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voice over actor

Dog Painting as Analogy for VO

May 31, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

Invited to Event for Charity

Studio Dogs in boothI had an experience recently and after the fact realized that dog painting is actually a great analogy for life as a voice over actor. If you follow my blog, then you know that I have two precious studio dogs, Violet and Daisy. Last week were were invited, with the dogs, to a charity event at my brother-in-law’s temple. The event was in support of our local food pantry, and we were going to do dog painting. Yes, that’s right, dog painting. Felix, my BIL, works with a guy named Jason to run the arts committee. Inspired by a Jackson Pollock painting done with chicken feet, they opened it up to community pets. The plan was to have people paint with their pets, make a group mural, and bring pet-specific donations for the food pantry. Often those who cannot afford food for their family, also cannot feed their pets. My daughter Emma signed us up and we brought dog food and treats to contribute. Even the morning of the event, I was very unsure of what we were walking into.

Feeling Unsure and Nervous About what to Expect

My daughter Emma and our cavalier Violet painting.

I knew the space where the event was being held. My twins had attended pre-school there. While I could picture it in my mind, there were so many question marks. Would my dogs, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a rather large Labrador retriever behave? Would they try to eat the paint? Would they engage? Would they get along with the other dogs? Would I be able to get the paint out? Would they actually make art? How messy would I get painting with them? How messy would I get cleaning them up? So, much like in voice over, I had no idea what I was walking into. Aside from knowing what the purpose was, there was no roadmap. I did not even know how long the event would be.

The Actual Experience

Guinea pig painting
Guinea Pig Painting

To my surprise, the event was so lovely. I thought it would be fine or potentially disastrous, but it was actually quite wonderful. There were 8 dogs total and one guinea pig named Mordecai. They all got along well and no one attacked Mordecai which also seemed like a triumph. The art work they made was so beautiful and all so different. Each dog had a varying level of willingness to participate. My Violet made painting after painting. Daisy, in contrast, was a less prolific artist and seemed a little nervous about the experience. She laid very still by my side and did not move. But it was a fun, happy, and friendly morning.

How it Relates to VO

Daisy the LabradoreSo, I see many parallels between dog painting and VoiceOver. Like the event, in VO there is no roadmap. We wake up each morning not knowing what to expect. We walk into live sessions and we don’t know how long they will be and what the folks will be like. Like the dog painting, there are no guarantees in voice over, no promises that things will work it. It might be fine, but everything could also have fallen apart completely with no hope of salvation. We have no crystal ball and we have to be prepared for any outcome. 

Like in dog paining, in voice over we have total command over the career we create. At the dog event, we had the freedom to mix a palate of paints, and try out which colors worked and which ones did not. To me, voice over has been very much like this. Particularly in areas like marketing, we can try out different ideas and see what works and what doesn’t, and I love that there is not one right way of doing things.

Lastly, at the event we very much had to go with the flow. We had to work with the dogs at their comfort level. In voice over, the ability to go with the flow, and see what the voice over universe sends your way is very much essential. Work comes in when we can’t predict it. We have to know how to fill our days when we don’t have bookings. Clients often make requests we have never anticipated. Going with the flow is vital to succeed in voice over.

Final Thoughts

muralI never thought I’d go dog painting. But I did and I loved it. Not only did I have fun with my pooches in the moment, but I gained valuable life insights and a refreshing perspective on being willing to try new things. Sometimes, even if you have doubts, as longs as what you are considering is safe, it’s worth trying!

Filed Under: About Me, Voiceover Tagged With: cavalier king charles spaniel, Dog Painting, Labrador Retriever, studio dogs, VO, voice over, voice over actor, voiceover

As a Working Mom, What Does it Really Mean?

