#marketing

Mar 2, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and Client Retention – The Not Silent Blog 03/02/21

Client retention is a challenge. Most voice actors think it’s only a matter of clever marketing to maintain a high level of client retention. That is somewhat true, but it’s only a part of it. There is much more to client retention than just the occasional desperate “do ya have more work for me?” email that most voice actors send. First off, understand that no matter what you do, you will lose clients that will never come back. This happens for a number of reasons: The compan

Voiceovers and Client Retention – The Not Silent Blog 03/02/21

Feb 2, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and Perception – The Not Silent Blog 02/02/21

Perception is a funny thing. It influences your behavior more than you realize, especially how you market yourself as a voice actor. Your marketing strategy reflects your perception of yourself, your knowledge of how the voiceover industry really works, and your place within the voiceover industry. Voice actors who perceive themselves as an employee or a starving artist look for jobs. They think short term. If you perceive & market yourself like an employee or a starving arti

Voiceovers and Perception – The Not Silent Blog 02/02/21

Dec 8, 2020
2 min

Voiceovers And Demo Marketing – The Not Silent Blog 12/8/20

Demo marketing is a challenge. Most new voice actors who get their training and then produce a shiny new demo have absolutely no idea what to do with it. When I started doing voiceovers I was sort of lucky in that my coach gave me a stack of production company listings and I started cold-calling immediately. The bad news was that at the time (1995) there was virtually no other venue for demo marketing. There were no online casting sites, no social media platforms, no Meetup g

Voiceovers And Demo Marketing – The Not Silent Blog 12/8/20

Sep 17, 2019
2 min

Voiceovers And VOcation NYC – The Not Silent Blog 9/17/19

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of speaking at the Voice Actors of NYC’s inaugural (and one-of-a-kind) voiceover business & marketing conference, VOcation NYC. This is truly a unique event! Never before has anyone attempted to create a conference dedicated solely to the business & marketing side of voiceovers, but VO wizards Carin Gilfry (the voice of CVS) and Jamie Muffett (VO School Podcast producer) did it. And they did it oh-so-well. This three-day event was jam-pac

Voiceovers And VOcation NYC – The Not Silent Blog 9/17/19

Jun 25, 2019
2 min

Voiceovers And Direct Marketing – The Not Silent Blog 6/25/19

What exactly is Direct Marketing? Here are some definitions I found on the Interwebs: The business of selling products or services directly to the public, e.g. by mail order or telephone selling, rather than through retailers A promotional method that involves presenting information about your company, product, or service to your target customer without the use of an advertising middleman An advertising strategy that relies on the individual distribution of a sales pitch to p

Voiceovers And Direct Marketing – The Not Silent Blog 6/25/19

Apr 23, 2019
3 min

Voiceovers and Laziness – The Not Silent Blog 4/23/19

I’ve been engaging in a very specific form of laziness lately. The metric tonnage of questions asked daily on social media by voice talents of all experience levels could stun a team of oxen. I try to answer as many questions as I can when I have time. I’ve been finding myself having less time to answer them and noticing the same questions are asked over and over and over. It’s both tedious and time-consuming to come up with original answers every time. A few months ago, I c

Voiceovers and Laziness – The Not Silent Blog 4/23/19

Mar 26, 2019
4 min

Being Prepared for VO Atlanta – The Not Silent Blog 3/26/19

Being prepared aka Conference Survival is a real thing! I don’t mean, like, you could die at one if you don’t bring extra socks. Or could you…? I kid. What I mean by survival is being prepared physically, logistically, mentally, and emotionally so you can get the most out of the experience. I bring this up because I yet again have the honor of presenting at VO Atlanta. Whoo hoo! I had a blast presenting there in 2016, which you can read all about here. You can read more about

Mar 12, 2019
4 min

Systems Of Thought And Voiceovers – The Not Silent Blog 3/12/19

For as long as I can remember, I’ve stressed the value of having effective Systems of Thought and Systems of Execution. How we think about what we are supposed to be and do is critical to our success as voice talents. I mention this because I’ve noticed a pattern in the questions that aspiring voice talents ask me as well as posts on various social media platforms. As a whole, new voice talents (and some veteran voice talents) think too much about the wrong things. What I mea

Mar 5, 2019
4 min

Voiceovers And Social Media Status – The Not Silent Blog 3/5/19

As voice talents, many of us are obsessed with our social media status. Some more than others, like myself. 😉 As a community, we’re pretty terrible at it. See this blog entry from a while back to see what I mean. On top of that, almost every week I see at least one voice talent crash & burn online like the gentleman from a few weeks ago. I bring this up because a few days ago I got a casting notice that asked for our number of social followers. Not long after that, the subj

Feb 19, 2019
3 min

Voiceovers and Defining Success – The Not Silent Blog 02/19/19

What does success look like for you as a voice talent? Photo by Got Credit I ask because as the VO Strategist I’ve been doing a lot of free 15-minute consults (click here to get yours) and the subject has come up quite a bit. Voice talents of all experience levels have been asking me to help them build a foundation, help with their marketing, get them to the next level, etc. When I ask them what success looks like for their voiceover business, I’ve noticed that it breaks dow

