Search Results

Perception is a funny thing. It influences your behavior more than you realize, especially how you market yourself as a voice actor. Your marketing strategy reflects your perception of yourself, your knowledge of how the voiceover industry really works, and your place within the voiceover industry. Voice actors who perceive themselves as an employee or a starving artist look for jobs. They think short term. If you perceive & market yourself like an employee or a starving artist, you will be treated like an employee or a starving artist. Voice actors who perceive themselves as a business look for clients. They think long term. If you perceive & market yourself like a business, you will be treated like a business. TIP OF THE WEEK No matter how long you have been pursuing voiceovers, your marketing is never smooth sailing. You must regularly examine your perception of yourself, the voiceover industry, and your relationship with the voiceover industry. If you do that, you can adjust your marketing as needed to keep both your platform and content fresh & relevant. Always market your value, but not just about how nice you sound. Market how you can deliver the goods as a business. You will be amazed at how your perception will change for the better! NEWS AND NOTES Wednesday, February 17 @8PM EST: VO How-To: Explainers Explained! What is an Explainer Video? How do you narrate one? Where do you get the work? These and many other questions will be answered in this online workshop! If you can’t attend the night of the event, the webinar will be recorded so you can watch the video at your convenience. Thursday, February 18th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio Business and Money 201 Webinar: ‘Time Management‘. It caps at 25 students and sells out fast so sign up ASAP! SOLD OUT!!! Saturday, February 20th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio ‘eLearning Performance’ Workshop. eLearning, training modules, and instructional content is a leading category in voiceover opportunity. Join me for a focused eLearning Performance workshop! There are still a few virtual seats left for the March 28th workshop so sign up ASAP! Thursday, February 25th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio Marketing 201 Webinar ‘Brand Yourself‘. It caps at 25 students and sells out fast so sign up ASAP! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Ice Cream For Breakfast Day and Golden Retriever Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over twenty years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the epic sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #perception #VoiceoverBlog #marketing #MaleVoiceTalent #voiceovers #voiceover

Here is a lesson in transparency… Last week Matt DuBois, founder of Voice Casting Hub and Voiceovers.com created this post in a social media group: This came as a shock to many in the voiceover industry as the ownership change occurred in August of 2020 and we as a community had no idea. Matt claims that this press release made the ownership change known. You’ll notice that in said press release there is no mention of Matt selling Voiceovers.com, LLC or parting with the company. Also notice that his signature is at the bottom of the press release. When pressed for more information, Matt claimed he is bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement and can’t go into detail. After more comments and requests for clarification, Matt deleted the social media post. I will say that Matt did claim that one of the reasons for him selling the company was that his home was vandalized. This has not been verified, but Matt claims this was a “Black Lives Matter” matter. The concern is that the business changed hands without the subscribers’ knowledge. Many voice actors subscribed to Voiceovers.com based on their interactions with Matt, his claims of transparency, and the fact that many voiceover industry thought leaders (like myself) vouched for Matt and his business venture. Another concern is the timeline. It appears that Matt was trying to sell Voiceovers.com within a year of the site going live (April 2019). It’s estimated that Matt generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from subscribers. I can’t speculate as to Matt’s motivations to start the company or sell it within a couple of years of its founding, but it is curious. FYI Matt no longer owns Voice Casting Hub either as it is part of Voiceovers.com LLC. You can see the other companies he has founded (four as of this writing) on Matt’s LinkedIn profile. There is a lot more to this but I can only say so much as other aspects of the story can’t be verified. Feel free to comment on this blog if you have any insights or new facts to share. DISCLOSURE: I had a complementary account on Voiceovers.com. I auditioned for many projects but never booked. I recently discovered that my account was deleted without notification. I can’t seem to log on to Voice Casting Hub anymore either but I’m not sure if there is a connection. NOTE: I’m just sticking this in here because it seems tangentially related to this subject: what ever happened to VoiceCastingBank? TIP OF THE WEEK Transparency, open communication, and trust are the coin of the realm in voiceovers as well as every other industry. This is a relatively small business and everybody talks. Voice actors, voice seekers, coaches, demo producers, and recording studios can all take a lesson from this situation: demonstrate transparency for better or worse if you want to be taken seriously and trusted. NEWS AND NOTES Wednesday, February 17 @8PM EST: VO How-To: Explainers Explained! What is