Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Karen Commins

Don’t wait for vacation to send a postcard

Sometimes I’m amazed by the synchronicity of events in my life. For instance, this week I have been looking at sites on-line for postcard vendors. I’m planning my next postcard mail-out and have been comparing prices and offerings, as well as requesting samples. I previously have been working with a local printer, but I may be able to get a better deal on the glossy paper from a company that specializes in postcards. BTW, if you want to know why you should include postcards in your marketing mix and how to plan a campaign, I recommend that you download the marketing guide from www.modernpostcard.com.

This morning, I had to wait for a table at breakfast at a trendy restaurant in an artistic part of Atlanta. While I waited, I thumbed through the August issue of Performer Magazine, a free magazine that I never knew existed. The magazine is aimed at musicians, but the article on selling yourself with your merchandise benefitted me. It listed 2 pages of web sites for various promotional products and — you guessed it — postcards.

I want to go on on a small tangent from my discussion about postcards and marketing at the moment. Not only did the magazine article contain just the material I needed about postcards, but the past articles about recording posted in the magazine web site look like they may be very helpful. I’m always interested to learn everything I can about recording. In fact, I just ordered Pat Fraley’s newly-published book about home recording studios. Even though I have a totally wonderful studio, everything I learn from Pat is of tremendous value. I’m particularly looking forward to reading his info about self-direction, audio production tips and travel gear.

Marketing mentor Dan Kennedy’s e-mail message today said, in part, that frequency and recency are important with your clients, so frequent communication is required. In other words, out of sight, out of mind. I think postcards are a great way to maintain regular contact with the whole client list.

I’m also a member of Susan Berkley’s voice-over silver inner circle. Susan is a fantastic, warm, caring coach who truly wants every person she mentors to reach their highest potential. In the program, we have monthly hour-long teleconference with industry guests where we get the inside scoop on all parts of the business, a day for personal contact with Susan and Susan’s weekly e-mail containing advice about furthering our careers. She usually sends the the weekly e-mail at the beginning of the week, but for some reason, it arrived today. Can you guess the subject of her message this week?

POSTCARD POWER

I told you the synchronicity was rather amazing, didn’t I?

Do you still use postcards in your business? I’d love to hear your comments on the subject, as well as any sites you recommend. I’m obviously looking for a vendor! 🙂

 

A short lesson in goal-setting

I no longer am the only person in my family to have earned a Master’s degree. As of yesterday, I’m proud to report that my brother Michael Schubert has joined me as a graduate with this illustrious degree. He was awarded his MBA in Finance from my alma mater Georgia State University. You may think this entry has nothing to do with voice-over, but the lesson it conveys should be helpful to everyone.


While we dined at one of Atlanta’s historical and celebrated institutions for unique cuisine to commemorate his latest achievement, I discussed with Mike the steps he took to accomplish this goal. Not surprisingly, he told me that he had followed the time-proven steps used by athletes, rock stars, voice-over actors (!), corporate CEOs or anyone working on a large and seemingly unattainable dream.

In the words of William Jennings Bryan:

Destiny is no matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

1. Mike has accomplished and continues to accomplish many wonderful things in his life because his goals are written down.

2. He never has any doubt about the outcome or his ability to attain the desired goal. He believes in himself.

3. In addition, he surrounds himself with people who believe in him. Mike’s wife Tammy is his greatest supporter. Don’t waste your time or energy discussing your dreams and goals to the naysayers. Mike’s signature line on his e-mail is Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by someone who is doing it.

4. Mike visualized his success. He thought about what it would feel like to earn his Master’s degree and the benefits that reaching this goal would bring to him.

5. Most importantly, my brother consistently took action on a daily basis. He could always see the goal in reach and becoming closer in his sight.

My sister-in-law Tammy, meanwhile, has goals of her own. She is a romance writer who is working to publish her first novel. She has written an outstanding article about how to write your goals so that you can actually achieve them.

Mike has professional goals that will eventually land him the role as the CEO, CFO or CIO of a Fortune 500 company. His sought-after knowledge and skills will serve him well in any of those positions. I just hope that he remembers when he is in those executive meetings that his sister can perform the radio and TV commercials and corporate e-learning projects for his company!

 

What can John Travolta teach us about voice-over?

Drew and I watched the third Austin Powers movie again over the weekend. I had forgotten that John Travolta had cameo at the end of the movie, and I was reminded about an amazing part of Travolta’s story that proves to me once more that

things happen for a reason.

