I’ve heard the expression that in decision making, you should “Thrown it (an idea) against the wall and see if it sticks.” Does this phrase apply to your voiceover success strategy? In voice acting like any other businesses, if you want to be successful, you must have a focus.
If you’ve ever watched dangerous pets being fed by trainers, you see them throwing an assortment of mouthwatering morsels that are quickly gulped up by the animal to make room for the next catch. As a voice talent, you don’t have to mock the feeding of an animal. It’s okay the choose what you want and what you don’t want to do in your business. Making wise choices in your running your voiceover business will improve your performance and lighten your mental load on your pathway to success.
It can take many years to become successful in business. Those of us in the business of voice acting, usually have no idea of how long it will take for us to reach our perceived success whether it be money or voiceover jobs. The uncertainty of time to success is the strongest reason to focus and choose what works for you in your business.
Know What You Do Best
Identify what you are best at as a talent. Are you drawn to performing commercials, radio promos, or narrations? Focus on that skill or those skills in your training pursuits. If you’re not sure yet, verify with your coach where your best voice performance lies and then research on how to be the best in that genre.
Not everything matters equally, and success isn’t a game won by whoever does the most. Yet that is exactly how most play it on a daily basis.” Gary Keller, author of The One Thing
You don’t need to go after all areas of voice acting. Focusing on what you are good at will lead you to success faster than the “catch whatever” attitude when searching for and accepting voiceover jobs. Target your best audience through marketing and focus on the jobs you want.
Now that you know what you are good at, what does the voiceover industry need in your preferred genre? What are the ideal styles that work best in reaching target audiences’ clients? Look, listen, and find out what voice producers want and focus on being in the position to deliver those tools with excellence.
Become the Best You Can
Train, practice, and train again. With the fast pace and change within the voiceover industry, you must be open to what is working now and what worked yesterday. Are you current in your voice acting delivery and style? How can you improve? Your best delivery today should be relevant for today and not what was good yesterday or last year.
Get the Word Out About You
Market to the voice-over seekers in your chosen genre. Purchase marketing or client lists if needed and find your reach out by email or social media sites or even cold calling. If your budget does not support the purchasing of voiceover contact lists, do your web search using keywords and phrases to narrow down potential voice searcher in your area. Once you feel you’ve exhausted the search in your area, expand nationally, and even internationally to find your target audience.
Stay Focused (Don’t Change Unless You Must)
You may receive offers to do other types of voice acting work, but you may want to steer clear of accepting those offers. I’m not suggesting you leave money on the table, but if you move from your goal, you may fracture your focus and lose sight of your goal. There are many types of voice acting, so staying in your voiceover genre will grow your business more steadily over time to the goal you want.
Focus as you break a lip!
I recently vacationed in Idaho and stayed at a resort hotel. Late in my stay week, I left my hotel room early one morning for breakfast. When I returned later that day, I found a note from the housekeepers thanking me for my stay. While the note could have been an indirect reminder of the gratuity, I’d like to think the note was just a sincere appreciation. Each time I encountered the cleaning staff, I made a point to greet them pleasantly and compliment them on their services. I was so moved by the note, that I left a “nice” gratuity in response. Never underestimate the power of kindness.
With the advent of the automated digital assistant, we are becoming accustomed to instance voiceover services. But if you’re producing eLearning, blogs, industrial, or commercial materials, the right voice can make or break the success
Not too long ago, I made a drive to my client’s studio. This trip was special because it took almost an hour by car (especially with East Coast traffic) to reach the location for the two-minute narration. Because the client is a new voiceover contact, I accepted the offer to visit their studio to help build a new relationship. While I could have easily recorded the short script in my professional home studio, going into the client’s studio gave me an opportunity to meet the team and to lay the foundation for our working relationship. Yes, voiceover success includes building relationships.
My voiceover career has been one of the most exciting times of my life. For talents like me, voice acting is an expression of the innermost creative self. But, no matter how much we love our chosen profession, a day will come when we’ll have to move on. As a voiceover professional, you don’t want to suddenly fall off the radar screen. No matter the state of your career, give consideration and plan your voiceover endgame.
A voiceover talent has a unique responsibility in establishing a reputation for excellence. In such a competitive field, excellence has a way of narrowing down the number of talents who rise to the top and are constantly working. The best way to stand out from other voiceover talents is to establish and maintain excellence always.
Many voiceover actors enjoy the convenience of working from the privacy of his or her home studio. No long commute just the trip from bed to the booth can be the weekly routine. Still, if you’re working at home alone, there can be unforeseen drawbacks. In the event of an emergency or crisis, the voice talent who is unable to reach out to someone near may be faced with serious or even life-threatening challenges. Here are some steps to meeting the challenges of being home alone as a voice talent.
Voice actors in business provide a service. The Internet and social media are key places for hanging one’s shingle and open for business signs. In turn, offers for voice jobs can come from many sources. But what happens when you must turn down a gig? We all want to be liked (and get paid), so saying “no” may seem like a business killer. Sometimes, giving bad news is a part of life, but knowing why, when, and how to turn down business can make all the difference in your future. Here’re my why, when, and how for saying “No” to a voiceover job.