October 24, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Emma’s Enthusiasm

As a working mom, I have always tried my best to give my kids a lot of time while still putting my heart into my small business. As a full-time professional voice over actor and coach, even when I’m not “working,” I do talk about my Emma's into college!business and my business ideas a lot with my family, and have for many years. Well, I am now realizing what a huge impact that has had. This week we had amazing news. My daughter was accepted to her dream college: a six year doctoral program in Occupational Therapy at Elizabethtown College. Besides celebrating this glorius achievement, Emma has countless ideas about how she intends to use her degree. She keeps coming into the kitchen and saying, “Mom, I was thinking…” and then shares her latest vision for a potential future career path. This is not just exciting, this is the result of a being surrounded by women chatting about goals, brain storming, and planning for how small businesses grow.

The Precedent We Set

What We give our kids
My sister Julie Levin and I give my twins so much love. In addition, we are both small business owners so they see what goes into making a business work.

As mothers and working women, our children hear and see the examples we set. For years, my children have either been in the room or been in the room adjacent to my accountability group meetings. They understand the importance of setting goals as a small business owner, having a plan, and follow-through. They not only hear me talking, they have heard my industry friends (well, more like voice over family) for years. They have been exposed to what it takes to grow and maintain a small business. They understand that hard work and perseverance are essential, and that follow-through is everything. They have always been around my meetings, and I have always discussed ideas with them. My children watched me build my business from the ground up. The result is that they not only see what is possible, they actually understand how it is done.

Getting Your Kids Involved

Emma and Jack hard at workAs solopreneurs, we actually have the luxury of getting our kids involved and having them take an active role in our business. Many voice actors have their children actually doing voice over work. Last summer, my son Jack had a recurring gig as an eLearning narrator. This was extremely fulfilling to him. Not only did he learn about how to interact with clients and gain greater insight into the industry, but he learned about taking direction and leaving his emotions outside of the booth.

Another great way to get your kids involved is to hire them as assistants or interns when they are old enough. Last summer, both of my twins worked for me. I had my son doing research for direct marketing and sending cold emails. He learned so much about the process and follow through. I had my daughter doing all of my social media, with a focus on my instagram and instagram stories. She actually organically doubled my following. They did an outstanding job and were delightful. We used a google spreadsheet to coordinate our tasks and stay on the same page. They learned about team work, collaboration, and the ins and outs of my voiceover business.

What Values You Want to Instill

Precedent and Values
Everything that I have in me comes from my mother.

When I think about why I work so hard as a voice actor, I want my children to understand so much. Beyond the income I generate that our family depends on, I want them to see that voice over is a unique industry because we are a group of people who come together to lift each other up. I also want me kids to see that if you work hard all day, every day, you can have great success. I want my twins to see that you can make your dreams happen. And if my voice over business has showed them anything, it’s that you never wait for someone else to bring you happiness and your happiness is not dependent on others. In order to succeed in voice over and in many other industries, you have to have thick skin and listen to your gut. You must be able to tune out all the negativity and you have to be very selective about who you accept guidance from. My prayer for my children is that they have been surrounded by strong women and all of this has been planted deep within them. As a working mom, I hope that their internal compass is so strong, nothing can sway them from their path.

My Emma has so many ideas already. I hope that as her years in her program go on, her ideas become more defined, and her dreams are well-within her grasp. I can’t wait to see What Emma does with her degree!

So, when I ask the question, as a working mom, what does it really mean? It means that if I can not only pay the bills, but follow my passions, AND teach my kids by doing to follow theirs, and in doing so instill a set of core values, I believe it is a worth while endeavor indeed.

