Away From the Mic

3Cs? Make that 4Cs of Branding Illustrated by Barry Manilow

28 May 2010

Success leaves clues.

Yesterday, I analyzed Barry Manilow as a brand to offer clues to voice talent about marketing your personal brand to your clients. He has defined his core product, offers consistent results, and embraces constant improvement.

Today, I realized I forgot the last and most defining C in the branding process. As you can hear toward the end of this clip (1:07), Barry Manilow has a secret weapon that has made him a legend in the music industry and which savvy voiceover folks will want to adopt.

Barry Manilow performs with his back-up singers (Keely Vasquez, foreground)

at Paris Las Vegas, 3/21/10

The 4th C of Branding — Create Your Own Stuff

Every day, I see questions on various voice-over boards like:

How do I get an agent? (I wrote a little about agents on this page.)

Should I join one of the voiceover casting — commonly referred to as pay-to-play (P2P) — sites, and if so, which one is better? (If you’re interested, my answer to that question is here.)

Who actually wins all these auditions? (You do have more on your marketing plan than waiting for auditions, don’t you? If you need help in creating a marketing plan, check out this post. Also, this post contains 25+ marketing and publicity ideas to attract clients to you. You’ll find other marketing articles in the archives.)

To me, the approaches above cause you to give away your power. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do them as part of your marketing mix. However, you’ll have far greater power to move your voiceover career in the direction you want it to go by casting yourself in your own projects.

Our friends who act on camera or in the theatre will write a play or show for the web, create the set, design costumes, get their friends to act with them, star in the show, direct it, and publicize their effort — all WITHOUT pay. Either we professional voiceover people aren’t creating our own stuff, or we’re not publicizing it too well.

I also think many people resist investing time in such projects when they aren’t being paid. Our society tends to attach monetary value to everything, which can make us feel that it’s not worth doing something simply for the pleasure of doing it. Creating our own work allows us to develop skills and make us more competitive for those paying jobs. You might consider your own project to be a specialized form of practice. In addition, we can use our own projects in our publicity efforts. If you keep working at it, who knows? Someone may even pay you someday for your creation.

What to Create?

I think the question could be answered by looking at what you like and the category of voice work that you want to obtain. Below are some ideas that may inspire you.

Promos? How about creating your own video with your voice as the promo? If you can’t create a video, perhaps you could work with the public access cable channel to develop one. You could post the finished product on your site and others like YouTube.

Audiobooks? How about recording short stories and books for the blind, reading at your library, or recording for Learning Ally?

Commercials? How about writing your own copy and setting it to music?

Video games? How about voicing some projects on one of the fan sites?

Podcasts? How about turning an organization’s newsletter into a podcast or Internet radio show?

Narrations? How about narrating feature stories from magazines? You could scan pictures or buy stock images and add them to PowerPoint or a video to create a finished presentation. As another idea, you could create audio or video podcasts based on scripts that you write.

I cannot express to you the power and importance of creating your own work in building your personal brand and attaining the level of success you want in voiceover. But — don’t take my word for it.

For years, actor/producer/director Bob Fraser has been advising actors to cast themselves and create their own work.

Author/producer/casting director Bonnie Gillespie is such a strong advocate of self-produced work that she includes someone’s self-produced work each week in her popular column The Actor’s Voice.

And now, you’ve heard it directly from Barry Manilow.

Success does leave clues, and 3 famous and highly successful people have all left the same one. Now that you have it, what are you going to do about it? I’d love to get your comments and see examples of your creations on this blog!

3 Cs of Branding Illustrated by Barry Manilow

27 May 2010

Barry Manilow.

Paris.

Both are iconic brands that exude love and romance. Can you sum up your voice-over brand in a few short words?