an Explainer Video? How do you narrate one? Where do you get the work? These and many other questions will be answered in this online workshop! If you can’t attend the night of the event, the webinar will be recorded so you can watch the video at your convenience. Thursday, February 18th @8PM EST: the Business and Money 201 Webinar: ‘Time Management‘. It caps at 25 students and sells out fast so sign up ASAP! SOLD OUT!!! Saturday, February 20th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio ‘eLearning Performance’ Workshop. eLearning, training modules, and instructional content is a leading category in voiceover opportunity. Join me for a focused eLearning Performance workshop! There are still a few virtual seats left for the March 28th workshop so sign up ASAP! Thursday, February 25th @8PM EST: the Marketing 201 Webinar ‘Brand Yourself‘. It caps at 25 students and sells out fast so sign up ASAP! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Pizza Day and Umbrella Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over twenty years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the epic sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #voiceoverdemo #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #VoiceCastingHub #VoiceoverBlog #voiceoverscom #voiceovers #voiceover

Bottlenecks in your voiceover business are a common and often addressable challenge. Let’s define the term first, shall we…? Bottleneck – 1a: a narrow route b: a point of traffic congestion 2a: someone or something that retards or halts free movement and progress b: IMPASSE https://www.merriam-webster.com/ What kind of bottlenecks could you have in your voiceover business? Cash Flow: you don’t have the money to run your voiceover business effectively Tools: you don’t have the right equipment or skills or use your equipment effectively Technique: you don’t have enough training in voiceovers in general or certain genres in particular Marketing: you don’t know how brand yourself or execute an effective marketing campaign Health: you’re not in the proper physical, mental, or emotional shape to run your business TIP OF THE WEEK How do you fix these bottlenecks? The first step is to determine exactly which bottlenecks are causing the problem. Often when I do a diagnostic on a voice actor’s business model, it’s because they come to me saying something like, “I can’t book any work, there must be something wrong with my marketing”. It often turns out that their audition skills are lacking or there is another issue they weren’t aware of. Many of these bottlenecks can be fixed with education. Others require money and still others require you to alter your mindset. The sooner you can identify and address bottlenecks in your business model, the more likely you will be able to make your voiceover dreams come true. NEWS AND NOTES UPDATE!!! Wednesday, March 10th @8PM EST: the VO Strategist VO How-To webinar: “Build Your Marketing Campaign“. By popular demand, this webinar will now focus on how to actually build a voiceover marketing campaign. If you can’t attend the night of the event, the webinar will be recorded so you can watch the video at your convenience. Let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see you there! Thursday, March 18th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio webinar “Tax Time!“ Sunday, March 21st @10AM EST: Scott Brick and Johnny Heller’s 4th Annual Audiobook Biz Workshop. I have the privilege of being on two panels: finding work amid a pandemic and how to run your office. Thursday, March 25th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio webinar “The Sales Funnel“ SOLD OUT!!! Sunday, March 28th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. There are a few seats left in the April workshop. Every single TVAS workshop I’ve done so far has sold out quickly so sign up ASAP! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Meatball Day and International Women’s Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over twenty years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the epic sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #VoiceoverBlog #voiceovercoach #MaleVoiceTalent #voiceovers #bottlenecks #bottleneck #voiceover #voiceovercoach #malevoiceactor

The 1099 form is often confusing for voice actors filing their taxes for the first time. Here is some 1099 101… If you earn more than $600 from a client and they didn’t take any taxes out when you got paid (withholding), you should receive a 1099 form from them. Until this year you got a 1099-MISC form. Now you get the new 1099-NEC (Non Employee Compensation) form. The 1099-MISC form is now used to report miscellaneous payments of $600 or more to individuals for: Rent Prizes and awards Other income payments (excluding self-employment activities) Medical and health care payments Crop insurance proceeds Cash payments for fish (or other aquatic life) you purchase from anyone engaged in the trade or business of catching fish Payments to an attorney Any fishing boat proceeds But wait, there’s more! Here are some other 1099 forms you may receive: 1099-DIV: for stock dividends (capital gains) 1099-G: for Unemployment Income and state & local refunds. I believe this includes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) payments as well. 1099-INT: for bank interest earned (including bonds) 1099-R: for pension and annuity distribution 1099-SA: for your HSA, MSA, and MA TIP OF THE WEEK No matter how much or how little money a client has paid you, you must declare ALL income. Of course this includes all 1099 and W2 income. If you don’t get a 1099 form from a client even though they paid you more than $600, you still must declare it. You can find more information on tax forms at the IRS website. If you want to learn more about how to file your taxes as a voice actor… NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, March 18th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio webinar “Tax Time!“. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about incorporating and how to set up your CPA for success when you file your taxes. This webinar caps at 25 students and sells out fast so sign up ASAP. Sunday, March 21st @10AM EST: Scott Brick and Johnny Heller’s 4th Annual Audiobook Biz Workshop. I have the privilege of being on two panels: finding work amid a pandemic and how to run your office. Thursday, March 25th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio webinar “The Sales Funnel“ SOLD OUT!!! Sunday, March 28th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. There are a few seats left in the April workshop. Every single TVAS workshop I’ve done so far has sold out quickly so sign up ASAP! Thanks to everyone who attended the VO Strategist VO How-To webinar: “Build Your Marketing Campaign“. If you missed it, the video is now available for purchase at the VO Strategist Shop. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy and Panda Day and Ravioli Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over twenty years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the epic sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #1099DIV #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #1099MISC #1099 #VoiceoverBlog #MaleVoiceTalent #1099INT #voiceovers #voiceover #malevoiceactor

There are a lot of voiceover-related webinars out there. Heck, I’m leading eight of them in April alone! It may look like five webinars (see below), but I’m leading three sessions and moderating a panel at VO Atlanta so that conference counts as four webinars so nyah. Anyway, I not only lead webinars but I attend a few here & there as well. I strive to learn & grow as much as I can so I occasionally take a class to explore a new genre or brush up my narration skills. Recently I attended a webinar to explore a genre I’m interested in pursuing. In this 90-mnute webinar, there was about 30 minutes of discussing the genre and then about 60 minutes of live coaching. About half way through the first student being coached up, I got an idea. I opened up Adobe Audition. Since we could see the script the student was practicing with, I recorded a take every time the student did. Then I would listen to the coach give direction. When the student read aloud again, I recorded it again with that direction in mind. After the webinar, I listened back to my reads to hear the difference in my takes. I didn’t care if the direction the coach gave the student matched up with whatever I was doing with my reads. It was a great opportunity to practice a new genre and take direction from a high-quality coach. I learned a lot and had fun, too! TIP OF THE WEEK The next time you attend a webinar, record your takes and take the same direction the coach is giving the attendee who is currently being coached up. After the webinar, listen back to the takes you recorded and see how well you took the coach’s direction. I’m sure I’m not the first person who thought of this but if you haven’t tried it, try it! You will fascinated by both the process and how much you can learn in a short period of time. NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, April 1st @8PM EST: the Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar “Cost/Benefit Analysis“. In this one-hour webinar, we’re going to talk about how to analyze your voiceover business and figure how what’s working (and what’s not). Wednesday, April 7th @8PM EST: The VO Strategist’s “VO How-To webinar: The Practical Voice Actor“. In this 90-minute webinar, you will learn how to develop your decision-making skills so you can move your voiceover business in the direction you want it to go. You’ll also learn to determine what questions you need to ask yourself and how to find the right answers in order to be the voiceover artist and business you truly want to be. Thursday, April 15th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar “What Your Website Says About You“. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how and why your website functions as a critical marketing tool. Monday April 19th – Saturday April 25th: VO Atlanta 2021. I will leading multiple sessions and moderating a panel. Registration is now open and the conference agenda will be announced soon! Sunday, April 30th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. Learn about the world of eLearning and get some live coaching, too. This webinar caps at 12 students and sells out fast! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Black Forest Cake Day! Also known as… QUOTE OF THE WEEK I believe that theater is a superior form of entertainment. An actor spreads culture. An actor spreads dignity. And if he respects it, he will make others respect it. Karl Malden Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over 20 years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps other voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #voiceactor #voiceoverwebinar #webinars #VoiceTalent #voiceoverwebinars #voiceoverconference #VoiceoverBlog #webinar #voiceovercoach #MaleVoiceTalent #voiceovers #voiceover #malevoiceactor #voiceoverconferences

