ONE:

The Voices.com iPhone app is now available for free download and install.  I first noticed it being in the App Store at 2am PST.  There is no iPad app per se…but like all other iPhone apps, you can install and run it on your iPad too

I blogged about the Voices.com app Friday.  Right from the installation and on through the log-in and use of the app, you’ll feel right at home with the branding look and feel of this app (that is, if you’re a subscriber).  Voice seekers, too, will recognize the familiar navigation and feature elements of the web-based Voices.com.  The interface is very intuitive, visually appealing, and a cinch to navigate. The Ciccarelli’s — as usual — have done their homework with the seamless marriage of content and technology here.

TWO:

We Sooooo take our physical speaking apparatus for granted, don’t we?  We just expect the ole voice to BE there whenever we need it.  That is, unless you’ve had allergies, or some laryngeal illness, or you yelled too hard for too long at your daughter’s soccer game.  THEN you start to think maybe the vocal cords are NOT an endless resource.

The voice-box is an organ that deserves to be protected, nurtured, and methodically cared-for.  Among her many other talents and abilities, VO coach Bettye Zoller is passionate about vocal health.  There’s a helpful webinar on that tonite with Bettye, but first try taking this quick quiz on the topic:  http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=nmslirag.

Yeah, I didn’t get ‘em all either.

If you noticed at the bottom of that article, you’ll see this link to the VoiceOverXtra webinar on vocal health: Your Vocal Health
Learn Truths - Shatter Myths.

This would be a worthwhile and affordable webinar to brush-up on the basics of vocal cord health, as she’ll be joined by a leading voice physician from the Dallas area for the session.

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Bettye has more VO knowledge in her microphone carrying case than I’ll ever be able to garner.  And there’s very little waffling.  Bettye has a well-formed answer for most any topic.  Her experience comes to bear on issues of rates, demos, marketing, agents, unions…you name it!  Sitting and listening to her rattle off pearls of wisdom — one after the other, –  made me wonder if I wasn’t ill-suited to be her webinar partner.

I began my portion of the program by saying not only am I hooked on information gathering and disseminating, but that I’ve never considered myself an expert at anything.  I’m immersed in Social Media tools, and I’m a student of Social Networking…but a guru?…don’t put that label on me!!!

People ALWAYS ask me how I keep up with it all.  Well, my presentation included hints about a lot of tools that cut into the time-suck that social media can be, and three of them neatly end up with the suffix -FY

Summify

Storify

Amplify

I’ve enthusiastically blogged about Storify and Amplify before…but it occurred to me I hadn’t blogged about Summify before, and of the three ‘FY social media tools, Summify is perhaps the most time-saving.

Summify filters online articles that you’re likely to read (according to their algorithm), and emails you daily a feed of the top five.

A Mashable article says about Summify:  “…users connect their RSS feeds, Twitter accounts, and Facebook profiles to Summify. An algorithm takes into account what feeds they follow and what their friends are talking about, and determines what they should read. Stories that are unusually popular on social networks are also accounted for. The resulting list is e-mailed to users directly…”

You can subscribe to other people’s Summify feeds, and they can subscribe to yours.  I find it amazing all the different ways innovation has led to new methods of interacting socially.

Speaking of which…in just a few hours, I’ll be rising uncharacteristically early to make my annual pilgrimage to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) here in Las Vegas.  Yes, it’ll be a madhouse.  Even MORE yes, it’ll be a visual phantasmagorical geekfest.

My first stop (after press credentials) will be the Blue Microphone booth in the South Hall to see their new offerings for iOS-devices:  The TIKI, the Mikey DIGITAL, and the Spark DIGITAL.  For a quick review, visit Billy James’ blog.  Blue produces some very innovative (and eye-catching) mics, and I hope to have a video demo for you from the exhibitor’s hall.

I’m sure I’ll stumble into other tempting gadgets, as well, among the thousands of vendors.  Hate that!

CourVO

….I wouldn’t waste your time with this brief announcement.

