Category Archives: FaffCon 3

Myths, Mistakes, and Making It in Voiceover

Posted on by AmySnively

Awareness of our profession is at an all-time high, and there’s certainly never been more high-quality VO information available to voice talents (at every level) than there is now. Yet stubborn myths persist!

Of course, you’re not harboring any VO misconceptions…or are you? Jeff Hixon, founder and CEO of Voicebank.net and Voiceregistry.com, sets the record straight in a recent Backstage.com article, and closes by sharing a dozen success tips.

A note about those tips–you might be tempted to give them a quick glance and dismiss them as being too basic. I submit that Jeff has not only aptly outlined how to get started, but the steps for adding new genres to your repertoire, or just getting better in general. After all, the voice over business is actually pretty simple…it’s just not easy.

It’s an odd thing, this business–isn’t it? Even if we were to all follow the exact same VO career recipe, some of us would get a creamy soup, some a chunky stew, and still others (unfortunately) a thin, gray gruel. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In the meantime, read Jeff’s article here: Myths, Mistakes, and Making It in Voiceover

And a big thanks to voice talents and Faffers extraordinaire Bobbin Beam and Bob Souer for pointing me to the article!

Voiceover Gear, Quality and Rates… a Correlation? by Dan Friedman

Posted on by AmySnively

Voiceover Gear, Quality and Rates… a Correlation?
Hello Kitty Karaoke Mic

Two of the biggest ongoing issues in the voiceover world are gear and rates. It seems that voice talent (or voice talent wannabes) are always looking for the latest, greatest, smallest and cheapest piece of gear that is good enough to record audio. They also seem to want the ability to do this from just about anywhere. The issue of rates is always a big concern. Job offers for payments that fall considerably short of generally accepted rates frequent the internet. These offers are often discussed as being reprehensible or even laughed at on social media. So, is there a correlation between cheap gear and low rates?

Read more at SOUND4VO.com

 

A deserving voiceover will go to Faffcon 3 for FREE with the FaffCon Scholarship! » The Voiceover Boblog

Posted on by AmySnively

Today I’m delighted to feature an official guest blog for the very first time. It’s from my friend CC Heim.

Over the past two years, a peer-to-peer voiceover UNconference known as Faffcon has taken on a life of its own. What’s an UNconference, you ask? An UNconference is a gathering of like-minded individuals who meet and discuss topics of interest. Sound sort of like a conference? Well, in some respects it is, in that folks register, attend sessions, network, eat. Stuff like that. But the biggest difference is that while a conference is typically structured with specific lessons that are predetermined and planned for in advance, an UNconference unfolds as it goes along, with participants determining the content they believe would be most useful for them during the weekend of the event. While it sounds rather unstructured, the concept works remarkably well.

Read more: A deserving voiceover will go to Faffcon 3 for FREE with the FaffCon Scholarship! » The Voiceover Boblog.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Step 1

Posted on by AmySnively

A long time ago, I used to teach a word of mouth marketing seminar for mom-and-pop retailers and solopreneurs. Very old school–way back before the birth of MyFace, Spacebook, and the 15 social media sites you’ve been invited to join so far this week. No PowerPoint, even. I used cave paintings.

Anywho, I was just reading this article from Entrepreneur.com: 10 Must-Haves for Better Word-of-Mouth Marketing, which reminded me that even though a lot of things are pretty different now, the essentials remain the same.

Sure, happy customers sometimes send their friends, but it pays to be proactive about generating word of mouth. But be careful–good news may travel fast, but bad news is faster. Warning: get your ducks in a row before you start helping other people spread the word that…you’ve got ducks. In other words, step 1 is (still) “don’t suck.”

When people tell other people about a product or service, they’re trying to be helpful. They want to look good. Their personal status is on the line; their credibility, their reputation with that friend or colleague. If recommending you saved the day and made them the hero, you’d better believe they’ll do it again.

So, let’s say your ducks are lined up, looking great, and can even do tricks. Awesome. Now what? Read the article. Some of the stuff in the article doesn’t strictly apply to our business, so when you read it, let it be a launching point for your creativity. It sure smacked me upside the head and highlighted some areas that I need to work on.

Let me know what you think. If you were going to retool these tips for the voice over, radio advertising, audio post, or casting business, what would you add? What would you cut?

Loudline » Blog Archive » Pam Tierney Loves Her MicPort Pro

Posted on by AmySnively

Pam Tierney is an accomplished Chicago actor. Extensive training from several studios such as Act One, The Acting Studio and The Green Room as well as completion of the Second City Conservatory brings a thorough knowledge of styles and skills transferable to commercials, film, television and voiceover. An established voiceover with a personal studio, Pam can handle a wide variety of characters and situations with ease.

Read more: Loudline » Blog Archive » Pam Tierney Loves Her MicPort Pro.