Networking | Dave Courvoisier's Blog

You’ve Got Mail

December 22, 2011 By CourVO 2 Comments

Email drives my day.

It’s the first thing I do in the morning…and I keep up with it all day. It’s my daytimer, my reminders, my to-do list, my address book, and my calendar. I curry it, preen it, harvest it, and cull it’s ranks constantly.

Oh, I keep to-do lists, a calendar, and a long- and short-range goal notebook too, but email is at the heart of it. I use Comf5 mostly, Gmail, and Outlook occasionally.

I have my most of my social networks send me email notices and even smartphone notifications when anything happens on those platforms. That way, if something gets deleted on those media, I still have an email copy.

Like ISDN, many and vociferous are the voices claiming email will go away. My college-age daughter says when she wants to get in touch with old people, she sends email. Otherwise, it’s FaceBook for her. As far as I’m concerned, she’s missing out.

My POINT is…don’t ignore your email. Sure, there’s plenty of spam, and lots of fluff…but pay attention…there are valuable nuggets buried therein!

In the last week, I’ve gotten pertinent updates on changes to FaceBook, SlideShare, Source-Connect, CamTasia, and several other software and online products I use, and all those notices came through email.

I’ve also gotten — just this week — three unsolicited offers for work from people I’ve never heard of before, and who chose to make initial contact with me through email.

I handle official documents, contracts, invoices, W-9′s, Non-Disclosure Agreements, scripts, and endless negotiations through email. For that reason, I keep handy .pdf/.doc conversion software, and bring a portable hand-scanner with me wherever I go.

I use my smartphone as a scanner as well, and tie all my connections into DropBox, SugarSync, Box.net, SpringPad, or Evernote. ALL of those accesible to send and receive through email addresses. I can even post to my Voice-Over Friends FaceBook Group with email. You can too…the address is listed at the top of the page. It’s: [email protected]

There’s more: I can post to my Posterous, Tumblr, this Blog, and Twitter through email.

It goes on and on and on!

Are you doing all this? Am I missing something that works for you?

CourVO

Filed Under: Business-end-of-things, Networking, Web Resources, Web/Tech Tagged With: email, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, voices

Mixer Musings

December 6, 2011 By CourVO 14 Comments

Chris Mezzolesta, Darren Altman, CourVO

Monday, December 5, 2011 7am…I wake to the sound of an alarm in a hotel room in New York City. 13 hours later, I’m anchoring a newscast in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Don’t tell me there’s no such thing as a time machine.

And don’t tell me that voiceover people are anything but the most gregarious, social, fun-loving folks in the world. I have the pictures to prove it, and they’re peppered throughout this blog (and I apologize that I crashed each and every shot!)

I really tried to “work the crowd” in the sense that I wanted to see everybody I wanted to see. Amazingly, some key people managed to escape my grasp…maybe by choice. :) On the other hand, I DID see and talk to many people I admire and respect.

CourVO, Mrs. CourVO (Victoria) Kurt Kelly, Liz de Nesnera

First time encounters included the personable Darren Altman (above), the affable Paul Strikwerda, the witty Billy James, Chuck Davis, and Kurt Kelly.

The doggone laser blue lighting in the place was a camera challenge in some of these pics…but let’s give it up for Erik Sheppard and Lindsay for mounting an incredible event in a wonderful venue. Lord knows the headaches and expenses they’ve lived with for the last few months to make this happen!

Billy James, CourVO

A thanks to all for making my wife feel so welcome. I talk and I talk about all these VO people, and it was just time she gets a chance to meet them. She was charmed.

She was also inquisitive.

Sunday, during our ambitious sight-seeing of NYC, she kept asking me great questions about the event.

Why do people come?

Paul Strikwerda, CourVO

What do they hope to accomplish?

Is it a networking venue?…a marketing opportunity?…a place to meet clients?

She wanted to know…and it really got me to thinking. Why do VO’s show up at these things?