Filed Under: Voiceover, working mom Tagged With: accountability group, coach, community, dreams, Elizabethtown College, Etown, happiness, high achievers, inspiration, inspired, life lessons, passions, precedent, role models, small business owner, values, voice over actor, voice over coach, voiceover community, women supporting women, working mom

Voice Over Must Haves To Launch

September 19, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Top items to launch VO businessBut do I really Need it…

As a voice over coach, I get a lot of questions like “Do I really need…” Or, “Oh, you think I should get…” and I am surprised by how surprised my voice over actor students are when I give them the simple answers. Yes, you do in fact need all of these things to successfully launch your voice over business. So, here is a quick check list of sorts to make it easy to know what is essential for you as a voice over actor and small business owner. Without all of these things, your business simple will not go:

Website

Your voiceover website is your virtual storefront. You need to be found. Last week we had Karin Barth from Voice Actor Websites on talking about all that is essential, but you want to bring potential clients and repeat clients to a place where they can hear you and only you. You want them to hear your demos, your booked work if you have it, and be able to contact you easily. Everything else on your website is gravy. If your website does not exist you as a voice actor do not exist. It’s that simple.

Source Connect

If you are a professional voice over actor in 2021, you need to have Source Connect for your home studio. Many agents send auditions that stipulate that the talents must have Source Connect. Moreover, those same agents will not even sign you without the paid version of Source Connect. Telling them you will get it when work comes in is not sufficient because the folks from Source Connect need to map your ports and you cannot do this yourself. Before you pitch yourself to agents, order Source Connect and get your ports mapped!

Pay to Play Memberships

You need a source of auditions. When you are starting out and have no clients, Pay to Play sites like Voice123, Bodalgo, and Cast Voices are a great way to find and book work. These sites are wonderful because they allow you to turn bookings into clients. There are other platforms that prevent interaction between the end user and the voice actor but still charge a premium for voice over actors to use. I prefer these sites as they allow you to build a rapport with the clients and do not interfere with direct interaction between you and the client. While some in the industry may scoff at paying money to build your business, the truth of the matter is that many in casting still want to present their clients with options, so they still prefer to use these platforms. These platforms have been around for a while and you can find some great clients on them. While I advise being selective with which platforms you go on, I also advise using Pay to Plays to get your business going.

Social Media Presence

At this moment in time, if something happened to you in your voice over career, and you didn’t post about it on social media, then basically it never happened. As professional voice over actors, we are only as strong as our last booking. If people don’t know what is going on and that we are working, then we have no “street credit.” There is no one other than you who can create a buzz around you. It’s your business, and you can either shine amongst the stars when you have something to celebrate or keep it quiet and wilt in the dark of your studio. Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can find the platform where you feel most comfortable and most relevant, but you need to put yourself out there. Much like your website, if no one knows you exist, you don’t.

Business Cards

Voice over is an unusual business. Anyone we meet could be a potential client. We are not just cast be casting directors and video producers. Often and accountant or a lawyer that we meet at a dinner party is just as likely to need us for their phone system as a talent agent it. Essentially anyone we meet who has a business can become a client. Believe it or not, other voice actors should be treated as potential clients as the more entrenched you are in the industry, the more we all refer other work to each other. So, make things simple. Have a business card on hand at all times. You never know when someone will be thrilled to meet you and will want to get in touch later. Your business card should include: your name, your best phone number, your email, your website, perhaps your Source Connect info, and perhaps the genres of voice over that you work in.

Filed Under: Business Management, Client Relationships, Marketing/Branding, Voiceover Tagged With: Bodalgo, Business, business cards, cast voices, Marketing, pay to plays, small business, social media, Source Connect, virtual store front, Voice 123, voice over, voice over actor, voice over coach, voice over website, voiceover

What I Wish I Knew About VO Business When I started

September 8, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

As I reflect on the trajectory of my career as a professional voice over actor, I am blessed with how my cookie has crumbled.  A combination of hard work, coaching, and making the right adjustments along the way has served me well. I however, am lucky, as I came into voiceover later in life. When I started in voice over as a second career, I was highly educated with an advanced degree. I’m also surrounded by professionals in my family. I happen to come from a family of attorneys and get more advice than you could ever think possible. That said,  in talking to some newer voice talents recently, there are a few things that I wish I had known about the business side of things when I get started in voice over. Here is a countdown of my top 5:

Business Plans are fluid5. Business Plans are Fluid

When I got started in voice over, I spent months developing a business plan. Little did I know that as my goals shifted, my business plan would shift. While my initial plan worked when I only had a few demos under my belt, as I began to target more genres and add multiple revenue streams, my business plan needed to evolve to address my growing and widening ambitions. While I am so proud of how I launched, I then had to learn to tweak and adjust to go after new goals as well. This ranged from social media to direct marketing to presence on pay to play sites. All of this was part of my business plan and as my target audience evolved so did my plan.

