demos

Case Study in Good Customer Service: Trader Joe’s and What Can Be Learned

February 13, 2024 by Laura Schreiber

The Text

Yesterday morning my husband and I woke up to a text from our daughter Emma. Emma is a sophomore in college a small liberal arts school in central Pennsylvania called Elizabthethtown College. She texted us this photo of gluten free donut holes. She said she urgently needed us to go to Trader Joe’s right away to get them for her. She was concerned that they would sell out immediately. Even though Emma has a car, there is no Trader Joes near her school so she was very much hoping we could help her out with this.

Our Mission

Harlan had to travel for work yesterday, so tasked with our highly sensitive and urgent message, as soon as the store opened I went to Trader Joe’s, armed with my iPhone so that if need be I had the photo. First, I did two laps myself, looking in the logical places I thought they would be. No dice, the donut holes were no where to be found.

The Rescue Team

Not wanting to disappoint me super sweet kid, both because she is super sweet and because I am totally Type A and could not leave without the donut holes, I sought assistance. The first guy was working on oranges. He went to where he thought they’d be. They were not there. He pulled in another gal who then pulled in a third woman from the bakery who then pulled in a fourth woman, a manager. So yes, I had FOUR people helping me look for the donut holes. We worked hard and were thorough. Two of them were positive they had been in the store.

Ultimately, the manager took to the computer. She discovered that the highly coveted donut holes needed to be special ordered. They placed an order and told me to call tomorrow morning and that they would set some aside for us. I felt so valued and was so appreciative of the help. Then, as if that was not enough, they let me take a lollipop even though I had not located the stuffed turtle hidden somewhere in the store. I’m not kidding.

Customer Service Takeaways

If Trader Joe’s was being ranked as a business or a super marked or for what kind of human beings they were, basically on every single lever, they deserve an A plus plus. As voice actors, we can all learn a lot from their behavior and over all mentality so let’s take a moment to dissect what happened at Trader Joes:

They were a shining example of team work. One person did not need to steal the show. They worked together to accomplish a common goal. In voice over some of us have the opportunity to work as a team. Whether we are demo producers and have partners, or work on a multi-talent cast, or are at a conference and are on a panel with industry friends, sometimes we are fortunate enough to work with others. This is our moment to take a note and lift everyone up. It goes back to the old falcon saying, “the rising tide lifts all the ships in the harbor.” This has always been my experience in VO, and it was for sure my experience at Trader Joe’s. I am quite sure this is why the store is packed as soon as the doors open on a Monday morning, and if you want your voice over business to be booming, this is a great lesson to learn!
In this incidence, the price tag didn’t matter. I did not go in saying I needed 100 boxes of donut holes. I was not some prized Trader Joe’s client. Yet each member of the team treated me like I was the most important sale of the day. I will confess that this is an area where even I need to do some re-thinking. I do not treat all of my clients the same. I certainly will treat a national spot differently than a $200 one-off gig. Perhaps this needs to be re-thought. It made me feel really good to be helped and values, period.
At Trader Joe’s the employees bent over backwards to help. I do always try to do this. Whether I have a voice over client, a demo client, or a coaching client, I want their experience working with me to leave them feeling exceedingly happy. In a business like VO where clients have an abundance of choice on all fronts, I am extremely appreciative of their trust in me and in return I ben over backwards to work as hard as I can to do a good job.
At Trader Joe’s the entire experience, from beginning to end, with the lolly pop, was extra. I try to do this! I am always reachable. I have helped get students on rosters of clients and agents. I have redone their resumes. I audit their auditions. But being extra is typically not something that is asked of you, it’s just something you bring. So my friends, bring it!!
Most importantly, my recent shopping experience left me, the, client feeling valued. When it comes time to go back… where will I go? That’s right. And that is how we want each and every one of our voice over clients to feel.

We want to do our very best in voice over always. Well often times being and doing our best has nothing to do with our sound and our audio. A lot of the time it has to do with who we are, how we treat others, and the services we provide that go beyond our voice.

Often the voice over is the last piece of the puzzle. Video producers and others who are casting may come to you very close to the deadline and need help to make their project incredible. We have an opportunity to take their time of stress, take them by the hand, and turn it into something wonderful. As someone who also coaches and does demos, it’s the same thing. I can use this as a defining moment in someone career to help make it memorable. My experience in Trader Joe’s can only be described as excellent. I only want to leave my clients feeling this way.