I know of at least one respected voice actor who left early, frustrated that a perfectly good possible marketing opportunity was wasted by the music, the blue lights, the crowded floor, and a delayed nametag line.

CourVO, Kelley Buttrick

I don’t think Erik and Lindsay made any promises beyond a chance to gather with others of our kind, maybe enjoy some holiday cheer, some camaraderie, and some face-to-face space-sharing for so many of us who mostly interact online.

In short: a meet-up, not a meet/market.

The intimation was and has always been (in my mind, anyway) that this should be a social event, and if perchance you are able to finesse some networked relationships that eventually lead to jobs…then that’s great…but not the purpose.

The fact that so many came in a relaxed atmosphere free of expectations (i.e. work), I think, proves my point. There was a palpable excitement about rubbing shoulders with so many accomplished professionals.

Michael Schoen, Dan Friedman

Do some show up just to “make the scene“?…to hear and be heard?

Sure. I think there’s a little of that. But that’s true of ANY profession. In my way of looking at it, there’s nothing wrong with attending as a commitment to the community. To say: “I want to be a part”. Some may have more stature, and are able to bestow a greater sense of validation upon others. Some come to bask in a little of the aura of

CourVO, Bob Hurley

accomplishment. This, too, is an accepted norm of our business culture.

How many times have you told an up-and-comer…or been told yourself, that to be part of a new career path, you have to immerse yourself in the people, places, and culture of the profession?

So, in my mind, this leaves room under a big umbrella. Those who knew each other were able to commiserate. New faces become familiar faces.

Peter O'Connell, Melissa Exelberth, Peter Bishop

Names get associated with persons, relationships grow, and the network becomes more defined. What’s not to like?

Again, my hat goes off to Erik and Lindsay for their commitment to this event. How could they NOT be cheerleaders for it? Erik and Lindsay met at Mixer #1, he proposed at Mixer #2, and now they’re married.

See? Just socializing, not working, can lead to incredibly fruitful relationships.

My thanks to all who shook my hand, and said nice things. I hope I left you with a similar feeling of acceptance. I know I did.

CourVO

Filed Under: Friends, Meet-Ups, Networking, People, VO Community, VO Events Tagged With: Erik Sheppard, NYC Mixer, VO, VO Mixer, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, Voice Talent Productions, voiceover, voices

The Big Mix

December 1, 2011 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Courvoisier & Cooper, Mixer 2009

Thursday was one of those days. Nonstop.

….and it all ends after midnight with an hour-long highly technical medical narration, then to bed for a couple of hours before grabbing an early-morning flight to NYC.

I’ll be attending my daughter’s dance production Friday night, and then off to the famed Erik Sheppard NY VO Mixer near Times Square Saturday night.

Pics, smiles, and stories to follow.

I hope I see you there. If I look like I don’t know you, it’s the lack of sleep…just come over and kick me into reality.

CourVO

Filed Under: Meet-Ups, Networking, VO Events

Part III, Your VO Social Media Plan

June 7, 2011 By CourVO 16 Comments

Repeat after me: Voice Acting is a business…Voice Acting is a business…Voice Acting is a business.

Yeah, it’s a fun business. There are real ego-boosting moments. It’s performance, it’s technology, it’s rubbing up against Hollywood. All that.

But above all, it’s a business.

Getting down to…er…BUSINESS

Self-styled Social Ecologist Peter Drucker was famously attributed with saying: “…the purpose of a business is to create a customer…” Notice he didn’t say: “grow” the business, but “create a customer.”

Uh-huh. What exactly does that pie-in-the-sky gobbledygook double-speak MEAN, Dave? It means you better give some serious consideration to what you will be doing for roughly 80% of your time in this business: marketing, sales, finding a need to fill, convincing the prospect you can fill that need, and then providing customer service better than anyone else at a competitive price you can live with and still feed your family. THEN you can get behind the mic.