To quote Wayne Dyer:

All things are happening as they should,
and the Universe is acting in complete synchronicity.
You may not know or don’t remember that John Travolta had a hit album in the 70s. The only song that I can remember was called Let Her In. When Travolta was a guest on Oprah’s show a few years ago, he said that someone heard his song and knew he was on TV with Welcome Back Kotter, and that’s how he got cast for Grease (in my view, Travolta’s role of a lifetime #2 after Saturday Night Fever). He said that

all moments have importance

(my emphasis) because a kid named Quentin Tarantino grew up watching Grease and decided that he wouldn’t make Pulp Fiction (Travolta’s role of a lifetime #3, not that I personally liked the movie) without the guy who starred in Grease. Even Travolta said how he can see events building on each other. On another day, I will share a detailed story about my studio that illustrates how events built on each other and were guided by intuitive decisions.

I think his story also demonstrates that you have to keep doing what you believe in doing. If you keep putting yourself, your work, your talent and your ambition out in the Universe, it will come back to you in ways that you couldn’t even imagine, and your future will better than you dreamed possible. Travolta certainly made some bad films in between Grease and Pulp Fiction. He didn’t let the negative opinion of many critics stop him. I think many people thought his career was over by the time Pulp Fiction came out. Since then, he’s been in some fabulous movies and seems to be getting even better. I think even he would be surprised by the success and acclaim he has achieved.

Keep taking those classes, doing the auditions, making contacts…. Do something everyday to advance your career. It all will come back to you. If you must work another job and feel frustrated by that fact, just keep reminding yourself why you are there and choose instead to feel gratitude for the many blessings it provides you. I have a friend who says:

You don’t go on safari without having a base camp.
The base camp has to be funded, stocked and operational in order to have a successful safari.
Your other job is providing the basis for your base camp, and your voice-over career is the grand adventure known as the safari! Remember — you don’t have to risk everything just to get what you want. Live in the moment, and know that every moment has meaning!

 

Do you perform in your underwear?

I subscribe to several voice-over lists. The subject question is actually a current and very active topic on one of them. Many people have answered the question, but I will never be among them. If you haven’t already posted an answer, I hope I can give you some new things to consider before you press the Send button with your reply.

It’s not like these lists are some little private gathering where you can whisper secrets among close friends. Sure, camaraderie exists if you’ve been a list member for a long time, but you don’t really KNOW the other list members. You may have regularly contributed to an e-mail list or forum, but would you know someone from that list if they walked into the room?

Answering or reading such messages is a huge waste of time. If you have some down time, you could be doing any number of productive things to advance your career like calling a client, updating your database, modifying your web site, recording new scratch tracks for practice, learning to apply filters in your editing software, etc. You could be doing things to otherwise improve your life like communicating with family and friends, taking a walk, learning to play a musical instrument, decluttering your office, planning a trip, etc. Of course, you could just sit and be for a few minutes, reveling in the quiet, doing absolutely nothing other than enjoying being alive, perhaps meditating and visualizing the kind of life you want for yourself!

In addition to the time-wasting nature of the topic, you never know who might read your words later and form an opinion about you. Would you answer this question if you knew that your clients or potential clients were reading your messages? How about if your parents or your significant other were to find your post? Would they be hurt or shocked by your response to something that you thought was just silly banter? Any of these people could read what you write on-line because your words live on into perpetuity!

I wrote in a recent post

Nothing is more powerful on this planet
than the words that you think and speak.

This concept was driven home to me in the small yet powerful book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz. Rather than paraphrasing the beautiful wisdom of the book, I’ll quote from the cover:

Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Don’t Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Don’t Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

The Four Agreements may sound simple, but they are difficult to implement on a daily basis. Just realizing the power of your words is a life-changing step! When I first started in voice-over, I would laugh and say I would do any job where the check would clear. Now, I decline to perform jobs when I don’t like the words that would be coming out of my mouth. They may be someone else’s words, but I would be the one saying them. If I’m using the power of the word against someone else or against my own beliefs and values, then I won’t take the job.

Since I don’t want to use the power of the word against myself, I don’t want say things that might hurt my professional reputation in others’ eyes….like answering a question in a public forum about how I’m dressed when I perform my job. If someone wants to know how how I look when I work in my studio, they can see the picture of my stunning soundproof studio on my web site.

