July 2010 Archives
- These 10 tips from Videomaker about DIY #voiceover may convince you to hire me or another pro talent to help you: http://tinyurl.com/37abpwq
- Only people who want to be robbed should use 4Sq! RT @kelseyads Forrester: Why Most Marketers Should Forgo Foursquare http://bit.ly/b0QEqx
- Works off-line too! RT @TarynP Good stuff from @broganmedia. How to Boost your Income & Popularity by Giving Stuff Away http://bit.ly/d3mpK9
- Nice story about Pennsylvania voice talent Ken Haas, who narrates "My Dog Ate What?" for NatGeo Wild: http://tinyurl.com/2v9k6th
- This CNN article lists 30 jobs paying $80K+/year. #Voiceover is NOT on list; don't do it just for the money! http://tinyurl.com/yfohpg6 #fb
- Thinking of starting a #voiceover career? First you'll want to answer the introspective questions in this post: http://lnkd.in/MaSaJr
The following message was left as a comment to my post The feel-good voiceover blog of the summer! I copied the message exactly as I received it because I felt the answers to the questions deserved to be their own entry.
I've been considering launching into this field---and really want to know what it takes and what to expect. The best way to find out the pros and cons of any occupation is to talk to others who actually do it.....So, I'm open to whatever info you think would help me so I don't invest a lot of money and energy needlessly. My first question is, "Do you like voiceover work?" and "How difficult is it to break into this business?" I'm thinking it may take a few years...Is there really that much work out there for new talent?
-- Elizabeth
-- Elizabeth
Do I like voiceover work?
I don't know of any person who would say they didn't like the voiceover part of the job.
Voiceover is like any career in that you like some parts of it better than others. Of course, I love the actual act of reading the words on the page, interpreting the author's meaning, and recording the author's words with my voice. I love employing all sorts of marketing tactics that do not require me to make cold calls. I love writing articles on my blog and responding to reader comments (hint, hint!). I love connecting with other voice talent and clients in person and on-line. I love the immense satisfaction of hearing my voice at work in different media for various companies, and, yes, the coolness factor of this occupation is pretty hard to beat.
Perhaps a better question is: "Are there things that you don't like about being a voice talent?"
Editing the recordings is not my favorite task, especially since editing takes far more of my time than recording. Auditioning for countless projects and not even getting a response can be very depressing. Chasing down payment from clients who are at least a month late in paying for completed work is downright annoying. The situation with late-paying clients is even more stressful when that money is needed to pay one's own obligations.
Also, you've probably read about voice actors who brag about recording in their pajamas. What they didn't tell you is that they are wearing their pajamas because they are working early or late hours or on the weekend in order to meet a client deadline. If you want a structured, 40-hour-a-week job, you will want some other career choice than being a voiceover talent.
How difficult is it to break into this business?
How difficult is it to start any career that inherently means you are a self-employed business person? Becoming a voice talent necessarily demands that you will spend time, energy, and money as part of the start-up and continuing operational costs of your business. There are NO shortcuts!
I actually have a couple of mathematical formulas for figuring the method to become a voice-over success story. I wrote about the first one here, and the second one is below.
Take your age
Add to it the number of car payments you have left
Subtract the number of pillows on your bed
Divide by the square root of Pi
The answer is the number of seconds you'll spend figuring out any logic in this formula.
My feeble attempt at humor merely illustrates that the question can't be answered because every person's path into and through a voiceover career is different.
So, how does any start-up business become a thriving enterprise? Obviously, the business' chance for survival -- much less prosperity -- depends on the people who work there and the product they are selling. The time, energy, and money you invest in developing your technique, demo(s), web site, and marketing plan will be the deciding factors in your chances for success in starting and maintaining your voiceover business.
My questions for you
Anyone contemplating any career -- whether as a voice talent, computer programmer, or Sherpa on the mountainside -- should ask themselves as many or more questions than they ask other people. Whatever career you pick will require substantial amounts of time and energy; chunks of money are also required when you are considering starting a business. Spend some introspective time determining your answers to the kinds of questions I list below, and your answers will help you decide if voiceover is a good career choice for you.
