Leesha

Voice Overs

leesha@compassionatevoiceover.com
240-988-9693
Commercial Narration Interactive voice response

Voice-over Newbies – Makings for Great New Long-term Relationships

Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

(Photo credit: Curtis Kennington)

Voice acting is a great career, and the field is full of pros who deliver phenomenal talent in their performance. However, even the industry’s best voice talents had to have a start. Many of those new to the craft are tirelessly seeking and searching to find their position in the VO community. New voice actors have the potential to bring incredible benefits to their clients. For producers and agents, working with new voice talents can lead to tremendous long-term voiceover relationships infused with new styles of interpretation.

New voice talents (five years or less of experience) are desperately trying to make a name for themselves in the VO industry. The influx of new voice actors can be an excellent plus for clients in the following ways:

  • Discounted rates may be available to the client
  • Offers of pro-bono work to help build a voice actor’s resume
  • Eager voice actors focused to please new clients and go the extra mile
  • New acting perspectives reflecting modern communication styles

When new talents become established, most will still offer the best services and rates to their initial clients as a sign of appreciation and loyalty. Partnering on the ground floor with a new voice over talent can be a win-win for clients.

As with all relationships, even in business, they take work to last. With such competition in the VO industry, there is an ever-changing group of voice talent becoming equipped with new voice acting skills ready to deliver their best to you and your bottom line.

Consider all aspects of finding the best voice for your project. With so many available voice-over professionals, what you need is only a few keyboard strokes away.

 

Why Go Voiceover Pro

Book Authors' Business Tips, Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

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
of your project.  Before you reach out to that person in your office with the “great voice,” I would say go for the professional voiceover.  Hiring a voice talent is the best and most cost-effective path to a successful audio project.

Pros are Pros
While your colleague may have a great speaking voice, this does not mean he or she is a voice actor or is the right voice for the project.  Most credible talents have spent time (lots of money) and sometimes years learning to communicate vocally with the skill of a stage actor.  Also, voiceover talents are professional business people. The voiceover’s business is to deliver what you need when you need it to the best of his or her ability.

In her blog, The Benefits of Using Professional Voice Talent, Marie Hoffman noted that “The professional voice talent is a trained actor, who communicates, not just reads, your story.” Why go amateur when you can go pro the first time?

Business of Caring
Voiceover professionals are concerned about your project.  That may seem odd, but voiceover talents want to see their clients’ succeed.  As such, the success of a well-performed project gives the actor a sense of satisfaction especially when he or she knows that you are pleased with the outcome.

Relationships for Repeat Help
If you have ongoing projects or even occasional ones, time and money can be lost looking for an in-house voice or new talent for each project.  When you work with a professional voiceover, you have a go-to expert. In many cases, your expert can refer you to other reliable talents for your various voiceover needs. Building relationships can lead to helpers in the voiceover industry reducing your overall project cost and time expenditures.

Would you ask your Dentist to lay carpet in your home? Probably not. So, let the voiceover professionals do their job for your business: to voice your project with passion and expertise.

Financing Your Audiobook (repost)

Book Authors' Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

You’re published! Your book, or “baby,” is for sale to the multitudes. You know from your fellow authors that the next step is an audiobook version. You begin to look for a narrator to produce your book, but, when you look at the costs, most good narrators are quoting rates upward of $350 per finished hour (PFH). Do you look for a cheaper voiceover narrator? Should you offer a lower PFH? You may think it’s time to panic but don’t. With a few creative steps, you can finance your book project for that quality voiceover narration.

Before discussing funding, let’s examine the logic behind that near $400. PFH rate. What does it cost to produce your book? While you have a deep connection with your project, your voiceover narrator and producer are in business with supporting expenses. I’m not saying that your book is less than excellent. A good production team will make a substantial investment of time and talents to make sure your book become a marketable audio product.

Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) notes that it takes the average voice talent at least two hours to narrate one hour of printed text. But that’s just the beginning. It takes two to three additional hours to proofread, edit, mix, and master one complete hour of audiobook recording. So, while rates ranging from $250-$400 PFH may seem high, with all the work involved in developing your “baby” into an audiobook, the average PFH voice production rates make fiscal sense.

Now that we’ve examined the rationale behind audiobook recording rates, let’s look at a few ways to fund your book project.

Online Grants. Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a service of the Foundation Center, is a subscription-based program that allows you to search for funding sources based upon a topic, interest, and other criteria. Subscriptions are available for a variety of time periods depending upon your need.

Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing, as defined by Merriam-Webster.com, is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially from the online community. Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.com are two favorite personal online fundraising websites. IndieGoGo is a live crowdfunding campaign platform. The Kickstarter funding platform is specifically for artistic and creative projects through direct external support. Crowdsourcing is a great way to reach out to those who have read or know of your work and would support efforts toward your audiobook production.

Deferred Payments. Consider negating a deal with your audiobook producer to take partial payments. You can develop a contract and set up regularly scheduled payments through PayPal or other sources that allow you to pay your vendor in increments. Be sure to pay the audiobook producer timely to maintain a good relationship.

