Welcome to My Blog!
Hot off the Presses…
5 Ways to Protect Yourself From VO Scammers
...and not just "Nigerian Princes". I'm talking about predatory coaches and weekend demo mills too. |author's note: this blog repurposed from 2016...from one of the many times a familiar scam has been foisted on the VO community| Fraud and trust-betrayals are endemic...
Just Before that…
Video Tips for Voice Actors
Voice actors tend to shy away from facing a camera. They shouldn’t. Now more than ever, the camera offers new marketing opportunities.
Best Webpage-Saving Utility Yet
You know you need to read it, but just. not. right. now. Here’s what you can do.
CA’s AB-5: A Legal Expert (and voice actor) Responds
This is the part of interactive journaism I love. Blogging isn't exactly journalism, unless you happen to be a life-long journalist; then I think it qualifies. And to qualify, a journalist has to be willing to go the extra length to make sure he gets the story right...
California’s New AB-5 Will Affect Voice Actors in Flyover States
Labor experts disagree whether AB-5 is a blessing or a curse. In the meantime, we all will have to adapt.
Happy Voiceover New Year…!!!
Your Voiceover success in 2020 depends on you!!! (but be sure to look here for some help) 🙄
3 Suggestions for Better Voiceover Financial Security
Who can’t use a little help? Here are two sites I’ve found recently that might be of more than a “little help”.
Voice Over Education
How Alaska’s Mountains Helped Solve my Email Problems (yours too)
Everything They Say About Alaska is True... ...including the size of the mosquitos. Luckily they hadn't much come out yet while we were there. Native Alaskans will tell you that in the 49th state June is Spring, July is Summer, and August is Fall. ...
How to Manage Voice Talent in a Phone Patch: Do’s & Don’t’s
Producers and clients of voice talent: Here’s a primer in how to conduct a live directed session over the phone.
The Challenge of Finding a Worthy VO Coach
There are plenty of scoundrels, imposters, shysters, and charlatans in the world of VO coaching. Here’s a suggestion.
Can You Escape Your Voice’s AGE?
Does your age define or limit the number of jobs you qualify for?
Short ‘n’ Sweet
A blog for you TL:DR people.
Video: State of the VO Industry
Here it is…the promised recording of the GVAA/VOAA/WoVO Webinar.
Your Invitation…
…to an online conversation you need to see.
Do This Crucial Thing…
…to save your time and grief.
The rest will follow.
The VO Newcomer Playbook
There’s no more secret to approaching VO for the first time than there is ANY freelance “gig” profession.
It boils down to one word.
The #1 Enemy of Voice Actor Progress
You’re gonna hate me when you find out what it is.
You already know, and you’ve let it get in your way.
World Voices #WoVochat
WoVOCon Community?…Priceless!
World-Voices Organization's 6th-annual conference in Las Vegas wrapped up at 6pm Sunday night. Most all of the 115 attendees, presenters, sponsors, and speakers were walking two feet off the ground when they walked out the door. That's the kind of energy these...
Save $50 !!!
Thursday and Friday…the last chance to get the lowest price on the best VO conference yet this year.
WoVOCon VI Launches
There are VO conferences, and there are VO conferences. Then there’s WoVOCon.
In:Quality at NAB
The makers of ipDTL (and now new related products) makes its stand at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas
VO Atlanta is Over: Now Do These 5 Things
Your head is spilling over with names, knowledge, and networking. Do these things to hold on to the magic.
No Really…this is the TRUE Secret to VO Success (honest)
…just back from a visit to my VO guru in a place called “The Tropicana” somewhere by a hidden mountain in Nepal and have come back with this wisdom.
…and so it begins
WoVOConV starts this weekend!
MissingLettr Uppercase Event
Uh…just what is this? Inquire within.
Disappearing Days
Uh…August?
I’m just sayin’
Video: Newest Rates Roundtable!
WoVO is at it again…with another expert panel discussing rates.
VO Business & Compensation
Best Webpage-Saving Utility Yet
You know you need to read it, but just. not. right. now. Here’s what you can do.
CA’s AB-5: A Legal Expert (and voice actor) Responds
This is the part of interactive journaism I love. Blogging isn't exactly journalism, unless you happen to be a life-long journalist; then I think it qualifies. And to qualify, a journalist has to be willing to go the extra length to make sure he gets the story right...
