Thursday, January 24, 2008

Now What

Is it possible that I've completely overlooked a new way of advertising my services as a voice talent. Twitter is a passing fancy that I found to be a complete time waster but very addicting. Now there's boobtek a sexy way of promoting your erotic fantasy, but can I use that to microblog my voice over services? I'm seriously considering trying it. There's got to be more ways to market my self in a viral setting.

On another note, finding an agent in markets other than the one I live in (because they either don't want to rep me or I have B.O., the latter of which is moot because I shower daily) is proving to be a challenge. I've found some outlets and networking possibilities with other VO Pros who've helped a bunch.

The biggest obstacles I've found is that because I'm non-union, a lot of agencies don't want to talk to me or rep me and the only reason I can fathom is that it's because they don't get the big buck union scale when I get a gig. C'mon people give a hard working guy a break, I'm just trying to make a buck or two.

Monday, January 14, 2008

I lost an old friend

This past Friday an old friend of 33 years, he died from a disease known as market slumpoctomy, after so many books and trends failed to keep him alive, they gracefully put the Hippo to sleep with "In the Dark" and like a Phoenix was reborn into The Boulevard, Kansas City's Quality Rock.. playing everything the other rock stations in the market won't. It was really hard to see people I've known, worked with and loved be told to pack their little boxes up and leave, Bryan couldn't refrain from displaying and communicating his disdain for the abruptness of his termination.

That's the nature of this beast called Radio, you can be terminated in a nanosecond for the simple reason, "You're numbers weren't good enough". Ironically, numbers is what the suits in the game are counting on to resurrect a dying format. Classic Rock, is well,, Quality Rock, as we get older (and I'm talking about my generation; 40-49) we've come to realize that we can only hear Free Bird and Back in Black so many times before we tire of it.

I welcomed the new station with open arms, as I have learned to adapt to change, embrace it, and learn from it. It's the only way I know how to survive in this game. It reminds me of a commercial on the TV right now, A Chevy advertisement I think, where they're playing Worlds of Warcraft, and one of the online players uses the vehicle as a weapon that slays the dragon.

How do I slay my own dragons is something I must continually pursue with all the weapons at my fingertips, computers, software, the Internet, everything and all at once.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Resolutions for 08'

Although I normally don't make any resolutions because I almost never follow through with them, this year is going to be a little different. I have a child on the way and that means I'll need to make more money, and to make more money, I'll need more voice over gigs and a raise from my regular job as production and imaging director of two large market radio stations. How am I going to do that?. Good question!

I have to find marketing avenues that are first and foremost cheap. I have to network more with current clients that I serve. I have to make myself more visible to potential clients in all areas of my daily routines, that means when I go to the QT for a coffee, I ask the manager who to talk to at corporate. You get the idea.

So why haven't I done these things in the past? another good question, laziness I suppose, or the fact I'm already working 2 jobs and rarely get to bed before midnight. My home studio is being reworked due to the baby being on the way, which means I can only work from my employers studio's on my time not theirs.

I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm just trying to motivate myself into being more pro-active in my freelance endeavors. You should too. I found some great forums to lurk in and offer advice when I can.
http://www.voice-overs.com/forums
http://www.voiceoversavvy.com
and http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Voiceovers/

You'll have to join them all but it's well worth it. You'll learn something, and perhaps be able to teach someone yourself

Here's to a prosperous 2008!