Ten years ago this week, I attended my first voiceover conference: FaffCon 3.
It changed my life. I'm not exaggerating.
At first I was afraid to go. I had been a full-time voice actor for about six years and was making a living doing voiceovers but I was barely getting by. I was afraid I couldn't afford to go and more importantly, I didn't think I deserved to go or have anything to contribute.
My buddy Trish Basanyi convinced me to go. She insisted it would be fun and I'd learn a lot and meet some great people. I relented and applied to attend. Since there were only 100 spots and it was an un-conference format, there were no speakers. If you wanted to attend, you needed to be a working voice actor that could contribute to the event. Fortunately, I got in.
It turns out that I knew about half of the 100 attendees already from networking events, Facebook, and other social media platforms which was great but I didn't feel like I truly belonged. I needed to do something to demonstrate to everyone (and especially myself) that I deserved to be there.
Calling upon my corporate trainer experience, I created a presentation about how to write a Mission Statement, annual goals, and a monthly Action Plan. I had been using these tools for about five years and they were a big help to me so I thought they could help other voice actors.
Keeping in mind that there were multiple sessions happening at the same time all weekend, of the 100 FaffCon attendees, about 50 of them attended my session. I couldn't believe it. I was told afterwards that almost no one had ever talked about approaching their voiceover career like a business so people were curious.
I did my presentation and it went well. Really well. Afterwards one of the attendees said to me, "You're a ****ing rock star!"
It turns out that in the back of the room, Edge Studio owner David Goldberg was listening to me speak. A few days later, he asked me to be one of his instructors. Soon I will celebrate ten years of being a voiceover coach, all thanks to David.
The day I got home from FaffCon I got avalanched with work. I've done extensive research and can't find a single corollary beyond the fact that 15 years of planting seeds, marketing, learning, growing, and failing had finally paid off. I got buried with work and I haven't looked back.
Amy Snively, founder of FaffCon, thank you and I love you. I will always be indebted to you for giving me the opportunity to be part of this amazing community.
To my fellow Faffers, thank you and I love you goofy weirdos, too. There are too many to mention who attended FaffCon that weekend that have become true friends. I tell my students that if it weren't for my fellow voice actors, I wouldn't have a voiceover career.
TIP OF THE WEEK
FaffCon 3 taught me that I deserve to be a success as both a voice actor and a person. That may sound a bit corny, but it's true.
Before FaffCon, many people in my life didn't understand or respect what I was trying to do. They thought I was being silly and that I should stop screwing around and get a "real" job, get married, have kids, buy a house, get fat & boring, and wait to die. No, thank you.
You deserve to be a success. You deserve to pursue your dream. The best thing you can do to realize your dream is to surround yourself with people who truly love you, respect you, understand you, and help you be the best version of yourself that you can be.
I believe in you. Believe in yourself, too!
RESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS
Here is where I occasionally suggest stuff that may help your voiceover business. Some of these suggestions may include an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you click on the link and purchase the item in question, I get a few cents at no extra cost to you.
Today's recommendation: audio software! I use Adobe Audition Creative Cloud 2021. I've been using it since 2006 back when it was Adobe Soundbooth. It's subscription-based which means you pay for it every year. I resisted going to the subscription-based version because I thought, "Why should I keep paying for the same product again and again?" When I discovered that it automatically uploads updates, patches, and even new versions, it was a no-brainer. It's easier to use than ProTools and there's a Facebook group of Adobe Audition users who are very helpful. If you have any questions about Adobe Audition Creative Cloud 2021, just drop me a line!
NEWS AND NOTES
Wednesday, September 29th @4PM ET: the VO How-To webinar, "Cloze for Voice Actors". I've been using Cloze to manage my voiceover contacts & marketing efforts for over three years and it's been a HUGE help! In this 90-minute webinar, I'll walk you through Cloze and share some tips & tricks to better manage your contacts, marketing efforts, and projects. This webinar will be recorded so if you cannot attend the session, you will get a video of the webinar.
Thursday, September 30th @8PM ET: The Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar "The Sales Funnel". In this class, students will explore the concept of the “Sales Funnel,” and how it can yield more paying clients in the long run if used properly. Saturday, October 2nd @5PM ET: The Voice Actor Studio workshop, "Learning to do eLearning".
Saturday, October 9th @5PM ET: The Voice Actor Studio workshop, "Analyze Your Business and Marketing Strategies".
Wednesday, October 13th @8PM ET: the VO How-To webinar, "Agents, Unions, and your VO Business". Curious about representation and SAG-AFTRA? Are they right for your voiceover business? Learn more here!
Thursday, October 14th @8PM ET: The Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar, "Workflow". This class will give students an understanding of how to utilize 21st century tools and software to stay organized and on task.
Thursday, October 28th @8PM ET: The Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar, "What Your Website Says About You". In this class, students will explore best practices when creating a successful voice over talent website.
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Corned Beef Hash Day and International Poke Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tom Dheere is the VO Strategist, a voice over business & marketing coach and demo producer since 2011. He is also a voice actor with over 20 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voiceover you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.