Voiceovers and Defining Success – The Not Silent Blog 02/19/19

Jan 29, 2019
2 min

Voiceovers And Helpful Blog Posts – The Not Silent Blog 01/29/19

Since I’m not actually here this week (you’ll know what I mean by that next week 😉 ), I thought I’d keep y’all busy by posting some helpful blog posts. Sort of a Tom’s Greatest Hits thang. There’s an app, I mean, there’s a blog for that. Here, by number of reads, are my Top Ten Helpful Blog Posts! Facebook Friends My Sennheiser 416 The Top 5 Top 5 Lists of 2015 (this also has a list of blogs so we’re double-dipping here) The Secret to Getting an Agent The New Tax Code Voiceb

Voiceovers And Helpful Blog Posts – The Not Silent Blog 01/29/19

Dec 11, 2018
3 min

Voiceovers And Setting Your 2019 Goals- The Not Silent Blog 12/11/18

Since there are only a precious few weeks left in 2018, setting your 2019 goals should be on the brain and we’ll talk about that in just a moment. But first, a quick programming note… Since I built my shiny new VO Strategist website a few months ago, many of you signed up for this blog and/or the VO Strategist newsletter but never got them so my apologies for that. I went through the database and manually added everyone that I think wanted to subscribe to this here blog. If I

Nov 6, 2018
4 min

Voiceovers And The Art Of Letter Closing – The Not Silent Blog 11/6/18

Here’s an exercise in the art of letter closing… So I’m on Facebook (as I am too often) and an interesting conversation popped up on the VO of NYC Facebook Group. Founder Carin Gilfry asked if you find it weird when people sign their emails, “Respectfully, Jane Doe”. She said it’s “because it reminds me of the phrase ‘With all due respect…’ which is typically followed by an insult.” An interesting discussion ensued where people expressed which letter closing they like or don

Voiceovers And The Art Of Letter Closing – The Not Silent Blog 11/6/18

Oct 23, 2018
3 min

Voiceovers And Effective Branding – The Not Silent Blog 10/23/18

Here’s an example of effective branding in action… Last night, I and my much-better half went to see her brother Doug’s band Portland Cello Project perform at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village. The lineup consisted of six cellists (one of which is Doug), one drummer (who has played with Prince and Stevie Wonder), one bass player, one trumpeter (who has played with Bootsy Collins and George Clinton), one French horn player, and singer Patti King (keyboard player for The Sh

Sep 25, 2018
4 min

Voiceovers And Being Profitable – The Not Silent Blog 9/25/18

I am often asked, “When will my voiceover business become profitable? When will my career turn the corner? How long will it take for me to become successful?” The short answer; I have no idea. The longer answer is, well, a helluva lot longer. First off, what does “profitable” mean? It could mean: You’re making more than you’re investing in your voiceover business in a given year You’re making enough money doing voiceovers to cover your business expenses, personal expenses, sa

Voiceovers And Being Profitable – The Not Silent Blog 9/25/18

Sep 11, 2018
4 min

Voiceovers And Forms of Payment – The Not Silent Blog 9/11/18

As freelancers, voice talent have to deal with a lot of things to run their business. One of many is handling different forms of payment. There are news forms of payment popping up all the time so I figured it would be fun (well, fun for me in a voice-nerdy kind of way) to explore the different forms of payment out there right now. Check: while getting a paper check sent you via snail is a bit antiquated in the 21st Century, this is a relatively secure way to get paid. I have

Jul 24, 2018
3 min

Voiceovers And Humble Leadership – The Not Silent Blog 7/24/18

I had the privilege of narrating yet another fantastic audio book, “Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust” by Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein. Here is the blurb: Leadership is a relationship – but that relationship must change, say legendary organizational scholar Edgar Schein and former Silicon Valley executive Peter Schein. The vertical hierarchy, with its emphasis on formal, transactional relationships, professional distance, and all guidan

Voiceovers And Humble Leadership – The Not Silent Blog 7/24/18

Dec 12, 2017
3 min

Voiceovers And Moronic Marketers – The Not Silent Blog 12/12/17

There are many great marketers out there creating memorable, moving, hilarious campaigns for print, radio, TV, and social media. Unfortunately, there are even more moronic marketers out there. Case in point; here’s an email I got last week… I hope your week is off to a great start! I came across your article “Voiceovers And Your Comfort Zone,” while doing some research on acting tips. Great content! I appreciate you sharing your valuable insight. I’m reaching out because I’d

Sep 19, 2017
3 min

Dig My Mobile Recording Rig! – The Not Silent Blog 9/19/17

I head out to Faffcon 9 in Charlotte this week so what a better time to talk about my mobile recording rig? We talked about this same subject a few years ago, coincidentally before I went to Faffcon 7. Since my gear has changed a bit, I figure it’s the perfect time to re-hash. The pic below has a link to the older blog entry. Wanna See My Mobile Rig? 😉 – The GKN Weekly Update 9/9/14 …and this is the new rig. Some is different, some is the same. This is a Senheisser MKH-416

Dig My Mobile Recording Rig! – The Not Silent Blog 9/19/17

Sep 12, 2017
2 min

What I Learned At The CineTech Expo – The Not Silent Blog 9/12/17

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in the CineTech Expo at Fairleigh Dickenson University in Madison, New Jersey. To quote their website, the CineTech Expo is “New Jersey’s premier video and media production showcase.” and right they are. The Expo was held at the beautiful Hennessey Hall a.k.a. The Mansion on the FDU campus. Here’s a pic I took of the backyard: It was a full day of panels and demos along with an impressive array of exhibitors including Sony, Canon

What I Learned At The CineTech Expo – The Not Silent Blog 9/12/17

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