In fact it’s ME…I’m the biggest questions mark in Monday, January 9th’s Webinar on VoiceOverXtra entitled A New You in the New Year.  ;-}

Between the veteran wisdom of Zoller, and my quirky mix of Social Media exploration, you will get — if nothing else — in that hour-and-a-half teleseminarm– a wonderful stir-fry of brainstorming that will have you rethinking some old ideas for your VO business, and maybe even inspire you with some new ones.

Bettye will present from her vast knowledge of marketing, agency-representation, coaching, and foreign, as well as long-format opportunities.

Then I’ll present with a number of new Social Media trends and techniques, some recent technological advances, and even a couple of predictions for developments in the new year.

For the rest of the 90-minute session (and maybe even over a little)…we’ll field questions.  Anything’s fair game.

Because of my evening schedule as a news anchor, we’re getting started at 1pm PST / 4pm EST.  The cost is $44, and you’ll get a complete copy of the entire session when you’re done.

I’ve put a lot of research into the elements I’m presenting, and I think you will walk away with tangible strategies.

Thanks, and ‘hope to see you there on Monday, the 9th.

CourVO

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I’m as American as the next guy, but I’m embarrassed by our collective sense of entitlement sometimes.

New Year’s day (a national holiday) falls on a Sunday this year.  “Hey!  Wait a minute!  That means we get cheated out of a day off!” (says a certain segment of the population).  Therefore today, Monday the 2nd of January is the observed holiday.  How spoiled are we that we can’t suck it up and accept the calendar for what it gives us?!!!.  2012 is a leap year, are we gonna complain about the extra day too!

This line of reasoning actually leads to a dangerous political conclusion, and the last thing I wanna do is start something, here, so lemme just segue into my original intent for this blog article…and that’s to mark this week’s calendar for some important events for VO’s this year…and a gentle reminder to start planning, now!

MARK IT DOWN

John Florian is hosting one of his always-solid VoiceOverXtra webinars one week from today — January 9th.  Of course the reason I’m mentioning this, is ’cause I’m one of the featured hosts.  The other is VO talent and  Coach Bettye Zoller.  The focus is “VO Strategies for 2012“.  Bettye will be expounding on Marketing, Ad Agencies and Producers, new Markets for VO’s and much more from her vast wealth of knowledge.  I’ll be playing to my strengths in the area of Social Media, Utilizing Aggregators Sites, the Do’s and Don’ts of online networking and some trends in Social Marketing.  I also have to anchor the news that day, so the webinar will be held at 4pmEST/ 3pmCST / 1pmPST.  Visit A NEW YOU IN THE NEW YEAR to see much more more about this webinar, and to register.  I’ve put a lot of thought into this one, and I know Bettye has too, so I hope you can attend.

FAFFCON4

The fourth-ever FaffCon “un”-conference will be held March 23, 24, & 25 in Ventura, California.  But an important day on the calendar LATER THIS WEEK is for registration.  One of the best things about FaffCon is that it’s limited to 100 attendees (and even that’s pushing’ it)…so to get on board, please mark down Friday, January 6th, 9am PST for your first chance to register.  See the details on the Faffcon site.

VOICE2012

The first and foremost conference in voice-over land is VOICE.  The last one was in 2010, in Century City.  2012′s will be at the DisneyLand resort.  Unlike FaffCon, this is a more traditional conference, with scheduled General and breakout seminars, a busy schedule of events, an exhibitor’s area, the Tech Talk Terrace, a Red Carpet Event, and a big banquet to top it off…but whew!…you can learn so much, and get a chance to really meet the pros.  Visit the VOICE2012 website for the all the details.

One quick mention about VOICE2012:  founders James Alburger and Penny Abshire are seeking “Ambassadors” for the event. Yes this involves a certain amount of work, but also brings considerable perks and inside access to portions of the conference.  You can read more about the Ambassador program here.  The deadline was the 31st of December, but my guess is that if you show a genuine interest, James and Penny can find a place for you.  At any rate, ake your reservations for VOICE 2012 prior to February 15th, 2012 and save $225! That’s a full 25% off the full price of the convention. The actual event takes place from June 13th – 16th.

