Sure there are days when you don’t record at the mic…but that does NOT constitute a wasted day.
Lately, I’ve been hearing from more than one corner, the frustration that comes from not having a gig to record. We all want to PRODUCE. To be at the mic, and doing the work we’ve prepared for.
Yes. That IS the bottom line. We must record to be fulfilled, and to make money. But often it’s what we do in the non-recording moments that makes the recording moments possible.
These are the difficult opportunities for voice actors. Our strengths are not typically in mining for prospects, preparing websites, creating demos, finding other creative freelancers to which we can delegate, building a marketing powerhouse on social networks, etc. We want to play to our strengths, so the trick is to make these other talents as STRONG as we are at the mic.
This is why I tell people who approach me with great pipes that their God-given talent will get them only so far (like 20%), and the other 80%, they’re going to have to work at…hard.
In down days recently, I’ve engaged in the following activities:
- Sent follow-up thank you’s to recent clients
- Took advantage of some weekend coaching opportunities
- Attended VO meet-ups locally for friendly feedback
- Narrowed the field of possible CRM software solutions
- Caught up on my bookkeeping transactions
- Blogged, Blogged, Blogged
- Caught up with sending out invoices
- Trolled Social Media (esp. LinkedIn) for trends and leads
- Considered sponsoring opportunities for national VO conferences
- Submitted new VoiceZam demos
- Made progress on augmenting my website
- Approached past clients with a friendly email to let them know I’m around
- Refined an email mailing list for upcoming newsletters
- worked my way through an online cold-calling course
One of my most-visited blogs evar was one I wrote in 2010 that still hits the mark. Take a quick look, and see if there’s something that might jog your mind if you feel like you’re treading water and wasting time not recording.
CourVO