Since 1993, I’ve traveled to over a dozen cities from London to Las Vegas just to see Barry Manilow in concert. I’ve seen him perform 51 times, including his newest show at the spectacular Paris Las Vegas during my recent trip to Las Vegas. The Paris Las Vegas resort is the perfect venue for Barry, and his new show includes images of Impressionists works found in Paris, France. The latest rendition of Barry’s show is truly an ideal marriage between 2 romantic brands.

Barry has been creating albums and performing in live concerts for over 35 years. After that last concert, I thought about 3 Cs related to Barry’s branding that may help you achieve similar longevity with your voiceover career.

Barry Manilow performing at the Paris Las Vegas, 3/21/10

People are always shocked when I say how many times I’ve gone to a Manilow concert. They ask me why I would go see the same performer so many times. They incredulously inquire, “Isn’t it the same show every time?”

Since I want to answer that question here by talking about his branding, I think it’s easier to understand branding when looking at products instead of people. If I said I had bought Tide detergent hundreds of times in my life, no one would find the revelation shocking. At best, they might be curious about the reason for my allegiance to that particular brand of detergent.

Core Product

Tide detergent is a carefully formulated product that will remove stains from clothes. It is a brand to distinguish it from other, similar-looking products that also remove stains from clothes.

Many people don’t stop to think of an entertainer as a powerful form of brand promotion. Whether we’re talking about a legendary performer with decades of experience like Barry Manilow or the newest voice talent plugging in a microphone today, a voice-over talent is a unique brand just as Barry Manilow is.

What kind of song is Barry known for? Love songs. True, he sings in a wide variety of musical genres — including jazz, pop, standards, rock, and even Latin (and I’m not just talking about Copacabana) — but he uses the same signature sound and stays true to his core product line of love songs in most cases.

As a voice talent, I also have worked in multiple genres — commercials, audiobooks, e-learning modules, games, and phone systems. Although I may employ a different attitude or change my vocal attributes to create a character voice, the vast majority of my work employs my signature sound. I usually stay true to my core product line of factual presentation.

Just as clothes detergents look the same, and a singer’s catalog tends to sound the same, you will probably note some similarity among the types of scripts on which you excel. If you stop and determine where that similarity lies, you will have found your core product. When you know your core product, it’s easier to target a niche of people who want that product.

Consistent Results

Most people make all purchasing decisions out of habit or, ideally, affinity to a particular brand. We repeat our decisions when we are satisfied with the product and it provides predictable, consistent results. Fans of entertainers and sports teams repeatedly pay big bucks to see their idols perform. What’s more, they are only too happy to buy merchandise with their idol’s name and logo, etc.

When I buy Tide, I know that my clothes will be clean. When I buy a ticket to a Manilow concert, I know I will hear favorite songs and see a high-energy show for 2 hours. When a client books me for a voice-over job, they know they will receive a well-narrated, pristine recording of their script before their deadline. Since I market my brand as “A Vacation For Your Ears”, clients rightfully expect me to be bright, sunny, stress-free, and fun!

Constant Improvement

Going back to my detergent analogy, if Tide had never made a change in the years that I had been buying it, I probably would have switched to another detergent. As it is, Tide has removed chemicals that irritated my skin, changed from powder to liquid, and created new packaging which encourages me to get refills. The basic product stayed the same, but improvements have been made based on customer feedback.

In the years that I’ve followed Barry, he also has improved. Sure, you know you’re going to hear certain songs and some of the same jokes from concert to concert. Mandy, Copacabana, and I Write The Songs are part of his core product line. The production and staging has changed with different tours and venues. Also, Barry has continued to produce new albums, so the music changes over time as well. He has said that he gets bored with the same show, and he knows his fans would, too. Therefore, he even changes elements of the show each night.

My clients have also benefitted from my constant improvement. I have upgraded studio components and continue to take classes to maintain and improve my performance.

When you define and stick with your core product, offer consistent results, and embrace constant improvement, you will find much success in your voice-over career over the years.

