end of last year in a commitment to actually making it happen.

I have been part of the agency world for coming up to 20 years now, and the last 10 have been more in an agency producer role. So I've worked on a million different jobs that have required a million different skill sets, and not all of them we always had in house. So fortunately I.

You know, ended up making connections and making networks with a huge range of the weird and wonderful people that are creative freelancers. And I was always so impressed and.

Had got so much enjoyment out of working with these people. They brought so many different things to jobs that sort of elevated to. Elevated them from what they were. And I just had, you know, a real passion for.

I guess, creating these things with all these different people. So what I found over last year as well was that I didn't have much of a resource to go to when my favorite freelancers were booked. So I ended up.

I guess there's a few dated Databases that exist here and there. And I often found myself ringing 10 people before I got one person who hadn't said, oh, God, am I still on that?

So it was really under pressure when those jobs came flying through the door and you needed to get people on board quickly and you had already, you know, rung the handful of people that you knew and trusted, and they were booked. I was often at a loss, so. And I knew those people were out there. We're not short of skills and we're not short of amazing people that can do amazing things. It was just how to get in touch with them quickly. So, yeah, at the end of last year, I sort of finished up at the agency that I was at and made a commitment to solving that problem that I know I certainly had, and also using my network that was pretty established and pretty valuable in Adelaide with other agencies that I had connections with. So sort of being able to bring those freelancers together with the people that they want to be connected to as well, but also not in a overly involved way. I feel strongly that most jobs.

You know, really require.

You know, quite a depth of conversation to find out if they are the right fit. And I can't do that. That needs to be connected between the freelancer and the agency. So, yeah, that's what Create Crowd is, and that's why I built it.

That's very cool because I know that, you know, the current sort of way to find people is generally go to the Facebook group here in Australia, which is, I need crew, put a post up and have like, you know, 50 people tag someone. Which is, I guess, works to some degree, but it's. It's. It's still a sense of you've got to filter through. And. And the whole idea of tagging people is. It's kind of great when you want a quick response, but there's no way of knowing the quality of that person.

Yeah.

Tell me how. How does. How does the platform work? And from a kind of freelancer point of view, what does someone do to get on the platform and what's the process?

Yeah, so I guess.

And don't get me wrong, I know there are some amazing ways out there that you can connect with people. What I really like about CreateCrowd, and I guess being sort of the owner.

For me, it's more than a general database because I approve every application that comes through. And I think after, you know, being around for a long time, you instinctively can go through and get a vibe for somebody pretty quick about their experience and what they've worked on and where they've come from. I mean, that's not to say that you sort of, you know, get all of it. But.

You know, I approve all those applications and I oversee them and then I make sure that they fit into the categories that they've said they fit into. So that's more than just, you know, sort of apply and approve and suddenly you're on a database. But it's less involved than a recruitment agency as well. So it sort of sits in between, you know, a management or an agent and a little bit more personal than a database or a Facebook. I am the, you know, the business owner and the, and the builder. So I do feel pretty strongly about making sure that I look my eyes over every, every sign up that comes through and make sure that it's, you know, not coming from just, you know, the wrong industries or people wanting to be on there for the wrong reasons.

So that's how it works. It's a really simple 5 minute sign up form. I've made that, you know, intentionally the way, because most of the options are to link to your own website.

Socials obviously and contact details. So.

There'S a field for a short bio so you can put a bit of an introduction on there and obviously your logo. But then.

The ease of it is that it gives you a really good idea. You know, it's been sort of vetted by me in some sense. And then it's up to the agency or whoever's looking for the freelancer to then kind of drill down and do their own research into, you know, if they're the right person that they're looking for.

And in terms of the types of creative roles that can be on the platform. Tell me about that. Talk to me about, you know, who is, who's it for in terms of the freelance world.

Well, it's, I mean there's really no end to it in my, in my opinion because I just, you know, having worked as an agency producer, you could never tell what you're going to need next. You never knew what idea the creatives were going to come up with and what resource or skill that you're going to need. So, you know, I have up to 20 categories on there at the moment which are sort of, I guess the basic, the ones that you could probably guess. They're all creative freelancers from a studio point of view. But then there's also the crew side of things as well. So the categories are based on anything that I've ever needed myself. You know, all the people that make up a shoot shoot crew and then design, you know, graphic designers, copywriters, creative thinkers, photographers and then hair and makeup, wardrobe. Any of those people that I know as an agency producer I would absolutely love to have you know, 20 at my fingertips that I can get to easily.