Answer the question, if you feel so inclined. However, I won’t interested in the answer.

 

A missed opportunity to help others

Twenty years from now,

so throw off the bow line,
sail away from the safe harbor,
catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Because that what life is about.

–Mark Twain

I love quotes. When I saw this one on Thursday, I thought I would use it to encourage other people to follow their dreams, whether that dream was a starting a career in voice-over, learning to speak French, adopting a dog, visiting a foreign country or bungee-jumping off a bridge. We all have special gifts, talents and skills. No one sees the world the same way, and we’re all here for a purpose.

I think part of my purpose is to help people.

On Thursday, though, I was just thinking about my voice-over business and, more particularly, my web site. Thursday is the day that Drew and I attended an internet marketing seminar. The seminar was more of a pressured sales pitch than we thought it would be.

Mark Twain’s quote was used in the introduction to get people thinking about the kind of lifestyle they would lead if they were free of financial worry, which, according to StoresOnline.com, the presenting company, they obviously could be if they would start marketing products on the Internet today. I doubt Mark Twain ever meant that he thought people should part with their hard-earned money at 18% interest in order to buy a company’s package of 6 web sites!

We knew before we went that StoresOnline would be hawking its products, but we also knew that we weren’t going to buy anything. We only went so we could pick up tips from the panel of 11 internet marketing experts who were supposed to speak with us but never did as a group. (We later learned their role was meet with us individually to sell us the web site package.) In other words, we were going to help ourselves. I now see that I missed a huge opportunity to help other people, and I regret that I didn’t take it.

Since we weren’t going to buy anything, we didn’t do any research on StoresOnline prior to attending the event. We didn’t know that the company keeps changing its name, has been sued countless times around the world due to its shady business practices and has been the subject of TV investigative reports.

However, we did know while we were sitting there that:

  • The first hour was a complete waste of time as StoresOnline got right into their sales pitch. I told Drew we were burning daylight, and we would leave if they didn’t provide some real content soon.
  • We were uncomfortably cold; the temperature became noticeably colder — to the point of being frigid — when the supposed current client began speaking. They couldn’t risk anyone falling asleep! I did tell one of the “consultants” that I was aware of their little ploy to drop the temperature, and there was no reason it had to be 60 degrees. He denied it was in their control.
  • No breaks were given.
  • The “training” was not organized like a true class with objectives, summaries and time for questions. They would not entertain any questions during the presentations!
  • The constant push for 6 web sites was extremely odd. It’s enough work to get one site up and running and fully optimized before you tackle a second one. SIX?
  • We’re getting far better monthly web hosting prices than the special workshop price that we were quoted.
  • If someone orders a product from a web site and has a problem, they will go back to the web site for resolution. They don’t expect to work with a third-party like the actual supplier (drop-shipper) directly.
  • Companies who have special today-only offers and finance people ready to show how you can take advantage of those incredible offers are only there to take your money.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

I saw people filling out their finance forms, and I heard the credit card machine. I don’t know how much of that activity was from audience shills who were paid from the company to make it appear to real participants like people were eagerly signing up for these offers. From looking at the crowd, we observed that many people seemed to be in the 50-65 age range, while others seemed to have physical issues that would make at-home incomes very enticing.

As a voice-over artist, my profession is based on giving a voice to people who either can’t or won’t speak for themselves. Someone provides their words to me in the form of a script, but I always have to bring out the author’s meaning to the intended audience. During my years in corporate America, I would speak up when no one else would. My gift is my voice, and I regret that it was quiet during this seminar.

At one point early in the day, we did have a little interaction with the table behind us, and I could have said something to those people to not sign anything that day and certainly not to enter any financing agreement. I could have talked to women in the restroom or to anyone in the corridors at lunch. I could have pretended to get coffee (I don’t drink it) and whispered to the people at the coffee pot that this offer was a rip-off and not to buy anything. I could have passed a paper down my table like in high school with the note that no one needs to start with 6 web sites.

We were seated at the very front and center of the room. As the speaker took a breath and moved to the front of the room (he was standing right next to me 90% of the time), I could have stood up and announced to everyone there, “6400 dollars for six web sites? Are you CRAZY?” I’ve certainly got the voice to carry in a large room without a microphone. I could have done it, and we could have walked out. I wonder how many people would have followed us.