Are you having trouble finding work? If you are, you’re not alone. Recently, voice actors of various experience levels have asked me why they have so much trouble finding work nowadays. There is more voiceover work than ever in every genre so what exactly is going on? To borrow from a blog entry from last year, let’s start with these possibilities: Lack of talent: you entered a business you have no business entering Lack of training: you got minimal or no coaching Lack of resources: you invested little or no capital in your fledgling business Lack of skill sets: you didn’t learn how to market, set goals, negotiate rates, etc. Lack of self-awareness: you’re not engaging in critical thinking about yourself, the voiceover industry, and your relationship to the industry What are the other possibilities? Fiverr (which we discussed a while back) and some Pay-to-Play sites have driven down session fees and wreaked havoc on usage fees, cutdowns, and exclusivity. This caused some voice actors to become bottom-feeders and ethical voice actors like you won’t consider those gigs. AI has taken some voiceover gigs away, too. For example, a major end-client I worked with for 5+ years replaced me with an AI. This will be happening more & more. We’ll discuss AI and its potential effect the voiceover industry in an upcoming blog entry. Many voice seekers who used to be accessible via Direct Marketing have fled to Pay-to-Play sites. I know for a fact some of my old clients have done that. Internal rosters of agencies, production companies, recording studios, etc. are tightening up. They’re sticking with a proven group of talent. Some don’t want to deal with the bureaucracy and expense of SAG-AFTRA. Others are tired of the tidal wave of crappy voice actors and their crappy marketing content and their crappy demos. They need people they know they can rely on so your cold emails go unanswered. In essence, there may be more voiceover work than ever but the gatekeepers have changed. So have their ways of doing business. TIP OF THE WEEK How do you meet the challenge of not finding work? There a myriad of ways you can approach this question, too many to address in one little ole’ blog entry. To get the ball rolling, I suggest you look at how you are looking for voiceover gigs. The problem is different for everyone and so are the solutions. Are you depending solely on your agents? Are you using only Pay-to-Play sites? Are you constantly hitting a brick wall when you’re using Direct Marketing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, that may be part of the problem. Try new ways of finding work. Expand and diversify your Portals. If something isn’t working anymore, stop doing it. Get more training, learn new genres, produce new demos, develop new marketing campaigns, attend more networking events & conferences. Analyze, learn, grow. Rinse and repeat. NEWS AND NOTES Wednesday, April 7th @8PM EST: The VO Strategist’s “VO How-To webinar: The Practical Voice Actor“. In this 90-minute webinar, you will learn how to develop your decision-making skills so you can move your voiceover business in the direction you want it to go. You’ll also learn to determine what questions you need to ask yourself and how to find the right answers in order to be the voiceover artist and business you truly want to be. Thursday, April 15th @8PM EST: the Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar “What Your Website Says About You“. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how and why your website functions as a critical marketing tool. Monday April 19th – Saturday April 25th: VO Atlanta 2021. The conference agenda is up! Here’s what I’m presenting: Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 3:15 PM – 6:15 PM: [X-SESSION] Learning to do eLearning Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM: eLearning Panel (moderator) Thursday, April 22, 2021, 3:15 PM – 6:15 PM: [X-SESSION] eLearning Script Writing & Performance Intensive Friday, April 23, 2021, 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Explainers Explained! The X-Sessions cap at 12 students so sign up ASAP! Thursday, April 29th @8PM EST: the VO Mastery workshop, “Direct Marketing”. This 90-minute online workshop is only $59. Email Rachel Wohl at rachel@nullvomastery.com to sign up! SOLD OUT!!! Friday, April 30th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. Learn about the world of eLearning and get some live coaching, too. The June 19th class has a few seats left so sign up ASAP! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Caramel Day and Bookmobile Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over 20 years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps other voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #findingwork #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #VoiceoverBlog #MaleVoiceTalent #voiceovers #voiceover #findwork #malevoiceactor

Do you have a SEP-IRA? Do you even know what one is? Let’s zoom out for a sec for an IRA refresher… An IRA, or Individual Retirement Arrangement, is an account set up at a financial institution that allows you to save for retirement. What’s the difference between a SEP-IRA, a Traditional IRA, and a Roth IRA? To quote Vanguard.com: A SEP-IRA (Simplified Employee Pension) is a simple, tax-deferred retirement plan for anyone who is self-employed, owns a business, employs others, or earns freelance income. If you’re self-employed, your contributions are generally limited to 20% of your net income. (Net compensation for self-employed individuals is generally the net profit from IRS Schedule C reduced by the deductible self-employment tax. The eligible compensation limit, indexed for inflation by the IRS, is $285,000 for 2020 and $290,000 for 2021.) Traditional IRA contributions are tax-deductible on both state and