Double Dutch

There’s no publicity like FREE publicity, especially if you run a small business on a small budget.

Right now I’m the media manager and PR-advisor to “Music for MS,” a benefit concert organized by and featuring my wife.

It’s my job to drum up as much media interest for this event as possible, and fill up the venue on February 26th by word of mouth and other means.

Every glossy flyer or multicolored poster we would print or ad we’d have to buy, would mean less money for the cause (the National Multiple Sclerosis Society), so I’m not doing that. Instead, I’m mobilizing the local press and I’m using social media to reach out to the community. It saves tons of paper which makes it eco-friendly.

The official campaign began yesterday, and so far we’ve already landed two interviews. This is where things get serious. Anyone can write a glorious press release, but not everyone does well on radio, television or in the papers. I know what I’m talking about because I have trained hundreds of people to get ready to meet the press.

One of the first things my students would always complain about is the focus of the media: Why do they only cover sensational stories? Why has the news become so superficial? Why don’t they come to me for a story? What they’re really saying is this: “Paul, you’re a journalist. I’m interesting and you should interview me!”

My knee-jerk response would be: “No you’re not, and why should I?” But of course I’d keep that to myself. Here’s what I’d say instead:

1. You have to have a hook to be heard.

If your name is Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton, you don’t have to do anything special to attract the attention of millions. In fact, that would be your only accomplishment: being famous for being famous. Mere mortals such as you and me have to give the news media a good REASON why they’d want to come to us. A hook. Preferable with fresh bait.

News is the report of an event that is:

• recent
• unusual
• previously unknown and
• interesting and relevant to a great number of people

Let me add something to that definition: If there’s nobody to cover it, it’s not news. Fortunately or unfortunately, these days, all we need is one idiot with an iPhone.

Secondly, news is news if conglomerates like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation or Bertelsmann AG decide we should learn about it.

Third, news is news if the corporate sponsors (or other powers that be) feel it does not undermine their interests. (click here for an example)

Fourth: the more local the outlet, the lower the bar for what is deemed to be newsworthy.

Let’s assume you’re a voice-over professional hoping to attract some interest from the local papers. You’ve just completed another audio book. That’s something recent, but is it news?

Well, it depends on how unusual the book is and how many people would be interested in it. If we are talking about the audio version of Hitler’s secret diaries that were thought to be lost, you might have a story, but I don’t think this type of publicity would do your career any good. Which brings me to my next point.

2. You have to have a clear objective.

What do you ideally want to happen as a result of the media attention you hope to generate? Unless you’re hungry for recognition, an interview is just a means to an end.

In the case of my concert, the overall goal is to raise money and awareness for the fight to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic, mysterious and often misunderstood disease of the central nervous system. In order to accomplish that I need as many people as possible to come to the concert. This gives me a way to measure the success of my campaign.

Please note: what you hope to accomplish and what the journalist wishes to accomplish, might be two very different things!

If you don’t know what you want to get out of the interview, don’t do it. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to. It’s better to wait for the perfect opportunity than to waste a mediocre one.

If you do have an objective in mind, it’s time to go to the next step:

3. You have to craft a compelling core message.

If you could summarize what you’d like to get across in one or two sentences, what would it be? Let me put it in another way: If at the end of the interview people would only remember one thing, one powerful image or one great idea, what would you want that to be?

That should become the heart of your message, and it is your mission to get it across no matter what.

In the age of information overload, it is harder and harder to cut through the clutter and be heard. People scan the news and rarely look past the headlines or sound bites, so give them headlines and sound bites. You’ll survive.

I don’t care if you think it’s shallow or giving in to sensationalism. Should you get the chance to reach thousands, if not millions of people, don’t waste it by being boring. It’s regrettable to be forgettable.

A sound bite is usually not something you’ll come up with when the intimidating cameras are rolling and you’re staring into the hot, blinding studio lights. Do not count on your magic talent for improvisation. You can’t wing it.

4. You have to be prepared.

Well, well… isn’t that a given? Of course you need to give it some thought. Or is it better to be spontaneous and ‘in the moment’? You don’t want to look too rehearsed, do you?

Here’s my take on that.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make is not preparing for an interview. They’ve literally said to me: “But I’m the expert. You can throw any question at me any time. I don’t need interview training.”

Just because you’re an expert doesn’t mean you’ll do well during an interview. Readers, listeners, viewers… they all hate pompous know-it-all’s that talk over people’s heads.

I have seen great thinkers, captains of industry and even bishops nearly faint because they couldn’t handle the pressure of a simple unexpected question.

They approached a 2-minute interview as if they were delivering a half-hour sermon, and when time was up, they had said nothing of significance. Of course they’d blame the network for not giving them enough air time.

Everyone who’s ever been interviewed will agree with me: When you’re in the hot seat, time as we know it does not exist. In the stress and excitement of the moment, people forget the simples of things such as their middle names and the phone number of the organization they’ve come to promote.

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. In the next installment I’ll tell you what you need to know before you meet the press.

Meanwhile, have you ever been interviewed?

What lessons did you learn?

Paul Strikwerda ©2012
www.nethervoice.com
Be sweet. Please retweet.

Technorati Tags: Bertelsmann AG, creating publicity, Dutch voice over, interview training, media coaching, media management, media training, meet the press, Multiple Sclerosis, Music for MS, Nethervoice, News Corporation, newsworthy, Paul Strikwerda, self-promotion, what is news

In the past these were dirty words for dirty people. Now these very same words can be used to describe the average social media addict.

We like strutting our stuff in public. We want the world to watch us. And we follow the fools who think that tweeting nonsense all day long makes them relevant.

8:05 AM. In line at Starbucks.

8:10 AM. Ordering a tall latte.

8:15 AM. Should have asked for a double shot of espresso.

8:18 AM. Back in my Mercedes. New Jersey Turnpike, here I come!

8:21 AM. In a car accident. Tweeting and drinking coffee don’t go well together.

9:33 AM. Thank goodness this hospital has a Starbucks.

We can laugh about it. We can cry about it, but things like Twitter and texting are changing the way we communicate. Even the way we dress.

If you don’t believe me, you should shop for winter gloves today, and count the pairs with holes in them or with special patches. Touchscreen gloves, that’s what they are called. Snowstorms, twisters, Republican primaries and other natural disasters won’t prevent mankind from texting.

Every single day, two hundred trillion text messages are received in America alone (source). That’s more than an entire year’s worth of regular mail.

Nielsen reported that the average American teen sends 3,339 texts each month. That’s more than six per every hour they’re awake. The girls are beating the boys with 4,050 texts per month, (boys send an average of 2,539 texts). Mind you, these numbers are from 2010!

But it’s not just the kids. Go into any supermarket and count how many times you’ll hear a mother tell her stroller-toddler:

“Not now sweetie. Mommy’s texting.”

8:42 PM. At Trader Joe’s. Should I buy broccoli or cauliflower?

Thanks to all these very important messages, safety is no longer the number one reason for getting a phone. We just love being social, don’t we?

THE FACEBOOK REVOLUTION
In 2010, Facebook beat Google as the most visited site (if we leave out visits to Google-owned YouTube). A year later, Facebook’s U.S. advertising revenue of 2.2 billion dollars had surpassed that of both Google and Yahoo.

It is THE place to hang out and make new friends. It’s that wonderful platform where -in the midst of an economic crisis- everything is always A-Okay. No matter what happens, the show must go on so we keep on dancing.

Smile people! Always beware of your brand. Heaven forbid we become real and share our fears and failures.

