Complaining is something we all do from time to time. Some more than others…
Why do humans seem to enjoy complaining so much? Some are complaining to express dissatisfaction or a loss of control. Others are complaining just to vent.
We see people on various social media groups complaining about all sorts of subjects from rates to poorly written scripts, but mostly about Pay-to-Play sites. Either they hate them or they aren’t getting enough work to suit them. Here’s the reality of it.
The majority of voice talents can’t find work on casting sites for various reasons. Most don’t have the talent. Many who have the talent don’t have proper training or a professional demo. Some don’t know how to audition effectively. Others don’t have a quality home recording setup.
Even if you have the talent, proper training, an effective demo, and good audition technique, remember that casting sites (to use Steven Jay Cohen’s analogy) are like dating sites. Sometimes it just takes a while to find the right match. If you don’t have the training or an effective demo, well, all the complaining in the world won’t help.
FYI if you’re a voice actor who hates Pay-to-Play sites, they’re not going anywhere. I will say that if your complaining also involves educating new voice actors as to the potential pitfalls of certain P2P sites and other steps they can take to book work like Direct Marketing, that’s cool. Just don’t shout at the rain. It doesn’t help anyone.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Complaining on social media about anything related to your profession, in my humble opinion, is ill-advised.
If you’re a voice seeker, would you want to work with someone who complains all the time? What if, while complaining, you violate your NDA, disparage the end-client, or make a comment that could be interpreted as racist, sexist, homophobic, or anti-Semitic? Actors, singers, and other artists sabotage their own careers all the time on social media. Don’t be one of those idiots.
If you feel the need to complain; take it offline and look inward. What are you complaining about and why? Is it moving your career forward? Is it actionable?
If you have an actual problem that needs solving, sure, you can look to social media if you want but PLEASE do some research before you post a question. Trust me, the odds are you’re not the first person to have the issue you have.
NEWS AND NOTES
Thursday, July 23rd @8PM EDT: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘4 Words That Will Kill Your Marketing’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about how most voice actors are their own worst enemy and how to stop the cycle. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up!
Sunday, August 9th @1PM EDT: The Voice Actors Studio presents…’How to Manage your Money Like a VO Pro‘. So…you got your first (or maybe it’s your 257th) voiceover paycheck! CONGRATS!!! What do you do with it? Where do you deposit it? Should you open a new bank account? How much should you set aside for taxes? Should you incorporate? How do you get insurance? How do you save for retirement? All this and much more will be discussed in this online workshop. Sign up here!
September 11-13: The 100 eVOcation early bird tickets sold out in six hours! Since it’s a 100% digital conference about all things voiceover business & marketing there is still room. Click here to sign up.
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy Ice Cream Day and Moon Day!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tom Dheere is a voice actor who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.