laura@volaura.com

973.747.6800

  • Home
  • Demos
    • Demos
    • YouTube Bumper Demo
    • Commercial
    • Covid Response And Emergency Management
    • Radio Imaging
    • TV Affiliate
    • Narration
    • Audiobooks
    • Political
    • Tours
    • Character
    • Kids Voices
    • Baby Voices
    • Promo
    • eLearning
    • Explainer
    • Telephony
    • Government
    • Medical Narration
    • French Commercial
    • French Narration
    • Podcast
    • On Camera
  • Copy Writing
  • Studio
  • Clients
  • Coaching & Demos
    • Voice Over Coaching
    • Book Online
    • Business Coaching
    • Demo Production
    • Prepaid Scheduling
  • Blog
  • Contact

voice over coaching

VO Business Year in Review

December 13, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Reflections on 2021

It’s somewhat hard to believe it’s now December. Somehow the last few months have blown by in a busy whirl. For me, as a working mom of twins who happen to be high school seniors, this fall was extremely busy. With the New Year fast approaching, I am starting to reflect on 2021: what I’m proud of and what I might have done differently. The year is not over yet, and I plan to use the rest of the month to end strong.

Thoughts on My Business

I like to think a lot about where my business came from. The clients who came directly to me, not through a pay to play or an agent, were up 44% from last year. Repeat clients makeup 2/3 of my business. Clients from my website were up 136% compared to 2020, so I was very pleased with that number.

I also grew my coaching and demo production business substantially this year, and it made up about 3.5% of my annual income thus far. I was pleased with that.

My pay to play numbers were down. While I did have some stellar bookings on CastVoices that I am pleased with as that site is just starting, my bookings on Voice123 with new clients were down more that 30% from 2020. While I continue to submit, I find this quite frustrating. One major goal is to surpass my 2020 numbers in 2022.

Reflections on Equipment and Gear

I made some sound equipment upgrades this year that I am very pleased with. Dave and I added the Presonus to direct clients when they come in for demo sessions. I got a fantastic new desk setup for outside of my studio space. I am really happy with this. I added the EVO4 preamp to my travel rig. I also finally got to use my new rig that I invested in before my trip. That has been fantastic for me. Most recently, I upgraded my laptop that I use daily when outside the booth. My original one was from 2015, and it simply died. I am so happy to have a new, fast, working device.

Marketing Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts about my marketing efforts. This is the one area I put so much time and on-going effort, every, single day. I updated my headshots. I kind of felt that the photos should actually look how I look, and if I looked in the mirror and looked nothing like the gal in the photo it was probably time to change!  My website was then updated with the new photos. My website was not only updated superficially, but it got an update from the inside out, as it also now meets the requirements for Google Core Values. That update actually just happened, and I hope that clients now have an even easier time finding me. I continue to reach out to clients and industry friends with my monthly newsletter. After so many years, I am finally feeling more comfortable with mail chimp and have improved the format. I have also gotten a lot better with Canva this year and use their template consistently for my instagram posts. I have tried to be very much on top of my social media posts in 2021 and have grown a much larger following. I have also continued to blog at least once a week, and sometimes twice a week. I am proud that I have maintained my efforts with my blog.

I do feel that since August I have not been as on top of my direct emails. I feel that as I got busier with my twins, I became too relaxed and did not follow up as I typically do, especially in two main areas: with repeat clients and with my radio imaging outreach. When I sit and do it I regret that I dropped the ball a little.

Let’s end the year strong!

The year is not over! The next week and a half until Christmas can be a strong one! All marketing an be done with gusto. All auditions can be awesome. All booked work can be submitted with extra effort to make clients feel appreciated. Every single day matters, and each booking counts. As I reflect back on the year, I am so thankful for another year to pursue my dreams, and another year to work in the field I love. With the SOVAS this weekend, I am so excited to spend the last Sunday before the holidays surrounded by so many industry friends who are flying in from all over. Sometimes I say “there are no words” but for this weekend there are many words, and they are words of reflection and gratitude.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: als, bookings, CastVoices, coaching business, consistency, desk, gear, Google Core Values, headshots, Home Studio, mail chimp, new clients, newsletter, pay to plays, prosonus, reflections, Repeat Clients, small business, Twin Mom, VO, voice over, voice over business, voice over coaching, Voice123, voiceover, website, working mom, workspace

When Are you Ready To Make a Demo?

