A couple weeks ago, I interviewed Jonathan Tilley for the Atlanta Voiceover Studio podcast. Stay tuned for when we release that (it’s jam-packed with great tips), but I wanted to share this simple mindset shift that may help you reframe social media:
| January of this year, I signed up for my first “pay to play” site ever…Voice123. So many students that come through AVS ask us about pay to play sites, so I wanted to test it out so I could help you navigate it. |
| 1| Set rate standards I didn’t do this at first and quickly became annoyed at the amount of emails. Honestly, there are very few voiceover jobs (according to industry standard rates) that will pay under $150, so you can start there if you’re not sure where to start. Keep in mind that if you DON’T have a professional home studio, booking a studio will come out of your pocket. We charge $125/hour, so set your price range beginning at a rate you’d feel comfortable shelling out money for a studio. 2| Know your sweet spots Don’t submit for anything and everything. Know your sweet spots and range. Only submit for things you know you’re really right for. We go over this during our Beginner Intensive Class one night. 3| Bookmark GVAA Rate Guide On your computer, bookmark https://globalvoiceacademy.com/gvaa-rate-guide-2/.That way, you can quickly check the rate. I don’t submit for A LOT of things due to the rates. It’s hard to say no sometimes, but if you want to truly build a career out of this that “NO” is saying “YES” to a great career. 4| Create your own V123 schedule (get in under the allotted auditions they ask for) It’s really important to get in under the number of auditions they ask for. For instance, you’ll see number of auditions requested and number of auditions received under the project. If they asked for 30 auditions and they’ve received 41, I wouldn’t submit. You have a better chance of booking it if you’re one of the first 30 or 50 or whatever number they requested. Because of that, I’d figure out what blocks of time you have during your week and set that aside for whatever Voice123 auditions come up. That way you can be the first in the gate. The good news is there are a lot of auditions that are posted on the weekend, so if you have a 9-5, you can devote some of your weekend to voiceover. 5| Use “Additional Proposal Details” Many times, the project will have a rate budgeted. You may be able to tell if the project is an industrial, for TV, radio, etc but usage isn’t always included. That’s not fair to ask you to submit an “in stone” proposal not based on all the facts. For some projects without all the details, I’d include something like, “Budget agreed to with proper usage.” If they email you to book you, just have them email you the intended usage. That way you can make sure they’re not intending to pay you $300 for a radio commercial that will run for 3 years. 6| Bring in the Big Guns This leads me to the last tip…you can always bring in an agent. I weigh the scope of the project, the budget of the project and the complexity of the project. I booked a big text to speech job through Voice123 recently. The original budget was large but without a lot of information, it was hard to know if it was the appropriate rate. Plus, text to speech is still a tricky genre to figure out rates for. So I brought an agent in to help me. We tried to negotiate the rate, which didn’t happen, BUT he created a contract for me so I’m protected. His commission was at least significant enough for that and I didn’t worry about being taken advantage of. |
This is a lot of info, I know! Hope this helps you a little bit. I’ll keep navigating things and help you when I can. Have a great week! |
-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew |
| You may notice these letters creeping into your audition breakdowns – OLV. What do they mean?? The first thing that comes to mind is Olive Oil…but that’s just because I love it drizzled on just about anything. Nope…nothing to do with food, obviously…I know you already knew that. |
As a voice talent, this helps us differentiate between deliveries. We all know radio requires a different delivery than TV. So far, with online video I treat it like a TV ad but I have a feeling this will change over the next year. With the wave of addressable TV and more targeted advertising, we’ll see more and more importance placed on personlized connection…not just connection. |
| Now we know what OLV means and I’m now craving italian bread dipped in olive oil and seasonings. Have a great week! |
-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew |
| I got back from the Voxy Summit conference the other weekend and there was one word that kept going over and over in my brain. The more I thought on this one word, this one action, I realized how doing it WELL would truly change our careers and lives. It’s something we can put into practice in every area of our voiceover business. It will set us a part and move us closer to our goals. |
| MARKETING – Listen to your clients. Hear not only their problems but their lives. AUDIENCE – Listen to what needs your audience has – whether that’s commercially, in video games, e-learning, animation, etc. AUDITIONS – Listen back to your auditions. Really listen. OTHER TALENT – I believe sometimes the greatest gift I can give other talent is truly hearing them. This is a weird business. Not many other people get it. Listening to others in the industry is truly a gift. |
| This just skims the surface but I challenge you to start to look for ways this week you can listen better. I think you may be surprised at how much you’re actually heard. |
-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew |
I (Mike) received a phone call the other day from a gent who is new to the #VO world. He said, “I always hear people tell me I have a ‘great voice’,” (which he did). Then he asked if he “could” go full-time with #voiceover right away (if he was going to pursue it at all). He said, “If I get a regular, full-time job, then I know ‘me’. I’m going to get too comfortable and not pursue my dreams” (of VO & acting).