********************

Aside from these thoughts about branding, I’ve learned some extremely important life’s lessons from Barry which may help you live the life of your dreams, specifically:

Don’t take your critics’ words to heart; what do they know, anyway?
Forget about pleasing everybody; concentrate on playing to the people who like what you do.
Do what you love (in my case, voice-over) not for the money but because you can’t NOT do it. Barry has said: “You shouldn’t do it for the applause, the money or the ego satisfaction because it doesn’t work. You’ve got to do it because you’ve got to do it.”
Your job is just what you do, but it doesn’t change who you are.
You can give in, you can give out, but you don’t give up.
The better produced demo you make, the better chance you have.

One of my dearest dreams is to meet Barry and have a private, meaningful conversation with him. I want to tell him how much I have learned from him and enjoyed his music. According to this article, he’s planning to create an audio autobiography. I would certainly love to work with him in any capacity on that project, if only to be the narrator who introduces the book for him. I’m also open to singing or playing my harp with him during one of his shows!

At the end of his concerts, Barry often urges his audiences:

DO WHAT YOU LOVE!

He closed his autobiography with this passage, and I want to share it with you.

I believe that we are who we choose to be.

Nobody is going to come and save you. You’ve got to save yourself.

Nobody is going to give you anything. You’ve got to go out and fight for it.

Nobody knows what you want except you,
and nobody will be as sorry as you if you don’t get it.

So don’t give up your dreams.

Another voice talent meet-up

9 April 2010

An amazing trend is emerging in my voice-over career. For the second time in 2 weeks, I’ve had the immense pleasure of meeting some fellow voice talents. In fact, both occasions occurred on a Monday evening dinner at an Italian restaurant. See? Amazing!

First, Drew and I met our friend Dave Courvoisier during our trip to Las Vegas in March. This week, it was our turn to play hosts to our friend, the highly successful voice talent and marketer extraordinaire Peter O’Connell as he visited Atlanta.

Voice talents Peter O’Connell, Karen Commins, and Craig Crumpton

are all smiles after dinner together

Although we’ve interacted a good bit on-line for several years, I hadn’t been able to connect with Peter during 2-3 of his past trips to my lovely (and right now, pollen-caked) city. This time, he wisely alerted me in plenty of time so that I could hire a professional organizer to arrange my sock drawer. I wanted to eliminate any possible obstacle I would have in meeting him! 🙂

In addition to his tremendous vocal talent and impressive client list, I have long admired Peter’s marketing prowess. He actually practices “old school” marketing and PR techniques like setting up a booth at trade shows. Of course, his skill in marketing just adds more companies to that already impressive client list. In his copious spare time, Peter wrote the fantastic VoiceOver Entrance Exam, a free e-book that should be required reading for everyone entering this industry.

I also was delighted to meet at long last the multi-talented Craig “Voiceroy” Crumpton, who was able to join us in this little soiree on Monday night. Craig and I also have shared on-line correspondence over the years but hadn’t met. Anyone who lives in Atlanta or is familiar with our traffic — sure to be on any top 5 list for worst traffic in the country — can understand why Craig and I hadn’t met before this week! Craig entertained us with stories of his recent adventures singing with a gospel quartet in Japan, as well as his stint as a featured extra in the upcoming movie The Conspirator.

We decided to meet at Olive Garden, and their slogan of “when you’re here, you’re family” certainly seemed to apply to us. Time flew by in the company of both these fun and engaging gentlemen. We got to know each other better as people and learned from each other as voiceover professionals. I found the conversations about agents to be especially helpful as I will soon seek additional representation in new markets.

I’ve met more voice-over pros in 2 months than in all of last year. Getting out of my house and meeting my wonderful peers is an exciting trend that I intend to continue.

What happens in Vegas

26 March 2010

The catchy TV ads for Las Vegas tourism caution you: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. A banner at the airport reminds you of that slogan as you head to your departure gate.