End of Year Reflections in 2023

December 22, 2023 by Laura Schreiber

On Conferences:

This year I had the great joy of attending several conferences. I presented at OneVoice USA and at MAVO and I was an attendee of Johny Heller’s New England Narrator’s retreat. As a presenter at OneVoice, I sat on a Demos panel with some of the people I OVC Demos Panel look up to most in the industry, including Anne Ganguzza, Clif Zellman, and J. Michael Collins. In addition with being in such good company, I try to pick up public speaking tips as well. At MAVO, I attended sessions of other industry greats like Michael Scott, and I took note of his presentation style. I also spent a lot of time talking to Joe Cipriano, who I have looked up to for many years, and learned a tremendous amount from him.

At Johnny Heller’s workshop, as an attendee, I was able to spend all my time honing my narration skills. It was nice to be able to just participate and be amongst my peers. While I did also want to network with the publishers in attendance, my primary focus was learning about the different genres and developing my skill set. The time away from my booth felt like such an indulgence and I came away feeling inspired and like I did, indeed, learn a lot.

On Awards Nominations:

This year I was nominated for a Signal award for an ensemble podcast cast that I have been part of for several years for PJ library. I also personally only submitted to the OneVoice Awards. My demo partner, All Systems GO AV, and I were elated to snag a OVC Awards night nomination for one of the demos we did, an eLearning demo for the super talented Dallas based John Guccion. I also earned a nomination in the bloopers category which was good fun. While we didn’t take home any statues this year, I will say it really meant a lot to be in such good company and it was for sure a highlight of the year.

On Coaching:

My coaching business has continued to thrive. As a former teacher, I really love helping people work on the voice over skills and grow their businesses. I am very passionate about my coaching and often I wake up super early in the morning with enthusiasm for my lesson plans. A lot of the people I coach have met me at conferences, and it means a lot to get to work with them afterwards. I genuinely want to help each and every coaching student, so this aspect of my 2023 work has been very meaningful.

On Travel with VO Friends:

With Diana Birdsall, Michelle Blenker, me, Kim Handysides, and Dearbhla Trainor in Montreal This summer I got to go on a trip to Canada with the gals in my VO accountability group! We had been talking about going away together since before Covid. We had so many ideas, but really, the most important detail was that we were all included and beyond that everything else was secondary. To have this time together to bond and to reflect was so meaningful. We are all exceptionally close, and this trip was as wonderful as can be.

On Getting Sick and Working Through It:

Immediately after the Canada get away I got a really, really bad stomach bug. It started in late July and lasted until late October. I was profoundly ill and they did not realize that it was a food born bacterial infection until I had been suffering for several months. I was so sick when I went to OneVoice that I had to bring my son with me to help, and he was immensely helpful. I was frankly thankful I could get through my sessions. I missed uncle Roy’s BBQ which was so upsetting. I was a mess. By the time they figured out what it was I was beginning to worry I would never get better. Never was a girl so thankful for antibiotics!

On Working While Kids are in College

2023 marks the second year of working while my twins are away. While you would think I have unlimited time and could simply do as I please, having the twins in college presents new challenges. When they call I feel that I need to drop everything to tend to their immediate needs. I also certainly block days from my calendar to visit, whether it is a Friday print to parent’s weekend or a Monday post-conference. This time is precious and my fear is that it is fleeting. So while the day to day life may be freer, they certainly take up large chunks of time still. Also, when they are home, I do try to black my schedule and limit my coaching so that they have my undivided attention. I have also noticed I need to remind them of the “rules” when there are live sessions, as if they never new them. They seem to have forgotten about staying quiet or keeping away from the space over my studio. It’s funny how these things can be un-learned.

Over-all Reflections

I always to people thinking about voice over that it is a marathon not a sprint, and 2023 felt like I jus kept marching along, doing my thing. Do you remember the children’s board game Candyland? I lot of times I feel like that is my life, I’m just on this sweet ride, winding around the board, wondering where I’ll land next, trying to take a deep breath and actually enjoy the people I meet along the way and the ride that I am on!

When Is it Time to Submit to A Voice Over Agent?

February 6, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

How Do you Know When You Are Ready?

So you’ve been working really hard to build your voice over career. You’ve been working with coaches, you’re on pay to plays, you’ve been doing some direct marketing, but now you feel that your moment has come! You want to make your bold move: it’s time for a voice over agent! But how do you get one? Well, before you begin your official outreach, it’s important to make sure you have positioned yourself for success. What does having an agent really mean? Having an agent really means access to increased opportunities, and you want to maximize this potential. Here are some key considerations when preparing to market ourself to an agent.

https://youtu.be/WPfIhiiG5Cc

Demos Are Done…

You want to begin the agent outreach process once your commercial demo and any others that you are seeking representation for are complete. If you intend to work with an agent, and go after the more lucrative work, it is imperative to understand you cannot produce your demo on your own. Having top notch demos that compete and represent current industry trends is essential. Your demos should be ready to go before you begin marketing to agents.