federal tax returns for the year you make the contribution; withdrawals in retirement are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Roth IRAs provide no tax break for contributions, but earnings and withdrawals are generally tax-free. While the contribution limit for Traditional and Roth IRA’s is $6,000 ($7,000 if you’re over 50), the SEP-IRA has a much higher limit. It’s great for when you have a good year and have already maxed out your other IRA’s. To see all the 2021 retirement plan contribution limits, click here. I set up my SEP-IRA a few weeks ago to reduce how much taxes I’d owe and it made a huge difference. FYI the deadline to contribute for 2020 was April 15th but you have plenty of time to set your SEP-IRA for 2021. TIP OF THE WEEK Even if you set up your SEP-IRA and other retirement accounts properly, you can’t just “set it and forget it”. Tax laws change, interests rates change, your age changes, etc. so you need to pay attention. For example, interest rates have dropped to their lowest levels since the Great Recession of 2008 and will not go back up until at least 2023. My Traditional IRA was earning only 0.01%! I converted it to a managed Index Fund and as of this writing is earning over 4%. I’m not saying you should do that! Just understand that you need to keep an eye on your portfolio, interest rates, and the news so can make informed decisions. Learn more about the SEP-IRA and other ways to save for retirement at the IRS website. NEWS AND NOTES Monday April 19th – Saturday April 25th: VO Atlanta 2021. It’s here! Here’s what I’m presenting: SOLD OUT!!! Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 3:15 PM – 6:15 PM: [X-SESSION] Learning to do eLearning Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM: eLearning Panel (moderator) Thursday, April 22, 2021, 3:15 PM – 6:15 PM: [X-SESSION] eLearning Script Writing & Performance Intensive Friday, April 23, 2021, 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Explainers Explained! The X-Sessions cap at 12 students so sign up ASAP! Thursday, April 29th @8PM EST: the VO Mastery workshop, “Direct Marketing”. This 90-minute online workshop is only $59. Email Rachel Wohl at rachel@nullvomastery.com to sign up! SOLD OUT!!! Friday, April 30th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. Learn about the world of eLearning and get some live coaching, too. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Piñata Day and Animal Crackers Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over 20 years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps other voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #RegularIRA #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #EdgeStudio #SEPIRA #VoiceoverBlog #TheVoiceActorStudio #MaleVoiceTalent #voiceovers #voiceover #RothIRA #malevoiceactor #VOAtlanta

The Periodic Table of Ideas is here! I had the pleasure of narrating this fascinating audio book thanks to my friend and author Ben Cheung. This is the second audio book I’ve narrated for him, the previous one being The Four Elements of Thinking. To quote the blurb… The Periodic Table of Ideas is a collection of pivotal concepts in history spanning the disciplines of business, economics, philosophy, psychology, science, and technology. These ideas represent the pinnacle of human thought and achievement. They are among the most ingenious and enduring ideas you will ever encounter. You can inherit these intellectual treasures by learning to apply the ideas in this book. The periodic ideas have affected the lives of billions of people across millennia. They are periodic and recur throughout history. People using them have wrought prosperity and forged progress. Philosophy Periodic Ideas guide you through your journey in life. The philosophy notions foster critical thinking and provide insights on how to think about the world. The philosophy concepts provide wisdom and mental tools for your endeavors. Science Periodic Ideas empower your thinking. These scientific concepts allow you study a subject or tackle a problem. The science notions add tools to your mental toolbox. Technology Periodic Ideas provide practical tools to propel your projects to success. The products of technology have transformed society and every aspect of our lives. Economic Periodic Ideas give your projects a financial footing. Economics indicate where your ideas will thrive and where your efforts will pay off. Economic ideas let you navigate through turbulent markets and ride creative currents. Business Periodic Ideas show you how enterprises can transform lives. Business concepts propel endeavors to success. Psychology Periodic Ideas give you a deep insight into yourself and those around you. Psychology explains the workings of your attention systems, perception, and personality. The periodic ideas turn ideas into reality. They have been distilled from hundreds of concepts. If you want to make a difference in the world, why not build off the ideas of the most brilliant minds in history? The ideas are pivotal, recurrent, and personal. TIP OF THE WEEK There are a lot intriguing concepts in The Periodic Table of Ideas, but I want to focus on just one of them…Back-Casting. No, not the kind of casting us voice actors are used to. 