#voiceovers

Apr 27, 2021
3 min

Voice Acting and The Periodic Table of Ideas – The Not Silent Blog 04/27/2021

The Periodic Table of Ideas is here! I had the pleasure of narrating this fascinating audio book thanks to my friend and author Ben Cheung. This is the second audio book I’ve narrated for him, the previous one being The Four Elements of Thinking. To quote the blurb… The Periodic Table of Ideas is a collection of pivotal concepts in history spanning the disciplines of business, economics, philosophy, psychology, science, and technology. These ideas represent the pinnacle of hu

Voice Acting and The Periodic Table of Ideas – The Not Silent Blog 04/27/2021

Apr 20, 2021
3 min

Voiceovers and the SEP-IRA – The Not Silent Blog 4/20/21

Do you have a SEP-IRA? Do you even know what one is? Let’s zoom out for a sec for an IRA refresher… An IRA, or Individual Retirement Arrangement, is an account set up at a financial institution that allows you to save for retirement. What’s the difference between a SEP-IRA, a Traditional IRA, and a Roth IRA? To quote Vanguard.com: A SEP-IRA (Simplified Employee Pension) is a simple, tax-deferred retirement plan for anyone who is self-employed, owns a business, employs others,

Voiceovers and the SEP-IRA – The Not Silent Blog 4/20/21

Apr 13, 2021
3 min

Voice Acting and Rejection – The Not Silent Blog 4/13/21

Rejection is a way of life in the voiceover industry. Recently I saw a social media post regarding a “PFO” email the poster received. PFO stands for “Please **** Off”. It was a “Thanks for your audition! We loved it but decided go to in anther direction.” email. That post and the discourse that followed really rubbed me the wrong way. Why would you assume the voice seeker is lying and actually telling you to **** off? Why would they bother to write that email in the first pla

Voice Acting and Rejection – The Not Silent Blog 4/13/21

Apr 6, 2021
3 min

Voiceovers and Finding Work – The Not Silent Blog 04/06/21

Are you having trouble finding work? If you are, you’re not alone. Recently, voice actors of various experience levels have asked me why they have so much trouble finding work nowadays. There is more voiceover work than ever in every genre so what exactly is going on? To borrow from a blog entry from last year, let’s start with these possibilities: Lack of talent: you entered a business you have no business entering Lack of training: you got minimal or no coaching Lack of res

Voiceovers and Finding Work – The Not Silent Blog 04/06/21

Mar 30, 2021
3 min

Voice Acting and Webinars – The Not Silent Blog 3/30/21

There are a lot of voiceover-related webinars out there. Heck, I’m leading eight of them in April alone! It may look like five webinars (see below), but I’m leading three sessions and moderating a panel at VO Atlanta so that conference counts as four webinars so nyah. Anyway, I not only lead webinars but I attend a few here & there as well. I strive to learn & grow as much as I can so I occasionally take a class to explore a new genre or brush up my narration skills. Recently

Voice Acting and Webinars – The Not Silent Blog 3/30/21

Mar 23, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and Google Drive – The Not Silent Blog 3/23/21

I love Google Drive. I bring this up because as recently as last year I posted this blog about cloud storage and Google Drive was one part of my data storage strategy. I’d also been using DropBox, Box, and OneDrive to store my data, MultCloud to sync my cloud storage websites, and Carbonite to back up my hard drive every day. All gone! I deleted my accounts for Box, OneDrive, and Multcloud. It was too much space, gray mail, and accounts that could get hacked into that I just

Mar 16, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and the 1099 – The Not Silent Blog 3/16/21

The 1099 form is often confusing for voice actors filing their taxes for the first time. Here is some 1099 101… If you earn more than $600 from a client and they didn’t take any taxes out when you got paid (withholding), you should receive a 1099 form from them. Until this year you got a 1099-MISC form. Now you get the new 1099-NEC (Non Employee Compensation) form. The 1099-MISC form is now used to report miscellaneous payments of $600 or more to individuals for: Rent Prizes

Voiceovers and the 1099 – The Not Silent Blog 3/16/21

Mar 9, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and Bottlenecks – The Not Silent Blog – 3/9/21

Bottlenecks in your voiceover business are a common and often addressable challenge. Let’s define the term first, shall we…? Bottleneck – 1a: a narrow route b: a point of traffic congestion 2a: someone or something that retards or halts free movement and progress b: IMPASSE https://www.merriam-webster.com/ What kind of bottlenecks could you have in your voiceover business? Cash Flow: you don’t have the money to run your voiceover business effectively Tools: you don’t have th

Voiceovers and Bottlenecks – The Not Silent Blog – 3/9/21

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 23, 2021
2 min

Voice Acting and the Explainer – The Not Silent Blog 2/23/21

I’ve been narrating Explainer Videos since 2006 and blogging since 2008. I can’t believe that in all that time I’ve never blogged about Explainer Videos! I guess I was too busy trying to book them. 🙂 Anyway, an explainer video is a quick and easy way to ‘explain’ a product, service, or idea. It can be anything from a website service to a new invention to a Kickstarter campaign. And no matter how professionally produced a live-action, animated, or whiteboard explainer video i