Where Social Media Fits In

So you’re willing to spend most of your time finding clients, and not just play around in your studio. Great! You’ve found the financing, sketched out a business plan, read Peter O’Connell’s Voice-Over Entrance Exam, and perused through all the links on my blog article: Advice for Newbies, part II (just making sure…if you’re an experienced VO, and just want the Social Media tips, skip that last part).

Yes, Dave…I’m ready to do the work. How can Social Media help me?

You’re alive at the right time in the history of humankind. The kind of marketing tools that Twitter and FaceBook and YouTube provide have NEVER been available before in history. They’re FREE. They reach more people than you could handle if just 1% of them offered you a job.

Great. But how do I find them? Well, some of them will come to you in time by doing your social networking right, and that’s Part IV tomorrow.

The Holy Grail of Leads

But how to actively seek out qualified prospects? There’s a free social media tool for that, too, and it’s called LinkedIn.

Using their basic free membership, and working its deep, broad, and advanced search tools, you can find more names, addresses, descriptions and information about specific companies seeking voice talent…or studios who use voice talent than you can possibly contact for the rest of this year. For a mere $24.95/mo you can upgrade to a “business” account and have access to even more extensive resources!

I’m not going to do a step-by-step tutorial right here…that would be an insult to your intelligence, because you’re smart enough easily navigate the intuitive and rich LinkedIn interface and make your own way. Right? I kid, but seriously…it’s not hard, and I don’t want to (1) give away too many of my secrets, nor (2) limit the unique style YOU will develop in mining the deep veins of golden prospects on this social media site.

Nonetheless, watch the video below I put together about a year ago on this very subject. It’s still totally germane to this topic.

CourVO

Filed Under: Networking, Social/Professional Networking, VO Community Tagged With: LinkedIn, LinkedIn searches, social Media, social networking, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover

Part I, Your VO Social Media plan

June 5, 2011 By CourVO 2 Comments

Each day this week, I’ll contribute a new blog article in a 5-point plan to benefit your VO business in the Social Networks.

This is not daunting, nor difficult. It will require some time, esp. if you haven’t started yet, and it WILL require the real YOU to step forward. Not some proxy personality. Social Media is nothing if your contribution does not reflect a genuine you. That’s the whole idea: be real — warts and all — so the actual person online becomes the trusted you — and the trusted you gets jobs.

800 lb. GORILLA

No wonder the Winklevoss twins wanted a piece of FaceBook. It’s the monster on the block. One of these days, it may go the way of the Atari, but right now there is no Social Media presence without it. Sign up, and enter a profile. It’s free. Put up a picture. Fill out the personal information to the extent your comfortable, and take the time to configure the settings so people can see you or not see you according to your wishes. Browse around. Personally, I find FaceBook to be a non-intuitive interface, but it’s deep and broad, and it changes all the time. The more time you spend here, the more you’ll understand it. But above all, respond and contribute to whatever conversation you decide to be part of. Be businesslike if you’re constructing a business page, but be you. Be friendly if you’re doing a personal page, but be you.

THE BIRD

Even FaceBook is looking over it’s shoulder at Twitter. Just about everyone from Microsoft to Google has been rumoured an attempted buyout of Twitter. Twitter confounds lots of people. I get that, but once you try it a little, you’ll at least see its value. Twitter is also free. Sign-up and fill out your profile. Be honest, but maybe a little mysterious or provacative. Or not. Your choice. Above all, be brief (you HAVE to be). Put up a picture, not an avatar. Don’t change the pic a lot. Let people get used to who you are. Include the URL to your VO site. Now—-> start “tweeting”. Again, be serious, mysterious, fun, zany, mad, or not. Just be genuine. Retweet other’s posts. Include links. But don’t spam, and don’t waste people’s time. (I’m being purposely brief…a primer on how to do Twitter this is NOT).