California’s New AB-5 Will Affect Voice Actors in Flyover States
Labor experts disagree whether AB-5 is a blessing or a curse. In the meantime, we all will have to adapt.
Voice Over Education
No SEO Will Survive THIS Search Method
Just when you think you might be gaining ground in the holy grail of search optimization, along comes a method for finding voice actors from way out in left field.
VO Coaching Conundrums
Apparently, a lot of people want to coach voice acting these days. But why?…and who? When does a voice talent become a voice coach…and where are the rules & regs? A few observations within…
4 Things That Will Make Your VO Clients Love You
Courtesy never goes out of style. Neither does consideration. If this is a relationship business, then here are some tips to curry good relations.
Creative VO Prospecting
Yesterday, I was reading through my Google Alerts, and came across a Craigslist ad placed by a seasoned VO pro. I've re-printed most of it for you to see below the line-break. The ad came complete with a graphic, phone #, website address, a map to his major U-S city...
Clearing Out the Crud
When your speaking apparatus is gunked-up... you can't keep up your VO commitments so well. And Boy Howdy, this is the season for gunking! How many times have I seen anguished posts on social media groups begging anyone for quick-fix solutions that will allow the...
Starting Out
Launching into the world of voice acting is a steep challenge. There are no manuals, but plenty of "opportunities". The opportunities range from legitimate offers of help to outright predation, and everything in between...including the costs involved. As you would...
Qualified to be a VO Coach?
The estimate that only 5% of voice actors are truly supporting themselves and their families with strictly voiceover work is probably close to correct. (remember, 47.93% of all numbers quoted online are made-up). Whatever the number (almost impossible to discern),...
My Monday Night Visitor
What day of the week would you say comes with the highest concentration of VO audition requests? Uh-huh. Monday. Now, let me explain that my prime daypart for recording auditions is midnight to 3am. Lately I've also adding 11am - 1pm after I rise, for doing...
Your Homework Assignment for Tonight
Does anybody watch TV without the DVR running in the background any more? Either way, your homework assignment for tonight is to play back pay a prime-time or prime-time access program and pay special attention to the commercials. Right. The thing that we all...
Lookin’ For a Reason To Come To Vegas?
...like you really needed one, right? Well, September 10th-11th is apparently a very popular VO weekend in Las Vegas. Two coveted voice acting coaches will be here for weekend workshops. #1. Pat Fraley Pat is hands-down one of the top VO coaches...he could do this on...
Voice Over Hardware & Software tools
5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Produce Your Own Demos
Yeah…don’t even think it.
Here’s why.
WAVSplitter: Next-Gen Word2WAV
Specialty software designed just for voice-actors is rare. It's usually musicians, producers, or DJ's etc. who are the target, and voiceover artists have to adapt it. But Word2Wav was one of those unique, gems-of-a-program that could save you, the voice actor, hours...
Video: Doing the SKYPE Phone Patch
Erik Sheppard hosts this video with me explaining the Skype phone patch.
How to Conduct a Phone Patch Using Skype
Hard-wired phone lines are almost an anachronism for all but serious businesses, government, and other formal institutions. POTS (plain old telephone systems) services are not going away, but for most individual consumers, and certainly 3rd-world countries, phone...
143
When is the truth so obvious that you HAVE to admit it?
5 Creative Ways to Evaluate a Voiceover Colleague’s Demo
Lord knows it's hard enough to be honest with YOURSELF about your demos. It's even harder to be candid, yet diplomatic with your peers when they ask you for an opinion about THEIR demo. And yet, the call eventually comes...that email with an attachment. Someone...
2 New Browser Releases, and 3 Reasons Why It May Not Matter to Your Voiceover Business
How DO you access the internet these days? Increasingly laptops and desktops are becoming irrelelvant.
Can You Say “Moo”?
Clients meet voice-actors, and everyone’s happy, right?
Wrong.
You can do better.
Coolest Online Digital Tool EVARR
Anyone who's had to build a story using subject interviews under deadline pressure (TV reporters?) knows the drill. You can't really compose the narrative until you know exactly what the interview subjects actually say...so the first task - while the clock is ticking...
