Double Dutch

“If a picture’s worth a thousand words, why didn’t I become a photographer instead of a voice-over?”

That was typical Bill. No “Hello” or “How are you”. Bill always comes in with some kind of wisecrack.

“Why do you look so happy?” I asked. “Just watching you makes me miserable.”

“I think I nailed that last audition, man. I totally rocked the house,” Bill said, beaming from ear to ear. “I even added some special effects.” He made the sound of an airplane on the runway. I was utterly confused.

Bill is no Shallow Hal. Bill is deep. A while ago, I nicknamed him ‘Bill the Boomer’ because of his powerful pipes. Most mics aren’t made to handle Bill’s almighty ‘basso profundo’. Most of his clients aren’t either.

Do you want to know something remarkable? I don’t think Bill really has a voice. It’s more of an instrument. His vocal cords could be a terrible weapon in the hands of the wrong people. If LaFontaine was the ‘Voice of God’, Bill had to be the incarnation of Beelzebub. Well… sort of.

Bill and I go way back. This is what you should know about him:

He has a heart the size of Texas and New Mexico combined.

Bill has ambition.

Bill has talent.

And… Bill has no social filter for his thoughts. He doesn’t listen and just spits out words. Unminced. He is always heading for some kind of impulsive disaster.

I have told him many times: “Bite your tongue Bill, or otherwise you’ll get in trouble.”

He always gives me the same answer: “I can’t bite my tongue. I’m a voice-over. I’d be out of commission for weeks. Besides, you know me: I’m spontaneous.”

“There is a subtle difference between being spontaneous and being obnoxious, Bill,” I explained. “And you can be both.”

One day, I overheard him as he was talking to his agent on his brand new Droid. I could tell he was not amused:

“If they want me to use my money voice, they should pay me a decent rate! Give me a break. And if they don’t like it, tell ‘em that they’re free to shop at voices one-two-three or whatever. There they’ll find plenty of people who’d do this job for a piece of paper with Benjamin Franklin’s face on it.”

“They’ll do it for less, Bill,” I said. “I just found this website called Fiverr dot com . It’s advertised as ‘The place for people to share things they’re willing to do for five bucks’.

Guess what? I found someone to replace you! His listing reads as follows:

“For $5 you’ll get me speaking and recording your script no matter what it is! English man with a clear accent. Check out my voice here.”

“You must be kidding me,” said Bill. “I wonder what else people are offering for a fiver?”

“That’s a scary thought, Bill. Don’t even go there.”

Instead, I read a few other listings to him:

• I will design a Professional Logo for any porpuse for $5 (that’s how it was written)
• I will help you with setting up your own studio for $5
• I will write any article of any length for $5

“Seriously, last time I checked, there were at least 1600 pages of these ads and each page has seventeen listings. Perhaps we should have become professional photographers after all. Look at this… I can’t compete with this guy. He writes:

I will create 30 second voice overs if you provide the script. I will allow retakes until you are satisfied. Voice over professional with over 20 years experience.

A week later Bill asked me over for some energy drinks.

“What’s the deal with that audition you were so proud of? Did you get the gig?” I wanted to know.

“Funny you should ask,” said Bill. “I need to talk to you about that. I want an honest opinion. You see, I thought I nailed it, and this morning the producer called me for something else. He also told me that everybody in the office had had a good laugh when they listened to my demo.

They ended up offering the part to that guy who used to do these Geico commercials. He suddenly became available. Can you believe that?”

“No,” I said. “I can’t believe that.

Nobody likes being rejected, my friend. Were you at least graceful in defeat?”

“Well….” said Bill. “I think I might have hit a bit of a snag in that department. You know me and my blabbermouth. I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Bill, tell me, what did you say to that producer when he told you that you didn’t get the part? You know you can be very rude, dude.”

Bill took a deep breath.

“I didn’t really mean it,” he said.

“Didn’t mean what, Bill?”

“I told this fellow that he wasn’t making any sense and… that I thought he was so gay that he couldn’t even think straight.”

“Oh… come on, man,” I said. “You should have known better than that. That was way off base. Some of my best friends are producers, and they would have wrung you out and hung you up to dry.

Listen to me, Bill. If you ever want to have a long career in this industry, begin by thinking before you open that money making mouth of yours. And I’ll tell you something else: you better start embracing your inner rainbow! You’re in show business.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Do you want me to start liking Liza Minelli?” asked Bill, as he took a sip from his Gatorade. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Can you be serious for a moment?” I asked. “You and I know that some of the best jobs don’t necessarily go to the best people. Why do you think that is?”

Before he could answer, I continued:

“Some people know how to schmooze, my friend. They know not to bite the hand that feeds them. They know that if that powerful producer says something that is even remotely funny, they are expected to laugh like Pavlov’s dog.”

“I didn’t know dogs could laugh,” said Bill.

“For Pete’s sake, Bill,” I tried. “How can I ever get through to you? This isn’t funny. Show some respect. Call that producer now and apologize. It’s about time you learn the art of flattery, my friend. These guys can make or break your career, so you better start sucking up to them. If you don’t, you’ll end up burning all those bridges that you haven’t even built yet. Capisce?”

“Point taken. I apperciate the advice,” said Bill, pretending to sound like George W. Bush. “But I still think they should have given me that job. I’m telling you: my audition was funny and flawless, but this producer said that I’d completely missed the mark.”

“Alright, mister president,” I responded. “Let’s play that demo before you call him back and eat some humble pie.”

I have to admit that Bill’s audition was weird. It seemed like it had been recorded in the cockpit of an airplane. He’d been right about these special effects. He also sounded happy but in a forced way, when he said:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now flying at an altitude of 5000 feet and the skies are clear. Why don’t you sit back, relax and enjoy our complementary peanuts. Organic peanuts from Greener Pastures. Green never tasted better.”

“And…?” asked Bill expectantly. “You’re a straight shooter. Give it to me.”

“Bill, I have to be totally honest with you. What on earth were you thinking? This demo doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” I said. “You’re nuts.”

“That’s exactly what the producer told me,” said Bill. He even asked me:

“Why did you spoof Leslie Nielsen in ‘Airplane!’ instead of coming up with some kind of silly character voice?”

“And what did you tell him?” I asked.

“I told him that I just followed the instructions that came with the script,” said Bill.

“What instructions are you talking about, Bill?”

“It read:

This is for an animated pilot.

How was I supposed to know they meant a cartoon?”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS Stay in touch with Double Dutch and subscribe today! Thanks for retweeting!

PPS What do you think of Fiverr.com?

RECESSION DEPRESSION… I don’t think it has made it into the DSM-IV yet (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Give it some time and the American Psychiatric Association might include it in the next edition (together with Orthorexia nervosa, a harmful obsession with health foods).

If your plate or glass always appears to be half empty, it’s tempting to feel hopeless and helpless about the current state of the nation. Of course your freelance career is down in the dumps. It’s the economy, stupid! It has nothing to do with you.