Charge Cards. While not my first suggestion, if you have cash advance capability or can pay your audiobook producer directly by credit card, this could be an excellent way to cover the PFH rate.

Royalty Shares. Most producers like to have royalty shares in their recording deals. This method gives you the option to pay for a portion of your project over time and negotiate a smaller budget for the initial PFH rate.

Friends and Family Funding. You’ve got to ask. Friends and family may give or loan you the money. Your close supporters may provide all the funds you need.

Local Support. Ask for support from your civic group, organizations, clubs, and church especially if the subject of your book is relevant to your group’s purpose and goals.

In “5 Clever Ways to Raise Money for Your Startup Without Making an Investor Pitch,” CEO and author Tom Walker writes, “Sign up strategic partners early on. There’s nothing sweeter than finding a supplier, distributor, or especially a customer who stands to gain so much from your solution that they are willing and able to help foot the bill.”

Investor Money: Backstage offers “6 Ways to Fund Your Independent Projects” by KC Wright and notes “investors provide funding with the expectation of returns—their initial investment plus a cut of the project’s earnings.” Once your project’s revenues and royalties start coming in, you can return the invested money.

Once you’ve secured your funding, reach out to the most qualified voice actor/producer to develop your audiobook. You’ve put too much time into your project, so it’s no time for bargain shopping. A quality voice narrator will give you excellent service at a fair price. Remember, the voice talent and producer have a business reputation and want to do a good job. It’s better to budget for the best narrator you can afford than to end up with a disappointing final project. This is your baby (or one of your babies). Treat your little one with the best care so it will be a finely produced audiobook that you can be proud.

Voiceovers at Home but Not Alone

Business Tips, VO Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay.

Many voiceover actors enjoy the convenience of working from the privacy of his or her home studio. No long commute. The trip from bed to the booth day or night can be the weekly work 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 severe or even life-threatening challenges. Here are some steps to meeting the challenges of being home alone.

Tackle Isolation and Loneliness

“Human beings are inherently social creatures,” says Christopher Bergland in his article, “Loneliness: Perceived Social Isolation Is Public Enemy No. 1. “Research continues to show that each of us must maintain social connectivity… .”

Make time to interact with others during the week to maintain connections and healthy relationships.  Bergland further notes, “… research shows that we need face-to-face contact and intimate human connections to engage biological systems that have evolved for millennia to preserve our mental and physical well-being.”

You don’t have to leave home to reach out to others.  In “7 Ways to Overcome Social Isolation When You Work From Home,” Ali Wenzke says, “Even a quick phone call with a friend can lift your spirits.”

Get an Accountability Buddy

If you live alone, consider partnering with another voice talent or at-home worker and commit to daily check-ins. Partnering is a way of letting someone know you’re okay. If an emergency occurs and you can not contact help, your regular check-in could save your life.

Not too long ago, a voice talent that I have admired for many years suffered a stroke in his home studio. Had it not been for a neighbor noticing the talent’s “SOS” taps for help, he may have lost his life.

“Always get to know your neighbors,” says Sarah Brown, a security expert at Safewise. “The more people invested in your life, the more likely they are to report an incident they see, to call the police if you need help, to watch your house while you are on vacation, or even to let you back into your home if you ever get locked out.”

Take the Edge off Emergencies 

Life happens, so work to lessen some of the negative side effects.  Let your family or a trusted neighbor know where to find your lists of medications, allergies, and personal information.  If you cannot speak, others will need to see this information.  You may want to keep such information in your wallet or purse.

If you have a specific health condition, wear a medical ID bracelet. OneCallAlert notes in 10 Safety Tips for Seniors Living Alone indicates, “This information can be invaluable to emergency medical personnel when they come to your home, especially if you’re unconscious or unable to communicate.”

Lastly, let your designated representative or representatives know how to obtain your Power of Attorney or Medical Directive.  Store your documents with an attorney or other official organization so your information will only be released to the person or persons you have previously designated.   If you must be hospitalized, your bills will still need to be paid.  If you need extended care, others will need to know about any Long-Term Care or Disability Insurance policies. The only way your wishes can be honored is that they are perceived by others.

The above tips are just a few of the possible things you can do to safeguard your lifestyle as a voice talent working from home alone. Taking some precautions now can give you peace of mind behind the mic.

Your work should enrich your life, not cut you off from it. Today is the day to break a lip!

 

Voiceover Security in Cyberspace

Business Tips, VO Business Tips, Voice over Training, voiceover, Voiceover Clients

Today’s voiceover business professional knows the importance of a strong Web and Social Media presence. Since success our goal, we want to post our demos and information on as many sites as necessary to reach voice casters. In the same way, there can be an increased need for voiceover professionals to practice proper online safety. Practicing smart online safety is vital for your business and personal information’s security.

Whether posting, surfing, or viewing, online safety is an individual responsibility. The Star On-line’s article, Identity Theft Poses A Threat to Every Internet User, notes the most common forms of internet theft occur when a fraudster uses someone’s date of birth and username for online purchases. But for social media networks, it’s “nicknapping.” Using a portion of the words “nickname” and “kidnapping,” nicknapping is the “…classic identity theft, especially since Facebook access is often the master key for other portals connected to the social network,” says Michael Littger, an Internet safety campaigner.