🙂 To quote from Chapter 20, Back-casting takes a future outcome and moves backwards in time step-by-step until the present is reached. Back-casting determines the mechanisms by which the future could be attained from the present. How does this pertain to voice actors? Think about what your perfect voiceover day looks like. Where do you live? Which genres are you narrating? How much money are you making? Now think about what the day before that looks like. And the day before that. And the day before that. And all the days before that leading back to right now, wherever you are, reading this blog. What do you need to be, do, and have to realize your perfect voiceover day? What additional training do you need? Which skills do you need to acquire or improve? How will you generate the money to fund your voiceover business? Write all of it down. That’s your business plan. Now go make it happen! NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, April 29th @8PM EST: the VO Mastery workshop, “Direct Marketing”. This 90-minute online workshop is only $59. Email Rachel Wohl at rachel@nullvomastery.com to sign up! SOLD OUT!!! Friday, April 30th @5PM EST: The Voice Actors Studio webinar “eLearning Performance Workshop“. Learn about the world of eLearning and get some live coaching, too. If you missed this one I’m teaching it again on Thursday, May 13th. Sign up here! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Pretzel Day and Financial Independence Awareness Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a voice actor with over 20 years of experience narrating just about every type of voiceover you can think of. He also helps other voice talents navigate the voiceover industry as the VO Strategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, he produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22. #BenCheung #voiceactor #voiceover #voiceacting #audiobook #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobooknarration #VoiceTalent #voiceovers #audiobooknarration #VoiceoverBlog #ThePeriodicTableofIdeas #MaleVoiceTalent #audiobooks #voiceovers #voiceover #malevoiceactor

2014 was a good year for the Not Silent Blog. Back then it was called the GKN (Good Karma Network) Weekly Update. The branding has changed, but the message is the same. Oh, and if you’re wondering about the blog pic, that’s me on a mule at a voiceover conference in Arizona. Like I said: 2014 was a good year. 🙂 I’ve noticed recently that when I speak or coach I am frequently citing many blog entries I wrote in 2014. I thought it would be a hoot to share some of the more popular blogs from that year. They’re listed below but I encourage you to check out other blog posts I penned in 2014. To do that, just click on any of the blog links below then scroll down to “Previous Story” and “Next Story”. Enjoy! Weird Phone Calls I got in 2014, Part One and Part Two Got Values? 5 Questions Most Voice Talents Won’t Answer 5 Questions You Should Always Ask a Voice Talent The Voiceover Conspiracy Exposed! TIP OF THE WEEK In 11+ years of blogging about the voiceover industry I’ve covered just about every voiceover topic you can think of, many of them more than once. I encourage you to use The Not Silent Blog as a resource. If you do find a 2014 or other blog entry of interest or use, let me know. If there is a specific topic I haven’t covered or you think it’s time to revisit a particular issue, reach out and I’ll be happy to write about it. This blog is for you! NEWS AND NOTES NO BLOG NEXT WEEK!!! I’m on my honeymoon in Maui. Actually, I’m there right now so this here blog entry is pre-written. Pre-written? Is that even possible? Either you wrote it or you didn’t. Things that keep me up at night… Thursday, October 24th @8:oo PM EST: The Edge Studio “Business and Money 201” Webinar, ‘Time Management’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll talk about how to set your priorities and focus day-to-day on moving your voiceover business forward. Click here to sign up! Tuesday, October 29th @8PM EST: Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Keeping Clients Coming Back’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll tell you the REAL secret to client retention. Click here to sign up! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Taco Day and Ask a Stupid Question Day! Any questions…? QUOTE OF THE WEEK 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 VOStrategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. Subscribe to my weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice! #voiceacting #voiceoverdemo #VoiceTalent #VoiceoverBlog #voiceoverdemos #voiceovercoach #voiceovers #voiceover #voiceovercoach

As the VO Strategist, I define client offboarding as a critical audit for your business. It is the strategic removal of a voice seeker who creates more friction than profit. Understanding how to price out a difficult voice over client is the difference between being an exploited employee and a profitable CEO. Firing a Difficult Voice Over Client often feels like career suicide Most voice actors are terrified of losing a revenue stream. But if you are spending all your time fixated on a difficult voice over client who is a pain in the ass and lives in your head rent-free, the money is not worth it. What Does a Difficult Voice Over Client Look Like? In my thirty years in this game, I have seen every kind of knucklehead, so I have too much experience in this arena. You know you have a problem when: They contact you at the last minute and expect you to drop everything. The scripts are a disaster (bad grammar, poor punctuation, or "Google Translate" specials). They micro-manage your performance until you sound like a robot. They under-direct you and then get frustrated when you don't read their minds. They send endless retakes for performance reasons or script revisions. They take FOREVER to pay. The CEO Mindset Using my farmer's analogy, a difficult client is like a weed. They take up the space where a high-paying, professional client should be. If you