Here’s the thing: if it has nothing to do with you, it means that you can’t turn it around. You’re a victim of circumstance. Now go to your doctor and ask for a happy-pill. You might be depressed, but the least you can do is feel good about it.

SUBJECTIVE REALITY
Remember that no matter where you look, you’ll always find a way to filter your perception of reality to justify your outlook on the world. If you feel that this time of economic crisis is limiting your chances of landing freelance jobs, you’re right. If you feel that the current recession is creating brand new freelance opportunities, you’re right! What you focus on most, is most likely to materialize. That’s the idea behind the self-fulfilling prophecy.

As a blogging freelancer, I get a lot of emails from colleagues who want to pick my brain. Here’s the number one question people ask me:

How do you beat the recession?

My first inclination is to ask them “What recession?” but that would be insensitive. Of course I know that millions of people are scrambling to get by. I used to be one of them. But feeling overpowered and helpless about it, is not going to pull you out of your slump. If you’re giving in and giving up, it’s game over. But that would be too easy. I think you deserve better.

INSIDE INFORMATION
At the risk of sounding like a self-help guru, I do believe that one way to beat this recession is by working from the inside-out. Before you do anything, I recommend you look at the way you are perceiving yourself right now.

In Holland we have a saying:  “Als je voor een dubbeltje geboren bent, word je nooit een kwartje.” Or in plain English: “If you were born a dime, you’ll never become a quarter.” It’s another way of saying: You need to know your place (and stay there). Well, if that’s really how you feel, what impact does this have on the choices you make?

If you’re applying for a job, and deep-down inside you’re telling yourself  “I don’t deserve this” or “I’ll never make it,” aren’t you setting yourself up for failure?

Other people grow up believing: “I can do anything I set my mind to” or “No matter what happens, I’ll always find a solution.” How do you think this impacts the way they lead their lives?

CONVENIENT ASSUMPTIONS
Here’s the remarkable thing about beliefs: it doesn’t matter whether they’re true or not. Yet, beliefs are a powerful driving force behind behavior. Beliefs can give us hope, strength and courage, or they can fence us in and bring us down. A belief is not some innocent abstract concept without consequences. Some people are prepared to kill and die in the name of whatever they believe in. Americans wouldn’t be celebrating the Fourth of July, if it weren’t for a set  of certain powerful beliefs!

Proponents of mind-body medicine like Bernie Siegel, M.D., are convinced that our beliefs can heal or harm our body, and that our state of mind has a measurable impact on our immune system.

If you think that all of this is just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, realize that this too, is a belief. Beliefs don’t have to make sense. Beliefs don’t need to be scientifically sound. Beliefs give people a feeling of certainty. All that matters is whether or not a belief is plausible. The placebo effect is entirely based on this assumption.

SCIENCE-FICTION
Nevertheless, a group of medical students who firmly believed in a logical, analytical approach to medicine, wouldn’t have any of it. How could ordinary thoughts possibly influence biological functions and seemingly autonomous chemical-electrical responses? That’s just a bunch of New Age baloney!

One day, their professor walked in and said: “By a show of hands, how many of you believe that the mind is capable of influencing the body?” Not one single hand went up in the air. Mind over matter wasn’t science. It was science-fiction.

Then the professor started reading one of the more notorious passages from “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence. Soon his audience started to blush. At the end of a few quite explicit paragraphs, he looked up at his students and asked the same question again. “How many of you believe that the mind is capable of influencing the body?” This time, they all raised their hands.

So, let me share one of my empowering beliefs with you. It goes like this:

THERE’S NO ONE LIKE ME

I can already hear some people’s reaction:

“Well, duh… After all that build-up, is that the best you can do? Thank you Captain Obvious; superhero of platitudes! That’s not much of an eye-opener, is it? Of course there’s no one like you (and that’s probably a good thing).”

Well, once you get past the sarcasm and cynicism, consider the following.

Every day, thousands of people are waking up with a dream. Some want to become writers, news anchors or architects. Some want to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis or invent an environmentally-friendly way to clean up oil spills… or a way to clean up the companies who are responsible for this Brutal Pollution.

But by the time we enter our teens, most of us have learned that dreams are figments of the imagination and that in order to grow up, we must face “reality”. Isn’t it strange? We start out as this helpless but boundless human being filled with infinite possibilities (especially if you were lucky to be born in a country like The Netherlands or the United States).

Then the process of social conditioning and conforming sets in. If we wish to please our parents and other role-models, we better be compliant and allow ourselves to be conditioned in order to be worthy of their love, attention and affection. We learn to blend in and not to raise our voice. If we do well, we are rewarded. If we don’t fit the mould, we have to face the consequences. Heaven forbid that we should stand out from the crowd…

GO YANKEES
When my 8-year old daughter wanted to go to school in a Yankees-shirt while 98% of the kids were wearing Phillies-Jerseys, some parents thought I was nuts. Why would I expose my daughter to ridicule and make her stick out like a sore thumb? What kind of a parent does that?

Here’s the thing: my daughter didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy about the Phillies. She happened to root, root, root for the Yankees. And when she went to school, she soon found out that a few other kids were Yankees fans too. Yes, some classmates made fun of her and others ignored her. But she held her head up high and felt even stronger because she stood up for something she believed in. Months later, the Bronx Bombers defeated the Phillies to win the World Series.

What does that have to do with beating the recession? I’ll tell you! If you want to be self-employed but you don’t believe in yourself, you are sabotaging your success even before you’re out of the gate. You have to be comfortable with who you are and with what you have to offer (comfortable, not cocky). If you’re in the service industry, you are your product. If you’re producing a product, you will be identified with it. Whether you like it or not, you are your brand and you better embrace it.

RIDICULE AND MOCKERY
When I set out to become a full-time voice-over professional, I knew the odds were heavily against me. Some people said:

“Do you honestly believe that you’ll make it as an actor? Dream on! The restaurants of New York and LA are filled with thousands of hopeful waiters. All they do is wait and wait for an opportunity that never comes. These days, anyone with a mic and a laptop can claim to be the next Don LaFontaine. The market is saturated. The economy is bad. Why don’t you get a real job, my friend?”

Here’s why I didn’t: because I knew that there’s no one like me. Yes, there are tons of people who do what I do, but they don’t do it the way I do it. It’s just a matter of letting the rest of the world know what I have to offer.

Believe it or not, this process started less than twelve months ago. This time last year I had no ‘corporate identity’ and there was no company website or a blog. I didn’t own expensive equipment and I had no big shot agents ready to represent me. All I had was a bunch of excited neurons bouncing around in my brain.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I had a number of people who believed in me, and who were willing to lend me a very generous helping hand (Thank you Pam, Dick, Polly and Folkert!). But before they could believe in me, I had to believe in myself.

GETTING THERE
After less than a year I’m nowhere near where I want to be, and it would be arrogant to pretend otherwise. However, I am proud of what I have achieved so far. This blog is read by more people than I ever hoped for; Internet Voice Coach just posted my first tutorial, and the award-winning Florida Realtor Magazine now features an article I wrote about voice-overs and virtual home tours.

