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The Voice Coaches Blog/Podcast Crossover!

Posted On: Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 9:17 am | By: MikeSpring
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, Motivation | No Comments »

Announcing the first ever Voice Coaches Blog/Podcast crossover!

You might be asking yourself, “Why is there a Gatorade commercial posted above with absolutely no voice overs in it when this is a blog about voice overs?” I can’t tell you yet, but if you tune in tomorrow to our Voice Coaches Radio podcast page and listen to Voice Coaches Radio #48, this will all make a lot more sense. Now, you don’t need to watch the video above to understand tomorrow’s podcast, but it does tie in nicely.

The podcasts usually go live right around noon Eastern Standard Time, so check back and have a listen. And then let us know what you think!

There’s An App For That

Posted On: Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 5:14 pm | By: MikeSpring
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, Motivation, VO News | No Comments »

iphone

Before I get started, let me assure you that this blog is not an iPhone commercial. Nor is this entry solely about technology, so even if you’re not a big tech junkie please keep reading.

I own an iPhone. I think it’s a great device with an incredibly wide array of functions that I utilize to make my life easier. It dawned on me recently that many of the things my phone does, though, are either useful for voice actors or can present opportunities for voice actors. What do I mean? Well, continue on, fearless reader!

A little background first: I currently have 65 apps on my iPhone, and that  doesn’t include the 15 or 20 that come standard with the phone. These are all ones I’ve downloaded through the App Store, either for free (most of them) or for a small fee. That might seem like a lot, but I know many people who have hundreds of apps on their phones. The ones on my phone range from games to social media apps to organization tools to internet accessories. But here’s where it gets interesting: of those 65 apps, an impressive 13 of them have some form of voice over in them.

That means that 20% of the apps on my phone have utilized at least one voice actor in them. Which begs the question: why aren’t you marketing yourself to companies developing iPhone apps? There are over 100,000 apps currently available, with dozens (if not hundreds) being added daily. Using some fuzzy math here, with over 100,000 apps in the App Store, if roughly 20% of them have voice overs in them, that equals 20,000 voice over jobs. Seems to me that THAT is an excellent market for voice actors. Why not research a few software development companies in your area and find out if they’re developing any apps for the iPhone or any other phone (such as the Droid or the Blackberry)? If they are, that seems like a pretty great place to pitch your services as a voice talent. Remember, it’s not just big companies that are developing apps anymore. Everyone from college kids in their dorms to the major TV networks are working on apps these days. Just recently, I received an e-mail from my bank (which is regionally limited to just 13 states) advertising their new iPhone/Blackberry app.

How about some apps that might come in handy for you as a voice actor? While there are none that I know of  that will allow you to record professional voice overs from your phone, there are certainly some that make for great practice tools. There are several voice memo recorders out there. If you want to practice reading out loud (or perhaps you want to practice a particular accent or character voice) and you want to hear yourself back, instead of booting up your computer or a handheld tape recorder, simply press a button on your smart phone and you’re recording. Since you almost always have your phone with you, you can even practice on the fly; if you find yourself with some downtime, you can use the voice recorder to capture your reading practice for review later.

A podcast I listen to has developed a basic app that allows me to listen to the latest episodes (as well as archived ones) without even having to download them to iTunes. Do you host your own podcast? An app might be in your future. I even recently found an app that allows you to stream live video and sound directly to the internet from your phone. I haven’t quite figured out all the potential uses for that app, but I imagine it might be used in a potential home recording session or self-marketing event.

The ultimate point of all this isn’t even that you should utilize technology as a voice actor. It’s that creative opportunities and new ideas are presenting themselves to us all every day. Open your mind and brainstorm on what ideas lie out there that you haven’t even thought of yet. Find unique, exciting, innovative ways to develop your skill and market yourself, and the future is wide open to you. And if there’s one thing that having an iPhone in my pocket has taught me, it’s that the future is never very far away.

Stuffed With Ideas!

Posted On: Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 10:11 am | By: MikeSpring
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, Motivation | 3 Comments »

thanksgiving2

It’s a short week here at Voice Coaches due to the Thanksgiving holiday, however, I wanted to leave you with something to keep you warm over the weekend besides turkey and stuffing, so today I’m going to share a little Thanksgiving humor, some motivational thoughts, and a little bit of news as well.

First off, I want to tell you about a new blog feature that we’re going to be launching next week called “Voice Overs of the World.” In addition to my weekly doses of bloggery, inspiration and (I hope) humor, every week we’re going to be looking at a new voice over, whether it be from a commercial, a movie or TV show, a video on the internet, or what have you. These aren’t all going to be the “Best Of” voice overs, just different types of delivery and content that we think are interesting enough to draw your attention to. And don’t worry, we’ll have video clips right in each blog post so that you won’t have to go hunting all over the internet to track down the videos we’re talking about. It should be a cool and fun (and informative) new weekly feature, and I hope all you regular blog readers will get into the spirit of it and share your thoughts and comments on the clips each week!

thanksgiving1

I know it seems a little obvious, but since the theme of today’s post is Thanksgiving, I would feel remiss if I didn’t talk about a basic aspect of marketing yourself as a voice actor: thank you notes. It’s very important to remember what a huge impact a quick, personal thank you note can have when you’re marketing yourself. It can be an actual thank you card, a postcard, or even just a quick note or letter, but they’re a great way to make a positive impression on the people you’re marketing yourself to. And there are more opportunities to utilize thank you notes than just after you’ve completed a job (although, of course, you should absolutely send thank you notes to everyone you work with on a professional job.) You should also send a thank you note to follow up with someone who’s listened to your demo, or to anyone who’s referred a job or a potential lead to you. Let’s face it; everyone likes to get a nice, heartfelt thank you card in the mail, and it’s a really effective way to keep yourself in contact with a potential VO employer.

thanksgiving3

Finally, I’d like to leave you with two quotes that I think are appropriate for Thanksgiving and the spirit of positivity that is so uplifting at this time of year:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

- John F. Kennedy

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.”