Website is Up

Your website is your virtual storefront. It established your personal brand and why you are unique from other voice over actors. You should not start to market your self to voice over agents until your website is up. By “up” I mean fully operational. I do have a website planning guide under my “free resources,” but you need to make sure that you have downloadable demos and an easy to find contact page at the very least.

Source Connect is ALREADY SET UP

Most agents require you to have the PAID version of Source Connect in order to sign you. You might be thinking, oh, well, I’ll just tell them I have it and then when I book work I’ll add it. I strongly advise against this. When you get Source Connect, you have to have something done called getting your ports mapped. It is done through a service call on their end. You basically schedule the call, download software, give them remote access to your computer, and they map the ports to your router. It must be done from their end to your end, and it must be set up. Sometimes support appointments are harder to get than others, so it is really important to have Source Connect up and running. The other important detail is that once your ports are mapped, they are mapped to a specific location. So my ports are mapped to the iMac in my studio. If I were going out of town, and needed remote access, I would need to have my ports re-mapped to my MacBook Air. The other alternative is to rent studio space. Why does this matter? Reputable agents expect you to have Source Connect up and running so that if you book a gig with them they can schedule you anytime at the clients convenience.

What Should You Say?

It’s best to keep things short and sweet. Tell the agents who you are, why you are reaching out, and why you are qualified. Attach your VO Resume and appropriate demos. Give them your contact info. That’s it. You can follow up a week later to confirm they got it and then based on what they say decide how often to reply.

International Agents

While it is great to have regional representation, it is also extremely beneficial to have representation abroad as well. As they often need voices of all demographics and accents, it is in your best interest to reach out throughout Europe, Central America, South America, and Asia. The more opportunity you have, the more exposure you will benefit from.

Keeping In Touch

Sometimes agents are kind enough to reply and tell you that the do not have space on their roster at present but they may in the future. This is a great opportunity. This means there is something about you that they like enough to respond, but it is now your responsibility to check in without stalking them! So, you have to decide how often you will pursue this lead and when it is the right time. Such instances include when you have a stellar booking or a very strong month, if you are nominated or win an award, if your earnings start to rise drastically, and if you have been to a conference and met someone from their team. Any of these reasons are great time to circle back and see if anything at all has changed on their end, and to let them know in a fun and casual way about your great successes. The point is to maintain a relationship and keep the possibilities open.

Remember, in the end, there are no guarantees of success in VoiceOver. Having a VO agent does not need that you have made it. It just gives you access to great opportunities. The most direct and sure way to success in voice over is consistent hard work over an extended period of time.

What Custom Voice Over Coaching Content Means

January 9, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

It’s In the Details

After finishing back to back jobs, one for a repeat client I do work for monthly and one for a new corporate client, I happily snuggle up with my studio dogs to do what I love: continue lesson plans for two students. While I always follow a specific pattern or structure in the way that I teach, every, single lesson is unique. Why? Well every talent starts at a different place and has different goals. An actor with years of training who comes from a stage background or an on-camera background has very different needs than a talent who is a total newbie. Or perhaps you’ve worked in one genre and now you are coming to me to branch into a new genre like Radio Imaging or IVR. The details of each scenario matter so much, so having unique, custom voice over coaching content matters.

So What exactly Is Custom Voice Over Coaching Content?

“Custom Content” means that each lesson is created for you and is based on current voice over trends. You don’t have to worry about working on scripts from four years ago or studying trends that are no longer relevant. Instead, your focus is on what is booking today and what you need to do to make your reads bookable. The other reason this is extremely important is that sometimes we all need to work on certain skills longer than others. While some of us breeze through understanding things like subtext, others take longer to decipher what scripts are really saying and need to spend more time on the basics of script analysis. Put simply, you cannot move at someone else’s pace for something as important as the foundations of your voice over career. You need to be at your own pace, tailored for your needs.

What Should I ask About When Talking to A New Voice Over Coach?

Having a coach that you have a good rapport is essential. It is ok to ask:

Where do your source your scripts?
Do you keep a script library?
Do I have to supply my own scripts or do you supply them? This question might surprise you, but not all coaches supply scripts for you.
Do you teach a technique for working on scripts?
Do you have a strategy for organizing my scripts?
Do we work in different industries/genres?
Do you help me determine where my personal vocal attributes fit into the VoiceOver industry?

Why Does it Matter That the Scripts Be Fresh?