I am recording voice-overs in four languages for clients on all continents, and I couldn’t be happier that I proved my skeptics wrong. Now, this list of personal achievements is not  some vain attempt to show off. Rather, it’s my way of telling you what could happen if you refuse to give in to recession depression.

The skeptics will tell you “I will believe it when I see it”. I am telling you that you have to believe it before you will see it.

When Disney World opened its doors, Walt Disney was no longer alive. Before the opening ceremony, a reporter asked Walt’s brother Roy: “Don’t you think it’s a shame that Walt Disney isn’t here to see it all?” Roy answered:

“That’s not exactly true. Because Walt saw it, we are seeing it today!”

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What are some of the empowering beliefs that help you deal with the recession? Share them in the comment box below!

PPS My next article is all about freelance dilemmas:  is it better to be a generalist or a specialist?

No, I’m not going to tell you what it is just yet. Let me begin by asking you a simple question: Do words have power? When you think of it, aren’t they just letters in a certain order? Or are there words in our language that are so potent, that they have the potential to transform our life and our livelihood?

Now, before you think that I’ve gone all philosophical again instead of practical, just  STOP for a moment and think about it…

In the past few days I’ve asked some of my friends about words they feel have had (and still have) a profound impact on their professional lives. Here are some of the words they came up with:

As for me, the one word that has been my guiding light in the past 25 years as a freelancer, is neither grand nor deep. Yet, I believe it to be one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary. Without it, my career certainly wouldn’t be where it is today. It consists of two letters.

It is the word NO.

NO is the ultimate reflection of where I draw the line in life; the line between what I am willing to accept and what I must reject. Right now I can honestly say that I owe most of my success as an independent contractor to this word. It’s quite simple:

In order to give yourself a leg up, you sometimes have to put your foot down.

Today I am offering you seven suggestions for shaping your freelance career by using the power of what William Ury calls a “Positive No”.

1. SAY NO TO MOST FREELANCE JOBS
In this recession it seems that many freelancers function in survival mode and operate out of fear. They jump on every job opportunity that presents itself, because “you never know what tomorrow will bring”. They’re like a batsman who’s hitting at everything the pitcher’s throwing at him.

Although you might consider yourself to be a versatile voice-over pro, web designer or copywriter, even the famous Swiss Army knife has its limitations. It is humanly impossible to be everything to everyone. Like a batsman, you have to wait for the perfect moment where preparation meets opportunity, to hit that ball out of the park.

KNOW when to say NO. It’s early in the day as I am writing this article, but I’ve already said NO to at least fifteen jobs that didn’t meet my criteria. Why waste time applying for work I’m not totally qualified for?

I could get really ticked off by colleagues who subscribe to the “more is more strategy,” telling me: “It’s a numbers game. The more I try, the more chances I have to land a job.” Even though it might look that way sometimes, it is not a lottery. It is a business.

And why am I not ticked off? Well, we all have our life lessons to learn, and some people just prefer to learn things the hard way. And because they can’t…

2. SAY NO TO DIY
If you’re running your own business, it’s probably safe to say that you’re wearing many hats: CEO, CFO, COO, Head of HR, Advertising, Acquisition, Marketing, PR, IT, R & D, Quality Control, Social Media Manipulation… Are you tired yet? And guess who’s delivering the goods?

Just because you’re self-employed, doesn’t mean that you must do everything yourself. You shouldn’t, because you’ll burn out before you’ve even lit up the place.

KNOW your strengths. A realtor decided to shoot his own real estate video tours to save some money. As he was taking his shaky camera through a million dollar property, I could hear him do his own narration. The result was cheap, unprofessional and embarrassing. When he read my paper on video tours and voice-overs, he decided that he was not going to be the new host of House Hunters. Thank goodness for that!

So, here’s your assignment of the day. Ask yourself: What is the number one thing in my business that:

1. Is an essential part of my job
2. I’m not good at
3. I hate to do
4. Takes up way too much time

Now ask yourself two questions:

- How much more productive would I be, if I would outsource this to an expert?
- How much more profitable would I be, if I would outsource this work, especially if I…

3. SAY NO TO LOW RATES
In a society where most of us still equate value and quality with price, low rates are the trademark of an amateur. This strategy might bring you a few short term gains, but you’ll end up a long-term loser.

If you need nine more reasons why you shouldn’t sell yourself short, read my article: The secret to landing any freelance job.

KNOW the value of your work and the effect of your pricing on your bottom line and on your market. Then take the next step and…

4. SAY NO TO LOW STANDARDS
The Greek philosopher Mediocrates gave us the Law of Averages:

“Average standards lead to average results”

Look around you. Despite all the self-help hoopla that is sold as the “psychology of excellence,” the best most can hope for is mediocrity. Otherwise, “average” wouldn’t be the most common denominator and Walmart would have no customers.

KNOW that as an independent contractor you have the privilege of not having to live by other people’s rules. Look at your role models. Did they achieve success by following other people’s standards, or by setting their own? Become a non-conformist. Be utterly un-average and totally inimitable. Be younique and…

5. SAY NO TO BLAME
The Law of Causality deals with the relationship between an event and the consequence of that event. This interplay of Cause and Effect is reflected in our language as in: “My business isn’t doing so well because….”

We all know people who aren’t where they want to be in life, and they’re absolutely convinced that it is someone else’s fault. If only all the other people on this planet would change, they’d be so much happier! Those are the folks who blame the fast food industry for the obesity crisis and the tobacco industry for turning them into helpless, brainwashed chain smokers.

Blame makes people lame and seemingly dependent on things they have little or no control over. Mind you, I am not denying the devastating role some external circumstances can play in someone’s life. Neither am I trying to guilt-trip people for having been dealt some terrible cards.

I am talking about people who –rather than take responsibility for the things they have control over, expect others to fix them for them. Those are the people who’d rather complain about something than do something about it.

KNOW the difference between making things happen and letting things happen. It’s fine to subscribe to an on-line job search service. However, if you adopt a wait-and-see approach and blame the website when you’re not landing gigs within a week, you’re giving them way too much credit and you have effectively disempowered yourself.

I firmly believe that we’re not helpless leaves in the wind. I believe that we can harness the power of the wind and adjust our sails by the virtue of the choices we make. One of those choices we can make is to…

6. SAY NO TO UNCONTROLLED SPENDING
Why did the New York Times write that “one of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until her loans are paid off”?

The Times cited as one of the reasons, that Annie Leibovitz has had a “long history of less than careful financial dealings“.

In the ideal world, you always have a pipeline full of projects. In reality, work can come in waves. When you finally hit that freelance jackpot and you’re starting to make some serious money, nothing is more tempting than to go on a spending spree. After all, you deserve it, don’t you?

Yes, you totally deserve to reap the rewards of your labor, today, tomorrow…. and in a few months when that big project is done and the money is no more. It’s not fun to be brilliant but broke.

KNOW that when it rains it probably pours, and when it doesn’t, you must set money aside for… a rainy day. Your bills don’t care whether or not you were lucky to get a nice chunk of cash in June. There’s always July, August and -dare I mention it- the day you hope to retire.