VIDEO

YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the planet..which means the top two are both owned by Google, ’cause Google owns YouTube. YouTube keeps breaking records. A couple of months ago it had–over 2 billion video views per day; over 35 hours of video uploaded per minute (Source: YouTube Statistics: 25 Jawdropping YouTube Facts, Figures & Statistics http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-statistics/#ixzz1OTt8XS7v)

God knows what it is today. As much as you may hate appearing on camera, these are trends you just can’t ignore. At least set up your account. Use your Google username and password. It’s easier that way. DON’T start browsing videos. You’ll end up like my daughter who spends 28 hours a day laughing at stupid cat videos. :) See what other people are posting. Most of it is junk. But people are watching. Just think how many hits you’ll get if you practice a little, and put up something compelling. See my site: http://www.oncamtips.com for help.

THERE’S MORE

I’m going to suggest LinkedIn as honorable mention here. Some would put it higher than YouTube. It deserves it’s own blog article (I think) for the rich mining you can do on the site for companies (Studios! Agents! Prospects!) and people. I’ll just say please sign up (again: free) and start your profile. Put up a smiling but mostly serious bio pic, and start seeing who else among your friends are on the site. You’ll be surprised. There are thousands (yes, thousands) of voice-actors on LinkedIn, even if they don’t want to talk about it. You can be on as many as 50 groups. Join some…especially Ed Victor’s “Working Voice Actor” group, and my “Setting VO Rates” group. Send out invitations. Write and seek recommendations to your profile. Use the extensive tools to research potential leads here…that’s what this site is all about.

OK, that’s the basics. TOMORROW: Part II of your VO Social Media Plan will help you strategize your overall approach. Why are you on Social Networks? What is it you want to achieve? What part of my VO business can most benefit from a Social media Plan?

CourVO

Filed Under: Networking, Social/Professional Networking, SociaMediaVO Tagged With: social Media, social networking, VO, voice acting, voice actor, voice over, voiceover

Do What Works, Drop What Doesn’t

December 20, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

What works for your doesn’t always work for me…and vice versa.

A comment on a VO forum recently noted that when seeking freelance VO jobs, it’s all about relationship. He said that FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn was a time-suck, and “if you can’t get on the phone and sell yourself and work a lead, offer solutions and say two simple words: “Thank you.” It ain’t never gonna happen.” (names omitted to protect the innocent)

Two observations:
(1) I agree. It’s all about relationship…and you HAVE to remember the thank-you’s.

(2) But…the phone calls have never worked for me, and Social Media does. Does that make my opinionated friend right, and me wrong? Nope. It’s just that he forgot the difference between people.

Building relationships happens on many levels. At some point I might just pick up a phone and suss-out a job, or seal a deal…but my PREFERRED method is to work that out on digital paths of communication — Social Media. You might find that odd, as I am a person who has made a career out of persuading viewers on TV through personal appeal — my voice and my image. But I’m also a geek, and a half-way decent writer, and the greater challenge lies for me in working the internet. Plus I hate cold-call rejection stats. Roughly 1% of those bring fruit. To me, THAT is a time-suck.

DO-IT-YOURSELF

Recently, I also was approached by another voice actor who realized she had neglected Social Media entirely as part of her marketing plan. She wanted to know if I could “just do it” for her.

My answer was that I’d be happy to walk and talk her through the technical set-up of the social media sites…and that I could consult with her on preferred methods of effectively promoting oneself on those sites. But overall, I told her, it IS about building relationship, and that would require her constant personal attention, and there would be no substitute for HER participation in that formula.

I appreciate both these instances of “finding what works”. I wish I wasn’t so bad at overcoming the objection, and handling rejection. I’d love to have been born with a creative promotions and marketing gene. I wasn’t. But I have other talents, and I have to go with what works for me.

What works for you?

CourVO

Filed Under: Jobs, Networking, Social/Professional Networking Tagged With: voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent

T.N.N.T.

November 23, 2009 By CourVO 2 Comments

The Next New Thing

In the late 60’s if was FM radio. Around the mid-70’s Datsun became “Nissan”. By the early 90’s it was this strange new phenom called “the internet”. After that, everything started approaching light-speed.

