Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-rator™

Voice-Over

Exercise Your Creativity to be a Better Voice Talent

Creativity is not something that you wait for.
Creativity is something that waits for you.

— Neale Donald Walsch

A few years ago, Drew gave me a Valentine’s present of joint membership at a local pottery studio. While we weren’t envisioning a re-do of the famous scene from the movie Ghost, we had been interested in learning how to create some crockery. Instead, I learned something more valuable through the experience:

When I exercise my creativity in a new or different way, I’m more creative in other areas.

Each time I came home from the pottery studio, I might perform a voiceover audition with more inspired choices, play my harp more fluidly, or design a scrapbook page with lots of layers and textures. Any of these things make me feel even more pleased and give me the desire to do more.

I discovered this theory holds true when I attempt to draw in my journal. Even writing this blog, which itself is an artistic endeavor, causes me to feel more innovative when I finish each entry.

No matter how you express yourself, each way that you can be creative is scooping more good stuff into your life from the same bountiful well. Why use a teaspoon when you can use a jug?

In the last week, I’ve done a couple of things in marketing my voiceover business that allowed me to express my creativity in new ways. First, I created the book trailer video for an audiobook, which I included and discussed in my previous entry “Reasons to Create Your Own Stuff”. Many voice talent have written to me saying that they felt inspired by the ideas and marketing info that I presented, so I encourage you to read that entry if you haven’t already.

The other thing I did was enter the Voices.com photo contest on their Facebook page. They wanted pictures of voice talent in their studios with the Voices.com web site displayed on some sort of screen. While winning the prize would be wonderful, I entered because it was a direct call to action to be creative. After all, the judging criteria is the “most creative, coolest picture”.

I wanted to do something with recursion. In computer programming, recursion occurs when the program calls itself repeatedly. I also wanted the picture to be as much about me as Voices.com, making it good marketing material for both of us.

It only took a few minutes to come up with an idea that met both of those objectives.

Atlanta voice talent Karen Commins can’t get enough of Voices.com!

 
I have been most gratified by and grateful for the overwhelming positive response I have received in sharing these dips into my creativity well. I’m thrilled to have inspired others, but I also benefit since creativity feeds upon itself and manifests in my voiceover business. More importantly, I live an even happier and rewarding life!

What are you doing to feed your creative spirit? I’d love to get your comments on the blog!
 

Reasons to Create Your Own Stuff

Create your own stuff.

I’ve written about this theme in the past, but today, I want to show an example and talk about the marketing advantages available to voice talent who choose to cast themselves and develop their own work.

As a service project, I’m narrating the audiobook of A Woman Who Went to Alaska on LibriVox.org. May Kellogg Sullivan wrote the book in 1902 to recount her adventures during the Alaska gold rush at the turn of the 20th century.

Obviously, the audiobook itself is a form of creating my own work. Rather than watching fluff TV shows like American Idol, I choose to spend my spare time this way because:

  • I am improving my skills, both in long-form narration and audio editing.
  • I am being of service to others in offering a free audiobook.
  • I can use the credit in discussions with audio publishers about paying gigs.
  • The free audiobook will be helpful in developing a loyal fan base.

Marketing is a HUGE part of any business. It is especially important when the commodity offered by the business is one’s voice. Not only am I creating the audiobook on my own, but I also decided to market it by creating a trailer for it!

Early in my voiceover career, I did a lot of direct mail marketing with imprinted products. While my campaigns were extremely memorable and attracted voiceover jobs to me, they also were extremely time-consuming and expensive to produce.

Here are some immediate marketing benefits of creating this trailer:

  • The book is in the public domain, so most of the images had no cost. I only had to spend a few bucks to obtain the stock images that I used. The music came from my royalty-free library, which requires no residual payment.
  • The video is another method of advertising my voice to people who haven’t heard of me or listened to my demos.
  • The trailer demonstrates to clients and prospects that I could assist them beyond voicing their scripts.
  • We live in culture obsessed by and immersed in video. Tell the truth — when you saw the video in this post, did you immediately click on it before reading any of the text? People say they don’t have time to read. Many would watch my trailer who would never read my description of the audiobook.
  • I cross-posted the trailer on Facebook, some LinkedIn groups devoted either to audio publishing or Atlanta businesses, LibriVox, AudiobookCommunity.com, and BarbaraSher.com. Note that most of these postings are targeted directly to 1000s of members in niche markets who may be interested in hiring me for their projects!
  • I received more responses in a few hours than I ever received from a single mailing.
  • The trailer gave me material to add to my blog, which helps my search engine rankings.
  • Once the book is done, I will update the trailer from “coming soon” to “available now”.

In addition, the subject matter of an audiobook can point to even more opportunities for marketing it on-line. In this case, a flurry of TV shows are about Alaska, so I know the public has a lot of interest in that state. One show is even about a group of people currently mining for gold in Alaska — a perfect tie-in! Fans of these shows gather in discussion forums where I can post my trailer. I also can post it in forums for people who are considering an Alaskan cruise.