It matters a lot both that scripts be current and represent what is currently on the air and that they are real. The truth is, while some scripts that are sent our way as voice actors are beautifully written, many are not. And across genres, often they are filled with typos and are not even translated properly into English. If you are new to VoiceOver, and you are expecting the VO copy that you get to look or sound like what you hear on tv and the radio, you might have a good dose of disappointment coming your way. Or, you can learn as I have, to see this as yet another opportunity to provide a higher level of needed service to your clients. This is your moment to step in and offer them what they need. This is your moment to be helpful and point out, as a native English speaker, how a line might be re-worked. Should an entire script need editing, then for a fee you can provide that. But as a coach, it is my job to show you realistic scripts, not just perfect scripts. In order for you to be fully prepared to work in VoiceOver, you need to know how to tackle the scripts that are not beautifully written and do not follow the rules.

The other reason to understand the current sought-after reads is to best prepare for your demo. Whether you are doing a commercial or narration demo, you want your demo to have a long shelf life. You don’t want to pick spots that will age your demo. So, you have to be mindful of current trends and try to pick spots that won’t enable a client to say- “wow, that was done in 2022.” Understanding characteristics of what makes a strong voice over read is essential to success in this industry.

Tying it All Together with Custom Voice Over Coaching

As a coach, it’s my job to make it easy for you. It’s my job to guide you through the process and set you up for success. While there are never guarantees in any industry, partnering with a good coach that you feel comfortable with makes launching and boosting your VO business much easier.

Talking VO Websites with Karin Barth from Voice Actor Websites

September 12, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

In Good Company…

Sometimes you are blessed with knowing the right people, and knowing Joe Davis and Karin Barth is a blessing indeed! While I am fortunate to have worked with them for years on my website and SEO, I am doubly blessed to call them dear friends and amongst my favorite people in the world. When I have important decisions to make about my business, I trust them not just because of their superior expertise, but because they are truly mensch (someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character) in every sense of the word. I have shared holidays and dinners out with them, they have been to my home and know my family, I share personal details of my private life with them, so when I tell you that I trust their guidance for websites… I mean that I fully and completely trust what they have to offer.

So this past Friday, even with just returning from Dallas and the Jewish holidays to boot, Karin Barth made time to speak with me and Diana Birdsall on our weekly Clubhouse “Ask the VO Coaches” about all that we could jam in related to websites and SEO. We had some great participation and all were dazzled by Karin’s brilliant insights. In case you missed it, here is a brief recap of some highlights.

Why Websites Are So Important

Karin put it simply: You want to get your voice heard, your demos heard, and people to hire you. I always tell me coaching students your website is your virtual storefront. She did not use those words but that is how I think of it, and your business really does not exist if your website is not up and no one can find you. A regular to our Clubhouse room, Vijayan, offered that people know that you value yourself and your work once you have a website. He also said that prior to his website, he had an issue with transparency in his country. There was always a middle man. Once he had a website, he was able to interact with clients directly and could negotiate on his own. It was so refreshing to hear his reflections, as I had my own website before my business launched, and I had never considered this issue.

What Voice Actors Need to Start

Karin said in order to begin you need to have had some coaching and completed a professional demo. As a voice over coach and video demo producer, I cannot tell you how happy this made me to hear. She shared an anecdote about a woman who wanted to do a website and had no demos. This lady thought she could just record some stuff on her phone. Karin said in this scenario they advise folks new to voiceover to instead invest in coaching and then revisit a website down the road.

We then asked Karin if voice actors come to them with a Wix or Square space page if they can work that. The answer is yes, but there is an advantage to having a Word Press page. Since June, Google has changed its core web vitals. Word press makes it easier to comply.

Diana then asked Karin if we should be regularly changing our videos for our SEO. I was fascinated because while I typically add new videos, I tend not to delete old ones as I am really proud of the work I have done and get attached to my content. It never occurred to me to swap it out. I also like the idea, personally, of amassing a large body of work. Anyway, Karin explained that the idea is to train the google bots to come to the site. You want to continually add more relevant content so that your site continues to rank.

Features All Voice Actors Should Have

I of course found this interesting:

Demos: They should be downloadable, not just playable. Karin also mentioned you should be mindful of how you name them. For instance, don’t just label it “commercial demo” because a casting agent could be very confused if they download it and it does not have your name.
Bio: There are a few important details that Karin mentioned. First, be sure to have unique, original content and not to use the same bio on Linked In, your website, and other places! Next, while folks are often excited to share their backstory, Karin suggests starting with where you are now. What service do you provide? What are your selling points?
Contact Form: I will tell you I have changed mine over the years but they do an awesome job setting this up for you and Karin also sets up “recaptcha” so you don’t get spam.
Testimonials: This is so important to help build your trust factor
Client List or Client Logos: Again, this helps with your street cred.
Videos: We chatted about how people like to take in information in different ways, and offering video to people who do video production just makes a lot of sense!

