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voice@rexanderson.com

REX ANDERSON

VOICE OVER ACTOR

VO MARKETING TECHNIQUES

Five Voice-Over Books You Need to Read

SOLOPRENEUR, VOICE OVER RESOURCES

Got eyes, a few bucks, and a way to read e-books? Good! Educate yourself!

1. There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is by Elaine A Clarke

The Bible according to Elaine. This book is one I come back to every year or so because it’s just that damn good. It’s your trusty all-in-one handbook on the world of voiceover. It’s great coming back to see what information I’ve actually digested and what behaviors I’ve developed as a result. How to breathe, how to interpret copy, how to identify and fix everything wrong about your delivery and how you use a mic; the differences between stage and studio acting; breakdowns of every type and style of VO and how to do them. If you’re just getting into VO, or need a guiding light once in a while, get this book immediately. I cannot recommend it enough.

2. How to Build a Six-Figure Voice Over Business by BIll DeWees

Bill is a fantastic wellspring of information. Look him up on YouTube and you’ll see a treasure trove of tidbits that lead to real breakthroughs. He’s a very down-to-earth teacher with a lot of great stuff to impart. His book helped me build a daily routine of finding work in unlikely places. He also has a starkly different mindset when it comes to voiceover rates and work in general. I appreciate his grittier, survive at all costs approach, which helps to put the obsession with rates and fairness into perspective.

3. Sound Advice: Voiceover From an Audio Engineer’s Perspective by Dan Friedman

A man after my own heart. I love me some gear, and so does Dan. This book’s all about the gear you’ll use to bring your voice to the masses. If you don’t know your condensers from your dynamic mics, or have any clue about compression/limiting, EQ, or other technical aspects of the job, YOU NEED TO LEARN. There is no way you’re getting away with not having at least some technical know-how anymore, and this is a great resource that keeps the focus squarely on the needs and wants of the voice actor.

4. VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor by Harlan Hogan

This book is enjoyable to re-read largely due to its narrative emphasis. Every other chapter is an anecdote about an average (or not-so-average) day on the job, with an interstitial chapter hammering home the points. It’s a unique perspective told in an entertaining way. It’s even got a wealth of old and new school marketing techniques, some of which I’ve still been too chicken to implement (sending your clients a humorous daily calendar takes the cake).

5. Making Money in Your PJs by Paul Strikwerda

Mr. Strikwerda doesn’t mince words. I like his work, as he’s very realistic about VO as a business, and he doesn’t mind being gruff about it. If you dislike Bill DeWees’ survival at any price point model of soaking up work, consider the steadfast resolution of Paul Strikwerda’s ironclad rate sheet. He is one of the most vocal proponents of the dignity of the job – a fair rate for good work. It’s simple, elegant, and he cuts a lot of the bullshit to the quick. Definitely a must-have in any solopreneur’s collection.

There are a ton of other great resources out there. Get ye down the rabbit hole!

<3

Rex

Is Voices.com Worth It?

PAY TO PLAYS, VOICE OVER REVIEWS

On Monday, I finally took Voices’ inaugural ten dollar offer for their premium lite membership, which affords me the opportunity to bid on gigs and send custom demos to clients. I’ve done a lot of talking to myself in my padded room since then.

Was it worth it?

Hustling for VO Work

In the last three and a half days, I’ve created 40 custom demos for different types of projects. Some of them are characters for video games, some from motivational or promotional online videos, a ton from commercials that want that somewhat raspy, vocal fry heavy sullenness that’s so popular in car commercials and Apple ads these days. I probably won’t get any work from these. Now, since I’ve literally just started building my career as a voiceover artist, I’m trying not to take issue with how much time I’m putting into these custom demos. The way I figure, I need the experience, and it gives me ample opportunity to nail down what I’m really good at and what I need to improve on (i.e. everything).

The Pay-to-Play Model Needs Work

I take issue with the pay to play model. While it strives to operate as an open market forum where talent and client have equal opportunity to meet and find mutual benefit in one another, it assumes that I, the talent, am willing to extend not only my time to produce a unique demo for every single client, but am also unsure of whether I’m even dealing with a real person. Voices seems to be the most widely respected company in this type of business, but I’ve still heard horror stories of clients taking demos wholesale and using them in their commercials without paying for them, or phishing scams designed only to bilk email addresses from talent.

There’s also an oddly translucent quality to the process. Voices.com wants you to know how many people have submitted a proposal (which can include a custom demo, stock demo, or nothing, but these statistics are not displayed), and where you are in line, as it were. There’s a ranking system based on your profile that will place in line depending on what percentage you “fit” the project. So if you’re a teenage girl submitting for a Tom Waits impersonator, you aren’t likely to be high up on the list.

However, it’s been my experience so far that there are so many people using Voices that even though I’m a 95% match, I’m still in the bottom 5% of the line, because the other 105 people are also 95% matches. This may have to do with the ranking system dependence on a small handful of qualities to discern this percentage. This system could definitely use a little more sophistication before it becomes truly useful.

Does the Rubber Meet the VO Road?

Or is it VO rubber on the…road? Anyway, next, you get an icon next to your proposal if a client has listened to your demo (uh, yes, please do that; I took the time to record a demo just for you, the least you could do is listen to it), and if they ‘like’ it. I’m assuming the like function acts as a sort of bookmarking system for the client, and a nice little pat on the head for me. I’ve gotten three likes out of my 40 demos so far (out of 14 listens), so….yeah. I don’t know what I’m supposed to take away from that.

If nothing else, I will have spent ten dollars to practice a good deal on unique scripts that I didn’t have to bother writing, I’ll have tons of fodder for new demos for my website, and I’ll learn not to check this damned board every ten minutes to validate my sense of self worth. I promised myself that if I didn’t book enough work to cover a year’s subscription then I wouldn’t bother renewing the subscription, as I feel my time would be better spent chasing down more tangible leads that, insanely enough, don’t require me to pay for the privilege to maybe talk to an actual human being. I’ll keep this blog updated with how things turn out.