So that's the kind of the creative side. And if you, if you're a video production company, that's got to be a team of two or three people.

It's not just freelancers. Like if you're a video production company offering production services, you can go on there as well.

Yes, yeah, absolutely I do.

I have capped it at small businesses under five and I feel strongly about that because I, you know, I do want to make sure that I'm catering for those small businesses and.

You know, and freelancers, sole traders and you know, I think kind of creeping up into over five. That's where, you know, maybe it's a small agency at that point and you might be looking for people. So it's a, you can list as a business if you are five or under employees.

Okay, got it, got it. And in terms of the other side, so the kind of, I guess agency side or how would you describe that? Is it, is it agency side the best way to describe that? Or is it anybody who needs crew?

I mean it is anybody, it's agency, it's production houses and you know, hopefully my network, you know, is, is less extensive in this area but you know, marketers or you know, direct clients, it's, there's no limit on who can sign up to view. Obviously where, you know, my background is it would be predominantly agency people and agency producers and production houses that.

You know, have sort of signed up and you know, viewing at the moment and also have signed up to subscribe to the Creative Lowdown, which is my newsletter.

So I guess that's the other side of it.

Every two weeks I look over who's newly listed and I feature five of them in a newsletter that's called the Creative Lowdown that then goes out to now over 300 subscribers. So that's a really powerful tool and you know, I get really excited when you know, a new person comes through and puts their, puts their profile up. You know, I love it. I get so excited and you know, make sure that they get, you know, featured in the email and sent out to agencies that are looking and the agencies can get in touch with them.

Direct and in terms of like geography, I mean you're based in South Australia and Adelaide. Is this, is this an Australia wide offer? Is Is it a global thing? What, where do you see it, where is it currently? Where do you see it going?

Oh, it's, you know, my network is in South Australia, so obviously the bulk of it has started there. And, you know, I have a lot of connections here and a lot of great people who I've worked with, you know, many times before have jumped on board early. So that's always great when you're starting up something new. You're so appreciative of those people that, you know, support you in those early days. So. But absolutely, it's certainly Australia wide and that's the intention. You know, Melbourne people are starting to come through and there's a few Sydney people that are listing. It will be Australian based though. I, you know, there's no.

You know, I, I would love to make it national. I mean, that would be a, that would be a go. I'd love to get lots of people listed from, you know, anywhere, anywhere in Australia. I certainly have more people subscribed from the agency side of things, you know, waiting and looking to see who's coming, you know, who's, who's on the, on Create crowd and who's listed in the Creative Lowdown. So, yeah, my, my goal would be to really, you know, push and hope and invite people from anywhere in Australia to list because, yeah, there's certainly people I have on my database waiting to find you.

Wow. So that, so just. I'll get this right. So you've got agencies literally lining up to, to be part of this. And, and you, you, you're saying there's, there's, there's, there's plenty of room to grow in the freelancer part.

Well, I mean.

That'S a lovely way of putting it. I'm not sure I'd say agencies are lining up, but I certainly am getting a lot of interest and a lot of people who I can see are from agencies have signed up to the Creative Lowdown. So, you know, lots of the people are people from agencies and businesses that I don't know, I don't have that network. So.

I'm, you know, that, that gives me great encouragement that there is certainly a need for what I'm creating.

Yeah. So, you know, it's.

Whether I'd say that agencies are lining up, there's certainly interest and certainly people signing up to my email, which is, you know, hopefully that kind of builds and hopefully they are lining up.

Well, I mean, the thing is, you know, it's in its early stages of infancy, so anyone listening to the show or Watching this episode, who is a freelancer or a creative who provides a creative service and a company that's under five people, which is the majority people who listen to and watch the show. It's, and if you're in Australia, it's kind of a no brainer. It's free to sign up and there's a good chance that you could end up featured in the newsletter which gets sent out every two weeks and is being read by a lot of agencies. I mean to me that seems like a pretty, pretty amazing offer.

Well, I agree that's, you know, I hope, I guess it's a, you know, it's a matter of, you know, reaching people and, and I'm not, I think obviously my own network were, you know, brilliant. I had a lot of, I've had a lot of support from a lot of people in Adelaide and I am at that point where, you know, it's been sort of building for six or seven months and I'm really trying to reach that broader network. I think it's, you know, when people don't know who you are or what you're doing, you know, there is a little bit of a, what is this about? So, you know, the next kind of six to, you know, 12 months will really be, you know, me hopefully being able to connect to those people and showing them that, you know, I really, I really do have a.