Voice Acting and the Explainer – The Not Silent Blog 2/23/21

Feb 9, 2021
3 min

Voiceovers and Transparency – The Not Silent Blog 02/09/21

Here is a lesson in transparency… Last week Matt DuBois, founder of Voice Casting Hub and Voiceovers.com created this post in a social media group: This came as a shock to many in the voiceover industry as the ownership change occurred in August of 2020 and we as a community had no idea. Matt claims that this press release made the ownership change known. You’ll notice that in said press release there is no mention of Matt selling Voiceovers.com, LLC or parting with the compa

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

Jan 19, 2021
2 min

Voiceovers and Data – The Not Silent Blog 1/19/21

Data has always been in short supply in the voiceover industry. Nobody knows how many voice actors are out there, how much money they make, which genres they narrate, etc. A valiant effort is currently underway to address this issue. Beloved voice actor and good friend Carin Gilfry has created a survey on behalf of the Voice Actors of NYC. It’s an attempt to collect data on how the voiceover industry currently functions from a voice actor’s perspective. I myself took the surv

Voiceovers and Data – The Not Silent Blog 1/19/21

Jan 5, 2021
2 min

Your 2021 Cash Flow Goals – The Not Silent Blog 01/05/21

Ready to set your 2021 Cash Flow goals? Let’s do it…! Setting Cash Flow goals is often the most daunting challenge when you’re trying to start or improve your voiceover business. That’s usually because you don’t have the money right now to do all of the things that you want to do. This is why your Cash Flow goals need to be based in reality and results-oriented. TIP OF THE WEEK Think about which Cash Flow goals you can realistically achieve in 2021 and your priorities to move

Your 2021 Cash Flow Goals – The Not Silent Blog 01/05/21

Dec 15, 2020
3 min

Voiceovers And 2020 – The Not Silent Blog 12/15/20

So…2020. It’s been a helluva year but you don’t need me to tell you that. From a voiceover perspective it’s been interesting. Here’s a brief breakdown of 2020 for me as a voice actor: Cash Flow: with two weeks to go, I made more in 2020 than I did in 2019 but the proportion of genres changed. I did less commercials and industrials but more ADR, promo, podcast, and news article narration. I like that because I’m expanding into different genres. Tools: I got a new computer, new

Voiceovers And 2020 – The Not Silent Blog 12/15/20

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

Nov 24, 2020
2 min

Voice Actors And A New Healthcare Option – The Not Silent Blog 11/24/20

There is a new healthcare option just for voice actors. It’s called Healthcare For Voice Actors, the brainchild of In Both Ears voiceover agent and industry advocate Stacey Stahl. I won’t go into detail about what they offer since it’s easier for you to check them out yourselves. You can do that at the Healthcare For Voice Actors website. Stacey put in a ton of hard work to provide another healthcare option for voice actors and I sincerely applaud her effort. Well done, Stace

Voice Actors And A New Healthcare Option – The Not Silent Blog 11/24/20

Nov 17, 2020
3 min

Voiceovers And Microphone Gear – The Not Silent Blog 11/17/20

Quality microphone gear is almost as important as the microphone itself. Check out these two recent purchases… The first is a pop filter. I got the OCTO 842S. I had been using the Stedman ProScreen XL for years and I love it but I wanted one that’s more travel-friendly (easier to pack and doesn’t get flagged by the TSA). I’ve noticed they’re about the same when it comes to reducing pops. It was $64.94. The second is a shock mount. I got the Eggsnow universal shock mount & mic

Voiceovers And Microphone Gear – The Not Silent Blog 11/17/20

Nov 10, 2020
2 min

Voice Acting And Your Worth – The Not Silent Blog 11/09/20

What is your worth as a voice actor? I bring this up because over the weekend I led the Breakout Session, “Know Your Worth: A Conversation about Rates, Negotiating, and Billing” at the fantastic Mini MAVO 2020. We discussed how to build a Rate Sheet, negotiate with clients, and invoicing protocols but we also talked at length about your worth as a voiceover business aka your value. What determines your worth as a voiceover business? I’m not talking about being talented or fun

Voice Acting And Your Worth – The Not Silent Blog 11/09/20

Nov 3, 2020
2 min

Voice Acting and Connecting – The Not Silent Blog 11/03/20

Connecting with your copy is critical to being an effective voice actor. Here’s a lesson in NOT connecting… About thirteen years ago, I was the stage manager for an Off-Off-Broadway play. The play had two actors and one of them was, well, let’s just say not connecting. As I watched the rehearsals & performances, I took notes on what NOT to do as an actor. Here are some of them: Don’t sell it, just say it Don’t present anything Don’t ignore the clues & cues inherent in the scr

Voice Acting and Connecting – The Not Silent Blog 11/03/20

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