APAC

Finally, I mention the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC).  Cruelly, this event is scheduled for the week before VOICE2012 on the opposite coast, but I’ve personally committed to both.  With audiobook publishers, it pays to get in front of them face-to-face, and I’ve missed APAC two years in a row for good reasons, but just can’t ignore it anymore.  The event is at the Jacob Javits center in NYC on the 4th and 5th of June.  There’s really no website with information yet, but it pays to belong to the Audio Publishers Association if you are serious about narrating audiobooks.

CourVO

‘Actually a couple of updates to some posts earlier this week.

First, from Wednesday:  I told you I was featured in a special book on small business entrepreneurs written by Internet Biz Coach Jim Kukral. The book has just been released and you can see a free offer when you click on “Internet Marketing for Business Answers“. (a completely no-cost copy of the audio book just by sharing the book on social media)

Here’s what Jim Kukral says about the contents:  “In this book you will learn the secrets of business from over 18 super-skilled ninja experts who talk about things like affiliate marketing, word of mouth, search, sales, podcasting, landing pages, making money online and much more. It’s the ultimate insider, private consulting session, all in one volume, to read at your convenience. Imagine spending over $50,000 to sit down and spend an hour with all of these people? That’s what this book is.”

My contribution is a podcast interview I did with Jim a few months back.  You can listen to that podcast.  You can also download a copy onto any Kindle app.

_____________________

Yesterday hundreds of people read my blog on “8 VO Clichés We Love to Hate“, and several of you commented positively.  One person, though, wrote with an emphatic correction on item #5, having to do with Unions.  What was I thinking?  I might as well have excoriated a major national political figure…or railed against the eccentricities of one or the other of two popular computer operating systems (I think you know what I mean).

I don’t think the issue of talent unions can be brought up without the discussion reverting eventually to a full-out debate.  But I digress.

Noted VO Coach and voice talent Bettye Zoller took great exception to my summary judgement of union membership and said:  ” Dave this is WRONG WRONG. I have done many many national AFTRA SAG JOBS with fab residuals over the years and I am based in Dallas. I knoew so many people living everywhere in the U.S. from New England to Georgia to S. Carolina to Chicago who do union jobs, local, regional, or national. And that’s another item you are incorrect in saying: Only national work? OH NO. All work, even local, pays more on a union contract. And you NEED NOT JOIN A UNION TO WORK UNION. It is the PRODUCER/CLIENT/COMPANY who determines if it is a union job or not.”

I’ll be talking to Bettye about this, and may even ask her to guest blog, or at least maybe post a Q & A with her about this.

____________________

Finally, if you haven’t read Paul Strikwerda’s latest blog — after nearly a month’s-worth of social media silence, then maybe you should trot on over and read:  Egotistical Bastard.

CourVO

Cold Calling

‘Seems a good  many voice actors disagree on the value of cold-calling.  Some swear by it, others think it’s a waste of time. The concept of “warm-calling” seems a bit more on the mark to me, especially with all the resources available on the internet these days to scope out your prey, er, uh prospect.  With those tools, you should be able to walk into the call a little more prepared.  In that spirit, check out the article called:  Five Modern Resources That Boost Cold Call Results.

June is AudioBook Month

The Audio Publisher’s Association (APA) is just coming off a heady weekend in NYC with the APA conference, BEA, and the Audio awards, and they’re not done yet!  They’re encouraging everyone to get busy and spread the word that June is AudioBook Month.  They’re launching a Social Media campaign called GET CAUGHT LISTENING.  You’ll find a list of events this month on the APA website, and if you decide to tweet about this or anything on that calendar, be sure to use the hashtag  #JIAM2011  (get it?  June is Audiobook Month, 2011).

AudioBook Online Community

Speaking of which, if you’re inclined to pursue more opportunities in AudioBooks, you must insinuate yourself in that unique community.  Starting with peers — other narrators — helps.  Check out this AudioBook Forum for Narrators.

Try a Different Approach

The rebel in me appreciates an approach that Bettye Zoller is taking with an upcoming VoiceOverXtra Webinar.  Along with Nashville-based VO Coach Joe Loesch, you’ll hear some suggestions to break away from the “cookie-cutter” demo, and do something that stands out from the crowd.  See an explanation of this idea by Bettye on VoiceOverXtra.  You can go right to the sign-up page, too.