What happens in any place I travel stays there…..UNTIL I get home. When Drew and I travel, we never post anything on-line to indicate we’re not at home. Tweets about the trip, Facebook photo updates, and blog posts all have to wait until we get home. It would be too easy for crooks to see our on-line updates, find our house with Google maps, and clean us out while we’re gone.

Now that I’m back from a fabulous trip to Vegas, all bets are off. I had such a great time that a tell-all blog is in order!

Drew and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary by renewing our vows while sitting on a Harley at the Little White Wedding Chapel Tunnel of Love. Yes, we renewed our vows at a drive-through window! We expected the ceremony to be just a few sentences, like “Do you still take her? Do you still take him? Okay, ride on then!” However, the ceremony actually was very meaningful while still being fun and unique.

Karen and Drew Commins say “I do — again!” at a Las Vegas drive-though chapel

Although our vow renewal ceremony was the reason for the trip, a big highlight for both of us was finally meeting our friend, the dedicated news anchor, energetic Renaissance man, and talented fellow professional voiceover actor Dave Courvoisier. Dave and I have exchanged many thoughtful e-mails, and occasionally, we’ve even surmounted time zone differences between Las Vegas and Atlanta to talk on the phone. It was such a joy to be able to spend a few hours with him in person.

Dave generously invited us to sit in on his 5pm newscast at KLAS-TV, where he anchors the 4pm, 5pm, and 11pm newscasts. Such a grueling schedule would be enough for many people. Dave’s busy, high-profile job is just a part of his work week. For instance, he was an emcee on Saturday, 20 March for the Chefs for Kids Gala, a benefit at which Las Vegas chefs combine efforts to raise money to provide nutritionists and meals at Clark County schools.

Las Vegas KLAS-TV anchors Dave Courvoisier and Denise Valdez in a newscast.
Dave is on the air in this picture.

After the newscast, we enjoyed a relaxing and delicious Italian dinner at Nora’s Cuisine. The conversation flowed easily; we never encountered one of of those awkward, pregnant pauses. We talked about our families and the sadness over losing our parents. We talked about Drew’s recent certification as a Dive Control Specialist. We talked about the technology at the TV studio and Dave’s role as a leader and teacher of social networking among the staff.

Naturally, we spent a good bit of time talking about our voice-over careers. I rarely come out of my studio to talk with another voice talent, so this discussion was quite refreshing. Dave has been in voice-over for about 5 years, and I’ve been doing it for 11 years. We’re on similar paths as we both continue to evolve and grow as professional voice talent. In fact, we’ve both recently completed extensive coursework from celebrated LA voiceover coach and branding guru Nancy Wolfson and created new commercial demos under her direction.

I was impressed to learn that Dave created a second web site solely aimed at audiobook narration. I also have had the same idea, but Dave has actually implemented it. I admire his targeted and focused marketing to one of his niche audiences.

By the way, Dave insists that he DOES sleep 6-8 hours a night, but I still find it difficult to believe that he has time to sleep at all!

Drew and I had a very special anniversary trip to Las Vegas. Spending quality time with Dave Courvoisier made it all the better, and we look forward to visiting with him again soon.

Voice actors Dave Courvoisier and Karen Commins
bask in the glow of the neon light from a tattoo shop.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

6 ways to show you respect another person’s time

19 January 2010

Yet another person called me today because of a desire to get into voiceover. While I have always endeavored to provide assistance to people considering a voice-over career, several things about this exchange left me feeling more irritated than helpful. Therefore, I want to turn my negative thoughts into some tips to help others approach me and other voice talent in more respectful manner.

1) If you must leave someone a voice mail, tell them the purpose of your call in your message.

2) If you leave a message and must leave the phone immediately, state a good time to return the call.

Today’s caller left me a message saying she wanted to talk to me. I called her back a mere 13 minutes later and had to leave a message. In my message, I said she could send me an e-mail to cut down on phone tag. (Phone tag is a HUGE time-waster!) As Murphy could have predicted, I was unavailable when she called the second time. Again, she didn’t tell me the purpose of her call. I knew at that point she was either trying to sell me something or wanted to quiz me about becoming a voice talent.