4. The CRM Matters A LOT!!

CRM MattersSo different voice actors in the industry use different CRMs. As a voice over coach, I can tell you that it matters less which one that you use and more that you use one!! I myself started with nimble and switched to Voiceoverview. I love Voiceoverview and have interviewed creator and owner Dani States and blogged about that. For me, this CRM meets all my needs. Whether you use Voiceoverview, Upper Level, 17 Hats, or one of the many others, you need to be aware of several data points:

  • who you’re reaching out to, how often, and if they are replying
  • your income
  • your expenses
  • your audition to booking ration

If you are lucky, you can create reports that go beyond this. like how much of your work comes from repeat clients or from agents, are you booking from one pay to play more than another, where do the bulk of your expenses lie. These reports give you invaluable insight into future choices that you might make. Initially when I started in voice over I simply made excel spread sheets. I can tell you after years in the industry that the data that you get from a CRM is essential to running your small business.

3.  Have a Separate BUSINESS Checking Account

Need a Business Checking AccountAs a soloprenuer, you need a business checking account. Even if you are not an LLC, you might be able to get away with depositing work checks or transferring money into your personal checking account for a little while.It is, however, better for you to actually have a proper business checking account. I’ll share a little story. When I started out in voice over I was luck to be added to multiple rosters pretty early on. One of those rosters sent me work weekly and paid me monthly. One day I went to the local branch with the check as this was before the days of mobile deposits. I had been depositing monthly checks from this client for almost two years in what I thought was a “business” checking account. It was a separate account that I had opened for my business at my local Chase. Somehow, Chase had just opened another checking account, but it was never designated a “business” account. Instead, it was just a second “personal” checking account. So that this does not happen to you, if they do not ask for you business’ legal formation papers, it is likely not a business account. That day, the bank refused to deposit the check. Instead, I had to gather all the documents I had for my business which happens to be an LLC and at that point, several years in, I opened both a business checking and a business savings account.

Now, you might be thinking, why does she have a business savings account to? Well, as a business owner we have to take out and set aside our own taxes. I pay quarterly taxes. Every single time I get pad, I set aside 40% into that savings account. So, I encourage you to have BOTH a business checking and a business savings account.

2. Save for Retirement- Especially if you are Non-Union

Save for RetirementI wish someone had told me when I started, as I did not think of this until several years into my career. Think about all the bills you pay. Some day, when you stop working, don’t you want to have something for yourself? Every single month I auto deposit a nice amount into my 401k, and I am proud to say that I am setting aside as much as my husband does every month. Now, if you are a union talent, you will retire with savings. For those of us who are non-Union, all you have to do is set one up and then go to your bank where you have your work checking account and auto fund it. I have my 401k at Charles Schwab because I was advised that their fees are low.

  1. Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

Rome Wasn't built in a DayWhen I started my business I spent a lot of money very quickly. I invested a lot and planned to be a huge success.  While I was fortunate and success did come, expenses mount quickly. I know see ways that I could have spent less and  spread out my investments over time so that as my business grew I re-invested in myself. Be mindful of your money. There are no guarantees in this industry. As you make choices, try to spend money in places that will likely generate business.