spend all your time trying to turn a weed into a ripe fruit, you're not giving the rest of your crops the time and attention they need to grow. Make Them Quit You don't need to stage a dramatic breakup scene. "It's not me, it's you!". The most professional way to fire a client is to raise your rates. Simple, right? The next time they have a project for you, tell them your rates have gone up. If they haven't paid you for the last project and the invoice is overdue, either refuse to do the project until the overdue invoice is paid or tack on a Late Fee to the new project. The next time they bring you a last-minute project with a short deadline, add a Rush Fee. Every time they send a script that requires rewrites, add a Revision Fee. If they say they can't afford you anymore, great! Mission accomplished. You have successfully fired them without burning a bridge. If they pay the new rates, great! Their shenanigans is now worth your time. Raising your rates to keep a difficult voice over client in line is easy. Actually calculating your "worth-it" threshold and communicating it without sounding like a jerk is the hard part. Implementation is always harder, but it's an important exercise to improve the health of both your mind and your bank account. Thanks for Reading! If your current voice over client roster is giving you more headaches than paychecks, let’s talk. I offer a 15-Minute Strategy Consult to help you identify the "weeds" in your business and create a plan to attract better voice seekers. Want More Tools In Your Voice Over Toolkit? Stop guessing which microphones, hardware, software, and books are worth your investment! I’ve built a curated resource page with professional tools I trust that will both save time and help you make smart decisions for your business. Please note: As an affiliate partner, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Get my curated list of essential VO tools here. AND Check out my VO How-To Library! Want to stream as many How-To videos as you want? Get a Video Subscription - use code FORWARD for 20% off your first month! From my village to yours, this is Tom Dheere, the VO Strategist. As the VO Strategist, Tom Dheere has provided voice over business & marketing coaching since 2011. He's also a voice actor with over 30 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voice over you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.

As the VO Strategist, I define your worth as a voice actor as the intersection of your Systems of Execution and your Market Viability. Understanding this distinction is the difference between playing the "Audition Game" and winning the "Search Game". True value is found when you stop thinking like an employee and start acting like a CEO. What is your worth as a voice actor? I’m not talking about being talented or funny or owning an expensive microphone. I’m talking about actual, practical worth. Your talent is the least valuable part of your worth. Your worth as a voiceover business is a combination of the three P’s… Professionalism: the competence or skill expected of a professional. If you get quality training from an established voice over coach you can comport yourself professionally even if you’ve never booked a gig. That means... You must have a home studio with a verified noise floor that meets pro standards. You need a website that feeds the robots via SEO, AEO, and GEO so the humans can actually find you. You must comport yourself as a peer to the client, not a subordinate. Preparedness: a state of readiness. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you book a voice over gig. Have effective Systems of Execution in place so there no surprises and you don’t forget anything. That means... You have confirmed the rate. They have accepted your AI Rider. They have approved your Retake Policy. Project Management: the planning and organization needed to complete a project. Most voice actors are busy being unpaid assistants to themselves. They spend hours doom-scrolling instead of asking what the most strategic use of their time is. You must be organized and understand every element that goes into a successful voice over gig. That means... You have reviewed the script and confirmed all pronunciations and acronyms. You have confirmed the audio file format (naming convention, mp3 vs wav, etc.) You have confirmed if they want the audio files raw, dry, or wet. (Don't know what that means? Download my Service Guarantee!) Of course you should focus on being a better narrator. That’s critical, but it’s not enough these days. Think your way through every step of the process of auditioning, producing, and billing. Create a checklist that you will adhere to on every single voiceover project. THAT will improve your worth. Want More Tools In Your Voice Over Toolkit? Stop guessing which microphones, hardware, software, and books are worth your investment! I’ve built a curated resource page with professional tools I trust that will both save time and help you make smart decisions for your business. Please note: As an affiliate partner, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Get my curated list of essential VO tools here. AND Check out my VO How-To Library! Want to stream as many How-To videos as you want? Get a Video Subscription - use code FORWARD for 20% off your first month! From my village to yours, this is Tom Dheere, the VO Strategist. As the VO Strategist, Tom Dheere has provided voice over business & marketing coaching since 2011. He's also a voice actor with over 30 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voice over you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.