- What are your values? Values are different than goals. For instance, if you value security as highly as I do, you'll probably want to have a day job with healthcare benefits and a 401K plan at least until your voiceover income consistently exceeds that of the day job and you're able to insure yourself and plan your retirement.
- What is your passion? If you don't know, what activities make you happy? When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? (If you want to see some great books that will help you find your passion, check out this page on my web site.)
- What about voiceover work is appealing to you? Do you think it's an easy and glamorous way to make money? Do you love to read? Do you love to learn things? Is technology your friend? Do you have a desire to help people? Do you work well in isolation? Do you work well on multiple projects at one time and under multiple deadlines? Do you have an inner calling to do a certain kind of voiceover work? Have you ever actually recorded your voice and listened to it?
For an excellent reality check about starting a voiceover business, I highly encourage you to read Peter O'Connell's Voiceover Entrance Exam. Peter is a veteran voice talent and savvy marketer who gives you the straight scoop on this business in a free e-book.
A final question on my list
Whatever happened to saying "thank you"?
People frequently fire off questions to me without including the simplest acknowledgement that my valuable time will be needed to answer them. I don't expect compensation -- not that any is offered in most inquiries I receive. I supply my advice as a service out of a true desire to help others. However, I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who overlook the small courtesy of saying "thank you".
Therefore, my parting advice is to develop an attitude of gratitude, starting with every communication you have with another person about your career choices.
- The feel-good voiceover blog post of the summer! 3 techniques to feel good about your v-o career: http://tinyurl.com/2vvc2so #in #fb
In a world....
When the legendary voice talent Don LaFontaine uttered those famous words on a movie trailer, you would be ready to go to a quiet, dark theater to escape -- escape the weather, escape obligations, and escape the chattering voice in your head. That inner voice can be especially critical to a voice artist who is feeling discouraged with her progress. Since my brain has come up with numerous scripts having that kind of negative inner dialogue, I thought it might be helpful if I shared 3 techniques for keeping a feel-good mentality about your voiceover career as you direct the movie of your life.
I'm a lot better about this one than I used to be, but even I occasionally still fall in the trap of negatively comparing myself to other voice talent. For instance, I recently read a review of an audiobook voiced by a talent whom I know. While I truly am thrilled for that person's success, I admit that I also had the thought of wishing for both the recent audiobook narration gig and the favorable review.
When other people comment about the great voice-over work that you have performed for them, I hope that you ask them for a testimonial that can be included on your web site. Not only do these comments from past clients serve to convince potential prospects to hire you as a voice talent, but they can bolster your self-esteem if you feel down on yourself.
Fisher proves that patience and persistence are the keys to realizing your dream. People expect instant gratification and are disappointed when nothing seems to happen. However, you have to maintain the hope and expectation each day since the manifestation of dreams rarely occurs on our timetable! Whether it takes a day, a month, a year, a decade, or longer, you need to have the unshakable inner KNOWING that the fruition of your dream is on its way to you.
Stop the Comparisons
I'm a lot better about this one than I used to be, but even I occasionally still fall in the trap of negatively comparing myself to other voice talent. For instance, I recently read a review of an audiobook voiced by a talent whom I know. While I truly am thrilled for that person's success, I admit that I also had the thought of wishing for both the recent audiobook narration gig and the favorable review.
It's one thing to make comparisons as part of a learning process. We all can improve in a variety of ways, and analyzing others' success is a good way to start. I'm talking about the kind of comparisons when you think envious or discouraging thoughts like, "I just can't get a break-through. I never win any auditions. I'm not good enough. It will never happen for me." These kinds of thoughts can be debilitating and will actually slow or completely stop your progress.
If you have these kinds of thoughts, the first one may appear on its own. You may not have been in control of that first thought, but you ARE in control of the second one. Remind yourself of the steps you have taken toward your dream. If you feel frustrated, find some action that you can do that will propel you forward. In all cases, think/write/speak what you WANT into being.
