Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘voices’

When’s the last time I finished a book?

Sheesh, what even constitutes a “book” these days?

I must admit my definition of the term has a legacy, but a fuzzy future.

There’s white papers, and series, and articles, and blogs, and compilations, and posts, and readers, how-to’s, and websites, and iPads, and Kindles, and….well…you get the idea.

I figure the iPad will join my bloated collection of eagerly-acquired-but-soon-outdated technology when prices come down, and features go up — just in time for Christmas.

But I digress…my Kindle is still serving me well, and I may actually finish one of the most readable “books” I’ve ever downloaded:  THE MONEY BOOK FOR FREELANCERS, PART-TIMERS AND THE SELF-EMPLOYED (The Only Personal finance System for People with Not-So-Regular Jobs)  by Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan.

In the background, I’m reading: THE WINDMILL APPROACH TO NETWORKING, Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn (An Unofficial Step-by-Step Guide to Creating & Implementing Your LinkedIn Brand) by Neal Schaffer.

And in the deep background (meaning, I actually started reading THIS ONE before the above two):  TRUST AGENTS, Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust. by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.

I highly recommend ANY of them, and wish you only the best in finishing.

CourVO

You’d have to be living in a voiceover-proof invisible dome not to hear about the goings-on with VoiceJockeys and atty Robert Sciglimpaglia.  I’ve been blogging about it myself relentlessly for the last three days, and this will be an addendum, then I promise to let it go until the “next big thing”.

Why?

The world continues to turn, the sun comes up in the East, and Muamar Q’adaffi is still the dictator of Libya.

Read this comment sent by Mike Elmore in response to yesterday’s blog:

“I know this is a heated issue. I personally think VO people spend WAYY too much time worrying about this. Yes it is a bee in the bonnet…but this market will more than likely always exist (as clients will always exist that either can’t afford our rates OR know they don’t have to pay them because there IS this market of VO people as well. Of course there is the argument that you get what you pay for. But if the client is satisfied and they paid 50.00 instead of 300.00…then I guess they got a good deal and fueled this new arm of the market even more.

I too find it almost shocking that VO people have so much friggin’ time on their hands. So much time to gossip and complain and judge and say LOOK AND ME, LOOK AT ME…lol …on these boards and things. Why not spend this time marketing? Anyway…I just think it’s something that is there/here….and why waste so much time talking about it? I personally feel like I have typed enough about it in the last 5 minutes to last me a lifetime. But to each his own. I must admit I do enjoy READING thru these things from time to time…but I certainly don’t have enough time to create them…so…guess I’m glad someone does~~”

Just another opinion, I know, but one that hilites a struggle I have every day.  Priorities.  VO has an extremely high level of attention in my life right now.  Personally, I love following the trends, working the Social Media, attending the forums, and contributing with my blog.  But at the end of the day, I have to audition, market, invoice, and seek coaching ,just as relentlessly.

I will support Rob Sciglimpaglia in every way.  I think his tack has merit.  In fact, I want to mention his new blog designed to expose online P2P sites like VoiceJockeys (and you know who you are).  It’s called TREAT VOICE OVER ACTORS FAIRLY.  Let Rob know of every unscrupulous site you think undercuts our industry with mercenary pricing and policies.

Also, be sure to visit John Florian’s VoiceOverXtra site for the latest installment of this stand-off.  HERE.

CourVO

The number of books and articles written about branding could sink Noah’s Ark.

But brand is something you absolutely MUST spend some time thinking about…preferably BEFORE you spend a lot of money on websites, business cards, graphics, and letterhead.

The no-brainer approach to VO branding  dictates you find a decent picture of a microphone…choose a name or a slogan with the word “voice” in it somewhere, and start plastering it all over your website, your FaceBook page, and maybe even buy some ad space on a high-traffic VO forum.

‘Nothing wrong with that whatsoever if that’s what you want your brand to be.  Ultimately, your brand represents your essence, the character, personality trait, ability, or reputation that defines you and your work.  Am I wrong?