The book “The Millionaire Next Door” is not about big spenders. It is about people like you and me who live well below their means. Those folks are likely to…

7. SAY NO TO TAKING INSTEAD OF GIVING
“What’s in it for me? I want it for free!” seems to be the mantra of the new millennium. This narrow focus on personal gain, often at the expense of others and our planet, is an egotistical and eco-destructive philosophy.

Yet, some self-styled entrepreneurs have made the following three words the cornerstone of their business: Gimme, gimme, gimme.

With the rise of social media, this new group of predators is all about ‘getting’ instead of ‘giving’. They want to befriend you in order to milk your network, so they can slam your contacts with overt or covert product- and self-promotion.

These vampires seldom contribute to a discussion, and when they do, it’s mainly to get their contact information in the comment field. They ask for referrals. They don’t give referrals. They want a sample of your work… and run away with it.

KNOW that the way to grow a freelance business is to become a contributor; by giving back. Over the years, countless people have given me their time and expertise free of charge, just because they wanted to help.

PAY IT FORWARD
The best way to honor the gifts they have given me, is by passing them on to someone else. That’s one of the reasons why I started this blog, and that’s why you might find me answering someone else’s questions on a networking site.

When you start paying it forward, amazing things will happen. Do you have time for three examples?

* A few months ago, Shelley Cryan, a brilliant freelance photographer and real estate videographer, asked for recommendations for a voice-over microphone on an on-line forum. I happened to read her request and gave her some suggestions. A few weeks later, Shelley asked me if I’d be interested in narrating one of her virtual home tours. I just completed my third narration for her.

* Earlier this year, master narrator John Pruden wrote an excellent article for VoiceoverXtra. After I had left a comment, John got in touch with me and we exchanged a few emails. Recently, he told me about an audio book project that might be a good fit because I’m a multi-linguist. He recommended me to the client and to cut a long story short: after an audition they offered me the job.

* In April, David Rosenthal -the enthusiastic driving force behind Internet Voice Coach- wrote me an email in which he told me how much he enjoyed my blog. Not so long ago he asked me if I would like to join his team of contributors at Internet Voice Coach as the “expert on all things international”. I couldn’t be happier!

Over the weekend, my IVC “department” opened its doors and it now features exclusive interviews with Bodalgo’s Armin Hierstetter and Arabic blogger/voice-over Mahmoud Taji (who recently published a free e-book called “The Modern Voiceoverist’s Guide to the Online Universe & Other Stories”).

I’m not telling you these things to impress you. I’m sharing these examples to impress upon you that wonderful and unexpected things can happen as a result of being attentive to opportunities to help and contribute.

TEST
One last thing. Should you choose to adopt these seven suggestions and become a no-sayer, expect to be tested! We live in a culture of YES and instant gratification. People don’t want to hear the word no. They’d rather cut off their no’s to spite their face. When they’re putting pressure on you to cave in, remember this:

The best students usually get the most challenging tests!

So, stick to the program and keep on saying “yes” to NO.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010
www.nethervoice.com

PS What are some of the things you have said NO to as a freelancer, and how has that worked out for you?

PPS What’s the number one question colleagues keep on asking me, and how do I answer it? Find out here!

She was a world famous news anchor. In Holland, that is. With a population of only 16 million, it’s easy to be a celeb in the lowlands. In fact, one in five individuals is probably (in)famous for something… You might have heard of André Rieu, Famke Janssen, Doutzen Kroes, Paul Verhoeven… all of them big fish who eventually escaped the small Dutch pond.

On this particular morning, our beloved news anchor showed up to make some money on the side. A local charity thought that the appearance of a TV-personality would please the crowds and bring in some much needed cash for a homeless shelter. I was there to see the limo arrive thirty minutes late. Strangely enough, I didn’t recognize the person stepping out of the town car. Dark glasses covered her sleepy eyes. Then I remembered that she had presented the late night news the day before. And without any make-up, she had suddenly aged about 25 years in 2 point 5 seconds.

As she was escorted onto the stage, the audience, made up in part of homeless people, got a good look at her pink Chanel outfit, Fendi handbag and high-end jewelry. Yes, it was clear that this woman was in desperate need of the extra cash she was about to make… Then again, I shouldn’t be so judgmental. Her vacation home had just been featured in one of the lifestyle magazines, and I’m sure the monthly mortgage payment was weighing heavily on her haute-coutured shoulders.

HERE IS YOUR HOST
All of this went through my mind, as I stepped up to the podium at a local synagogue to host a special concert. It was more than a concert, actually. It was an emotional reunion of two musical sisters. One of them had made her way to the United States and the other had chosen to stay behind in Russia. And now, for the first time in many years, the two performed together on one stage.

To me, hosting an event is a natural extension of my voice-over work, as well as a welcome change. Most of us do our jobs in solitude and in dark, oxygen deprived places. We are the invisible voices, addressing invisible audiences. We throw things into outer space, and we will never know where they will land and how they are received. It’s like writing a cookbook, without ever seeing people licking their lips as they get ready to taste our delicious dishes.

Hosting is different. It’s a perfect opportunity to connect with a crowd and get immediate feedback. Let me tell you this: nothing is more frightening than the sound of a joke falling flat on its face. Nothing is more exciting than the sound of roaring laughter, after you’ve delivered a great punch line.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Now, before you conclude that being an emcee is all about me, let me stop you in your tracks. It’s not. Rule number one in the book of hosting is as follows: never take the focus away from the event and the performers. Be warm and welcoming; keep your remarks to the point and make them short and sweet. Find a happy medium between being entertaining and informative. If you manage to do that, you’re well on your way to making hundreds of new friends.

For those of you who’d like to give it a try, here are a few other pointers:

• Do your homework. Find out what group of people you’ll be addressing. Don’t make references to “Gilligan’s Island” if your audience is under 25. And don’t mention Zac Efron, unless your audience is made up of yelling teenage girls. Stay away from politics. Get your facts right. Know the names of the performers and/or speakers, and know how to pronounce them correctly. Find out what they will be performing and dig up some short anecdotes or little known details. Have enough material in case you need fillers.
• Arrive early. Dress for the occasion. Don’t wear a tux to a folk concert. Familiarize yourself with the location. Know where the emergency exits are. Introduce yourself to the staff, the sound technicians and the stage manager. Test the sound equipment. It usually does not work. Check the order of the program and find out about last minute changes.
• During the show: be the glue that holds the event together and the oil that keeps things moving. Briefly introduce yourself and engage your audience from the start. Set some ground rules (e.g. switch off cell phones). Be animated and avoid clichés such as “without further ado” or “give it up for…”. Leave those to the FOX network. Don’t play favorites. Introduce each performer with the same level of enthusiasm. Never, ever make fun of them.
• Don’t be on stage during the performance, and please pay attention to the act or the speaker.  You never know what you can use to build a bridge to the next performance. It also shows that you’re not just a talking head, but that you’re interested in what’s going on. Keep track of the time as well. It’s your job to make things start on time and end on time.
• Be sure to publicly thank everybody at the end, and make some brief, final announcements. After the audience is on their way, thank everyone involved personally: the performers, the staff, anyone who made this happen.

THE BIG LET-DOWN
Let’s go back to the charity event for the homeless for a moment. I have to be honest with you. Without sleep and without teleprompter, the celebrity news anchor was absolutely hopeless. The fact that she arrived in a limo and was dressed in designer clothes, had not earned her much credit with the homeless. She might have been good working the camera, but she certainly wasn’t, working the audience. Her intros were taken straight from the program. Anyone could have done that. And as speaker after speaker tried to move the masses, she was sitting in the front row, sending text message after text message, looking utterly out of place. When the event was finally over, she left through the back door, running away from the fans who had hoped to take a picture with her.

HAPPY ENDING
Luckily, my concert ended on a happier note. I think it was a C-sharp. At the reception following the performance, I discovered another benefit of event hosting. My pro-bono appearance turned out to be tremendous free publicity for my services. All of a sudden I was on the local map! Some people even told me: “You should do this for a living!” But wait, it gets even better. The videographer, who had been recording the entire performance, hired me on the spot for a movie he was shooting. You’ve heard me… a motion picture! Yes my friends, I am now world famous. That is, in Easton, Pennsylvania. My home town.

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS Do you think that amateurs should be banned from voice-over sites? Read about it in my next installment of Double Dutch.

On June 8th of 2009, something occurred that had never happened before in the history of mankind.

Hyères, the oldest and most southerly resort on the French Riviera, was the scene of an attempt to break the world record in Static Apnea, the discipline in which a freediver holds his or her breath for as long as possible. The old record of 10’12″, set in 2008, was held by Tom Sietas of Germany.

The challenger, Frenchman Stéphan Mifsud, was determined to destroy it forever. Some called him a hero. Others thought he was a self-destructive lunatic. Few believed that he could do it.

AIDA is the International Association for the Development of Freediving. Their website offers a lot of in-depth information about various disciplines, such as “free immersion”, “constant weight” and “dynamic with fins”. However, it does not answer one fundamental question:

Why do people do these crazy, death-defying things?

After all, no one is forcing them to risk their lives in the pursuit of…. what exactly?

THE ETERNAL QUESTION
Whether we realize it or not, as (voice-over) actors we are constantly struggling with the very same issue: what motivates people? Day in, day out, we’re analyzing dead words on a piece of paper, and as we’re attempting to breathe life into lackluster letters, we wonder:

- for whom is this written; what drives them, why would they listen to me?
- what character am I portraying; what is making me tick?
- what’s the ultimate purpose of this message?
- how can I infuse that purpose into my performance?

We have to ask ourselves similar questions when it comes to our own writing. Take the copywriting we do for our personal website or blog, for instance. It’s easy to say that, in order to bring visitors to our site, we need to serve them a fresh meal of mouth-watering content (see my previous installment). But who has the recipe? Chef Gordon Ramsey?

TIME IS TICKING
Every day, all of us have a limited amount of time at our disposal. In order for others to spend some of that precious time on our website, we need to give them something special; something of value. It has to be something relevant and new that you can’t get anywhere else. It boils down to this: we have to feed a need. In order to tap into your reader’s needs, ask yourself:

What’s my audience hungry for?
What pains and problems do they have?
What issues do they care about?
What solutions are they hoping to find?
What am I passionate about?
What do I have to offer that’s unique and applicable?
Why should people trust me?

If you can answer these questions, you are well on your way to create what webmasters refer to as “sticky content”. Sticky content gives users a compelling reason to come to a site, spend time on that site and come back for more. Things that stick make people click.

Websites that are able to improve how long they can keep visitors engaged, are enjoying improvements to their search results in only a matter of months. On top of that, it helps build trust in your business and search engines will start to trust you too.

A FRAMEWORK
In 1947, Percy H. Whiting published ‘The Five Great Rules of Selling’. In it, he came up with a simple 4-step structure that can turn content into something sticky.

1. Attention
2. Interest
3. Desire
4. Action

Let’s break it down into bite-size pieces. The first thing you need to do is…

GRAB ‘EM BY THE BALLS with a HEADLINE that gets your readers hooked. Be provocative. Ask a controversial question. A short while ago, I had a chance to test this out. I could have picked: “Where do our custom demos go?” as the title of one of my recent blogs. Instead I wrote: “Are your auditions sucked into a black hole?” In a matter of hours my readership skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Apparently, my heading had hit a raw nerve.

Once the reader is on board, it’s time for you to describe the PROBLEM (step 2). This is where you share some experiences, facts… your personal struggle. It is your chance to bond with your reader; to show the extent of the problem and the need for a solution.

Once you have created an interest in that SOLUTION, it’s time for step 3. Here’s where you write about what you have to offer; in particular about the benefits of your product or service.

This part should answer the age-old question: “What’s in it for me?” It’s a good idea to throw in compelling reasons as to why what you offer actually works. Think of testimonials and real world examples.

If you’ve done your job, your readers should be all dressed up by now. But where can they go? No sales-cycle is complete without a call to ACTION. Whether you want your visitors to email you, subscribe to your newsletter or buy your latest audio book, you have to let them know what the next step is.  “Download your free e-book.” “Subscribe to my blog.” “Sign up for my training.”

Of course there are many techniques to arrange your writings in ways that will get the attention of your readers. And we haven’t even addressed what you should write about. But all of that is completely irrelevant if you don’t do one thing: get started!

YOUR CHALLENGE
In the fall of ’09, the Internet turned 40. In October 2004, Technorati had indexed 4 million blogs. Four years later, this number had gone up to a staggering 133 million. Bloggers create about a million posts every day. 77% of active internet users read blogs. Blogs are represented in the top 10 web site lists across all categories.  Need I go on?

This is the big question: How do you cut through so much noise and get heard? Lewis Green, the CEO of marketing firm L&G Business Solutions puts it this way:

“To break through and get noticed, we need to understand who we are writing for and exceed their wants and needs. Not much different from running a business, and if we are a business blog, we better write for the readers, not for ourselves.”

As a freelancer, you might not be a freediver, but now is the time to get your feet wet and start creating sticky content that outlasts anything the competitions has ever written. But it takes preparation and determination to get to that point.

BREATHTAKING
Just imagine sitting stationary underwater, holding your breath…. for an eternity. After a while you can hear your blood pumping, and the pounding of your heart becomes almost deafening. Your lungs are about to burst and yet you have to stay still as sheer panic is taking over every single thought.

Could you do it? Would you?

On June 8th, Stéphan Mifsud did not break the world record.

He absolutely shattered it.

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

Having a website is not an accomplishment. Nessie the Hamster has one. Famous dead people do too. I have even seen sites in loving memory of unfamous dead hamsters! Some of those websites get more visitors in a day, than you hope to have in a year.

Here’s my question: if you have a personal website and you’re not getting any traffic, what’s the point? You might as well give the money you’re sending to your Internet Service Provider to a worthy cause, such as the Don LaFontaine Voice-Over Lab.

If, on the other hand, you want to use your online presence to your advantage, you better roll up your sleeves and get to work! (Unless you’re too busy auditioning for that $100 narration of a 300 page audio book…)

iCrossing is a digital marketing agency with specific expertise in social media and 12 offices worldwide. Last year, Nilhan Jayasinghe, their VP, wrote a paper entitled; “Optimizing for users, not search engines. Building a sustainable brand in a connected world”.  He says:

“As search engines become more sophisticated, they will increasingly incorporate user data to validate their results. The numbers of people visiting a site; the time that users spend on a site; the depth of their engagement; whether they return over a period of time; how many people add it to their social bookmarking tools such as Digg; all will potentially be taken into account.”

If you’ve read my last blog, you already know that the new Google is going in that direction. And where Google goes, others follow. In my opinion, there are at least two things you must do to take advantage of this development. These are the things that will drive people to your website; keep them there and make them come back:

1. Start writing for people, not for search engines: offer fresh & relevant content.
2. Stop “telling & selling”. Instead, engage your visitors and begin a dialogue.

Here are a few ways to do it:

1. Offer FREE STUFF. Paradoxically, some companies are making lots of money by giving things away for free. It’s called the “freemium model” whereby some content is offered at no charge, while premium content is not. Seattle-based Big Fish Games distributes more online games than anyone else, at about 1 million a day. You can try almost any Big Fish game for free; but there are add-ons that players have to pay for.

A few months ago, our colleague Peter O’Connell made his e-book “The Voice Over Entrance Exam” available at no charge. I’m pretty sure that this brought new visitors to his website. It did something else too: it established him as an expert. Here’s a third bonus: free resources get links. Isn’t that what I just did?

2. Contests & Awards are another way to drive people to your site. Videovoicebank.net organized a contest, and voice-overs were invited to share their professional horror stories. Not only did the Videovoicebank-team manage to engage their community; for days, visitors could enter their email address and vote for their favorite story. I wonder what they’ll do with those email addresses…

3. Provide a resource that will benefit your target-group and (of course) offer it for free. Veteran VO-artist Mahmoud Taji compiled a voice-over directory of casting websites for “the benefit of established and up-and-coming voice over talent who want to secure more voice over work through the Internet.” He asked everyone in the industry to help out, and this is just another example of how to get people involved. So far, Taji has a list of 239 sites, and you might add a few to the directory.

4. Quizzes and Games on your site are a fun way to make people come back and spend more time with you. British talent Emma Clarke is the voice you’ll hear for a majority of the London Underground lines. Her website is terrific and it has games, spoof audios and even an online “Emma flip book”.  One of my favorites is a fridge magnet game where you can move the words around to make your own sentences and phrases – and have Emma speak them for you.

5. Actress Amy Walker (above) became an overnight sensation when her YouTube video 21Accents went “viral”. “These days, it’s not unusual to see a search engine like Google pull up a YouTube video in its top 10 results,” says Linda Girard, co-founder of online marketing consulting firm Pure Visibility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “The best way to maximize this trend is by uploading your video to various sites and attach good, searchable terms to the clips in order to get those high rankings.” (source)

6. Then there’s the old trick of offering limited Deals & Discounts. Bristol-based voice-over talent and SAVOA-member Alison Pitman offered a promotion of 25% discount on all message on hold voice-over recordings. Particularly if you’re also offering individual coaching and voice-over classes, never miss an opportunity to throw in an early bird special or a web coupon. Irresistible offers turn browsers into buyers.

7. Develop an ongoing relationship with your visitors (colleagues and clients). Answer their emails. Follow up with them. Ask them for feedback. Use social networking sites to connect. Take an active part in your community, online and offline. Send email newsletters using a service like Constant Contact or Aweber. It’s all about building your brand and positive reinforcement.

8. Blogging benefits business. Internet marketing company Hubspot surveyed over 1500 small businesses. They found that those with blogs attracted:

1. 55% more traffic
2. 97% more inbound links
3. 434% more indexed pages

Blogs are a very effective way to create valuable content; to connect, to interact and to build relationships based on trust. Nilhan Jayasinghe put it this way:

“The closer that Google and others get to reading real interaction, the better they will become at separating the sites that look relevant from the sites that are relevant. Inevitably, it will become ever more difficult to fake the quality of a web page.

Given that this is the case, by far the best way to rank highly for a given term is to offer what the search engines are getting progressively better at finding – content that is genuinely useful to those people searching for that term.”

How to come up with quality content is going to be the topic of my next installment! In the meantime, how did you manage to increase your web traffic? What worked for you and why? What was a waste of time and money?

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS What makes people click? Click to find out!

400 years ago, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, made the first exploration of what is now New York Harbor. His name: Henry Hudson. This epic voyage of discovery eventually led to the founding of New Netherland, including its trading post at the mouth of the river – New Amsterdam.

Early on, Dutch explorers realized that, in order to know where you’re going, you first have to find out where you are. Today, the same principle applies to those of you who sail the seven seas of the World Wide Web. My friend Fernanda is one of them. She’s a talented voice-over actress and a self-professed computer illiterate.

SITE-SEEING
One day she called me up and said: “You’ll never believe what I just did”. “You’re right”, I replied. “Did you climb Mount Kilimanjaro?” “Sort of”, she said. “For years you’ve told me to get a website, and I finally did. Aren’t you proud of me?” “Sort of”, I said. “What took you so long?” “Oh, stop it” she laughed. “Why don’t you go online right now and let me know what you think.”

I did. It was one of those free sites with a name you can’t spell, let alone remember. “Oops”, I thought. Mistake number one. But I didn’t want to be a party pooper, so I took a peek at her home page. It happened to be her only page, and most of it was taken up by a headshot that should have been updated a decade ago. The rest was contact info. At the bottom of the page was one of those silly counters. I was visitor number three. “Okay”, I said to her. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea”. “Why not?” she asked. “It took me three hours to build.”

“Well, for starters, there are 240 million websites swimming in the cybersea, and by the time I finish this sentence, the Chinese alone have probably added at least a thousand web pages to the one trillion that are already on the web. If you want people to come to your shop, you have to do a number of things.

One: make sure they can find you. So, get your own domain with a name that’s easy to remember. Nobody is going to believe that you’re a professional if your web address ends in ‘freebly.com’. Two: a headshot and an email address is not a website. Besides, before you know it, your mailbox will be overflowing with messages that you’ve won the grand prize in the Albanian state lottery. “Really?” she said. “How much money would that be?”

BACK TO BASICS
Now, you might think this is funny, but when I started this series about the value of websites in our business, so many colleagues asked me the same questions: “I have a website. Now what? How do I get people to even notice me? And once they’ve found me, how do I make them come back?” There and then I realized that, before talking about metrics, conversion and website optimization, I’d better go back to basics. That’s where the first mistakes are usually made. See for yourself.

Visiting websites of some voice-over actors is very much like going to a cemetery. First of all, you can’t find them because they’re hiding in the outer galaxies of cyberspace; the ones that are usually reserved for other life forms. Secondly, once you get there, there’s simply nothing going on…. Walk along with me and take a look at the tombstones:

“Here lies Harry in the rain. He tried to be Don LaFontaine.”

“Jackson hardly made a penny, sounding like a fake Tom Kenny.”

“Buried here are Hector’s bones. He never was a James Earl Jones.”

LOOK AT ME!
Remember this: a website is not a monument built to glorify your extraordinary talents. It’s really not about you. If you would like your visitors to come back again and again, make sure it meets their needs first and foremost. Here’s a hint. Assume for a moment that you are a lover of sea food and that you’ve found the perfect place to buy clams. Two days later you come back for more, and it looks like nothing has changed. That red snapper that was on display at the beginning of the week, is still staring at you. The next day you try again, and now you notice that things are beginning to smell. Not exactly a place you’d like to return to, is it?

The other day I revisited a website of one of my colleagues, and the first thing I saw on his home page was “Coming soon, my latest audio book. Scheduled release: February 2007.” Do I smell fish?

Another colleague was offering voice-over classes. “Hurry because classes fill up fast!” said one of the banners that moved across the screen. I clicked on the link with the schedule. You guessed it. The next training was about to start on April 5th… of ’08. I think I’ll pass…

THE REAL-TIME WEB
Meanwhile, Google is preparing the launch of a new upgraded version of its search engine, code named “Caffeine”. Webwatchers tell us that it is going to be more accurate, more comprehensive and much faster. Alex Watson, editor of Custom PC magazine recently said Caffeine was reflecting a general trend to what he calls “the real-time web”. Watson: “Caffeine now picks up news stories and puts fresher content higher up the search results.”

Four hundred years have passed and New York is celebrating “Holland on the Hudson“. Today’s explorers are internet explorers. What will they find when they discover your website?

Be sure to read the next installment: 8 ways to boost traffic to your website.

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com

My grandfather was a notoriously stubborn man. His name was Paulus and he was a baker. What should have been the highlight of his career, turned into a tragedy.

One day he entered his Frisian Rye Bread into a competition, and much to his amazement, he won first prize. I guess that made him the official breadwinner of the family. Anyway, an industrial bakery wanted to mass-produce his loaves, and offered him a huge chunk of dough for the recipe. There was only one problem. My grandfather didn’t have a recipe.

When asked, he said that he just “threw the ingredients together until he got the right mix”. Besides, he had a lot in common with SpongeBob’s Mr. Krabs. He refused to sell his secret formula to the competition. And so grandpa missed out on the biggest and best business opportunity he would ever get.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t figure out why his bakery was still losing money. In hindsight, Paulus was paying as much attention to his books as to his recipes. It was a mistake that cost him dearly.

Fast forward some seventy-five years. You would think that people wouldn’t make the same mistakes all over again, wouldn’t you? With so much information floating around for free, there’s simply no excuse for focusing on our craft and ignoring our bottom line. If only we would mind our own business… Instead, some of us still seem to live in 1932, when Unilever founder William Hesketh Lever cried out:

“I know half of my advertising money is wasted. The problem is, I don’t know which half!”

Let’s be honest: is that something you could have said? Are you just throwing some ingredients into this mix you call your business, but you have no clue what you’re actually doing?

INTERNET
In all fairness, some things did change since my grandfather ran his Pumpernickel Emporium in the north of Holland. Even though you can’t buy a European artisan bread from me, I’ll certainly help you sell one!

Like most of you, I have a personal website and the world is my marketplace. Word of mouth has gone global. And as you are reading this blog, chances are that people from different continents are doing the very same thing at the very same time.

Of course I’m quite pleased that so many of you have become returning visitors to my corner of the blogosphere. Thanks to you, Nethervoice is moving up in the ranks of the Googles and Yahoos. But to what avail? A website ultimately exists to help visitors achieve their goals, and if they do, I’m well on my way to achieving mine.

If you want to measure your on-line success, there are at least four things I suggest you do:

Determine the ultimate purpose of your site

Define what actions your visitors need to take to move you toward your purpose

Measure the number of visitors and the actions they take

If the actions (or lack thereof) are not getting you closer to your goal: optimize your site! If the actions are getting you closer to your goal: optimize your site!

In my days as an NLP-trainer, I taught my students to differentiate between “means-goals” and “end-goals”. Getting 500 unique visitors per day is not an end goal. Getting 50 of those visitors to buy your latest audio book, is. In that case, your conversion rate (see my previous blog) would be 10%.

MEASURING SUCCESS
William Lever knew that you cannot manage what you can’t measure. At present, his Anglo-Dutch multi-national owns about 400 of the world’s most well-known brands, 13 of them so-called “billion-dollar brands”, exceeding annual sales in excess of 1 billion dollar. I’m sorry to say that my grandfather didn’t do so well, and as a result I actually have to work to pay the bills.

Grandpa Paulus had a promising product; he worked incredibly hard and yet, he was losing money. Lots of money. One day, my grandmother finally found out what had been going on for a long time. She caught the apprentice as he was grabbing a few guilders from the cash register. They fired him on the spot.

Less than a year later, my grandfather’s prize-winning Rye Bread ‘magically’ turned up wherever bread was sold. Apparently somebody had been paying close attention to what my grandfather had been ‘throwing together’.

With the money he had made, the apprentice opened up his own bakery in the same town. In two months, my grandfather’s business went bust. But the worst was yet to come. Desperate for money and with only the skills to bake, Paulus had to find a job to keep his family afloat.

It so happened that there was a new baker in town who needed an apprentice…

Paul Strikwerda © 2009
www.nethervoice.com

PS In my next blog I will  reveal what three pay-to-play voice-over sites had to say about their conversion rate.

If you’ve read “Tales and techniques of a Voice-Over Actor”, you know that Harlan is not his real name. It’s Bob. But when it was time for Bob Hogan to get his SAG card, he found out that there already was an actor who had claimed that name. It was Robert J. Hogan, best known for his roles on “Peyton Place” and “As the world turns”. This Hogan also made a couple of guest appearances on the 1960s sitcom, Hogan’s Heroes, and the show’s main character, Colonel Robert Hogan, was named after him.

Anyway, “our” Bob had always liked his dad’s first name which was Harlan, and decided to adopt it for the SAG-registration. Later on, he legally changed his name to Harlan Robert Hogan. As we all know, he’s made quite a name for himself! His voice will forever be associated with phrases such as “”Strong enough for a man…”, “When you care enough to send the very best…”, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression…”, and “Quaker Life, It’s the cereal even Mikey likes…”.

Hogan is also one of the first voice-over actors who really caught on to the idea of ‘personal branding’, the art of marketing people and their career as brands. He now has his own “Signature series” of products, such as a stopwatch, a mouse pad and his famous Porta-Booth. At one point he even had a calendar. What’s next, you wonder. Well, we’ll get to that in a minute!

REPUTATION
According to marketing consultant Nance Rosen, personal branding accounts for 30-70% of your value.There are many ways to build a reputation that have very little to do with what the marketing world calls your “core competency”. That’s your ability to offer a unique product with a wide application that provides great benefits to consumers.