Filed Under: Business Management, Voiceover Tagged With: 401K, Business Plan, Checking account, Clubhouse, CRM, Dani States, goals, retirement, saving, small business owner, solopreur, VO, VO Business, voice over, voice over actor, voice over coach, voiceover, voiceoverview, VOpreneur

VO Booth Set Up Q and A

May 17, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Q: What tweaks have you made to your set up that work well?

When I first built my professional home studio, I worked with my MacBook Air in the booth. For years I did this without issue. About two years in, I noticed that after very long recording sessions i had a lot of fan noise. I had gotten a great tip from Jack de Golia, a brilliant voice actor in Las Vegas, to always have ice packs handy, but after a while this became burdensome so I upgraded and put an iMac outside the booth and a monitor in the booth. This works MUCH butter. Here is a video made from a recent instagram story based on this very set-up question. If you can have this kind of set up, it’s great.

https://youtu.be/KGkESZa0X3o

Well Placed Hook with Head PhonesI also recommend having practical hooks in your book. I have a hook for my cans and a hook for my wires. It helps keep things neat and organized.

Q: What is your favorite way to connect for live sessions?

I have a new favorite way to connect: Zenncastr!! I have used this quite a few times recently, especially for long, guided eLearning sessions and it is great. There are no latency issues and it is very easy to connect, even easier than Source Connect. If only one person who is connecting has it, you can send them a link so it eases the financial burden as well. There are multiple price points, all of which are affordable. I love that when we speak during the session, all participants are recorded on separate tracks. So, if you are a coach recording a demo, or a voice over actor recording for a client, you never have to edit out any back and forth as you might on zoom. Then, at the end, you simply upload the audio.

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent In Her BoothI also do love having Source Connect. So many clients and agents require it. I occasionally need to have support sessions, and they do offer great support from Source Connect. Again, like with Zancastr, there are no latency issues. There are, though, sometimes quirks connecting. Sometimes people are confused with how to use it. If you are not both connecting with the same sample rate, for example, you won’t connect smoothly and it will be an issue, so that all needs to be decided ahead of time.

I also do still like to use zoom for the ease of use. Sometimes, even with the latency issues, it is great to just throw up a link and go! Especially this year, everyone knows how to use zoom, and it is nice to have a stress free connection for a live or guided session.

Q: If you could change anything about your studio, what would it be?

This might sound trivial, but it is not meant to. My booth is a rectangle and I have all this wasted space behind me. I could have saved a lot of money by making it a smaller square. The space behind me goes unused and is just a waste. I have to work with an acoustic board behind me, so I don’t even get to enjoy the roominess. 

I have blogged about this before, but I would also choose a different color foam if I had the option.  I hate that my white aurelex foam has turned yellow. I would either do panels or grew foam next time around.

Q: Can a voice over coach help with your studio set up?

A good voice over coach is still not an audio engineer. While I love to talk about gear with other voiceover actor and with students, it it is fun to talk about set up, I did not go to school for sound engineering. I do not have a degree in audio engineering. Everything I know about my studio, I know from having training with various audio engineers. As a voice over coach, I do work with students on microphone technique, but that is NOT the same thing is telling you how to set up your studio. Dave Scott, who  do demo production with, can give you expert advise on how to set up your booth and guide you about what to invest in and how to actually set it up.

Q: What do you wish you knew when you first started your voice over studio?

Travel Rig then and NowI wish I know how important a good travel rig is. It took me five years to get my travel rig to sound as good as my home set up. That is WAY too long. If you are just starting in voice over during the pandemic, I realize it is hard to imagine actually packing up and leaving home, but when we do, the rig matters.