Occasionally, some Facebook friends will vent their frustrations, but overall, a happy-go-lucky attitude seems to be the norm: Do what you love and the money will follow. Really?

Many Europeans consider this attitude to be “typically American.” They see the States as a country where people have a hard time accepting failure. We’d rather take a happy pill than deal with our problems. We’re certainly not going to share them on our Facebook Walls. We’ve turned those into advertorials and infomercials:

9:15 AM. Join me for an online seminar where I’ll teach you how not to waste your time on Facebook. Remember the early bird discount!

10:02 AM. Finished an amazing gig with an amazing director. Life is good. It’s great to be back in L.A.

11:46 AM. Jesus rocks! He guided me to book another gig for Playboy Enterprises. Praise the Lord.

11:47 AM. Deuteronomy 5:11

11:48 AM. John 8:7

11:49 AM. Broccoli or cauliflower?

1:15 PM. There’s a new article on the Double Dutch blog. Be the first one to read it before it appears on VoiceOverXtra.

Yep, Facebook is definitely a site we can’t live without. In fact, we need more of those online chatrooms. What did you just tell me? You’re not on Google+ yet? Boy, you’re missing out on something spectacular. It’s great for your business. The other day I saw a video of a dog. Man, that was funny. Every time his owner began playing the guitar, this dog started smiling. No kidding. I’ll send you the link.

3:30 PM. Wasted another 3 minutes watching a dog on YouTube. Completely forgot to register for Faffcon 4. 

A WINDOW TO THE WORLD?
Look, I am not going to pooh-pooh social media again, but we should bury the idea that these sites are widening our world and increase interpersonal connections.

First of all, we don’t seem to know the difference between socializing and advertising. Socializing is all about connecting with others. Advertising is drawing attention to oneself in order to sell. If that becomes the main purpose of the interaction, it will turn people off. Sooner rather than later.

Secondly, people mainly interact with people they know or agree with. We block the rest and ban them from our circles. And if we don’t do it ourselves, algorithms will make sure that we see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. Author and activist Eli Pariser calls this the “Filter Bubble.”

Based on our location and on what you and I have searched for and looked at in the past, certain websites (like Facebook) and search engines now use algorithms to predict and select what we’d be interested in right now. They call it “creating a personalized experience.”

YOUR WEB YOUR WAY
If you’re in the market for a new set of wheels and you’ve been browsing a few dealerships, chances are that you’ll be presented with car commercials instead of chewing gum ads. If you’re a fan of the current man in the White House and you keep track of his party’s politics, you won’t be exposed to Tea Party rhetoric. So far, so good, right?

Amazon and Netflix work the same way:

“If you liked this product or that movie, here’s what we recommend you check out next.”

I once made the mistake of tweeting about how much I love my memory foam mattress. Within the hour I was followed by three companies selling mattresses. I wanted to challenge them to a pillow fight.

But wait, there’s more!

If you and I were to enter the same keywords in Google, we would receive different results, based on past online behavior. You will get sites that are more in line with your interests and I will get sites that -presumably- will resonate more with things I prefer. Why is that so terrible?

DIVERSITY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
I happen to think that it’s good to be exposed to different points of view. If I am only presented with an invisibly edited and uncontrollable stream of information that confirms my own bias, I lose something very important. Eli Pariser puts it this way:

“The Internet is showing us a world it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see.”

We need to see how other people live and we need to hear what other people think. Intellectual discourse is part of a healthy democracy.

If we wish to promote peace, understanding and compassion in the world, we have to open ourselves up to other ideas, other traditions and the very things we don’t comprehend. Things that may make us uncomfortable. Otherwise, stupid stereotypes will go unchallenged and the people on this planet will never overcome their conflicts.

5:15 PM. More of the same is not only boring, it’s dangerous.

5:16 PM. I don’t want some geek at Google to tell me what’s relevant.

Knowledge empowers. Ignorance separates.

NOW WHAT?
It’s time to burst that filter bubble and give us control over the selection of sources of information. I don’t need Yahoo to determine what types of news stories will appear when I switch on my computer.

I want Facebook to be more about sharing and less about selling. I want parents to care more about their children than about their smart phones.

I want drivers to switch off their Blackberries and pay attention to the road. I want more people to be in the moment, instead of describing it on some electronic device.

That’s all great in theory, but here’s the question that’s been haunting me:

Will that ever happen or did we pass a point of no return?

5:24 PM. I am a practitioner of Positive Pessimism.

5:25 PM Hoping for the best. Expecting the worst.

Paul Strikwerda ©2012
www.nethervoice.com

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Double Dutch Blog, Eli Pariser, exhibitionists, Faffcon, Filter Bubble, Google, Netflix, Nethervoice, Nielsen, Paul Strikwerda, Social Media, stalkers, texting, twitter, VoiceOverXtra, voyeurs, Yahoo

She jokingly called her students “germ bags” and described school parents as “snobby” and “arrogant.”

On Facebook.

As a result, this Massachusetts math and science teacher lost her $92,636-a-year job.

A waitress at a pizza restaurant in uptown Charlotte was fired after making derogatory remarks about customers who’d made her work an hour past the end of her shift and only left a small tip.

On Twitter.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice of the Aflac duck, after the insurance company found out he was tweeting “jokes” about the devastating tsunami in Japan.

Free speech is a wonderful thing, as long as you realize who’s listening. Big Brother is following you. He might even be a Facebook friend or a Google Spy-der.

Digital Inspiration discovered last month, that:

“Googlebots, or the spiders that crawl web pages, are now reading Facebook comments on websites just like any other text content and the more interesting part is that you can also search the text of these comments using regular Google search.”

Many sites allow you to use your Facebook profile to leave comments. It’s easy and it saves time. But when you do that, your remarks are linked to your user name, profile picture and they link back to your Facebook profile.

As CNET’s Sharon Vaknin warned:

“A Google search for your name may reveal your comments. Since your Facebook account is tied to your (presumably) real name, anyone googling you may stumble upon your political, religious, or general views expressed in comments you’ve left across the Web. Consider this when leaving comments using the Facebook Comments platform.”

And it’s not just your comments that could get you in trouble.

One of my European colleagues had landed a voice-over job for a high-end electronics company. She was thrilled to be associated with such a big name, and she liked the video she had voiced so much, that she put a link up on her blog.

The next day the phone rang. The legal department of the electronics giant asked her to read the fine print in her contract. It stated that she was not allowed to publicly associate herself with the company and that she could not use any material for promotional purposes.

Even though she removed the link immediately, she never heard from this client again.

Later she told me: “It was just a link to a video that was on the company website. It was in the public domain. What’s the big deal? The way I see it, I was creating some free publicity for this company.”

It amazed me how quickly the legal department had discovered the link on a blog that wasn’t exactly popular. It goes to show that you never know who is watching over your shoulder.

This week, one of my agents received the following message from a casting director:

“Agents – it has come to our attention that many actors excited about their auditions, will post notices on facebook and twitter. This weekend, an actor lost a job because the tweet got back to the client on a product that had not been announced. Please ask your actors to not tweet/facebook the products for auditions.”

My agent immediately sent an email to all talent:

We know you get excited about auditions and bookings, but please do not tweet, facebook, blog, or share in any way before the finished media is out.

The safest sharing rule for the entertainment industry: only share information on your project AFTER the date of first insertion. No exceptions.

DO NOT announce clients or products for auditions, callbacks or bookings.

DO NOT check in on facebook.

DO NOT use social media on set.