3) Get on-line.

After I told her in my voice mail that she could send me an e-mail, she stated in her second voice mail to me that she didn’t really care for e-mail. Since the entire voiceover industry is increasingly on-line, you will quickly be left behind if you don’t want to communicate through e-mail. When people send me e-mail expressing interest in working in voiceover, I can respond at my leisure — requiring less time on my part — while also offering far more details and links to info than I could give to a prospective voice talent over the phone.

4) Do your own research.

Drew is now working for me in my voiceover business, so I asked him to call her back the second time. He also had to leave a message. (Did I mention that phone tag is a waste of time?) Once they finally were on the phone together, he spent 14 minutes patiently answering this newcomer’s various questions, like:

Since LA and NYC are the big spots for voice-over, can you do it anywhere else? What’s the market like in Atlanta? (Drew’s answer was the same as mine would be — are you currently working in voiceover, or are you looking to get started?)
Who’s a good agent? (I mentioned agents on my advice page on my web site. Basically, you need to have appropriate training, a well-produced demo, marketable skills, and probably a number of bookings before an agent will even listen to you.)
Can you make $50,000 a year? (Yes, but most people starting out don’t make that much.)
Is it possible to make $100,000? Did he know anyone who made that much in voiceover? (Yes, anything is possible. Your earnings are based on a wide number of factors, not the least of which is your audition ratio. A voice talent’s real jobs are auditioning and self-marketing to generate work and consequently income.)
What’s the phone number for Nancy Wolfson (after Drew said I had been studying with her)? How much does Nancy charge? (If you want to talk with Nancy or any other voiceover teacher, look them up and contact them personally.)

Drew referred the caller to my advice page, but she said it looked more like a blog. Obviously, she had not read that page, any of the 100 or so articles on my blog, or any other of the millions of pages on-line that could have answered the questions she was asking.

5) Request an informational interview.

If you want to have an informational interview with anyone currently doing a particular job, send a courteous request for an appointment that has a pre-defined amount of time of no more than 15 minutes. Calling a person and expecting them to take time from their busy schedule just to talk with you when it’s convenient for you shows a total disregard for their time and business. Don’t assume that the person you called can stop their current activity to talk to you.

6) Be prepared with questions.

When I talk to newcomers on the phone, I ask first if they have read my advice page and blog and then whether they have specific questions about the info that I have written. I have a business to run; I don’t have time to man the information desk.

A friend called as I was writing this entry. She summed up the underlying reason for my irritation over today’s events exceptionally well:

Do you want to make money, or do you want to earn it? People who want to make money are out to get rich quick through any means possible and using anyone they can. People who want to earn money are willing to undergo necessary training, proceed methodically, and persistently perform the necessary business aspects such as marketing and accounting to build a career.

A voiceover career definitely falls in the category where you earn money.

A short letter to my loyal readers

7 November 2009

Dear loyal readers of my blog,

You may be surprised to see Twitter updates appearing instead of my normal essays about the topics of voice-over, marketing, and audiobooks. I have not abandoned my style or intention in maintaining this blog for voice talent. However, three life-altering events during the past 6 months — primarily the loss of my mother — have left me with little time to write anything of length.

I also realized that many of the links I have posted on Twitter are often excellent resources for voice talent and audiobook narrators. Even if you’re following me on Twitter (and if you’re not, it’s always a good time to start!), you may have missed some of this useful information.

Therefore, I am including my tweets as a supplement — not a replacement — to my usual writing on this blog. I have more feature-length articles in the works. I also plan to expand my content to include more short entries like this one since I know it can be difficult to make time to read a longer article.

I thank you for your continued interest in and support of this blog, and I hope you are living the life of your dreams!

Cordially,
Karen Commins

Photo credit: Akirastock/iStockPhoto

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™