Today TNNT is born, lives, and can either survive or die within days, sometimes even hours.

Google WAVE is past a few months of life, now, and it’s likely to stay through the sheer force of it’s corporate support.

About two weeks ago, I got my Google Wave invitation, and was ecstatic, ‘cause for weeks and weeks, about 100,000 other geeks had it and I DIDN’T. That’s like denying Harry Reid access to The Next New Taxpayer.

OK, so now I have WAVE, and yes, it IS pretty cool….but the learning curve seem fairly steep (I’ve been swamped lately), and I’ve found maybe…10-15 contacts I know (Kat Keesling among them)…and most of them don’t seem to be using it.

So, how ‘bout it? Got Wave? Contact me. Just do a search for DAVE COURVOISIER. or use my e-mail: courvo<at>gmail.com.

Don’t have wave? I have about 3 or 4 invitations I can send out (Google awarded me 8 when I got my account). Let me know, and if I have any left, I’ll send you one.

Do I smell a VO group on WAVE?

CourVO

Filed Under: Networking, New Paradigms, Social Media/Networking, Social/Professional Networking, Technology Tagged With: Google, Google Wave, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover artist, Voiceovers, Wave

PostOp on a Teleseminar

November 15, 2009 By CourVO Leave a Comment

When do you become an “expert”?

That word makes me uncomfortable.

That’s why, when I started my teleseminar Saturday morning (Leveraging Social Media for Your VoiceOver Business) on behalf of the VoiceOverDirectory, I began by saying I’m a fan of Social Media, I enjoy Social Networking, I’m familiar and comfortable with New Media…I’m drawn to its potential…but “expert”? Nah!

Social Media is too new, and so ever-changing for anyone to be able truly be an “expert”…at least by my definition, which I’m conveniently not stating here.

My talk was more about trends, indicators…mapping out a few directives that seem to be working FOR NOW…and why voice actors really shouldn’t ignore the opportunities afforded by New Media for furthering their brand, their personality…the relationships that may lead to enriching their personal lives, and advancing their business.

Amazingly, I talked almost non-stop about that for almost a half-hour, and still felt there was much left unsaid.

I’m a geek at heart, which means I’m a genetically hard-wired metal detector, perking up when a wayward fragment of social media metal shows up on my radar. But I know (that’s right, keep telling yourself, Dave) that Social Media is only one of the tools in my job-searching toolbox. It just happens to be the one that captures my fancy (hey!…I found a gold doubloon!).

Maybe I’m on to something. Maybe not. Maybe it’ll bring me more VO jobs…or not. Or maybe — just maybe — all this flailing around may lead me into an unexpected career vector that has little to do with voice-acting. All I know is along the way I’m learning a ton, and meeting some of the savviest people on the planet.

Below is about a 2:30 excerpt of my teleseminar. I recorded the whole thing on a trusty Logitech webcam…and the audio you hear is from the onboard Logitech mic (not the greatest). On this segment I blatantly break a number of my own rules, stated so smugly on my new website: OnCamTips.com. But, there may be some value in watching this anyway: a segment on the rationale for voice actors to consider authoring a blog of their own.

I have no idea how many listened in, but quite a few responded afterward to say they’d like the resource material I promised to make available if they’d just send their e-mail address to me. I think they were just being polite…;-}

BTW, write me at [email protected], and I’ll put you on the mailing list for that resource material, too.

My thanks to Mark Davidson and Austin Alexander of VoiceOverDirectory for asking me to speak, and arranging this teleseminar so professionally.

Also my gratitude to a couple of voice-actors who are social media VO giants in my eyes: Trish Basanyi (@Trishsvoice) and Terry Daniel (@TDaniel39).

CourVO

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing, Networking, People, Social Media/Networking, Social/Professional Networking, Twitter, Web/Tech Tagged With: CnCamTips.com, FaceBook, social Media, social networking, Twitter, voice, voice acting, voice actors, voice artists, voice over, voice talent, voiceover arists, VoiceOverDirectory, Voiceovers

Status Posting

October 5, 2009 By CourVO 2 Comments

‘Coupla days ago, I shuffled out loud through a few rambling thoughts here on this blog — like I NEVER do that! (see “…MushMind…”)

Surprisingly, comments from three people I really admire, immediately popped up.

