January 2008 Archives

Newcomers to the voice-over industry frequently ask me and other established talent whether they should join an on-line casting service such as Voice123.com or Voices.com. I think that many people are afraid to plunk down some money, especially for a service that cannot guarantee work. In the past, I have answered this question by recommending the person should search the archives of VO-BB.com, the Yahoo Voiceovers group or other Internet discussion groups devoted to voice-over as the topic is a common and hotly-debated one. 

Marketing guru Jay Abraham noted that everyone in an industry tends to do everything the same way to grow and sustain their business. In voice-over, standard income-producing processes include promoting oneself, having an agent and joining an on-line voice-over casting agency. 

While you don't pay an agent until you book work, you must pay an on-line casting service for a yearly subscription. If a majority of people in your industry are participating in some marketing endeavor, like a casting service, it makes sense to participate in at least one service as well. 

You have to determine a marketing budget for your voice-over business and from it, decide which, if any, services you should join. The subscription fee is an investment in my business, just I as also invest money in continuing education, equipment upgrades and other forms of marketing. 

Asking individual people about their results with a particular casting service will not yield useful data. Car manufacturers will tell you that your mileage may vary depending on numerous circumstances; the same is true with one's success in obtaining voice-over work from web-based services. Some people will never book anything through these services, while others land a steady stream of jobs. 

To me, an on-line casting service is just another avenue of potential work and another way my name shows up in the search engines. With an on-line voice-over casting service, I know that I will have an on-going opportunity to decide which projects look interesting, practice scripts and communicate with potential clients. Jobs and clients gained through these services are just added bonuses. 

My greatest source of work has been through my own self-promotion, in which I follow Jay Abraham's theory:

In order to engineer true breakthroughs in those 3 areas of your business [marketing, strategy and innovation], 
you must travel outside your industry or your current business to look for the breakthroughs.
Abraham states that you've got to switch your thinking from tunnel vision -- which is the way that everyone does things within your own industry --  to funnel vision. Create a funnel of those success processes in other industries which you can pour into your own business. 

It's okay to be in the same place with everyone else in your industry. It's so much better to be some place where you are the only voice talent. It's up to you to figure out that location based on your assessment of your voice and where it fits in the marketplace. 

I view each marketing activity I undertake as a test. If the test is effective, I will continue with that tactic. If it isn't, I will do something else. A subscription to an on-line voice-over casting service can be considered a test of one of the tactics in your marketing plan. You will never know how well a service or any marketing tactic will work for you unless you commit the time and money to implement it.

I received an inquiry today from someone interested in producing her own audio books. I thought other voice talent might find this an interesting topic and be able to add their knowledge to the discussion.

The author may need to research his/her contract. One author told me that she wanted to perform her book, so that's another possibility that may occur. A literary agent told me that I may be able to offer the author something like $1000 for the audio rights If the author still controls them. However, I'm sure the exact amount depends on the author, the book's popularity and each person's skills as a negotiator. Once you have the audio rights and are ready produce the recording, you also have to consider how you want to distribute the book. Will it be on-line, on CD or both? Books on CD require additional planning and money for the packaging. Will you pitch the book to an existing audiobook publisher who already has a distribution channel or forge your own path? 

Recording and editing an audiobook to commercial standards requires a significant commitment of time. A commercial audiobook also requires time and expense for marketing. You may wish to perform books in the public domain for Librivox to gain experience and see how much you enjoy the process before deciding to pursue the acquisition of audio rights for a book. Also, many people gain experience and satisfaction out of volunteering for agencies that produce audio recordings for the blind and print-handicapped. You can search the Internet for locations in your area.

For additional questions about audiobook narration, I encourage you to read the article about getting started in audiobook narration on my web site. If you have more to add on the subjects of obtaining audiobook rights, audiobook distribution and audiobook marketing, I would love to hear from you! I encourage literary agents, authors, audio publishers and voice talent to leave comments so that we all can learn from each other.

In mid- to late December, Drew and I took a holiday trip, which may provide musings for future blog entries. During the trip and in recent days, I have been catching up on some reading for pleasure. While I encouraged you on this day one year ago to look forward, today I want to tell you about a commercial script that was written almost 30 years ago.

The commercial in question wasn't mine, but rather one for Michael Palin, member of the hilarious Monty Python team, fantastic travel writer and charming TV documentary host. As a longtime fan of Monty Python and avid journal writer, I was excited to start reading Palin's Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. In numerous entries, he has mentioned various voice-over roles. Palin does not indicate whether the commercial discussed in his entry transcribed below was for voice-over or on-camera work, but I certainly admire his refusal to perform it.