Remember: You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you.

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet. Please retweet.
PPS Next week I’ll talk about adding value in voice-overs.

Technorati Tags: Aflac, CNET, Digital Inspiration, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice over, Facebook, Gilbert Gottfried, Google, Googlebots, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, Sharon Vaknin, Social Media, twitter, voiceovers

They’re everywhere. Haven’t you noticed?

Take one good look. Let’s start with your online Holiday shopping.

Who’s responsible for most reviews on Amazon.com?

Experts? Consumer advocates? Independent test laboratories?

No. Amateurs!

Who just gave your favorite movie two stars on Netflix? Roger Ebert?

No. Amateurs!

What kind of people put the “reality” in reality TV?

Amateurs!

Where would talent shows like “American Idol,” “The X Factor” and “The Voice” be without…

Amateurs!

Credentials are so yesterday. Experience is optional. If it breathes and has half a brain, any Nobody can be Somebody.

On the web, pretenders pose as pros, and social proof trumps scientific evidence. Now, that’s what I call progress, ladies and gentlemen!

CULTURE SHOCK
A few years ago, British-American entrepreneur Andrew Keen wrote “The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture.”

In it, Keen describes how he holds the participatory Web 2.0 responsible for at least two things:

1. Making it almost impossible to find high quality material amidst mediocre user-generated web content;

2. destroying profitable professionalism.

Take Wikipedia, which relies heavily on volunteer editors and contributors. Wikipedia gets more traffic than the online edition of the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica, written by experts and scholars. Keen writes:

“Every visit to Wikipedia’s free information hive means one less customer for a professionally researched and edited encyclopedia such as Britannica.”

But why would that necessarily be a bad thing (apart from putting encyclopedians out of business)?

The ever-evolving world wide web is all about user participation. Since the dawn of the egalitarian Internet, experts have had to leave their ivory towers. Information has become democratic: for the masses, by the masses.

We’re now living in the age of the Citizen Reporter, the self-styled critic and open source software. Anyone can share anything, no matter how profound or pathetic. How liberating is that?

Think about it.

In this 24/7 global, unfiltered data dump, there are very few knowledgeable gatekeepers to separate fact from fiction. Any amateur can claim to be an expert, and no one is going to stop them until they are found out.

Case in point:

THE  ESSJAY CONTROVERSY
In 2007, a Wikipedia contributor using the name Essjay, had edited thousands of articles. He once was one of the few people given the authority to arbitrate disputes between writers.

According to his user profile, Essjay was a tenured professor of religion at a private university with expertise in canon law. But in reality, Essjay turned out to be a 24-year-old impostor named Ryan Jordan, who attended a number of colleges in Kentucky and lived outside Louisville.

“People have gone through his edits and found places where he was basically cashing in on his fake credentials to bolster his arguments,” said Michael Snow, a Wikipedia administrator, after Jordan admitted that he had fooled everyone.

Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam called the Essjay affair an illustration of the problems of “crowdsourcing” and the “wisdom of crowds,” saying that the crowd accepts authority unquestioningly. Beam:

“Who would you rather have write your encyclopedia entries? Bertrand Russell, T.H. Huxley, and Benedetto Croce, who wrote for the Britannica? Or … Essjay?”

Andrew Keen was even stronger in his criticism. He said the whole affair was just one example of people ignoring expert guidance in favor of what he called the “dictatorship of idiots.” In this new “idiocracy,” amateurs rule and professionals are no longer cool.

Thank goodness that’s not the case in my profession: the wonderful world of voice-over acting!

Or is it?

THE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Before I go on, let’s just define the territory, shall we?

To me, an amateur is a hobbyist, knowledgeable or otherwise, someone who does not make a living from his or her field of interest, a layperson, lacking credentials.

According to the same dictionary, a professional is someone engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career; a skilled practitioner, an expert.

It’s no secret that each year, hundreds -if not thousands- of hopeful amateurs attempt to break into the business, by presenting themselves as voice-over professionals. It’s never been easier, and I’m not going to belittle anyone for trying.

However, if you present yourself as a pro, you have to leave your amateur attitude behind. In order to compete with the best, you have to hold yourself to the highest standards of professionalism. If you’re not ready, don’t enter the market. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.

Now, some of you might say: “I’d rather hire an enthusiastic, talented amateur than a burnt-out, uninspired pro. There’s an abundance of fresh talent at the online voice casting sites and they deserve a chance. Everybody’s got to start somewhere, right?”

Well, let’s see how that works out.

HORROR STORY
A colleague with years and years of experience, gave me permission to share the following with you:

I’m trying to establish a new voiceover service targeting a specific niche.

I listened to hundreds of demos on Pay to Plays, and I was appalled at the reads (Radio DJ Syndrome) and by the Audio Quality Disorder (AQD).

While clicking through the demos, it was like… ”no, no, no,no,no,no,no,no, maybe, no,no,no,no, yes. no,no,no,no,no…” Maybe .005% of the people were worthy.

Ultimately, I found about 10 voiceover “professionals” on voices.com and voice123, and from various vo groups.

I contacted the people and explained my project. They all agreed to be involved. I needed some demos to get started. I sent them scripts with pronunciations and asked for demos as .wav files. (The 10 scripts consisted of only two or three sentences each!)

I received their demos of my scripts. The audio was shockingly bad.

Here’s what I heard:

Plosives all over the place; lip sounds; miscellaneous noises; “fff” and ”whoosh” breathing sounds; pops; distortion; headphone feedback. Additionally, there was a high pitch whine/buzz throughout the entire recording of one person’s demo.

In one case, I heard a kind of crackling noise that I knew could be due to a bad hard drive.

I sent samples of the people’s audio to Dan Lenard, the Home Studio Master. He confirmed my claims and he said he’s heard worse! (He said the noise that I thought was a bad hard disk was probably a broken microphone.)

One person ignored the phonetic pronunciations I provided. A few ignored the audio file-type specification. A couple people sent me .wav files not compressed as .zip files. One person sent me a .wav file that did not contain any audio!

One person told me he would be part of the project. In that email, he said he’d been having email troubles, and that’s the last I’ve heard from him! I tried contacting him through one of the p2p sites. I’ve had no response following his first email that stated he would be part of the project.

The audio from almost all the people was unusable.

So, in an email to each person, I explained in detail the issues with his or her audio, and asked for retakes

Then, the retakes deadlines passed, and I hadn’t received the retake demos from 5 of the people, so I emailed those 5 people and asked if they were still participating.

One guy said “I’m going to pass at this time. Thank you though”. His demo had already been sent to two voice-seekers. Had I not inquired, I would have discovered he was no longer interested only at the time I had committed to a job using his voice! He did not have the courtesy to inform me he was withdrawing from the project.

The demos of these people, on their profile pages, sounded good. The audio they sent me was crap.

According to Dan, the audio I received is representative of what ”professional voiceover talents” are giving to paying clients.

I’m absolutely dumbfounded that the poor quality of the audio that these ”pros” gave me is the same poor quality audio that goes out to clients.

I’m dismayed by the unprofessionalism displayed by some of the people.

Bad audio and amateurism are two big reasons the business is going to hell in a handbasket.

ATYPICAL OR A TREND?
It’s very easy to discard this story as anecdotal evidence. If that were the case, why are more and more voice-seekers leaving comments like:

“I cannot emphasize enough that I need high-quality audio. I expect all reads to be performed in some kind of professional or home recording studio with high-quality gear. Second-rate audio quality is not acceptable for this project.”