Best Voice Over Lead Generator I’ve Seen in a Long Time
Access. How do you find access to names, emails, phone numbers of people/prospects who might hire you? THIS is how.
Voice Over Events
WoVOCon Community?…Priceless!
World-Voices Organization's 6th-annual conference in Las Vegas wrapped up at 6pm Sunday night. Most all of the 115 attendees, presenters, sponsors, and speakers were walking two feet off the ground when they walked out the door. That's the kind of energy these...
Save $50 !!!
Thursday and Friday…the last chance to get the lowest price on the best VO conference yet this year.
WoVOCon VI Launches
There are VO conferences, and there are VO conferences. Then there’s WoVOCon.
In:Quality at NAB
The makers of ipDTL (and now new related products) makes its stand at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas
VO Atlanta is Over: Now Do These 5 Things
Your head is spilling over with names, knowledge, and networking. Do these things to hold on to the magic.
No Really…this is the TRUE Secret to VO Success (honest)
…just back from a visit to my VO guru in a place called “The Tropicana” somewhere by a hidden mountain in Nepal and have come back with this wisdom.
…and so it begins
WoVOConV starts this weekend!
MissingLettr Uppercase Event
Uh…just what is this? Inquire within.
Disappearing Days
Uh…August?
I’m just sayin’
Video: Newest Rates Roundtable!
WoVO is at it again…with another expert panel discussing rates.
Listen to my Commercial demoVoice Over Niches
5 Ways to Protect Yourself From VO Scammers
...and not just "Nigerian Princes". I'm talking about predatory coaches and weekend demo mills too. |author's note: this blog repurposed from 2016...from one of the many times a familiar scam has been foisted on the VO community| Fraud and trust-betrayals are endemic...
Video Tips for Voice Actors
Voice actors tend to shy away from facing a camera. They shouldn’t. Now more than ever, the camera offers new marketing opportunities.
Best Webpage-Saving Utility Yet
You know you need to read it, but just. not. right. now. Here’s what you can do.
Voice Over Hardware & Software tools
Google Search on Steroids
Understand a few simple syntax constructions in your google search,
and you can open up a world of opportunity.
The 5 Technology Myths of Voiceover
Impossible! 21st-Century technology BUILT today’s VO profession! How could it conceivably shackle your progress? Read it and weep. Chances are you’re guilty.
5 Tactful Ways to Critique a Voiceover Colleague’s Demo
Are you qualified to evaluate the demo of a VO peer? Yes and no. Here are five suggestions for seeing your way through that thicket.
SEO Checklist for Voiceover Websites
A website referred to me by a voice actor in Europe.
Care ‘n’ Feeding of Your Microphone
Your microphone is not just a hunk of metal and wires. It’s delicate, and requires TLC. Here are some tips.
Centrance Mixerface R4 Adds Mics
The well-received Centrance Mixerface R4 adds two Centrance-designed pivot mics. Centrance’s Michael Goodman explains in an interview from the NAB floor.
In:Quality at NAB
The makers of ipDTL (and now new related products) makes its stand at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas
ASMR and Other Interwebs News
Oh, the stuff you can find when you have a computer and too much time on your hands!
CRM = Clients Really Matter
Everybody THINKS they should be using a CRM – a customer relationship manager. Trouble is, which one? Here’s a great list.
Does Craigs + List = VoiceOver Opportunity?
Is Craigslist a viable means to find voice-over jobs?…or to post your services to get jobs? Not just any jobs…GOOD-PAYING VO jobs. Seeking your responses to my query.
12 Ways to Succeed in Your First Audition (the phone call)
Working on getting a new client? You’ll never even get a chance to send her/him a demo unless you get past your first audition. Huh? Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. It goes back to the old saying…”You never get a second chance at a first impression”. That...
WoVOCon Community?…Priceless!
World-Voices Organization's 6th-annual conference in Las Vegas wrapped up at 6pm Sunday night. Most all of the 115 attendees, presenters, sponsors, and speakers were walking two feet off the ground when they walked out the door. That's the kind of energy these...
No Wiggle-Room, No Excuses
Unmerited favor (grace) is in short supply. Regrettable, but now the way of the world more than ever.