Critical Mass

VO artist Bill DeWees posts a helpful video on YouTube about “Reaching Critical Mass in Your Voice Over Business“.  Bill makes a nice presentation on-cam, and he also makes a lot of sense in his content.

Acoustic Treatment

Mel Allen talks about sound management in his blog series on audiobooths.  It’s a meaty article packed with great suggestions for “…minimizing the sound you are creating, and the sound that wants to jump into your recording from outside…” Check out YOUR AUDIO PRO.

Twitter

Finaly, confused as to why Twitter is so popular?  Then you need to read the article titled:  Users Say They’re More Likely To Buy If A Business Answers Their Question On Twitter.  That’s why.

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What a ballyhooed word:  Branding.  Where to start?  What’s MY brand?  Is a brand a logo?…a slogan?…my face?  How do I get my brand out there?

January 4, VoiceOverXtra starts the New Year with “7 Steps To Building A Better Brand” – a webinar led by Bettye Zoller.

Zoller details how to analyze current brand marketing, effective marketing techniques, and how to keep the brand consistent everywhere – even in personal networking.

Here’s the link to details: http://conta.cc/BrandingWeb

CourVO

Yeah….gee…great, Dave…but where do I even start?

You start by listening in on the VoiceOverXtra-sponsored webinar featuring Bettye Zoller.  In case you’ve never heard of Bettye…she’s got experience….years and years.  She’s done it all, and continues to work and coach in all facets of this business.  Bettye tells it like it is, and you will learn lots.

Here’s a quote from John Florian, the founder and force behind VoiceOverXtra, about this coming Monday’s webinar:  ”It’s live, online, and Bettye has prepared a huge agenda of tips and resources for performing and protecting vocal health when voicing video games and cartoons. Prior attendees of Bettye’s webinars will recognize the vast amount of research and info she presents. Plus – in a lively Q&A, all questions will be answered. And everyone receives a full recording of the entire webinar – which is extremely handy in the event of a schedule conflict.”

See more info, and register for:

‘Doesn’t matter.  Niche is so chic or kitschy that it’s become cheeky.

What I’m trying to say is “niche” no longer has meaning.  EVERYTHING = niche, so going by the algebraic law of equality, then, NICHE = everything.

NIETZSCHE

You don’t have to be a postmodern existentialist to know there are so many niche’s in voice over, that it’s almost immaterial to have to say it!  VO is  ”everything nebulous niche”.  Each commercial, each promo, each website narration IS ITS OWN NICHE.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a big difference between reading an audiobook and doing an affiliate promo, but that doesn’t mean it’s not all VO.  Voice Over is ALL OF THAT and more.

It’s like telling someone from Italy that you’re from a small city about 50 miles South of Chicago called Kankakee.  ”Oh, you’re from the USA?”  ”Uh…yeah…”
It’s just easier to say “…I do voice overs.”  Then if someone REALLY wants to know…you can dig deeper.

ITCHING TO NICHE

And believe me, you should dig deeper…finding your niche will lead to more bookings for your VO business…the kind of bread ‘n’ butter jobs that keeps you flush while you work at de-throning Ashton Smith atop the kingdom of network promos.  ;)

I say all that to mention an upcoming webinar on VoiceOverXtra Monday.  John Florian —  the VoiceOverXtra jack-of-all-trades — will be hosting Bettye Zoller for a session called:  “BRANCHING OUT TO NICHE MARKETS”.

I spent some time on the phone with Bettye Saturday.  She’s a bright person, with loads of practical experience, and she loves to tell it in her matter-of-fact way.  The price of the webinar is minimal.  The advice you get will more than compensate you for your expense.

Then you can go nibble away at your quiche…or is it niche?

CourVO

She’s had plenty of experience to know HOW to tell it like it is…which is why it’s so great to know she’s decided to start blogging.

Please put THIS link on your RSS feed reader or your Favorites list.  I am

CourVO