“MUST be absolutely crystal clear audio with none/minimal ambient noise.”

“Narrators must be able to record in high quality (either at a recording studio or at home with the appropriate equipment that can produce high quality). ”

“The audio must sound professional! Please do not send me audio that sounds like you recorded with a cassette player!”

“We would need the person hired to record the voice over in his own home studio with professional voice equipment, we had someone do it on their computer and it sounded awful and unprofessional.”

Well, one response would be: “If you expect professional quality, start paying professional rates! You get what you pay for.” My voice-seeking colleague continues:

“When clients have to ‘beg’ for quality audio, it indicates there is a problem of poor quality in the industry! Why do clients have to specifically demand high quality audio? We are supposed to be professionals!

For my new service, I’ve decided to only hire members of SaVoa, the Society of Accredited Voice Over Artist.”

The amateur invasion has opened many doors to deserving, talented individuals. But as always, if you don’t apply a fine filter, the floodgates will bring a lot of crap too, stinking up the business.

ARE YOU ALARMED?
In a strange way, my colleague’s story put my mind at ease. I’m not as worried anymore by the influx of upcoming voice talent as I used to be.

Wikipedia learned from the Essjay affair, and in an article addressing the reliability of the site, writes:

“The Wikipedia model allows anyone to edit, and relies on a large number of well-intentioned editors to overcome issues raised by a smaller number of problematic editors.

It is inherent in Wikipedia’s editing model that misleading information can be added, but over time quality is anticipated to improve in a form of group learning as editors reach consensus, so that substandard edits will very rapidly be removed.”

I predict that a similar kind of self-regulation will take place in the voice-over industry, or in any type of market that is overcrowded by freewheeling wannabes. Otherwise, something like a Pay-to-Play model will be as sustainable as the career of an aspiring voice actor.

Erik Sheppard of Voice Talent Productions puts it this way:

“The average lifespan of a voiceover “career” seems to be about a year. Every year old names drop off the radar and new ones appear, just to be replaced again the next year.

It seems to take about that long for The Blue Snowball Coalition of new talent to realize that they jumped into this without knowing what they heck they were doing and then they are on to the next get-rich-quick scheme. Sad really. I imagine there are a lot of old USB mics collecting dust out there…”

So, what’s your take on the avalanche of amateurs? Do they cheapen our community, or do they enrich us? Are they to blame for the steady decline of rates and standards?

Are they stealing jobs that should have gone to seasoned pros, or do they pick up the crumbs no one wants to eat?

Should some Pay-to-Plays put up a barrier of entry and be more rigid in their quality control, or will the weakest links just put themselves out of the game?

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be Sweet. Please retweet!

Technorati Tags: Alex Beam, Amateur Infestation, Andrew Keen, crowd sourcing, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voiceover, Encyclopedia Britannica, Erik Sheppard, Essjay affair, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, social proof, The Cult of the Amateur, voice acting, Voice Talent Productions, voice-over, voice-over career, web 2.0, Wikipedia

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

It’s the dreaded question that can make a child quiver.

What do you mean, “be”?

Am I not good enough? Do I need to be something or someone else?

Who says I want to grow up? Grown-ups are boring…

Some kids know exactly how to answer that question, though.

They have dreams of becoming an astronaut, a fireman or a movie star.

At the age of eight, I knew what I wanted.

I wanted to be Uri Geller. Remember him?

In the seventies, this spoon-bending Israeli mentalist first appeared on television, performing mind over matter tricks. I was fascinated by his psychokinetic powers. Geller claimed he could fix household appliances through the strength of his mind. How useful!

Like thousands of other viewers, I took my broken watch and placed it in front of our television set, waiting for Geller to work his magic. This man was a miracle!

Inspired by Uri, I spent countless hours staring at a pencil, trying to make it move with my mind. I don’t think I ever grew up, because I still find myself waiting for a red traffic light, trying to make it turn green by using my brain waves as a weapon.

Sometimes it works and I take all the credit. Sometimes it doesn’t and I blame technology.

These are not just mind games. This type of behavior raises a few fundamental questions:

• Can we manipulate our environment and even the people around us by using our mental powers?

• Can we make objects and people succumb to our will?

Traditional advertising seems to believe so. Well, at least the people part. The mad men of Madison Avenue spend millions and millions of dollars trying to manipulate our minds into buying stuff we don’t need and don’t want.

As a voice-over professional, I’m part of the plan. If you go to a Dutch toy store, there’s a great chance you’ll hear my voice blasting out of the speakers, selling U.S. made skateboards.

I’ll try to make you buy Turtle Wax® at the local Auto World, or futuristic fluid to supergrease the chain of your mountain bike. Now on sale in aisle 4. Must hurry. Supply is limited.

Do these campaigns actually work? Are people really that susceptible (or dare I say: that stupid)?

As a freelancer, my mailbox fills up with offers for seminars like:

“Learn how to Dominate your Market in two hours”

“Making Money with your Voice, guaranteed”

“Success Secrets to Winning Auditions”

“7 Easy Ways to turn Prospects into Buyers”

My efforts to move pencils; the ad agency’s efforts to move product and the seminar’s promise to turn me into a dominator have one thing in common. They feed our natural need for control.

Somehow, in some way, we believe that -with the right ingredients, training and campaign- we can part the waters of the Red Sea and walk across to the Promised Land.

A mistake of biblical proportions…

Can we really move the minds of the masses by slogans, websites, billboards and even blogs?

Haven’t we become immune to the endless avalanche of marketing messages, sales pitches and empty promises?

I have a confession to make.

During the first half of my life, I honestly believed I could change people. It gets worse. I even believed I could change G-d. I used to pray:

“Dear G-d, if you help me get a good grade, I promise to go to church every Sunday and not embarrass my parents. PS I apologize for breaking wind during the last service and I am sorry for staring at the old lady sitting next to me, making everyone think she did it. Amen.”

Later in life I learned that if I don’t do my part and learn my lessons, G-d isn’t going to bail me out. That would defeat the purpose of being on this planet in the first place.

As an investigative reporter, I thought that if I would publicly expose some grave injustice, people would rise up and do something about it.

Then I learned that, if it’s not in their back yard or has any impact on their lives, people care more about their favorite sports team, game show or pet rabbit, than about the hungry and the homeless.

Did you hear who got voted off on “Dancing with the Stars” last night?

In intimate relationships, I tried to influence significant others by withholding love and affection if they didn’t change into the people I needed them to be. In the process, I ended up ruining relationships instead of rescuing them.

As a voice talent, I think I’m still trying to make people hire me. Just listen to my demo. Go to my website. Read my blog. I’m brilliant. Don’t you see that?

No they don’t.

They just hire someone cheaper, younger, older, sexier or Jeff Bridges.

But don’t worry. When things don’t work out, you and I can always go to our social media friends and cry out loud that life’s unfair. Why is it so hard to get hired? Why don’t people do what we want them to do? It would be so much easier!

Now listen up, and listen carefully.

This desire for control has nothing to do with others.

It’s all about You and it’s mostly based on fear.

The fear of losing something you never had in the first place.

The thing is: people rarely do things for your reasons.

They do things for their reasons.

Altruism has left the building a long time ago.

Most people have a hard time controlling themselves, let alone others.

If self-control were that easy, very few people would smoke; all of us would maintain the perfect weight and prisons would be empty.

The idea that you can control all aspects of your career is based on the myth of magical thinking. It’s not some silver spoon you can bend at will. You don’t hold all the cards. Perhaps you only hold the Joker.