There are a few questions going on here, with a few things to address. We get these. A lot. So let’s bite-size it….
Think of it like starting a business: you have to learn the basics, or make sure the foundation is set so that you can set your business up for success. Sure, you COULD get a simple USB mic, set up an online profile on a pay-to-play site and actually book something. But do you know how to take direction? Do you know what a friendly/conversational “read” is — and how to do it? Do you know the technical aspects of voiceover? In all honesty, unless you know the person who is hiring you, it’s most likely going to take time.
And that’s okay. You need time to learn the craft. (I’ve been at this for almost 20 years and am still learning!) Even when you get your first agent, it might take a while to begin booking. We tell this story all the time, that for me (Mike), it took a week or 2 to book; whereas, it took Heidi 4 years to book her first job through her first agent! But to truly make it a full-time career, you must be a student of the craft. And for you actors out there, it’s not “acting lite”. It’s a craft just like acting. Ahhh, but you will have a leg-up in one way in this voiceover world: you’re accustomed to taking direction, and you also know how to move on when you don’t book a job!
| 2. The 2nd portion I’d like to look at is getting another job before you get your voiceover business up and running. With the gentleman saying he’d get sucked back into the full-time job, rather than pursuing his dreams, I’d have to ask if it really was a dream in the first place. Maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t. I know for me, if I have something that I really want to do, I set goals and I make time to work toward those goals. Maybe I’m simply accustomed to that life. I don’t know. There are only so many hours in the day. So if it is a dream, you’ll find the time to make it happen. The full or part-time job to pay the bills is a necessity. And this is a freelance lifestyle when you’re just starting out. It takes putting in the work, understanding your instrument and how to manipulate it, learning from people who do this for a living, and it takes facing your fears. But you can do it, if you have enough grit. The wonderful thing is that there are so many different ways to “make it”. There are many opportunities! And there’s no one-way to make it happen. But for the majority of voice actors that I/we know, they all work at the craft, take care of their voice, and understand that their voice is a business — and they have clients to take care of, as well as court. Hope this encourages you to keep pushing! |
If you’ve wondered, “When do I need to get a demo?” “Why should I get a demo?” “How often should I update my demo?” All the answers are in this podcast, along with our demo process. We also chat with Atlanta VO agent Jeffrey Umberger, of the Umberger Agency, to find out what an agent is looking for in a demo.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYwd8G0-JJP-wi9Sd56JWjw?view_as=subscriber
Stephen Mitchell, Director of Production at Chemistry Ad Agency, shares how VO talent can set themselves a part, what they look for in a voiceover actor and wisdom he’s gleaned along the way.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYwd8G0-JJP-wi9Sd56JWjw?view_as=subscriber
| Would you be surprised to know that there were several times throughout my career that I told Mike, “Maybe I should quit voiceover?” Even though I was making a great living from it…I still felt like if I had a slow month or got shortlisted but not chosen then maybe I should just quit. |
| Recently, I heard Angela Duckworth (psychologist & author “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance”) say “don’t quit on a bad day.” Such a good reminder. Even if you love something with every fiber of your being…you WILL have bad days. Those are inevitable. Don’t make a decision based on the inevitable. |
On the best days, if you’re still not sure it’s something you want to do…that’s when you know you should change direction. Hope this encourages you this week. |
-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew |
Mike Stoudt and Heidi Rew share how Atlanta Voiceover Studio and this podcast can help you in your voice over career. Hear what the heck Atlanta Voiceover Studio even is and why we’re doing what we do.
At VO Atlanta, I went to a session on e-learning with John Kissinger. He said by 2025 the e-learning industry would be a 325 BILLION dollar industry. It’s growing rapidly which means there is more opportunities for us as VO talent. In that light, here are a few things to keep in mind with the changing industry. |
| The old e-learning industry mainly consisted of “text and next” type slides/videos along with a smooth, polished read. As things progress, John said the design is becoming more important and videos more interactive. |
Crazy, huh? It’s great to know where things are headed so you can give the best, most relevant reads possible. Hope you have a great week! |
-Mike Stoudt & Heidi Rew |