Aside from all of these reasons, perhaps the biggest reason to create your own stuff is that it is fun!

I hope that these examples of my spare time projects give you inspiration to create and market your own stuff. I’d love to see your work, so please leave a comment on the blog!

 

10/30/21 Update:

I previously suggested that people volunteer for LibriVox. Be warned that LibriVox releases its recordings into the Public Domain, which means someone else could sell your recording and/or harvest your voice for AI without any compensation to you. For that reason, I no longer recommend that narrators volunteer there.

 

Voice talent will *love* “The King’s Speech”

Screen shot from Teri Clark Linden’s Facebook status update 12/29/10

 
After seeing fellow voice talent Teri Clark Linden’s Facebook status last week, I was intrigued about the new movie “The King’s Speech”. Regular readers of my blog know that I often find hidden parallels to voiceover work in my life situations, as well as in books and movies. This is one instance where the similarity is obvious to anyone who views the movie, and, like Teri, I cannot recommend too highly that voice talent and actors go see this fantastic film.

Without giving away too much of the plot, King George VI (played brilliantly by Colin Firth, who should win an Oscar) is a quiet man who never wanted to be king. He was forced to take the throne after his brother King Edward VIII abdicated the crown in 1936 in favor of marriage to the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson.

People usually say the fear of public speaking is at the top of their lists of fears and stress-inducing events. In addition to the normal nervous sensation felt by everyone in front of a microphone, King George VI has a significant obstacle to overcome:  a stammer developed in childhood and exacerbated throughout his life.

Enter Lionel Logue (played impeccably by Geoffrey Rush), an actor and speech therapist who works with the King to help him become the kind of public speaker necessary to lead the British people through the travails of World War II. Aside from the historical relevance, much of the delight in the movie is watching a King and a commoner learn to trust each other and find the oneness that binds all of us together.

An underlying theme that was revealed in the film is that, while Lionel Logue had his own dreams as an actor, his greatest glory was achieved due to his service to others. Indeed, to quote Ralph Waldo Trine from his 1896 book What All The World’s A-Seeking, or, The Vital Law of True Life, True Greatness, Power, and Happiness, it is through service to others that we find ourselves:

The idea has prevailed in the past, and this idea has dominated the world, that self is the great concern,–that if one would find success, greatness, happiness, he must give all attention to self, and to self alone. 

This has been the great mistake, this the fatal error, this the direct opposite of the right, the true as set forth in the great immutable law that–we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others, in longer form–the more of our lives we give to others, the fuller and the richer, the greater and the grander, the more beautiful and the more happy our own lives become. 

It is as that great and sweet soul who when with us lived at Concord said,–that generous giving or losing of your life which saves it. This is an expression of one of the greatest truths, of one of the greatest principles of practical ethics the world has thus far seen. In a single word, it is service,–not self but the other self. 

We shall soon see, however, that our love, our service, our helpfulness to others, invariably comes back to us, intensified sometimes a hundred or a thousand or a thousand thousand fold, and this by a great, immutable law.

We also usually don’t know the impact that we are having on others when we generously share our gifts and talents with them. After seeing the movie, I did a little on-line research and discovered that Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) wrote a letter praising Logue’s tremendous assistance to her husband:

I think that I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but, through that, his whole life, and outlook on life

Just as the King’s speech affected his subjects, every voice talent has the ability to influence someone whenever we take the microphone. You’ll note that some of Logue’s coaching to the King are the same techniques that we continue to use in our field.

Even if you aren’t a voice talent or actor, the King’s courage, determination, and persistence in fighting his battle and Logue’s ever-optimistic attitude and problem-solving skills are traits worthy of emulation. Go see this movie!

Beware of 5 Techniques of the “Information Marketer”

We live in the Information Age. A dizzying array of information on any topic, including starting and marketing your voiceover business, is freely available on the Internet. For instance, I Googled “how to get started in voiceover” and received a list containing more than 3 million hits!

With so much information freely available, you may find it difficult to believe that one of the biggest ways to make money on-line is through information marketing. However, people are always looking for shortcuts to success, so they gladly pay a perceived expert to guide them through the process. Just for grins, check out the number of hits when you Google “how to be an information marketer”. The number of hits is staggering, to say the least.

I believe in obtaining coaching and mentoring from a more experienced person in order to attain the next level of success. I don’t believe in predatory marketing practices from people who offer those kinds of services. If you’re looking for a coach or mentor in voiceover or any other facet in your life, you should do your own research to determine the best fit for your needs and budget.

Since information marketing on the Internet is viewed and heavily promoted as the quick path to wealth, many, if not most, information marketers are preying on people’s emotions and seek only to line their own pockets. I am growing increasingly concerned about these practices in the voiceover industry as more and more people flock to this field and look for the magic secret to success.