I could have done any one or all of these things. I did nothing except listen for information that could help me increase traffic to my own web site, have a nice lunch and skip out early to beat the traffic home. It was all about me that day, but it shouldn’t have been. I have discovered that any time I can be of service to others without any expectation of reward is when the reward is greatest. This episode at the seminar is a good reminder of that fact.

One refined and snappily-dressed lady who works in commercial real estate walked over and talked to Drew and me at lunch. She was proud of her new web site, and fortunately, she started telling US that the seminar prices were too high! Maybe she was trying to look out for us just as I should have looked out for others.

While I missed the opportunity to help others in person, I am posting this entry because I hope that my words will help someone in the future. In the event that I have the chance to attend such a presentation again, I can assure you that I will research the company ahead of time. I will utilize the gift of my voice and network with participants so that they can make informed decisions.

 

The keys to a successful business

Yesterday, Drew and I, along with a couple hundred other people, went to an all-day Internet marketing seminar at a major Atlanta hotel convention center. We both are researching some new business ventures, but we were primarily interested in learning about driving traffic to our existing web sites. If someone is offering a free teleconference, webinar or seminar on a topic in which I’m interested, I take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new. Even one bit of useful information can give me a competitive advantage.

The company sponsoring yesterday’s event is in the business of selling web sites to people who want to sell products. The marketing principles for a web site promoting a service like voice-over acting and a product line are the same. As with brick and mortar companies, my on-line presence is an extension of my off-line business. I heard some very useful information about improving my search engine rankings and some clever marketing techniques that made the day worthwhile.

Of course, spending a rare weekday with Drew was the best part! 🙂 A nice lunch at the hotel was included in this slick presentation; after all, you needed to keep your strength up if you were going to be able to sign your name on your check or credit card slip when you made your major purchase later in the day.In looking over some of my material and doing my own research, I ran across a free e-book titled Starting Your Internet Business. The book is offered on a site that interacts heavily with eBay merchants and Entrepreneur Magazine, and the book seems to have some good tips about setting up your on-line business.

I was particularly interested to note the comments in chapter 11 about the merchant account. A merchant account is the company that does your credit card processing for you. Voice talent who accept credit cards tend to use PayPal to perform this service, but businesses selling a product need to provide a secure, click-and-go ordering and credit verification system in their interface. If you have a heavy volume of credit card processing, you should consider getting your own merchant account as not everyone has or is comfortable using a PayPal account.

The company presenting the yesterday’s seminar was charging a special workshop rate of $999 for the merchant account. When I say special rate, they said the normal rate was $1800! However, to entice you to sign up at the workshop, the rate was discounted. To report all the facts, I should mention that this rate would apply to all of the sites that you purchased. The presenting company was really pushing 6 sites; I won’t even tell you how much they wanted for the site set-up and monthly programming.

However, Chris Malta, the e-book author, mentioned that a merchant account could be obtained for less than $200!. I’ve been thinking about getting a merchant account for my voice-over business and will look into the sources that he lists. Obviously, it pays to do your homework and shop around for your services. I wondered how many of those people yesterday signed up for the full package, not even knowing what product line they wanted to sell, much less a comparison cost of other providers’ web development and hosting fees. Also, while I’m on this tangent, the presenting company yesterday kept discussing drop-shippers as a source of products, but they never bothered to mention that you probably have to pay to get access to the best directories of suppliers.

I haven’t finished reading everything in the free e-book, but he also talks about some basic business items like a tax ID. At first glance, a voice-over person might not think much in this book would apply to his or her situation. However, lessons can be extrapolated from every book on business!

I particularly wish that every person dreaming of a career in voice-over who plans to write to me would first read chapter 9, The Real Business World. The author wrote that if you only remember one chapter in the book, it should be this one. Malta included 3 typical e-mails that he has received, along with his analysis of each person’s chance for success. If the subject were voice-over instead home business and drop-shipping, I could say that I have received similar e-mails and had similar gut reactions to them. In addition, the drop-shipper who wrote asking to be removed from the directory listed recurring problematic themes that I have noticed from people who write to me for guidance.

While I personally respond to everyone who contacts me requesting information, I also have noticed that 99% of the people never bother to thank me for my time (and time is money, you know!) or give me any indication whether my communication with them was helpful. I make this statement not because my ego needs stroking, but to point out the decline of courtesy in our society. Simple courtesy is a much-desired trait in business and in life.

In short, you CAN make your dreams about your business into a reality….by doing your own research, taking consistent action toward your goals, always learning new things and treating others with respect.