A passion to support small businesses in the freelancer network and the platform as it is now will be free and will always be free to freelancers. Yeah, I agree. I hope people see it as a no brainer because it certainly is. And the people that have jumped on board that have been from Melbourne and Sydney and I have no.

Previous relationships with. I've had some great emails back and forth and you know, I love making those connections and, and you know, personally saying thank you. You know, I am a person behind this site. I'm not, I'm not, you know, it's not a completely automated.

Big beast and yeah, and hopefully I've made it easy. I've really tried to think about what I, you know, I, you know, I'm a business owner myself now and a freelancer in a sense. So you know, it's kind of something that I would want.

Yeah. And then there's, I've, you know, I want to make it a value. So there are some free resources on there for freelancers that, you know, I always found myself thinking, God, I wish I could get one of those quickly which is, you know, deal memos and call sheets. And location agreements and, you know, I hope I can really build on that as a resource for, for, you know, people to get hold of quickly. Yeah. Down the track, I'd love to, you know, make it, invite people with skills that I don't have to provide, you know, their expertise in a resource for, you know, promotion or. I, yeah, so, you know, I, at the moment, yeah, I, I. It thrills me that you say that it's a no brainer because I hope that's the way people say it, see it too.

Well, I think the other thing is, you know, we are in a very social world, but, but I personally try to spend as little time as possible on Facebook these days. And so many groups are on Facebook and like our whole community inside the VBA is now in a platform called School because we want to get off Facebook. So I think anything that, I think the principle of Facebook groups was incredible, but they become overwhelmed. Overwhelming, overbearing. There's so much. No. So I think the fact that you've created a space which is for production companies and freelancers and creatives to go and list their services and to have a solid base of growing agencies and people who are likely to hire them in a space that isn't muddied by the noise of Facebook, I think is a brilliant idea and I imagine takes an awful lot of work but to, to get to that stage. So I really applaud the fact that you're doing it because, you know, my experience as a producer as well is, you know, when you're crewing up production, you need certain skills and you have your go to people, but they're usually good and therefore always not available. So I think the fact that you're, you're curating to some degree is really important.

What kind of feedback have you had from the users? Like the people who are, who are in the database? The crew?

Yeah, no, I mean, I have, I've had great feedback. I think people are really.

You know, thrilled to have something that's a little bit different. And I, you know, I am, I guess having been around for what feels like a long time now, I feel like I can kind of have a little bit of a, you know, grassroots understanding of what would be valuable.

So, you know, things like being able to provide those resources. You know, 90% of people might have their own perfect call sheet template, but you know, some of the younger people coming through might not, you know, might not have a lot of these resources. So, yeah, I think the feedback's been really good.

Lots of the younger People coming through have been really, you know, really kind and really supportive, which has been, you know, brilliant because I, you know, one thing that has been, I never realized what a kick I got out of it. But you know, when you start to see people that, you know, started so junior and you've been in it long enough to kind of watch them progress and find their feet and really like, you know, do amazing things, you know, over a 10 year span, watching that growth and being able to be part of that support or, you know, is, is brilliant. I love that. So that's something that is a, you know, I was the sort of younger, scrappy agency person for, you know, such a, those, you know, first five to 10 years and then suddenly you start getting into the kind of, oh, actually I'm now one of the oldies. And you know, being able to kind of. I don't know if I could use the word mentor, but support when, when it's needed, you know, some of the juniors has been something I've absolutely loved. So yeah, it's nice to be able to do that.

I think, you know, having those resources is super helpful because everyone does a call sheet slightly differently, everyone does a client release form slightly differently and I think that we've got a lot of those kind of resources in our community as well and they're often really helpful, you know, non disclosure agreements, things that protect you, the freelancer as well as the agency. So I think that'll be really, really powerful. What's the process for someone who's listening to this or watching this and they want to sign up? What are some of the steps they have to go through?

Just absolutely, just straight to the website, createcrowd.com and list as a business, which is list as a freelancer or small business which is a tab up the top and the form literally takes five minutes. And yeah, I get the notification, have a quick review and you know, love to have anyone who's keen on board.

I love it. Well, we will be sure to list the details below this. Amy, thank you so much for sharing. This is really great and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Oh, thank you so much. This has been a great chat. Thank you. I'm really thrilled you asked me to be here and it's loved it.

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