Yes, you can set the stage, learn your lines and lessons and strive to be the best you can be. But you can’t force feed your target markets, especially if you don’t know what they’re hungry for.

You can be the most succulent steak ever, but if your client’s a vegetarian, he won’t bite. Of course you didn’t know that, because you never cared to be curious. All you did was give this client reasons why he should pick you.

YOUR reasons.

Oops! 

If you really want to move your career forward, you need to give up your need for control and your urge to make it about you. Especially when your product happens to be…. you.

Stop pushing and start listening.

Don’t offer a solution before you know what the problem is.

Don’t try to brainwash your prospects with an email blast or by singing your own praises again and again and again. You worked on that nice looking newsletter for hours, and within a matter of seconds it ends up in the trash can of a computer.

Unread.

You have to turn your monologue into a dialogue.

Invest in building a relationship first. People ain’t buying if they don’t trust you. And they won’t trust you if they don’t know you.

The best way to show them what you’re all about, is by putting them first. Believe me, once they get that, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to tell your story.

So, is traditional marketing as dead as a Dodo?

“Brains on Fire” is a book and a blog about word of mouth marketing. The authors quote a revealing study by Copernicus Marketing Consulting and Research. According to Copernicus, the average ROI of TV advertising campaigns is 1 to 4 percent.

The Brains on Fire team also cites a 2009 Yankelovich Study. 76 percent of people believe that companies lie in ads, and people’s trust that businesses will do the right thing has dropped from 58 percent in 2008 to a dismal 38 percent in 2009 (2009 Edelman Trust Barometer).

Would you become a buyer from a liar?

Meanwhile, Uri Geller no longer seems to tell the world his mind triumphs over matter. In the November 2007 issue of the magazine Magische Welt (Magic World) Geller said:

“I’ll no longer say that I have supernatural powers. I am an entertainer. I want to do a good show. My entire character has changed.”

His critics have replicated some of his tricks by e.g. creating the illusion of spoon bending, using misdirection, another term for distracting the audience.

And in case you’re wondering, my old watch never started ticking during Geller’s television appearance. It just needed a new battery. Not a psychic.

As I grew older, I realized a few things.

Living is learning.

I can’t change others. I can only change myself.

If I don’t like the way the wind is blowing, I can always adjust my sails.

It’s okay to be out of control. Control is an illusion. I can plan. I can practice. I can participate and I can even ignite a spark.

Whatever happens next is one of life’s delightful and mind bending mysteries.

It’s not linear. It’s not logical and it’s certainly not playing by our rules.

It just is.

People still ask me:

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

These days I answer:

“I want to be a good person.

A helper.

Caring, kind and maybe a bit crazy.

Your spoons are safe!”

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS Be sweet. Please Retweet!

Technorati Tags: Brains on Fire, career management, control your career, Copernicus Marketing Consulting and Research, Dutch voiceover, marketing, mind over matter, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, psychokenesis, Uri Geller, Yankelovich

Should every (freelance) business have a blog? 

How do you become a successful blogger?

What should you write about? 

How much time does it take? 

Can blogging really increase business? 

Many readers have asked me these questions. That’s why I have written a 33-page guide to blogging.

I’ll take you behind the scenes of Double Dutch, to share my  very best blogging secrets with you.

Download your copy at Scribd.com today.

Part of the proceeds will go to www.kiva.org, changing the world, one micro-loan at a time!

You can preview and buy the guide on Scribd. International readers can purchase a download of this guide for $3.49 using this PayPal-link. Once your payment clears you will receive the PDF-file via email.

Happy blogging!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

Be sweet: please retweet!

Technorati Tags: blogging secrets, blogging tips, boosting business with a blog, content marketing, Dutch voiceover, Paul Strikwerda, search engine optimization, SEO, should every business have a blog, Social Media, twitter, voice-over, voiceover, voiceovers, writing a successful blog

Some have called him the greatest performer of spoken word of our time. His videos have brought YouTube viewers to tears. His powerful performances turned comic book addicts into poetry lovers.

In 2000, he won the individual championship at the National Poetry Slam in Providence, Rhode Island – beating 250 North American competitors. In doing so, he became the first-ever winner from outside the U.S.

His first published collection, Visiting Hours, was the only work of poetry selected by the Guardian, Globe and Mail newspapers, for their Best Books of the Year lists in 2005.

And yet, most people have never heard of him.

OLYMPIC MOMENT
All of that changed when Shane Koyczan recited his poem “We Are More” at the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia. The man who was born in the obscure town of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories, wowed the world with his words.

Most footage of that performance is of very poor quality because the Olympic Committee regulates the rights to the original broadcast and we’re stuck with amateur video.

Here’s an extended and animated version of “We Are More”.

The reason I’m writing about Shane today can be summarized in one word:

INSPIRATION

Most days I wake up on the right side of the bed and everything just flows. Some days I feel stuck in a rut and I catch myself doing the same things I’ve always done, hoping to get a different result. It never works, does it?

To some, living life on cruise control might be the ultimate goal, but as soon as I find out that my brain has secretly switched on the autopilot, I tell it to turn it off and start doing some stretching exercises.

A big part of me has this inner urge to always learn and grow and expand what I am capable of. In order to do that, I need to be challenged beyond my boundaries. It’s the best way to escape my cozy comfort zone. But where to go? Whom can I turn to?

I am always on the lookout to emulate excellence. If I want to be the best, I have to learn from the best. That might sound straightforward to you, but in our culture that is not necessarily the predominant philosophy.

ROLE MODELS
I never understood why medical researchers seem to spend more time studying illness instead of learning about wellness. During their training, doctors-to-be poke around in dead bodies, supposedly learning the secrets to saving the living. They spend most of their time around the sick and the dying, and some of them eventually become specialists in a particular disease.

The study of the dysfunctional is the norm, but it doesn’t have to be.

In certain schools of Oriental medicine, doctors get paid to keep the people in their care healthy. Their focus is much more on preventing the root cause of a problem, rather than on treating or alleviating symptoms. Instead of trying to find a cure for diabetes, they are teaching their “patients” about a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.

It is a well-known fact that Western doctors have more problems with drugs and alcohol, and a higher suicide rate than their patients. (source) Most Oriental healers practice what they preach and keep on practicing well into their senior years. In their culture, the wisdom that comes with age is held in high regard, instead of hidden in underfunded assisted living facilities.

FINDING FAULT
Like doctors, many professionals are trained to spend most of their time on sick systems, tracking and analyzing problems. Psycho-analysts come to mind, as well as lawyers, economists and -dare I say it- politicians. We have become masters at focusing on what’s wrong and finding someone or something to blame.

“Fast food and soda made me fat. I didn’t do it! Pepsi won.”

What would have happened after 9/11, had we invested just as much money and brain power into building bridges between people, cultures and religions, as we have invested in beefing up homeland security? Or have we ignored the causes while we were busy trying to treat the symptoms?

Why not focus on creating beauty and cultivating friendships, as we fortify our nation to prevent more death and destruction? How can we sow the seeds of peace and understanding if we spend all our money and manpower building more barriers and pave over our gardens with concrete to protect us? Is that a sign of desperation or of inspiration?

I admit it: I have my dark days. When I look for inspiration and the essence of excellence, I sometimes turn to poetry and to my favorite poet: Shane Koyczan. He’s called a spoken word virtuoso for a reason.

As a professional speaker, I admire the way he hammers his words in with heart and with soul. They almost burn into my brain. I’d love to emulate his mastery of language and moving delivery. His artistry is the challenge I am looking for. His depth is what I aspire to.