April 25, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Order of Events

So you’ve decided to make a commercial voice over demo! Where ever you are in your voice over career, there’s nothing more exciting than a new demo to get a voice actor going! So when I, as the coach and demo producer, get the call from a voice talent, it’s my job to assess where they are in terms of demo readiness. If another established talent is working as long as I have calls, they can go straight to demo. If a newbie calls it is obvious they will need coaching. But there is a vast grey area in between a working professional voice actor and someone completely new, so how do I assess what my clients need? Ultimately, no one goes to make a demo unless they are ready to book work at the time the demo is complete.

When a New Talent Needs a Demo

Some Things Take TimeWhen someone brand new to voiceover calls or emails, after our initial consultation, I like to send them an audition script to read to get a baseline idea of where they are starting. From that, I can best assess approximately how many sessions it will take to get them demo ready. Some people are fast learners and they only need a handful of lessons. Others take substantially more time. Here are some factors that influence how quickly you can get to your demo:

  • How much time do you have to practice?
  • How much time do you have to listen to other samples and repeat them?
  • Have you acted before?
  • Have you taken improv classes?
  • Do you sing?
  • Are you a good listener?
  • How determined are you to reach your goals?
  • How good are you at following directions?
  • How often can you meet?

As the answers to these questions vary so much from voice student to voice student, the results vary. In general, when a voice actor reaches out and wants to do a demo, they are pretty determined to make it happen and that determination and passion lead to success.

When an Intermediate Talent Needs to Make a Demo

What makes you different makes you beautifulIn the past month, I have had two clients with acting and entertainment experience who were new to voice over reach out for demos. Again, both were given baseline reads to asses. Both were amazing. You’d think they’d been in voice over for years. Even without coaching, as one had stage and vocal training and the other had on-camera tv experience, their instincts of what to do with the script lead to a natural, authentic, solid read that would be bookable if they submitted.

When someone like that reaches out, I am comfortable moving forward with the demo, as my demo packages include the necessary coaching to prepare the demo. Whether a client chooses the full video package or an audio-only package, their script selection and works on those scripts are included in our process. My goal is for them to have an amazing, jaw-dropping commercial demo that shows their range as a voice over actor, so we choose spots that demonstrate this range.

When an Experienced Voice Actor Needs a Demo

One Size Fits OneWhen a working voice talent needs a demo, again, we can move forward with script selection and a process that showcases their range and strengthens their business’ brand. I work hard not only to bring scripts that enable voice actors to target aspirational clients and showcase their capabilities but also to have the demos be a reflection of what the talents value, care about, and matter. The demo prep process is collaborative and the voice talent’s personality and opinion matter greatly.

Again, the demo packages all include the necessary demo prep, so whether you have been in voice over six months or six years, come demo recording day, my job is to make the demo client shine. I work really hard in the time leading up to the demo to flesh out the nuances of the scripts and talk about the different possibilities so that when the day comes to record the demo client is ready.

My Philosophy About Demos

I believe a demo is an opportunity. A good, solid demo gives you a chance to market yourself to potential clients and them what you can do for them. Particularly when you are new to voiceover, a video demo gives you an instant body of work to market that you would not have. If you have been in voice over and reaching out to video production companies, it is just logical that people connect best in the medium that they work in: video. So, why not give them the content the way they like seeing it? If you are doing an audio-only demo, that demo has to be amazing. Every spot has to show a range and the demo cannot be too long. They have to be attention-getting and leave the listener wanting more. I also believe demos should last for many years and should not be dated, so finding content that the client will not age out of and that will not date the demo is of the utmost importance.

Filed Under: Coaching, Voice Over Demos, Voiceover Tagged With: auditions, coach, commercial demo, demo producer, voice over coaching, voice over demo

Primary Sidebar

Loading

Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Recent Post

Recent Posts

  • How to Publish a Public Domain Audio Book
  • Having VO Industry Friends Matters
  • Lessons From My First Audiobook
  • Why Positivity Matters in a VO Coach
  • Nutrition and Voice Over
Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Categories

Categories

  • Laura answers every correspondence with a smile and a prompt reply. In addition to RUSH jobs and quick turnarounds, guided sessions are available and Laura works hard to make every project perfect. Do not hesitate to call or email anytime :) The one exception to this is erotica. Should you need someone for adult content, all the best to you, Laura is not your gal, do not reach out.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Contact Image

973.747.6800

laura@volaura.com

SKYPE: lauraschreiber324

ipDTL: Laura Schreiber Voice

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Sourceconnect

LAURA IS REPRESENTED REGIONALLY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD.

©2023 Laura Schreiber Voice. All rights reserved. PRIVACY POLICY.

Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites  // Site design by notobelladesigns.com.