I was thinking about this topic today after attending 2 webinars this past week. One was aimed at a group from multiple industries, while the other was specifically targeted to voice talent. Each lasted about 1.5 hours, but I ended each with widely varying thoughts about the host. I decided to point out a few of their sales techniques in hopes that I can save someone from making a serious financial mistake. (Note that I deliberately will be vague in describing each marketer’s approach and offer.)

1. Like a drug dealer approaching potential junkies, the first sample is always free. They hope to get you hooked so that you’ll shell out money for their program and/or products.

How many offers of “free reports” have you seen on-line? How many free webinars have you seen or attended? You never know how useful they will be to you until you actually commit the time to view the material.

Sometimes these “free” offers contain some very good information. For instance, the first of 2 free webinars that I attended this week showed me all the steps needed to create a particular thing. I now have the confidence to create one on my own, and I had an inspired idea about how I might use the thing in my life. The marketer provided solid content and then explained the benefits of the paid program.

Other times, the webinar is a poorly-concealed and aggressive attempt to market the host’s paid program or product. Such was the case in the second webinar I attended this week. It started with the marketer offering some useful tidbits but progressively degenerated into testimonials from hand-picked participants.

Dont get me wrong — testimonials are vital for your voiceover business. Comments from satisfied clients can help to convince a prospect to hire you to voice their project. You should include testimonials on your voiceover web site, as well as on your profiles on LinkedIn and the voiceover pay-to-play sites. My point is that a webinar should provide some sort of useful content for those viewing it. It shouldn’t be an infomercial for the host’s products and services.

2. The sales pitch or copy is overflowing with adjectives designed to tap into your emotional response.

People make buying decisions based on how they feel. Who wouldn’t want to achieve success, have whiter teeth, be able to retire sooner, win fame and fortune, and exceed their fondest dream? How would it feel to have all the money, fame, and jobs you could imagine? Wouldn’t you like to know this oh-so-easy method of living your dream life in the shortest amount of time possible?

An experienced copywriter can create such enticing text that it makes you salivate and WANT the product. Once you fall in the trap of imagining all the great and wonderful things the marketer is talking about, you are extremely vulnerable to buy whatever they are selling.

3. They always make the offer seem very limited or exclusive. If you don’t ACT NOW, you may miss out!

This technique surfaces in several different ways:

  • Only a limited number of products remain at this price. It will either sell out FOREVER or be available for a much higher price later.
  • Only a certain number of seats are available for this event.
  • We only accept a certain number or type of people into this program.

Remember, they are counting on you acting due to an emotional response, and this technique adds the avoidance of negative emotions on top of the acquisition of positive emotions promised in the other copy. If you’ve ever sat through a timeshare presentation, you’ll be familiar with this tactic. The marketer knows that if you walk away and think about their offer, you are less likely to buy it with each passing minute.

4. A higher-priced paid program or service often has a salutary effect on the minds of would-be buyers.

I tend to think that information offered as a report or webinar to a group of people is meant to ensnare many unsuspecting people into buying something they previously had not considered. The same is often true when you attend a free seminar in-person, such as when Drew and I went to an event promoted as an Internet marketing seminar.

On the other hand, a complimentary, private, one-on-one consultation with an expert about your specific business needs can be a smart business move. Many advisors provide a free, 30-minute meeting, You need to interview someone to see how well their product or service meshes with your needs, so I’m not talking about that situation in this post.

In Webinar #1 this week where I obtained some good info, I thought the cost of the paid program was reasonable for the time involved. In Webinar #2 which contained all of the testimonials, I was shocked and appalled by the prices of the paid program. I wondered who in their right mind would actually pay those prices.

Sadly, I think a number of people will make undue sacrifices in order to buy that program if they perceive the marketer to be expert. A higher price can indicate to people that the marketer is in such extreme demand that they can command any price. A high price tag is also another way of making the program seem available to only a chosen few. We all like to feel (there’s that word again) that we know things or have opportunities that aren’t available to all.

I’m sure the participants in such a program would obtain some value, but would the program really fulfill all of the amazing promises made about it?

5. If someone is really trying to sell you something, look for the PS at the end of the sales copy.

The sales copy is often several pages long so that every possible benefit can be explored in depth, and testimonials can be seen in every other paragraph. When this copy is sent through the mail in a letter, the common thought is that people may skip all of the sales copy and go right to end to see who sent the offer. On-line information marketers continue to use this ploy and add some final glorious adjectives with a call to action as a postscript.

If you’re considering buying any type of program or service to gain the advantages promised by the expert, I suggest these steps:

A) Don’t make any decision for at least a 3-day cooling off period. Get away from the emotion of the sales pitch to think logically and clearly about the offer and its usefulness in your life.

