Living in the 21st Century is hard, especially for us voice talent. How hard exactly?
A few years ago I had the privilege of writing an article for Stage 32, an entertainment industry social media platform. It was called ‘You Will Hate This Blog.’
Stage 32 reached out recently and asked me to write yet another article. This one is called ’10 Steps to Becoming an Effective 21st Century Performer (NOT a 20th Century Starving-Artist)’, which you can read here. I encourage you to read the entire article, but here are the ten steps:
Stop Relieving Yourself of the Responsibility of Your Career
Start Thinking & Executing Like a Business
Understand that the Entertainment Industry is not Vertical
Rub the Stars Out of Your Eyes
Learn to Develop a “Craft” Mindset
Determine What Success Looks Like For You
Manage Your Money Like a Business
Develop Marketing Skills
Be a Cloud-Based Artist
Be a Good Human & Collect Good Humans
Thank you Stage 32, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to your message of enlightening and strengthening the entertainment industry!
TIP OF THE WEEK
I break down the aforementioned ten steps in the article, so let’s look at this from a different angle. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog entries, I’m big on examining assumptions and managing expectations. What are your 20th Century assumptions about voice talents and voice seekers?
For example, more than a few times I’ve seen voice talents brand & market themselves citing songs, TV shows, and movies from the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s in the 21st Century.
For example, if you have a classic bassy, announcer-y sound and are attempting to engage voice seekers under the age of 40 (which more and more are these days), with the tagline “You…asked for it, you got it! My great voice!” that may not be effective because they have no point of reference. BTW that was an awful play on the Toyota ads of the late 70’s. Just for fun, here’s one of them:
My point is that you must employ 21st Century Systems of Thought with 21st Century technology on 21st Century voice seekers to be the most effective. I know, I know, old dog new tricks. But a freelancer’s ability to adapt is critical to survival. Don’t be left in the dust!
NEWS AND NOTES
Thursday, July 11th @8:oo PM EST: The Edge Studio “Business and Money 201” Webinar, ‘Cost/Benefit Analysis’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll talk about determining how and why you generated your voiceover revenue. Click here to sign up!
Wednesday, July 17th @8:30 PM EST: The Edge Studio Summer Series continues with my webinar ‘Agents, Managers, and the Union’!
Here’s the blurb:
When entering the voiceover industry, most aspirants have the same questions: How do I get an agent? What’s the difference between an agent and a manager? Should I join the union? Tom Dheere will answer these questions and many more in Agents, Managers, and the Unions.
Thursday, July 18th @8PM EST: Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar, ‘The Sales Funnel’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll talk about what the Sales Funnel is and how to push voice seekers through it. Click here to sign up!
Thursday July 25th @8PM EST: The Voice Over Xtra webinar, ‘Voice-Over Online Casting: The Basics And Beyond’. In this webinar, we’re going to talk about online casting sites and the pros & cons of the Pay-to-Play model. Click here to sign up!
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day and Barbecue Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
courtesy of SomeECards
Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. Subscribe to my weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice!