In my previous post “Finding a New Niche,” I started to outline my transition from being a full-time voice over and blogger, to someone searching for a different way to reach out to the world. Given my background and experience, my “big” idea was to focus on the Netherlands. I wrote:
“I’ve made it my new mission to tell the world about the influence a small, flat country of 18 million people has had (and is having) on the world, and on the USA in particular. And by doing so, to strengthen my connection to my Dutch roots.”
And so, the idea of a different kind of social media presence was born. Less “bloggy” and more in your face. Of course there were others who were already doing what I was about to do, but I knew nobody would be doing it like me. Just like there were others who were already blogging about voice overs before I entered the arena.
OBSTACLES
In my assessment of my strengths and weaknesses, there were at least four obstacles I had to overcome first.
One: I wanted to become more visible, but I didn’t think I was very good at talking to a camera. I was used to the sound of my own voice thanks to my VO experience, but watching myself on-screen was painful.
Two: I didn’t want to read my words off of a teleprompter. I wanted my videos to be more natural, spontaneous, and conversational. This meant I had to memorize some facts and details and turn them into a fascinating story. The problem was that ever since my stroke, my memorization skills left a lot to be desired for.
Three: people on social media have no patience. If you don’t grab their attention from the get-go, they’ll move on. If you’re too long-winded, they get bored. So, my stories had to be to the point as well as engaging. I would have to leave important details out, which was going to be frustrating.
Four: I had to actively disassociate myself from the world of VO, and create a new identity, unburdened by the past, while retaining some name recognition and traction.
This left me with four goals:
1. To be comfortable being on camera
2. To train my brain so I’d remember facts more easily
3. To be brief, relatable, and interesting
4. To reinvent myself as a content creator and cut ties with voice acting
When you look at my early videos, you can see the struggle. Just like people think that VO is nothing more than “talking into a microphone,” being on camera is not as easy as it seems.
But the great thing about social media is that feedback is almost instantaneous. If something strikes a chord with the masses, you’ll see it reflected in the numbers and the comments.
You quickly learn that you are your message.
In that respect, the best thing I ever did was join TikTok, a platform I thought was only for bored teens doing makeup tutorials. I’m telling you: on no other social medium did I find more engagement and exposure than on TikTok. Instagram is a close second, followed by YouTube. In terms of engagement and exposure, Facebook is pathetic and not worth your time (unless you pay Mark Zuckerberg a small fortune to increase your reach which I have vowed to never do).
Recording videos is like riding a bike: the more you do it, the more comfortable you get. I learned how to use the right angles and lighting, how to use a greenscreen and various filters, and how to add subtitles and things like stickers. There are free tutorials on anything. The best strategy is to not over analyze it, and just start recording.
“The universe rewards action, not intentions” a wise person once said.
Looking back, I think that my choice to keep things simple made it easier for me to succeed. I decided to only do “talking head” videos in my studio, and to record them in one take so I wouldn’t need to edit them. I didn’t want to be one of those content creators that would spend an entire morning producing one minute of content. And, I decided to only record every other day.
TRAINING THE BRAIN
On to my second and third goal: memorization and making concise content.
I don’t perform well under pressure, so I gave myself plenty of time to research a topic, often using Artificial Intelligence. My favorite resource is Perplexity AI. It’s kind of a search engine that will give you all the sources it is drawing from, and it gives you a helpful summary at the end. If you have a free account, you’re allowed to ask three questions a day.
Most days, I use the info AI gives me to create a bullet list of things for me to talk about. And once I hit record I start improvising, being as conversational as I can be. So, the research phase allows my brain to get familiar with the content, and the bullet points which I have on the computer screen in front of me, are my reminders. When you look at my vids, you can see my eyes drift away for a second or two, to find what I need.
I made an agreement with myself that perfection was never the goal, as long as I made some sense and some progress. People who are too perfect, look and sound inauthentic. Since no one was looking over my shoulder, I could record as many takes as needed to get it right. And on most days, the video you see is the result of five to ten “failed” attempts.
Last but not least, I created a recognizable format for my content to give my stories a predictable structure. Next week, I’ll reveal that formula, and I’ll tell you about my attempt to create a new online persona.
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