New Marketing Plan!

I've been getting emails from someone wanting me to purchase a video making plan. The emails came incessantly and I fielded one after the other. Finally I decided to do it. But instead of buying his plan, I've initiated my own. Over the last several days, I've made five videos. I've uploaded them to FaceBook, YouTube, and Thumbtack. I've already noticed some results. Advertising is the key.
I hope to have some great news to share in about a week. I think I'll have a new agreement for recording audiobooks. If I do I'll tell you all about it.

Constant Advertising

Voice work does entail advertising. If you want to get work, you have to let the prospective employers know that you're out there looking for work. Only the immensely fortunate Ted Williams who was one day a struggling homeless man and the next a successful voice talent avoided the costs of advertising. I was advertising on Facebook and Google but have recently had to pause one due to rising costs.
During this time of a slow economy, one must weigh the cost benefit of advertising. If the yield in jobs gained there through isn't justified by the monies spent on advertising, a compromise must be made. I've had to make that compromise. Evenso, advertising must continue until I like Ted have been discovered.

Up, Up, and Away!

I'm confident that when the economy rises, there will be more work for voice talents. It does matter what shape the economy is in. If things are slow in the economy then businesses will forgo advertising. Creators of shows and plays and audio tours will hold their funds and wait before they launch anything new. Voice talents are used in advertising, plays, audio tours, etc. We (voice talents) have to get work however we can until work is more easily found.
It looks though that the tide of job creation is rising. Business owners are starting to advertise again and hire again. Yea for the economy! It's coming back and yea for us voice talents, it won't be long before there will be a script on every music stand.

Auditions, Auditions, Auditions!

If there is one constant in voiceovers it's auditions! Lately I've resolved to audition more (if such is possible). Seriously, auditioning is one exercise that is necessary to keep one's skills sharp. It's also very necessary to keep alive the chance of securing work. Today I auditioned for both reasons. A long script which the voice-seekers wanted recorded in three different moods. That was a good exercise for me. It's one of the skills my trainer periodically works on with me. I'll keep my fingers crossed that my next blog insertion will have the object of my latest audition efforts to talk about. Until next time then..

Social Networking!

I'm now advertising on Facebook. The cost is certainly something to deal with but it's not prohibitive. It could be beneficial. I'll try it for awhile before I give it up. Voice work doesn't just drop out of the sky. Usually it's sent by past clients or through audition sites. Somehow the talent must get exposure so that his/her work can be noticed. Social networking sites seem to be pertinent here because that's where most people congregate these days. So I'm giving it a try. Wish me luck! I'll keep you apprised..

A Real Person's Voice!

Occasionally a client will want the sound of a real person. Perhaps a guy who had an experience at the local hospital or one who saw first hand what it's like to have your house burgled. Well the client still wants a certain message conveyed and voice talents are still the ones who are good at this.
A few days ago I had the good fortune to win an audition to do a real person who has diabetes. I drew from within and imagined that I actually was the person. Some of my ad libs in the script was what helped me land the spot and helped me give the client a read he could use.
Whenever you're doing a real person spot, don't try to hard to be the voice talent, actually take the personality of the person you're trying to portray. It worked for me..

A new project!

"I'm always looking for ways to help market my recording studio and audio engineering services. Thumbtack is a good way for me to help me show off my expertise in voiceovers, studio time, editing, and post-production effects. Check out my listing to learn even more about what I do!" I really am glad that I've discovered Thumbtack.com because I believe the additional growth I'm hoping for can actually happen now.

Today I started recording the story "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". My voice today isn't as smooth as it should be for this work so I'll just try again tomorrow. This should be a fun story to do. I have several characters to perform and coincidentally I attended a class tonight which gave me some great ideas on how I can better distinguish the characters. I'm highly motivated to implement what I've learned about how to accomplish this. I'll keep you apprised..