A few years ago, I wrote a blog entry about being prepared so things like a blown tire or a crashing computer don’t make a bad situation worse. The coronoavirus pandemic has shone a bright light on every aspect of our lives and highlighted in glaring detail how we handle things financially, logistically, and emotionally. As a voice actor, how prepared are you for this?
Don’t get me wrong. Unless you’re an epidemiologist or VERY paranoid, there’s no way in heck you prepared for a global pandemic when building your voiceover career. I sure didn’t.
What I am saying is that the voiceover industry has been trending in a very specific direction for the past fifteen years or so and the pandemic has catalyzed the trend: auditioning and booking voiceover gigs from home.
I, for one, was dragging my feet on getting new headphones and upgrading to Source Connect Standard. The pandemic hit, I did what I’d been meaning to do for a while, and now I’m good to go.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Those who have been recording from home for a while, using Direct Marketing to find & retain clients, and been putting money aside, your voiceover business is probably in pretty good shape right now. If you had all this set up and lost your day-job, now you have more time to take your voiceover business to the next level and I’m rooting for you.
However, if you have been putting off setting up your booth, insisting on doing live auditions/bookings only, and not been marketing online, you may be freaking out right now (and I totally sympathize) but you need to get your ass in gear. Fast.
End-clients, agents, production companies, and recording studios have been scrambling to find voice talents who can record quality audio from home and use a phone patch like Source Connect. The dust is starting to settle so if you haven’t already I strongly suggest:
Set up your home recording studio NOW. There are tons of books, videos, social media posts, and regularly-scheduled classes that walk you through both that and how to use the many types of audio recording software out there. I recommend Adobe Audition CC 2020.
Learn how to narrate non-broadcast genres like eLearning and Medical Narration NOW. The demand to voice these types of gigs is exploding right now.
Start Direct Marketing to everyone in your content database NOW. I have seen some voice actors on social media say they’re not marketing right now because they don’t want to seem insensitive or opportunistic. That’s nonsense. Now is the PERFECT time to communicate your value to voice seekers. That is, IF you can record from home, IF you have phone patch technology, and IF you are proficient in the in-demand genres.
A lot of voice actors, both aspiring and veteran, will be left behind because they can’t or won’t be prepared for the new normal of the voiceover industry. Don’t be one of them!
NEWS AND NOTES
Thursday, April 16th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar will be ‘Cost/Benefit Analysis’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how to determine how & why you generated your voiceover revenue and how to repeat what worked. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up.
Tuesday, April 30th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘What Your Website Says About You’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how your website can help you gain or lose clients without you ever knowing it. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up!
Wednesday, May 27th @2:00 PM EST: even though the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) is cancelled, my meeting table has gone from live to virtual! From 2:00-3:45, you are welcome to book a FREE 15-minute consult with me. We can talk about audiobook marketing, business, or just chat. This caps at 7 slots and will fill up fast so sign up ASAP. Click here to book your free 15-minute consult!
Thursday May 28th @2:30 PM EST: my “Learning to do eLearning” workshop has also gone from live to virtual! In this two-hour workshop you will learn what eLearning narration is, it’s sub-genres, narration tips, how much to charge, demo specs, and there will be live coaching! It’s $100 to attend, but if you use the promo code EARLYBIRD528 you get in for only $75! This webinar caps at 50 attendees and is filling up fast so sign up ASAP. Click here to register!
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Scrabble Day and Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tom Dheere is a voice actor who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.
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