Shane speaks to me in a way few other people do. One moment he seems to tenderly touch his words with velvet gloves, only to start building a tremendous crescendo of ideas and similes and associations my mind tries to process intellectually but cannot, until what’s left is an overwhelming feeling of intense exaltation.

It’s almost a hypnotic induction.

A great example of his style is the poem “Beethoven”. Even though the quality of the recording leaves a bit to be desired for, it is a monumental performance.

Shane Koyczan still performs his work for sold out houses, but he has done something else. He created a new genre called Talk Rock with his band the Short Story Long. His unique mix of song and verse won him the “Best New Artist” award at the BC Interior Music Awards in 2009.

Even though the poetry corner at my bookstore seems to be shrinking day by day, the spoken word is alive and kicking in Canada. And I can’t help but wonder: what would happen if the world would feed itself with the art of poets, painters, dancers and musicians instead of with the language of hate, discrimination, intolerance, fanaticism and violence?

Why don’t we let the poets speak?

“Because there are times when the cost of truth is so high, we endure our own hearts to hearts break. We make love into a currency that can’t be cashed in, because there has never been a bank that will give out a loan based on the collateral of hope.”

Shane Koyczan

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

PS What inspires you? Who is your inspiration?

Technorati Tags: 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, Beethoven, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice, Dutch voiceover, finding inspiration, finding role models, National Poetry Slam, Nethervoice, novel Visiting Hours, Paul Strikwerda, Shane Coyczan, Shut Up and Say Something, spoken word virtuoso, Talk Rock, the essence of excellence, treating the symptoms, We Are More

“I will give you my personal prediction on what will implode first: Blogs containing information that serves no one but the writer, and his/her inner circle without fact-checking.”
Steven Lowell

The dust has finally settled.

Give it a few months, and last week’s discussion will rise out of the ashes and begin a new life somewhere else.

Same topic. Different voices, perhaps.

Steven’s remark about self-serving blogs and bloggers did make me think about my vision for Double Dutch. Believe it or not: I have one, and you can find it on the About & Contact page that no one ever reads. I know, because my analytics tell me exactly which pages attract most traffic. Here are the opening words:

DOUBLE DUTCH is a platform and playground for ideas, dialogue and discourse about things personal and professional related but not limited to voice-overs and freelancing.

That covers pretty much everything, doesn’t it? Now, let me also tell you what it is not.

This blog is not some grand podium built to glorify my personal accomplishments or to sell Mr. Strikwerda’s amazing pipes. Why would anyone want to read about that? Not me!

If you’re interested in the technical side of voiceovers, you have to look elsewhere too. Although I’m fascinated with the tools of the trade, I am not a gearhead or audio specialist. I don’t receive free products from companies, take them out of the box, dangle them in front of a camera and post it as a “review”.

It’s true, I did write a series about building my voice-over booth on a budget, but I did not seek or receive any compensation for mentioning products, manufacturers or stores.

This blog is not a source of fair and unbiased industry news either.

In essence, Double Dutch is nothing but a blog revolving around one man and his ideas and experiences, and a bunch of friends who like to chime in, every once in a while. If you’re looking for objective, investigative journalism, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Just like a lot of other stuff you’ll read online or in the papers, my articles are usually a mix of subjective opinion based on personal selection and interpretation of data. If you’d like to fact-check my sources, all you need to do is click on a few links, embedded in the articles.

Nobody has to agree with anything I write. My readers are intelligent enough to understand that it would be foolish to generalize my personal stories and turn them into an overall verdict on the issue at hand.

I don’t consider myself to be an authority or expert. My opinion is one of many, and one quick look at Bob Souer’s blog roll will tell you that I’m certainly not the only blogger in this voiceover town. Of course I’m tickled to see that some people seem to care about what I have to say, but that’s as far as it goes.

I strive to inform, I attempt to entertain and yes… I also like to rock the boat every once in a while. As a voiceover professional, it is my job to be outspoken. I don’t feel comfortable standing on the sidelines.

Unlike Steven Lowell, I am not a paid spokesperson for a company. I don’t pretend to proclaim and promote an objective, universal truth. This is my personal platform and I can be as passionate and opinionated as I want. I represent no one but myself.

So, why do I take a day out of every week to write this blog?

The short answer: Because I feel like it.

The moment it becomes just another chore, I will stop and take up billiards or Bingo.

Here’s another reason: I love to write and I think I have something to say that  -at times- is moderately insightful and interesting. At least, that’s what my readers keep on telling me.

As you may know, most of my stories start out as simple Notes to Self. The series about building a voice-over studio is a perfect example.

It took me many months before I was ready to start building my own studio. During that time, I had compiled a wealth of information and I thought it might be useful to share it with you. Now it’s available as a booklet and most of the proceeds go to a very good cause. Sharing is important to me.

Over the years, I have benefited so much from the kindness, knowledge and insights of friends and colleagues. I wouldn’t be where I am today, had it not been for their advice and encouragement. In a way, I am repaying my debt to them by publishing this blog.

Thanks to Double Dutch, I’ve also made countless new friends from all corners of this planet. Many of them won’t publicly comment on my articles, but each and every week they email me with questions and observations.

As far as the future goes, I’m branching out. Most of you already know that I write on all things international for Internet Voice Coach. I also conduct interviews with colleagues across the globe.

Recently, I started recording three-minute vignettes for the International Freelancers Academy on building your business. There’s also a book on the way.

I’m not telling you this to impress you. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn if you think this is impressive or not. The fact is, I love my work and I love writing about it.

As long as I still have music in me, I will continue to sing my songs.

And if people think it’s just a bunch of blah-blah, they’ll find other blogs to read, and Double Dutch will eventually implode.

Perhaps that wouldn’t be too bad.

It’s always better to end with a bang.

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

Technorati Tags: Bob Souer, Building a vocal booth on a budget, Double Dutch, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voiceover, international freelancers academy, Internet Voice Coach, Paul Strikwerda, Steven Lowell, voice-over, voiceover, voiceover blog, voiceovers

It all started with a short article on his company blog entitled:

“A Quick Guide To Selecting The Right Voice Talent”.

The author, Chris Johnson, is co-Founder of Simplifilm, a young company specializing in “Hollywood-style Explanation videos”. They’ll have to make a video to explain what that means, but Simplifilm says it uses animation and storytelling to demo software applications.

This does not come cheap. Back in July, the company was running a “Grand Opening Sale” offering “3 minutes of broadcast quality demo movie work for $20,000. That’s 40% off the going rate.” You do the math.

Before he became a filmmaker, Chris was Finance Director at Robert Owens for Ohio Attorney General 2008, and he worked as a loan specialist at First Ohio Home Finance.

Thanks to his financial background, Chris seems to know the value of a voiceover, and he’s not basing it on anecdotal evidence. This is how he starts his blog:

“Did you know that the right voice can make a 35% difference in conversion rate? We replaced a voice track in a video – and made no other changes, and the conversion rate went from 2.5% to 3.8% on cold traffic. (Cold traffic is people that are mostly strangers that are coming in via search engines and social media).”

I’m not sure how “2.5% to 3.8% on cold traffic” leads to a “35% percent difference,” but Johnson is definitely on to something.

VOICEOVER CONVERSION
This is not the first time a video company noticed a correlation between the choice of voice and website conversion.

The conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors taking a desired action. It often refers to the number of shoppers turning into buyers. Depending on the size of a company, even a small increase in conversion could mean a significant rise in profits.