My original musing was: “Does it help you or hurt you to see other voice actors posting prodigiously about the work they’re doing…or just completed…or must knock out before the end of the week? I’d really like to know what you think about that. Personally, I’m undecided. I’ve been hurt AND encouraged by it.”

Peter O’Connell wrote to say: “…if you’re a VO marketing to other VO’s (and you may be if you’re a coach or something) then that plan works. But if you’re just spouting off to anyone of your followers your daily tasks, I think one risks a bored board of followers.”

Karen Commins was effusive in her response, but mostly ’cause she reprinted an article she’d written before on related themes:

“Comparing yourself to other people is a guaranteed formula for feeling BAD! Without too much effort, you can always find someone who apparently:

* has more credits and/or more impressive credits
* has booked more jobs recently
* makes more money
* has better equipment
* has more agents and/or more aggressive agents and/or agents in more markets
* has higher search engine rankings
* has a better demo
* has more training
* has better marketing promotions
* has more audition opportunities

You get the idea. By comparing yourself and your achievements to anyone or anything, you more than likely will find fault with your own situation.”

Finally, Derek Chappell followed up with: “…This post and the responses are so timely it’s scary. I was just thinking these same thoughts about all of those who REALLY crank out the daily spew of how many jobs they’re working and how “important” they are…”

I’d really encourage you do return to the comment section of that blog article, and read the responses in their entirely. Click HERE.

Does this in any way settle my mind on the question? No. And believe me, I’m not knocking anybody’s motives or action here. But nothing we do is in a vacuum. We DO affect others. Proving that is a WIRED Magazine article about relationships, and how the interaction affects behaviors. Click HERE. It’s an eye-opener.

But we also need to take responsibility for our own feelings and reactions, and not blame them on someone else. No one controls how you feel about yourself but YOU.

OK, the armchair psychologist is off-duty now.

CourVO

Filed Under: Connecting, Follow-up, Friends, Networking, People Tagged With: Derek Chappell, Karen Commings, Peter O'Connell, social Media, social networking, status updates, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice overs, voiceover

The Amazing John-P

October 4, 2009 By CourVO Leave a Comment

You’ve heard me mention John Pozadzides in my blog before…most recently here.

John-P-and-me John’s been in town for a PhotoShop conference, and writes about his experiences (one story is unbelievable – no, I take that back – BOTH are). His blog is ALWAYS worth the read. See OneMansBlog.

We met for dinner Friday and the conversation was – as usual – quite edifying for me. I’m preparing another presentation on New Media for an internal group at the TV station, and since John’s fingernail clippings contain more knowledge about Network marketing than the sum total of my over-rated knowledge about this subject, I listened intently (shoulda taken notes).

I’ll spare you the long version, but a summary of the core message is one all Voice-actors…indeed…all people can benefit from in their relationships…especially the online kind.

So how much do you really care about building a relationship (as in: client relationship)? If the answer is that you care a great deal, then you will take the time to do the things that people who care about each other do. You create a conversation. You take an interest. You inquire about things in their life that matter to them. You keep track. You remember important details. You do a little homework. You engage and keep engaging. ‘Next thing you know…you have a friend, not a client.

I first met John when I made a troubleshooting call to Woopra. John is the one of the FOUNDERS of Woopra, and yet, he dug in, solved my problem, and kept the conversation open through the ensuing months. He’s engaged, involved, and wants to know what’s happening with me. In a sense, he practiced what he preaches ON ME, and I am one of the beneficient outcomes of the application of his principles. Even though in my case, his expectations were dashed (heh)… he hung in there.

Like, I said, read his blog, and you’ll see the essence shine through of the guy everyone knows as John-P.

CourVO