Here are some keys to personal branding:

1. Create your own personal product, service or trademark

2. Focus on giving instead of getting

3. Establish yourself as an expert: write articles, books & blogs

4. List yourself as a resource (http://www.helpareporter.com) and get free publicity

5. Actively participate in social networking sites

6. Associate yourself with powerful brands

7. Associate yourself with the best mentors and other ‘influentials’

8. Ask for endorsements and use those to take you to the next level (the “Oprah-effect”)

For more ideas, check out Dan Schwabel’s www.personalbrandingblog.com. Dan is the author of “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success”, as well as the publisher of both the Personal Branding Blog and the Personal Branding Magazine.

MORE THAN A VOICE
Harlan Hogan’s success proves that it takes much more than a good voice and great acting skills, to become one of the best in this business. Personal branding has a lot to do with it. How many of you have read the “Voice actor’s guide to recording at home… and on the road” (co-author Jeffrey P. Fischer)? How many of you have visited http://voiceoveressentials.com? How many of you actually use his Porta-Booth? If you’re a Harlan Hogan fan, I have some news for you!

PORTA-BOOTH PRO
Harlan’s actually coming out with a new Pro level version of his Porta-Booth. I’ve seen the first pictures, and I can assure you that it doesn’t look anything like the collapsible Whitmor Cube that’s available at your local Target store (left image). Just add some acoustic foam and voilà… anyone could build one of those. I won’t reveal too much, but unopened, the Pro version looks more like a rather big bowling ball bag.

One of the problems with the “old” Porta-Booth has always been where to put the script. Once the microphone is inside, there’s simply not enough space for your papers (unless you’re reading the text straight from your iPhone). Harlan’s new design seems to have fixed that. In addition, the Pro version features a new way to keep unwanted noise out.

HARLAN HOGAN VO-MIC
Harlan also teamed with microphone maker MXL, and commissioned a voice-over mic that -in his own words- “will sound great on about 99% of the population”. It’s available on an “Audition it, return it if you don’t think it’s right for you basis”, in a package with mic cable, case, shock mount for $199.00. It’s called “The Harlan Hogan VO: 1-A Signature Series Microphone“, and can be ordered directly from voiceoveressentials. Harlan also put together a USB package with his new mic and the nifty CEntrance MicPort Pro preamplifier.

One more thing: if you’re familiar with Jeffrey Fisher and Harlan Hogan’s writings, you might remember their praise for the ultimate Pop Filter, the Avantone PS-1 PRO-SHIELD Studio Pop Filter. It’s finally back in stock, ready to stuff some voice-over stockings!

SUCCESS
There are a few ways of looking at the success some of our colleagues deserve and enjoy. Some people become jealous. Others become frustrated or even scared. My attitude has always been more inquisitive: What can I learn from them? Obviously they must have been doing something right! I’m sure I’m not the only one who has learned a lot from Harlan Hogan over the years. For one, changing your name won’t hurt your career!

Paul Strikwerda ©2009

www.nethervoice.com

PS the author of this article is in no way compensated by Mr. Hogan, Mr. Fisher and/or Avant Electronics, for featuring their products.

PPS ever wondered  why your custom demos hardly ever lead to anything? Is it you or are there other factors at play? Read my next blog and find out.

Some things in life are too true to be good. Other things seem too good to be true. But today something happened to me that has never happened before: I won  a prize. Not just “a” prize. I won top prize: a $500 gift certificate to Sweetwater Sound, thanks to Voices.com!

THE CHALLENGE

A while ago, voices.com invited their voice-talents to write about their experiences with the site. Since I became a member only a few months ago, my career has gone to a new level, and it was easy for me to sing the praises of Stephanie and David Ciccarelli and their team. I can honestly say that I did not write my endorsement for the sake of winning a prize, although I’m absolutely thrilled about the gift certificate. I wrote what I wrote because I felt that voices.com truly deserved it.

Too often in life, we hear people criticize one another mercilessly. Some folks even seem to get a weird kick out of it. Entire corporate cultures are based on putting workers down, instead of lifting them up. I never understood why. I don’t think I want to understand. Well-deserved praise, acknowledgment and  recognition are highly underrated, and that’s such a shame. I think we’d sell a lot less Prozac, if people would start focusing on what’s actually right.

THE HALF-FULL GLASS

What would happen if you -as of today- start praising people for the small things and for the big things they do right? I’m talking about the student who bags your groceries, the working mother who serves you lunch; the studio engineer who makes you sound great…. And how about the owner of that voice? How often do you give him or her a pat on the back?

Well, that’s quite the introduction to what I had to say about voices.com. Here’s my winning entry:

“You have an amazing voice, and people have said that you’d be perfect for audio books or radio commercials. Now what? Even if you are the most amazing talent in the world… if that world doesn’t know anything about you, you’ll have as much impact as the sound of one hand clapping.

If you want to be in business, you need a store, a cash register, a marketing & advertising campaign, a way to get your product to market, and first-class customer service. As voice-over talents, we have a huge problem: our product is invisible.

That’s where voice-over websites come in. They can make the intangible, tangible. All of a sudden, the invisible can have a worldwide presence in the market place.
Now, not all voice-over sites are created equal, and as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. But before I say anything else, here’s a word of warning: I am probably going to sound like the guy who does all these “too good to be true infomercials”. So, just hear me out, be a skeptic, and make up your own mind.

Two months ago, I decided to challenge Voices.com. I wanted those Canadians to prove to me that their pudding would be worth my investment. So, I signed up for a month-to-month membership, and as soon as I did, the auditions started rolling in. Sixty days later, my dollar-a-day membership plan paid off big time. Not only did I get some of the best voice-over projects in my career, with 2300 dollars in the bank, I had earned more than 38 times my investment.

Numbers don’t lie, but they only tell part of the story.

For me, the true value of Voices.com is not only determined by the return on investment. Long before I became a paying member, I discovered that Voices.com is more than a store. The website offers an amazing wealth of voice-over information for newbie’s and seasoned pros alike… Just log on and you’ll find free podcasts, expert blogs, anything from technical tips to current rate info.

Voices.com helps beginners to hone their craft, and it gives a platform to established talents to share their insights. Instead of having to reinvent the wheel, I learned from their mistakes and more importantly, from their successes.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t get into this business because I’m a marketing genius. I’d rather spend time in front of a microphone, than drumming up new business. Thanks to Voices.com, I can focus on what I do best! I can’t even imagine how much money I’d have to spend to reach the number of voice-seekers Voices.com reaches each and every day. They make the connections, they do the legwork and they promote my skills. And at the end of the day, Voices.com even makes sure that I get paid.

Well, that’s my story. But be a skeptic and do what I did: put Voices.com to the test. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Bon appétit!”

I word hard and I consider myself very lucky. Someone once said: “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. Well, today was certainly my lucky day. Now, let’s get back to work. Cheers!

Paul Strikwerda © 2009

www.nethervoice.com