San Diego-based Fireclick monitors conversion rates. If you want to get a better idea of industry averages, the Fireclick index will provide some insight.

For software, it averages about 2% per year, with a cart abandonment rate of 75%. That means that three quarters of online software shoppers never become buyers! Could selecting the right voice really change that?

In 2009, Ginger software asked video optimization firm EyeView to develop an introductory video for their homepage to increase the number of visitors that would actually download their software.

EyeView ran a test: 50% of the global audience saw the video with a British voice-over, and 50% saw it with an American voice. Globally, the British voice-over was 4% more effective. For US audiences, the conversion rate for the British accent was 5.5% higher than the American one.

Eyeview:

“The Brits didn’t have it all their own way. In India, the American accent was 12% more effective at converting visitors. But the most surprising statistic of all came when we looked at the comparative performance of the two accents in the UK.

For audiences watching the video in the UK, the voiceover with the American accent was 8% more effective at making visitors download Ginger’s software than the British accent, representing a significant swing away from the global trend.”

Simplifilm’s Chris Johnson confirms:

“The right voice is key to converting video watchers into new customers. When you get the right voice, it breathes life into your video productions, and you should take the time it takes to select and respect your voice talent.”

Please remember that, next time you’re tempted to low-ball yet another voiceover project!

With voice talent having such a tremendous impact on conversion, how much does Simplifilm pay per production? Bear in mind that they charge about $33,000 for a 3-minute video. Johnson:

“Generally, productions are around a couple hundred dollars. We’re not going to lord over them or dangle money like some jerk, we want to do business, be respectful and move on.”

FINDING THE PERFECT PIPES
Now, wouldn’t it be interesting to know where Chris finds the right voices? According to his article, two talents work for him on a regular basis and he tells his readers:

“If -for some reason – you need to find someone outside of your network (…) you can start with Voice123.”

Voice Coach and talent Mark Avery read the blog and responded:

“Unfortunately, many producers and end-users of voice talent have gone to the “discount superstore” mentality of hiring voices for their projects, and the results often show themselves in low conversion rates.”

Of course I had to put my two cents in. Thinking back to my interview with Bodalgo’s Armin Hierstetter, I wrote:

“Chris, most online voice casting services will accept anyone with a credit card, talent not required. It’s not unusual for voice-seekers to receive over 100 auditions for a simple project. Imagine how long it will take you to listen to all these mediocre submissions…”

These turned out to be prophetic words. That same week, Chris joined the Voice Over Professionals group on LinkedIn, and this is how he introduced himself:

“Howdy, guys, I’m new to the group. I’m a production company doing software stories. We’re looking for a stable of 4-6 males and 4-6 females for future work.”

OPEN THE FLOODGATES
You can imagine what happened next. I’ll let Chris tell the story:

“So, when I asked for submissions here – and other places – they started trickling in. Then the floodgates opened.

Last count was 400+ and I have seen no slowdown… both here, from another couple of sources.
I’m surprised because I (hopefully) didn’t represent myself as being too “giant.” I caused 400+ auditions for what will amount to $5,000 or so in fees annually – at most.

Now, how do I read through ‘em all? I put everyone in a spreadsheet, but what’s next? How do I sort people out? I need say 8 voices. If I take 5 minutes per x 500 voices, that’s 2500 minutes.

Or 42 hours JUST listening to voices. I’m not doing that.”

At this point I started to jump for joy, thanking Simplifilm’s founder for the perfect example. This is exactly why most Pay to Plays will eventually implode. Do you get my drift?

Some of my clients have worked with voice casting sites for a while, and they’re starting to realize how expensive “going cheap” can be. Think about it!

How long does it take to find a quality needle in a huge haystack made of scrap metal?

Let’s look at the numbers.

Of course it’s unusual to get 500 auditions for one job, so why not assume that Chris Johnson has to weed through (only!) 100 demos. If he spends 5 minutes on each talent (as he just wrote), this will still take him eight and a half hours!

Imagine being in Chris’s shoes. Should he hire someone to do the dirty work for him and weed through hours and hours of audio? That person needs to be paid too.

If Chris is lucky, his hired help might find the perfect voice among the first 20 contenders. However, my clients concur with Armin Hierstetter that the overall level of entries is usually way below the mark. They’re forced to listen to a deluge of demos before they finally spot the right voice at the right price. What an expensive way to find cheap talent!

Critics might say that I am exaggerating the situation just to make a point. Voice seekers don’t listen to that many demos. Or do they?

In their Client Experience Report Winter 2011, Voices.com states:

“(…) it often surprises talent that the majority of clients review all their auditions. I say majority as that includes those who reviewed “all of the auditions” (45%) plus those who reviewed “50-100 auditions” (8%).”

A while ago I noticed that so many voices.com projects were still listed as open after many, many months. Could one of the reasons be that the client simply gave up after listening to 30 mediocre auditions?

Fortunately, there is an easy solution.

Some of my clients find it much more cost-effective and less time-consuming to hand their project to an agent and let him or her select four or five voices that can all deliver the goods. Clients might end up paying union rates and agent fees, but in the end they’re saving time, trouble and money.

Bye-bye Pay to Play, and thanks for the memories!

THE BABBLE BUBBLE
Online casting services have grown exponentially in the past five years. Fast growing companies often fall victim to their own success. Quality and customer service are compromised and sacrificed in favor of rapid expansion as they’re chasing after the big bucks.

It is no secret that more and more (pseudo)voice actors are joining Pay to Plays. That means that more dogs are fighting over the same bare bones. The chances of landing a decent job at a decent rate decline rapidly.

Here’s my prediction. At some point in the near future, there is no point in joining such a service anymore. It’s not worth it.

Saturation leads to annihilation. Bubbles burst. Cheaply made balloons will pop first.

What’s left is just hot air.

Try fitting that in a 3-minute video demo!

Chris Johnson, here’s a word to the wise:

If you need new talent, call an agent.

Don’t ask for any names of agencies, though.

You might get a list of … about 500!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011
www.nethervoice.com

Technorati Tags: Armin Hierstetter, Bodalgo, Chris Johnson, conversion rate, Double Dutch, Double Dutch Blog, Dutch voice actor, explanation videos, EyeView, Fireclick, Fireclick index, Ginger Software, LinkedIn, Mark Avery, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, Pay to Plays, Pay-to-Play, Simplifilm, voice over professionals, voice-over, voice123.com, voiceover, voiceover agent, voices.com, voices.com client experience report

“I’m being offered $200 to record a 120-thousand word audio book. Do you think that’s a fair rate?”

“A client wants me to voice a movie trailer for $150. Should I do it?”

Not a day goes by without someone asking these types of questions on Facebook, LinkedIn and now on Google+ (the latest way to go around in circles).

Sometimes I stick my neck out and I respond to these questions; especially when I get sentimental and remember the early days of my career.

I was young and unafraid and incredibly ignorant. Back then there was no Internet. Picking brains became my specialty.

On other days I’m not so sappy, as I remember the kind words of my business coach:

“If you’re a Pro, you know what you’re worth. If you’re not, go do you your own homework! You won’t learn a thing if I hand you everything on a silver platter.”

He was right.

These days, getting info has never been easier. Search Google for voiceover rates. You’ll get about 1,370,000 results in 0.15 seconds. How’s that for starters?

MONEY TALKS
Bringing up rates usually spells trouble. Talent likes them to go up; clients love paying less. Where to begin?