I wish I know how important my website was. I spend so much time working on inbound marketing through my website now, but my business was going for several years before I figures that out.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: audio engineer, booth, Dave Scott, demo production, directed sessions, gear, iMac, Jack de Golia, live sessions, Mac Book Air, mic technique, monitor, professional voice actor, Source Connect, studio, studio set up, travel rig, VO, voice actor, voice over, voice over actor, voice over coach, voice over studio, voiceover, voiceover coach, Zencastr, Zoom

As An eLearning Narrator Your Audience Matters

March 2, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Last Night on Clubhouse

Last night I had the delight of participating on a Clubhouse panel with some other fantastic, professional voice over actors Identify Your Audiencefrom the US and Canada. Our focus was on marketing, and even as a panel member, it really got my wheels turning. I could not help but think of the specificity of my recent outreach, especially in eLearning. I have worked so hard to build my business as an eLearning narrator, and I think in order to really reach prospects, you need to think about who you are working with. From the very beginning of the process through the completion of the booked work, understanding your audience is essential to success as a working female narrator in eLearning.

From the Marketing…

Often our relationships with eLearning clients, whether they be independent instructional designers or larger companies that create content, begin because of marketing efforts. Sometimes our direct marketing is the first interaction a new eLearning client has with a voiceactor. You would never want to send a government client with classified, sensitive content a jovial and silly email that would not resonate. Likewise, you would never want to send a cosmetic company a super serious message that shows no personality.  All of our outreach needs to have the end user, the eLearning client in mind. Our audience matters in every single correspondence.

Design matters to the audienceSocial media content, across platforms, needs to have the target audience in mind as well. This can be a bit trickier, as it is harder to control who sees your posts. You can, however, try to catch the eye of a specific group of clients or prospects by being clever about your target audience. If, for example, you are posing on Instagram and you want to reach out to instructional designers, both the content you use and the tags that you include in your post matters. Another way to grab your audience is to tag influencers and professionals in that field. Quote them. Have a conversation about them. If you want to work in eLearning, you need to be part of the dialogue.

Another tactic I often use is  brochures. I use them to reach out to clients in eLearning when at eLearning conferences when I would love to show my website and samples of my work but cannot because we are in a huge convention center. I find that having a very branded prop is useful in establishing myself as a professional in the field and helps draw the prospect in. Again, in terms of being mindful of the audience, since conference have a range of content creators, the brochure needs to be professional and have all the essentials.

To the Audition…

The eLearning audience must be top of mind when auditioning. You always have to know who you are talking to, and what the audio is being used for. Imagine if you sent an upbeat and humorous toned training to a group of CPAs, it would not fit. Conversely, let’s take the example of the cosmetic company again, because I happen to love doing trainings for them. Imagine if you were doing training for hair stylists about hair brush options available and instead of sending a relatable, warm tone you sounded like a detached CPA. That also really would not work. When submitting eLearning auditions as a female narrator, the audience drives the read you give. It informs the tone, the texture you add, the variation in the pace. An energetic happy read has a very different pace than a professional, thoughtful read. Again, the audience in eLearning matters.

The Booking….

Size of Audience Doesn't MatterWhen you book an eLearning job, understanding the audience or the enduser is so important. For example, I was recently cast in a training for a local hospital: RWJ St. Barnabas, right here in NJ. It was a caller training. When I first read through the script, in my practice read, I sounded warm, gracious, and welcoming. I then re-read my roll: “Bad Caller.” I was the example of what not to do. Everything I just rehearsed had to be thrown out the window and the opposite read was needed. I was talking to the same people, but I was the example of what not to do, and I had to be the best “Bad Caller” they ever heard. Your job as an eLearning narrator is to make it obvious. They should not have had to figure out what was wrong with my phone skills, so I had to make every effort to clearly connect with the listener. Keeping the audience in mind should inform and transform every eLearning performance.

The Rapport with Your Clients

As a voice over actor, understanding your audience is what makes life easy for your clients. If you don’t get it, the narration will never be right. It makes it easier for everyone for you to clearly connect with the audience you are speaking to in eLearning.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: auditions, bookings, Clubhouse, direct marketing, elearning, eLearning clients, eLearning narrator, female narrator, instructional designers, marketing materials, narration, VO, voice over, voice over actor, voiceover

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