B) Do some simple math. Figure out how much money you have available for this program or service. Look at the offer and assign some sort of monetary value to each part of it: materials, time with the expert, and other resources provided. Does it require additional costs, such as travel? How does the sum of the parts compare to the price as a whole?

C) Do some research for similar products and services. If it’s something targeted only to voice talent, ask your colleagues on your favorite voiceover chat board whether they have experience with the provider or can recommend other options. Do a Google search for info about the expert and their products. Subscribe to their blog; you’ll get a good feel for how they present information.

In this Information Age, continue to sign up for free webinars and reports. You never know where that next sparkling idea for building your voiceover business will appear! Just be aware that free webinars and reports usually come with a hidden agenda to sell you something. By considering the points outlined in this article, you can make an objective and informed buying decision.

Do you have any thoughts about the methods used to market products and services to voice talent? Please leave a comment on the blog!

Photo: Greg Grieco

 

VIDEO — Removing a mouth click from your recording

In olden days — say, 5 years ago — home recording studios were not common among voiceover talent. Today, though, having your own recording studio has become a necessity to compete in this industry.

Recording yourself requires one skill set. Editing the recording requires another one.

I am meticulous about editing out undesirable sounds to provide a pristine recording to my clients. This :41 video shows you how to isolate and eliminate a click from your recording. I use Pro Tools LE, but this technique should work with any audio editing program.

Since editing is done in real time, you can just imagine the amount of time needed to edit your recording of a long video or e-learning narration, much less an audiobook! When quoting a price for a job, you always have to factor in the time required to edit the audio. In fact, the general rule of thumb that I use is to expect 2 hours of audio editing for every 1 hour of finished recording.

Was this video helpful to you? Are there other audio editing techniques that you would like to see? I look forward to your comments on the blog!

The intelligence of water crystals

Today is Blog Action Day. On 15 October each year, bloggers from more than 100 countries come together and blog about a single important issue, and this year’s topic is clean water.

Living where I do, I don’t even have to think about clean water. It’s something I often take for granted, especially while constantly sipping from a large bottle of water during my voiceover sessions. Through this blog article, I doubt that I could even cause a ripple of action that could cause improvement to the 70% of the earth that is covered in water. However, I want to raise your consciousness about the power of water to reflect the words you speak and enhance your life.

(I admit that the rest of this post may sound like a bunch of New Age woo-woo, but I hope you’ll keep reading!)

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that I believe firmly that nothing is more powerful on this planet than the words that you think and speak. Wars have been fought over words. Love is expressed through words. The power of Blog Action Day comes from the fact that words from around the globe are written, read, and discussed about a single, unifying topic.

Recently, I saw fascinating research about water from Japanese researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto. He discovered that crystals formed in frozen water look different based on the specific thought directed at the water. According to some of his literature:

I always stress the energy is vibrations, and vibrations are life. Words are vibrations. Words, therefore, are life … The sounds of words are nothing less than a divine gift from nature. Water crystals are illustrating this divine gift in their design.

Water is a medium that receives and understands even the subtlest vibrations. Water captures vibrations naturally. Even when these vibrations are characters, or letters representing language, water shows us the energy they contain in the forms of crystals. Water is attempting to communicate something to us. Negative emotions prevent the water from crystallizing. Positive emotions allow it to develop to beautiful hexagonal shapes.

Water makes up 70 percent of our bodies, and there is little doubt to me that the information in the water goes a long way in the formation of our health, as well as our attitude toward the world and the attitude of the world around us.

Dr. Emoto explains on his site how the photographs are made. I respect his position in not giving permission to reprint his pictures on other sites, so you’ll have to look at them on his site or do a search to find them elsewhere. The frozen crystals either have perfect symmetry and immense beauty or are misshapen blobs, depending on the words associated with each one.

For instance, a picture representing LOVE AND THANKS is awe-inspiring perfection. A picture made for the word WAR is quite startling because it kind of looks like an explosion from an atomic bomb.

The pictures for tap water in various cities are quite illuminating. Even though you think your drinking water is clean, the water crystals tell another story. Based on the pictures of the crystals, we should all move to Vancouver for the cleanest water!

I have a deck of Dr. Emoto’s Water Crystal Oracle cards. On one side of the card is the picture, and the word appears on the other side. In the past, I have kept a card under my water glass to focus attention on some aspect in my life that I wanted to improve or heal. In writing this post, I’ve decided to use the RESONANCE, HARMONY, TRUTH, and PROSPERITY cards in my voiceover booth. Since water mirrors the vibrations of our words, I want the words that I speak as a voice talent to be in service of those 4 things.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, I don’t have to think about clean water for myself. Thank you for joining me and others around the world in using the power of our words today about in promoting clean water for everyone. This one blog post may not cause a ripple of action, but together, we are a force of nature!