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 funny or owning an expensive microphone. I’m talking about actual, practical competence.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Your worth as a voiceover business is a combination of the three P’s…
Professionalism: the competence or skill expected of a professional. If you get quality training from an established voiceover coach you can comport yourself professionally even if you’ve never booked a gig.
Preparedness: a state of readiness. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you book a voiceover gig. Have effective Systems of Execution in place so there no surprises and you don’t forget anything.
Project Management: the planning and organization needed to complete a project. You must be organized and understand every element that goes into a successful voiceover gig.
Of course you should focus on being a better narrator. That’s critical, but it’s not enough these days. Think your way through every step of the process of auditioning, producing, and billing. Create a checklist that you will adhere to on every single voiceover project. THAT will improve your worth.
FYI the “Know Your Worth” webinar will be available for purchase very soon so stay tuned!
NEWS AND NOTES
Wednesday, November 11th @8PM EDT: “Agents, Unions, and your VO Business”. Curious about representation and SAG-AFTRA? Are they right for your voiceover business? Sign up here!
Thursday, November 12th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be ‘Keeping Clients Coming Back’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll tell you the REAL secret to client retention. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up.
Thursday, November 19th @8PM EST: My next Edge Studio Business and Money 201 webinar will be ‘Managing your Money’. In this one-hour webinar, we’ll talk about what to do with your paycheck and how to manage your finances, credit cards, insurance, and retirement. This webinar caps at 25 attendees and sells out fast. Click here to sign up.
HAPPY HAPPYS
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. In addition to voice acting, he is a voiceover business and marketing consultant known as the VOStrategist. When not voicing or talking about voicing, Tom produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”. You can subscribe to his weekly blog and the monthly VO Strategist Learnin’ Stuff Notice here.