In the voice over industry, Legacy Thinking suggests that you are paid only for your time in the booth. FALSE. As a VO CEO, you aren't selling minutes; you are licensing a performance. With that in mind, let’s break down the mechanics of the voice actor's Usage Fee. What is a Usage Fee? A usage fee is when you get paid for a voice over depending on where it’s used and how long. Think of it as a licensing fee. When you see a picture of Spider-Man on a T-shirt, the company that made the T-shirt had to pay Marvel Comics a fee to use the image of Spider-Man. In effect, you are licensing your voice. Doesn’t the session fee already include the usage fee? Not necessarily. There is a difference between the session fee (how much you get paid to record the voiceover) and the usage fee (how much you get paid for the recording to be used). You should always get paid a session fee, but not necessarily always a usage fee. Sort of. When should you get paid a usage fee? It depends on whether it’s union or non-union and whether it’s broadcast or non-broadcast. In its most basic terms: Genre Usage Fee? Why? Broadcast (TV/Radio) YES High audience reach and potential brand conflicts Digital/Social Media SOMETIMES Depends on Paid Placement (Ads) vs. Organic (Posts) Non-Broadcast (eLearning/Corporate) NO Usually covered by a higher flat fee FYI this is a sweeping generalization and there are many exceptions. How much should the usage fee be? It depends on the size of the audience, the length of time it will be used, and if there is exclusivity/conflicts. The bigger the market, the bigger the usage fee. (local cable vs Los Angeles metro area vs national) The longer it’s used, the bigger the usage fee. (six weeks vs one year vs in perpetuity) The bigger the conflict, the bigger the usage fee. For example, if you book a TV spot for Maybelline and you’re not allowed to voice any other makeup brand for two years, you should get compensated for that loss of potential income that you could have gotten from other makeup companies. If you're good enough for Maybelline, you're probably good enough for Revlon. I’ve noticed that commercial usage fees can be anywhere from 50% to 200% of the session fee and higher, so clearly it can vary wildly. What’s the difference between a Buyout and a Rebuy? A buyout is when they pay you a one-time usage fee no matter how long the voiceover is used for a.k.a. in perpetuity. A rebuy is an agreement to use it for a certain period of time, but if they want to use it after that time has elapsed, you get paid an additional usage fee. Often it’s the same amount as the original usage fee but it can vary. FYI buyouts are common in non-union voiceover work. To learn more about buyouts, click here. What are cut-downs? Cut-downs are when you record, say, a :60 radio commercial and they further edit it so it can also be used as a :30, :15 or maybe even a :05 radio commercial. If they do cut-downs, you should get paid a usage fee for every version of that spot. TIP OF THE WEEK This is a large, complicated subject but it is critical that you understand how usage fees work. As always: do your research, ask good questions, and don’t get pushed around! To better understand union usage fees, go to https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-agreements-101 To better understand non-union usage fees, go to https://globalvoiceacademy.com/gvaa-rate-guide-2 Want More Tools In Your Voice Over Toolkit? Stop guessing which microphones, hardware, software, and books are worth your investment! I’ve built a curated resource page with professional tools I trust that will both save time and help you make smart decisions for your business. Please note: As an affiliate partner, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Get my curated list of essential VO tools here. AND Check out my VO How-To Library! Want to stream as many How-To videos as you want? Get a Video Subscription - use code FORWARD for 20% off your first month! From my village to yours, this is Tom Dheere, the VO Strategist. As the VO Strategist, Tom Dheere has provided voice over business & marketing coaching since 2011. He's also a voice actor with over 30 years of experience who has narrated just about every type of voice over you can think of. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the sci-fi comic book Agent 1.22.