Uh, maybe…Seth Godin makes a career (and a healthy living) out of dissecting “brand” and here’s his definition: A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

In fact, a great case can be made for the theory that VO branding is virtually indistinguishable from any other service-oriented or freelance branding.  This is the sneaky way I am able to justify offering the following 5 links on branding in general, and claim they’re VO Branding Tips.  (so shoot me!….I did some research on this, and these are GREAT ARTICLES!)  My favorite:  #2.

VO Branding Tip #1
Seth Godin Defines “Brand”
http://goo.gl/8YaX

VO Branding Tip #2
Think You’re in Control of Your Brand?  Think Again!  Google Never Forgets!
http://goo.gl/ckLM

VO Branding Tip #3
Build Your Brand So People Will Refer You
http://goo.gl/eW3F

VO Branding Tip #4
7 Ways to Identify and Market the Uniqueness of Your Freelance Business
http://goo.gl/RhQX

VO Branding Tip #5
Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand’s Reputation
http://goo.gl/KT3u

…AND ONE FOR THE ROAD
How to Best Promote Your Brand Using Social Media
http://goo.gl/ouqD

CourVO

The guy’s on a roll lately!

On top of having one the most marketable reputations in VO-land…and despite hosting frequent successful webinars and coaching classes, Harlan Hogan is finding the time to make a real go of it staking his name on two dynamite products these days.

His most recent splash is a signature series Marshall-made VO Microphone, getting boffo reviews.

Click HERE to see the offer at HarlanHogan.com, or HERE to see it on AMAZON.com (same price).

Harlan has also long been known for innovating a sweet little portable mic sound booth.   Now, with the right packaging and marketing, he’s making a very respectable run at selling a boatload of these things…and why not?  If you have to travel much, and keep clients happy, this is about as close as it gets to getting it done right on the fly.  Click HERE to get your pre-order in for the Porta-Booth Pro ($100 deposit, total price $349…enough to give anyone pause…but honestly, it’s probably worth every penny).

You might want to pause and see some of the other items Harlan lists on his ‘Voice Over Essentials Department Store‘.

Nice going HH!!

CourVO

My fervent hope is that something in the list below will spark a self-helpful action for your VO business.

Honestly…I compose it for me as much as anyone.

Whatever the consistent time-suck is in your life, like me, I’m sure it draws attention away from the important things.
[Remember our talk about urgent v. important? Click HERE and HERE]

Voice acting is a business, and I offer the following as a proverbial wrench for the nuts ‘n’ bolts (sometimes the overlooked obvious) of YOUR business.

1)  Any left-over upaid invoices from 2009 (God Forbid!). We know you’re a nice person, but enough is enough.  Call them today and assertively ask for payment or prepare too write it off your records.
2)  Did you download the .qpb file for your QuickBooks from your bank and credit-card companies?  Some of those institutions only keep records around for 90-days, and come tax-time, entering records manually is a pain!
3)  When’s the last time you backed-up your audition files, documents, financial records, etc. to the “cloud” or to an external HD?
4)  How current are your demos on your website?…V123?…Voices?…VOPlanet…?
5)   For that matter, should some of those demos be replaced with stuff you recently did?
6)  Are you really taking advantage of the maximum number of demos those sites let you upload?…in all genres?
7)  When is the last time you followed-up on the lead that sounded sure-fire in February, but has gone strangely silent?
8}  Not to be a pest, but when’s the last time you made a cold call to ANYONE?
9)  From whom have you recently solicited an objective critique of your voice-work?…the quality of your audio chain?
10)  What are your plans for seeking solid paid coaching, instruction, phone consults or face-to-face mentoring in the 8.5 months left to the year?
11)   Registered for VOICE2010 yet?  Why not?
12) Are you tapping into a wave of helpful webinars being posted practically everywhere these days?
13)  When’s the last time you posted a question or answer on a VO forum.  You have much to offer.
14)  Is your office paperless yet?  Computer monitors are extremely cheap now.  Save your printer, go with 2 screens!
15)  Dust off your business plan, and see if you’re being true to your dream.  No business plan?  See #16.
16)  Make a business plan.  Stick to it.

There’s more….much more.  Not to overload.  Do one thing this week, another next week.

What have I missed?  Please offer a helpful TO-DO tip of your own by commenting below.