Ask For and Review Your Testimonials
When other people comment about the great voice-over work that you have performed for them, I hope that you ask them for a testimonial that can be included on your web site. Not only do these comments from past clients serve to convince potential prospects to hire you as a voice talent, but they can bolster your self-esteem if you feel down on yourself.
In addition, I notate my accomplishments and review them as my own evidence about the manifestation of my dreams. If I feel a hint of discouragement because the level of success I envision in voiceover is taking a while to appear, I only need to take a quick look at things I've done in just over a year -- recorded a new commercial demo, launched a new web site with new branding elements, and gained several wonderful new clients, all while mourning the loss of my mother and dealing with my parents' estate. When I stop to review all that I've done, I feel pretty darn good about my place in the voice-over world!
Maintain NOW Thinking
This morning, as I walked Yogi, our adorable miniature schnauzer, I was thinking about the message that I wanted to write in this blog entry. I also was thinking how Yogi lives completely in the moment. He sleeps, eats, and plays without dwelling on the past or fretting about the future.
Once we returned home, I turned on the TV and scrolled through the program guide. For some unknown reason, I felt compelled to watch Joel Osteen's oration today for the first time. This choice is all the more unusual since I'm not a religious person and normally would steer clear of televised church services.
The reason was clear to me from the first moment I heard Osteen speak. He was talking about living in this moment with the constant expectation of receiving the good that is on its way to you, no matter how long it takes to arrive. He encouraged his audience to awake every day with the thought that "THIS could be the day!"
Osteen used Mel Fisher as an example of this type of positive thinking. I, too, have drawn inspiration from Mel Fisher and can't believe that I haven't written about him previously.
You see, Mel Fisher was absolutely convinced that a Spanish ship laden with treasure had sunk off the coast of Florida in the 1600s, and he was determined to find it. Each day, he told his crew, "THIS will be the day!" Every night, after they didn't find the ship, Fisher would tell the crew, "Tomorrow will be the day!".
Fisher maintained his positive outlook and searched for the ship for an incredible 16 years. He faced innumerable odds, including an array of critics and doubters. I read once that his son died during the search efforts. Still, Fisher pressed on, doing things each day toward his dream and feeling perpetually confident of the good that would come to him.
Like so many people, the realization of his dream was far bigger than Fisher could have imagined. He found the Spanish Atocha, with treasures of gold, silver, and gems worth over $500 million!
Fisher proves that patience and persistence are the keys to realizing your dream. People expect instant gratification and are disappointed when nothing seems to happen. However, you have to maintain the hope and expectation each day since the manifestation of dreams rarely occurs on our timetable! Whether it takes a day, a month, a year, a decade, or longer, you need to have the unshakable inner KNOWING that the fruition of your dream is on its way to you.
Osteen said you should ask for things now and live life today, knowing that your desires may not be fulfilled immediately. He pointed out that things can suddenly change for the better. Finances can suddenly change. Relationships can suddenly blossom. Dreams can suddenly materialize.
For a voice talent, a new client could suddenly book you. You could suddenly have extra money to get that fancy microphone. Your latest blog article could suddenly capture the interest of the media and catapult you into the recording booths at Disney, Pixar, and other animation houses. (It could happen!)
By using these 3 techniques, I hope you will be able to silence the inner critic. As the star and director of your life's movie, consistently feeling good about your voice-over career will enable you to live happily ever after!
Movie clapboard photo credit: TPopova/iStockPhoto.com
- @toddschnick Doing great! @DrewCommins starts his new job at @GeorgiaAquarium on Mon.! Hope you're well & soon gratified from decluttering.
- @toddschnick Yay for you! In decluttering, you're really engaging the Vacuum Law of Prosperity. See this blog: http://tinyurl.com/2axaqq2
- @toddschnick I'm watching a show about hoarders. Should I call them about you? :)
Karen Commins
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
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• How to Reach Me
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• Advice for Your Journey
• So You Want to Get Into Voiceovers?
• My Path So Far
• How to Reach Me
• Places I've Been
• Advice for Your Journey
• So You Want to Get Into Voiceovers?
• My Path So Far
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