Insights From Google Analytics

We also spent a little bit of time talking about Google Analytics and what you can learn from them. Your bounce rate is how long someone stays on your site, and Karin explains you can actually look to see the behavior flow and try to see if there are trends in where they drop off. This can give you an idea if you need to add a different call to action. Basically, the longer they are on the site the better. I found this fascinating.

Final Thoughts…

Those of us who work with Karin and Joe know we are lucky. They know their stuff and there is a reason so many of us turn to them.

The Beauty of VO Marketing

July 17, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Jonathan Tilley Was Out Guest

I have to admit, that when Diana Birdsall and I got Jonathan Tilley to come on our weekly Clubhouse, I got a little fan-girled out for a quick minute. If you don’t know Jonathan, he is quite fabulous. He runs a genius marketing course for voice actors and other creatives called League of List Builders to teach about direct marketing to clients. Diana and I both took his class years ago, and as full-time professional talents and coaches, have used his methods with great success to build our own businesses. Jonathan also teaches about specialty topics like Instagram marketing, selfie techniques, lighting….so basically he is a marketing g-d and everything that comes out of his mouth is pure brilliance plus he is lovely and kind and so fun. See why I was excited to have him on our panel? So in case you missed it ( and I don’t know why you would miss it but if you did…) here is a recap based on my notes from Jonathan Tilley’s panel with us:

What is the beauty if marketing?

Our chat with Jonathan started out with this pivotal question. Jonathan talked about the importance of authenticity and being a real person to the people we reach out to. We talked about how our goal really is to make connections so that we can ultimately build relationships and get to know people and actually make deep connections. Our marketing should be friendly and down to earth.

Instant Gratification Doesn’t Work

Researching the people we are marketing to is essential. Jonathan gave the example of Starbucks. If we wanted to find a Starbucks, we wouldn’t just set out. We would take the time to see which Starbucks was closest to us. In this world where we all want everything right away, marketing is the one time where we need to take our time and learn about who we are marketing to, whether or us a podcast, ad agency, or video production company. We need to know a little about them BEFORE we reach out.

The Subject Line Matters

After years in voice over, I can tell you it is still hard to know what to put in the subject line. Jonathan says it should be clear and professional. The subject line should say who you are and what you offer. After all, this is a way people often make sure an email is not spam, so if you are a “Female Professional Voice Talent” say that.

Making a Personal Connection

Jonathan talks about how everyone loves compliments, and the best way to engage is to make people feel good with something that you genuinely feel. So, if you are reaching out to a video production company that you would like t work with, look at the work they have done on their website and social media. Write a personalized letter to them and tell them what you liked and why it resonated with you. A heartfelt compliment goes a long way!

Promoting Yourself Without Seeming Like a Spammy Braggart

This is a tricky one for a lot of people. We want to sing from the clouds how great it would be to work with this ad agency/vide production company/agent but then it’s about us and not about them. Jonathan talks about how making them feel good starts with showing that you understand what problems they are dealing with and what the solutions are. Speak the clients language: “On an ideal day you get work done under budget and ahead of time. I’d love to make your day a little easier. I specialize in……some brands I’ve worked with are (insert 3 examples). That is the kind of language that is client centered and works for them.

As a tip, Jonathan suggested googling production house nightmares and dream stories. He suggested it would be a great way to get insights into their pain points and desires.

Follow Ups

Jonathan recommends monthly follow ups. I have to say, I was surprised by this. For years I have done quarterly follow ups. Jonathan reminded us that it often takes a minimum of 5 correspondences to get a potential client to engage, so whether they reply or not, monthly follow ups are best. These correspondences should also be individualized and interesting. Remember, our goal is to build a relationship.

Jonathan also shared another fun way to follow up is to share testimonials from clients cleverly interwoven with a behind the scenes glimpse of what was really going on. So if you have a rave review that talks about your stellar performance, but in reality you were a ball of phlegm sipping throat coat between each line, it balances the testimonial.

What if You’re New and Don’t Have Street Cred?

We had a few folks ask Jonathan how to reach out to potential clients when they are brand new to voiceover. They had been told “fake it til’ you make it” but wanted to know how you have credibility without a client list? Jonathan encouraged everyone that nothing should stop you from going after your dream clients. All you need is a demo, a website, the internet, and time. Typically, you want to attach an MP3 of your time. You need to carefully craft your personalized letters to talk about how you can best support their needs, and shine, regardless of your time in VO.