In the film ‘Apollo 13’ Ed Harris said, “Failure is not an option”. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have voiceovers in mind.
Failure is absolutely an option in voiceovers and it’s the path that most aspiring talents take. Are they making a conscious choice to fail? Of course not. But their choices often lead to failure.
Why?
Lack of talent: choosing to enter a business that they have no business entering
Lack of training: choosing to have minimal or no coaching
Lack of resources: choosing to invest little or no capital in their fledgling business
Lack of skill sets: choosing not to learn how to market, set goals, negotiate rates, etc.
Lack of self-awareness: choosing not to engage in critical thinking about one’s self, the voiceover industry, or one’s relationship to the industry.
That is why you fail.
Wow, quoting Ed Harris AND Yoda in one blog entry? I need a nap…
TIP OF THE WEEK
How does one avoid failure in the voiceover industry?
Embrace it.
As a performing artist, one must learn to embrace failure. Failure is an ingrained part of improving your narration skills, your marketing skills, your audition skills, and much more. It’s a numbers game. Learn as much as you can, audition as much as you can, and meet as many industry professionals as you can. Notice why you fail so you can learn from the experience and apply your newly-found wisdom.
Failure to make the right choices and failure to learn from your mistakes is why you will fail. Making smart, practical, value-driven choices and learning from your mistakes as you navigate the voiceover industry will set you up for success.
NEWS AND NOTES
Thursday, May 21st @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.
Wednesday, May 27th @2:00 PM EST: even though the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) is cancelled, my meeting table has gone virtual! From 2:00-3:45 PM EST, you are welcome to book a FREE 15-minute consult with me. We can talk about audiobook marketing, business, or just chat. This caps at 7 slots and will fill up fast so sign up ASAP. Click here to book your free 15-minute consult!
Thursday May 28th @2:30 PM EST: my “Learning to do eLearning” workshop has also gone from live to virtual! In this two-hour workshop you will learn what eLearning narration is, it’s sub-genres, narration tips, how much to charge, demo specs, and there will be live coaching! It’s $100 to attend, but due to the pandemic you can use the $25-off promo code EARLYBIRD528 anytime! This webinar caps at 50 attendees and is filling up fast so sign up ASAP. Click here to register!
HAPPY HAPPYS
Happy World Baking Day and Map Reading Week!
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.