The Freemarketeers will tell you to leave everything up to the unregulated forces of supply and demand. After all, it worked well for subprime mortgages, didn’t it? The Interventionists fear a free fall for all. They want rates to be regulated.

Unfortunately, it’s not that black-and-white. Voice-Over rates reflect many variables, and -unless you belong to a union or you have an agent- it can be tough to put a price on your pipes.

Enter a parade of Pay to Plays. You pay for the privilege of being offered the opportunity to audition and bid for projects (together with thousands of other privileged colleagues). Here’s the catch.

As a member, you often have to subject yourself to an agreed price range per project deemed reasonable by that site. Whether or not you choose to accept that range depends on your personal Price Floor.

A Price Floor is a point below which a product or service should not be sold, or else you’d incur a loss. I bet you anything that most people reading these words right now, have no clue what their price floor actually is.

Be honest. Do you?

A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
If you’ve visited my blog before, you know that I have written about U.S.-based voice casting sites and their perceived influence on dwindling voice-over rates.

On January 8th, 2008, a new player entered the market: Bodalgo. Based in Germany, Bodalgo is the brain child of a man who once had a very boring job as the deputy editor of Penthouse: Armin Hierstetter.

Armin’s no dummy.

He studied the existing P2P’s carefully, as he set out to take the good and improve the bad to create something beautiful. Unlike similar sites, Bodalgo is available in German, Spanish, Italian and English (American and British).

Now, if you think that you can buy your way into Bodalgo, you are wrong. No matter the credit limit on your Visa Card, if you sound like crap, you can’t join the club.

Bodalgo caters to clients from all over the world, but because it’s based in Bavaria, it’s a gateway to the European voice-over market. This brings me back to rates. How does Bodalgo compare to its American counterparts?

I (PS) decided to check in with the boss: Armin Hierstetter (AH). Here’s a transcript of the interview:

PS I just saw a project posted on your site in the 100-250 USD range. It made me think: Is Bodalgo going in the direction of its American counterparts, or did I miss something? Has $100 always been the minimum?

AH In USD the minimum range starts at 100 dollars (the Euro has a 50 to 150 minimum range as – for example – a local radio spot in Germany is usually 50 to 55 Euro).

If jobs are posted that are budgeted too low (intentionally or not), Bodalgo contacts the voice-seeker suggesting what we believe is a fair rate. Sometimes the voice-seeker sees our point and is willing to raise the budget, sometimes not. If the voice-seeker does not agree on increasing the budget, the job simply does not get posted. Period.

Of course, we hear many times:

“What? You want me to pay 250 USD for a job that is done in five minutes? You must be insane, you [censored]“

Well, depending on my mood, I sometimes try to explain why voiceovers cost what they cost (knowing that with these types of folks it really does not help at all in most cases), or I simply press the delete button and go on with whatever I am doing.

PS Bodalgo’s been in business for a few years now. What’s your overall take on how voice-over rates are established and where they are going?

AH There are many factors when it comes to rates. Here are few of them (this is by no means meant to be a complete list):

Your voice:

1. Experience
2. Skills
3. Uniqueness (most important if you ask me)

Your studio:

1. Equipment
2. Recording skills

Other factors:

1. Currencies
2. Inflation

I see a link between equipment becoming more powerful yet more affordable, and declining voice-over rates. Let me share three trends with you:

1. The costs for your own studio are coming down, so you can make this beneficial for your clients as well;

2. Because many talents build their own studios, there is much more competition which also leads to lower prices. That’s how the market works.

PS Sorry to interrupt, but clients are saving money due to the increase in home studios. No longer do they need to pay for studio time, an audio engineer/editor and a director.

It is my impression that these savings are simply pocketed and not passed on to the voice talent. In the end, we end up doing more for less. Shouldn’t this give us some leverage to raise our rates?

AH I fully understand that voice-seekers already save a lot of money because they’re used to getting the finished audio from the talent without paying for a studio.

I want to be honest with you. I really think that’s one of the biggest mistakes talents have made for a very long time: They did not charge properly for the studio work, only for the rate as a talent. It will be VERY difficult to change this to an approach where talent charges their normal rate plus editing costs;

3. More and more people of the type “My friends all tell me I should host a radio show,” buy a Shure SM58 microphone and think that their laptop recording is god’s gift to the audio world. Untrained amateurs seem to flood the market.

What’s worse, there are many voice-seekers out there that listen to crap demos thinking they are actually good, because they don’t have a proper recording at hand to compare.

But one thing is for sure: Bodalgo will never start to accept amateurs. Yes, there are a few talents with Bodalgo that have just slipped through the net that might not have passed if I had been pickier the day I activated their accounts. Still, the level of Bodalgo’s talent is much, much, much higher than with any other Pay2Play site that we’ve come across.

PS What’s your advice on how to best play the game? Everybody loves to win an audition, but not at any rate. Do you expect voice-over rates to go up any time soon?

AH If you ask me, the reasons why rates should go up are purely to be seen in costs of living. If those prices would be stable, I’d say it’s fair to assume that our rates would stay stable as well.

With financial markets facing the issues they face at the moment, including all the effects like higher inflation, increased costs for energy, food, rent etcetera, I think that we’ll see rates rising over the next years to cover the rising living expenses.

PS Inflation correction keeps rates at the same level. Talent won’t be making more just because the number on a check is higher. If we wish to increase the amount of money coming in, we need to compensate for the rise in the cost of living, and add e.g. 10% to whatever we’re charging.

AH Well, U.S.-based talent benefits from the weak dollar when paid in Euros by Euro-Zone clients. The opposite is true for Euro-Zone-Talent paid in USD. U.S. clients will not accept higher USD prices just because of exchange rates. It’s really just bad luck for us Euro-Talents. And – if you ask me – the U.S.-Dollar will become much weaker over the next months and years (but that’s a different topic).

So, to cut a long story short: Yes, I see higher rates over the next years. But this is only because everything else will go up in price as well.

PS So, how can we best prepare for the tough years that are ahead of us?

AH 1. If you have not done so already, invest in your own studio.

2. Buy the good stuff (like Neumann or Brauner for mics, for example) as it will serve you well many, many years. Personally, I would no longer waste money on analog equipment. I would solely buy digital stuff (like the TLM 103 D from Neumann).

PS Quality equipment is essential, but owning a state of the art camera does not make one a top-notch photographer.

AH I do appreciate that a cool mic does not make a great voice talent, but this is not where I am coming from at all. I am just a firm believer that successful talent simply needs both: A well-trained voice and great equipment to deliver high-quality audio. There are too many Samsung USB mics out there in my opinion.

I know, of course, that those top shelf brands are pricey. But when you look at what you (and your client) get for the money – it turns out to be an excellent investment.

3. LEARN HOW TO RECORD PROPERLY!!! It’s really, really, really (I mean it) horrible to hear how bad, bad, bad many of the auditions are recorded (hiss, bad miking, bad levelling, bad everything). Use proper headphones to proof-listen your recordings and be super critical about the work you deliver. [Armin insisted this should be printed in bold]

PS Can Bodalgo keep both voice-seekers and voice talent equally happy, or is that impossible?

AH That’s easy: Our main goal is to attract more and more voice-seekers that post sanely budgeted jobs. We want to provide them with the easiest solution available to find high-quality talent without paying any commission. That way, both sides will win.

PS Herzlichen Dank, Armin.

You can reach Armin at armin@bodalgo.com. He is planning to do regular screen casts/vlogs in German and in English, and pass on his take on topics relevant to voice talent.

Paul Strikwerda © 2011
www.nethervoice.com

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