CourVO

Studio master, and voice-talent pro Michael Minetree is seeing a flurry of activity on his new website: VOICES WITH ISDN.

The site is self-interactive.  In other words, when you register as a user, you can begin to add yourself to the listings with a pic, brief bio, links, etc.

Michael is a genius at setting-up this kind of stuff, and for the price (free!), it certainly can’t hurt to add your info to the list of luminaries already joining.

There’s also a place to tout your Source-Connect capabilities along with your ISDN codecs and contact numbers.

Thanks Michael!

CourVO

Voice coaching is something to approach with caution.  Usually the best way to know whether it’s worth the time/money is through a referral from a trusted friend, and even then you should qualify whether your needs are the same as your friend’s.

Some coaches are so way off-the-charts in demand that you have trouble getting on their roster (Wolfson, Tobias, Horvath).  OK, I shouldn’t name names, but there’s no shortage of VO coaches, and no shortage of debate about the efficacy of some operations, and whether they are a conveyor belt, flooding the market.  Ya know, I’m not here to get into all that in this article.

I just wanted to throw out the following link for those who may be considering an alternative.  VOCareer.com.

All I know is Gabrielle Nistico is on the staff, and one of the founders, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about her.  They’ve been around for quite a while, which is a good sign.  Call ‘em up and ask questions.  It’s the only way you’ll get answers.

Right now VOCareer is sending out the ACCELERATE flyer, and you may find something of interest there for you.

CourVO

My Friend Paul Strikwerda has written a golden blog article entitled: “10 ways to spot a voice-over amateur“.

Of course, this is not for US professional voice actors.  It’s for when…uh, er…when we might all become casting agents…. yeah, that’s it!

Seriously, this is a must-read!  CLICK.

Great job, Paul!

CourVO

Here’s proof positive that virtual relationships can grow and bloom and become real-world friendships.

Voice actor Karen Commins and her husband Drew visited in Las Vegas last week.  The main reason: celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with a drive-thru renewal of their vows at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the strip — on a Harley no less!  Great style!

In between scheduled items on their busy visit to Vegas, though, Karen and Drew took time to visit me at the TV station during a newscast, and then to break bread with me at an off-strip restaurant.

I wanted in the worst way to write about that visit last week, but certainly understood and honored the Commins’ wishes NOT TO, for the sake of confounding social media rules that dictate revealing all our whereabouts all the time!  In other words, protecting their home while they were away.

I’d write more about it, but Karen already has done so quite eloquently.

Please click HERE for more pics, and a great review of their visit.

Karen is a kindred soul, an astute and savvy student of the digital age, and a wonderful person (even though she’s seen Barry Manilow in concert 51 times).  ;-}

CourVO

At the extreme risk of beating a dead horse, let me once again regale you with the advantages of attending VOICE2010 this June in LA.

There is nothing else like this in VO-dom.  I was walking about 2-ft off the ground for a week after the previous VOICE conclave.

The chance to share the same air with your fellow voice actors for several days holds no comparison to anything else in our business.  I’m not going to prattle on and name-drop about all the stellar personalities who will be there (a who’s who!), nor will I try to convince you of the dollar value (’cause it’s personal)…but I can tell you the return-on-investment is as good as it gets.

If you are a SaVoa member, there are perks.  Visit the SaVoa.org site, and click on the VOICE2010 link.  Registration gets you a 15% discount.  Exact details coming on this blog and the SaVoa.org blog in a day or so.

SaVoa is also sponsoring a raffle of sorts for those hoping to register for VOICE.  Pay $20 upfront, and your name goes into a hat for a drawing.  The winner of the draawing gets to go to VOICE for free.  For everyone else, their $20 goes toward the regular registration cost anyway, so you lose out on nothing.

Take a stroll around the VOICE2010 website for a look at the conference schedule.

Disclaimer:  I’m a co-host, AND a presenter, so I’m naturally stoked about the whole affair, but I”m also not blowing smoke at you when I say this is one fantastic meet-up.  The clock is ticking, my friends…and June will be hear before you know it.

Contact me personally with questions:  CourVO@CourVO.com or 702-610-6288.

‘Can’t wait to see you there!

CourVO