Here are a few suggestions on how to stay safe online (The following section are suggestions and NOT guaranteed or legal advice):

Make online purchases as a “guest.” When shopping, make your purchases as a guest and don’t use your social media logins for buying online. Less is more.

Beware of Phishing. As an online business, be careful of Phishers, those methods that try to obtain financial or confidential information from you through emails or messages that look as if it’s from a legitimate source.

Research unrecognized voice casters or contact sites. Confirm the identity and authenticity of unknown voiceover sources. Type the name in several search engines and on LinkedIn to make sure the site and person are legitimate. Also, review the social media profiles and websites of new contacts. Notice how much information is posted. If a company or person claims to be a significant voice-acting site or manager, there should be some available information or a good summary. If not, you may want to steer clear.

Beware of sites that ask for personally identifiable information. Reputable sources will never ask for your SSN, birthday, or other personal information via email for a voice-acting site or job. For tax purposes, sometimes you must provide some information. Obtain a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to represent you and your voiceover business. For more information, see the U.S. Internal Revenue Service website.

Read the Privacy Policy (anyway). We all have an aversion to long-form yadda yadda, but it’s a good idea to read the privacy policy of each site before you create an account. The policy will outline what you’re giving up in return for your membership. Your membership could include giving up a lot more than you expect.

The Small Business Administration’s Top Ten Cybersecurity Tips will help secure your small business:

    1. Protect against viruses, spyware, and other malicious code.
      Make sure each of your business computers is equipped with antivirus software and antispyware and update regularly. Such software is readily available online from a variety of vendors. All software vendors regularly provide patches and updates to their products to correct security problems and improve functionality. Configure all software to install updates automatically.
    2. Secure your network.
      Safeguard your Internet connection by using a firewall and encrypting information. If you have a Wi-Fi network, make sure it is secure and hidden. To hide your Wi-Fi network, set up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name, known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Password protect access to the router.
    3. Establish security practices and policies to protect sensitive information.
      Establish policies on how employees should handle and protect personally identifiable information and other sensitive data. Clearly outline the consequences of violating your business’s cybersecurity policies.
    4. Educate employees about cyberthreats and hold them accountable
      Educate your employees about online threats and how to protect your business’s data, including safe use of social networking sites. Depending on the nature of your business, employees might be introducing competitors to sensitive details about your firm’s internal business. Employees should be informed about how to post online in a way that does not reveal any trade secrets to the public or competing businesses. Hold employees accountable to the business’s Internet security policies and procedures.
    5. Require employees to use strong passwords and to change them often.
      Consider implementing multifactor authentication that requires additional information beyond a password to gain entry. Check with your vendors that handle sensitive data, especially financial institutions, to see if they offer multifactor authentication for your account.
    6. Employ best practices on payment cards.
      Work with your banks or card processors to ensure the most trusted and validated tools and anti-fraud services are being used. You may also have additional security obligations related to agreements with your bank or processor. Isolate payment systems from other, less secure programs and do not use the same computer to process payments and surf the Internet.
    7. Make backup copies of important business data and information.
      Regularly backup the data on all computers. Critical data includes word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets, databases, financial files, human resources files, and accounts receivable/payable files. Backup data automatically if possible, or at least weekly, and store the copies either offsite or on the cloud.
    8. Control physical access to computers and network components.
      Prevent access or use of business computers by unauthorized individuals. Laptops can be particularly easy targets for theft or can be lost, so lock them up when unattended. Make sure a separate user account is created for each employee and require strong passwords. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted IT staff and key personnel.
    9. Create a mobile device action plan.
      Mobile devices can create significant security and management challenges, especially if they hold confidential information or can access the corporate network. Require users to password protect their devices, encrypt their data, and install security apps to prevent criminals from stealing information while the phone is on public networks. Be sure to set reporting procedures for lost or stolen equipment.

Protect all pages on your public-facing websites, not just the checkout and sign-up pages.
Make your voiceover business as profitable, safe, and secure as possible by making your cyber presence a better place.

After you change those passwords… go ahead and break a lip! 😊

Business Practice Friday: What’s in It for You?

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

As a small business owner, I share a lot of the same concerns of those in and outside of the voiceover industry. For that reason, I’m passing along business tips I believe can be useful in almost any business with an Online presence. Look for my Business Practice Friday tips for information that may be just what you need for your business.

While being in business is not the same for all, those using the Web for all things commerce related have similar essential needs. From voice producers to those listening to final audio, we all need to know how to balance our social media campaigns, web presence plus the tone and timber of our communication. To me, the Web is like a vast ocean, so navigating cyber water is not for those who are prone to seasickness.

The information I’ll share will include social media campaign strategies, statistics on effective social media platforms, trends in voiceover and other industries. Also, I’ll share some “softs skills” tips like online etiquette, interpersonal exchanges, making clients into friends (or keeping clients as clients), etc.

If you come across some useful business information you’d like to share, feel free to send me a note or comment on my webpage. There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Break a lip.