- Irv Kupcinet

From everyone here at Voice Coaches, we hope you all have a wonderful, happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Don’t Be A Crazy Wrestler

Posted On: Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 7:50 am | By: MikeSpring
Related Category: Effective Marketing | No Comments »

wrestler

A couple of days ago as I was driving in to the office, I passed a bunch of road signs for candidates in the recent local elections. These are the elections for positions such as county legislator, sheriff, town board, town clerk, etc. Frankly, I think a lot of people tend to ignore these elections, but this day, one sign in particular stood out in my mind. It was for a group of three candidates running for county legislator named Gordon, Savage, and Finn. Unfortunately, their sign read like this:

SAVAGE

GORDON

FINN

As soon as I saw that, all I could think of was an advertisement for some sort of crazy wrestler: “Toniiiight! You’ll be on the edge of your seat as Savage Gordon Finn takes on the likes of the Iron Eagle! Here he comes, ladies and gentlemen: Savaaaaaaaaaage! Gordooooooonnnn!!! Fiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I’m pretty sure that’s not what the county legislator hopefuls were aiming for.

All of which leads me to my point: if you’re designing new branding (whether it be demo packaging, business cards, letterheads, thank you notes, or whatever) take a look at it very carefully before you send it out. I can’t tell you how many demos I’ve seen that have unintentionally funny, weird, or sometimes even obscene overtones because of an unfortunately chosen picture, e-mail address, or design element.

After you’ve finished designing your sparkling new demo CD cover, walk away from it and leave it for a day or so. Then come back with fresh eyes and take a look at it and see if anything seems a little bit… off. If not, you’re probably pretty safe. But if you think there’s a chance that any element of your demo could be misconstrued or misinterpreted, you might want to think about changing it.

After all, you don’t want people to think you’re a crazy wrestler instead of a voice over artist.

…Unless you’re both!

Thank You Everyone!

Posted On: Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 11:27 am | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, VO News | 3 Comments »

Technology + You= Opportunity , Voice Coaches 2009 Advanced Marketing Expo, came to a close last night at 5:15pm. With attendance close to 200, this event was a tremendous and empowering success.

Attendees from across the US and Canada joined some of the most influential professionals in our industry for a day-long series of presentations, expert panels, and one-on-one advice.

Though many former and current Voice Coaches students were in attendance from as far away as California, New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, and Florida, we want to give special thanks to Voice Coaches Student turned professional voice actor Jonathan Stull, who traveled all the way from Wasilla Alaska to attend the event!

Presenters and panelists included Legendary Voice Actor Rodney Saulsberry, Voices.com founders Stephanie & David Ciccarelli, Award winning audio book producer Dan Bostick, Home recording expert Mark Magdich, Television, film, and voice actor Evan Farmer, Super agent Billy Serow, Visual marketing expert Dan Dinsmore, Producer and trainer Dave Goldberg, Communication and marketing expert Jay Silverman, and more.

In addition, experts in vocal health, visual marketing, social networking, home recording, and conventional marketing, were on hand along with Voice Over Xtra founder and former student John Florian, and representatives from Voices.com to answer questions during seminar intermissions.

Attendees enjoyed catered breakfast, snacks, lunch, and beverages all day provided by our exceptional friends at Mallozzi’s Catering.

For the first time, we formally invited one of our charities, the SPCA to join us. I am proud to say that Voice Coaches students and friends raised more than $2000.00 for the group in less than 8 hours.

Anna and I were fortunate to have a late post-event dinner with most of our presenters and I am delighted to say that every single one of these professionals were very impressed by YOU our students.

After an exhausting month preparing for this event… We are a bit sad that it’s over! We do want to sincerely thank our entire team at Voice Coaches, and all of our special guests and presenters who were willing to invest their own valuable time to share information.

Most of all however, we want to extend our most sincere thanks to our clients across the US and Canada for trusting us to assist you. You make it possible for us to do something that we truly enjoy… and we are dedicated to doing the same thing for you!!

Until next year… Thanks!

David and Anna Bourgeois

Voice Coaches

Voice Coaches Expo Is ON!!!

Posted On: Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 10:27 am | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, VO News | 2 Comments »

Today, the Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo is happening in Schenectady NY with attendees and experts from across the US and Canada. Nearly 200 voice professionals were in attendance as Voice Coaches President David Bourgeois kicked off the event this morning.

Marketing and Communication Expert Jay Silverman spoke about personal traits in effective marketing. The group then overwhelmingly welcomed award winning audio book producer Dan Bostick from Full Cast Audio. After Dan’s presentation, Visual Marketing Expert Dan Dinsmore, president of media firm Overit Media spoke about emerging opportunities that advances in technology have created in our field.

Next up are Voices.com Co-Founders Stephanie and David Ciccarelli.

Look for video podcasts at Voice Coaches TV later today!!

Busy Week!

Posted On: Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing | 3 Comments »

Well, there won’t be a lot of downtime for anyone at Voice Coaches this week. That’s because on Saturday May 2nd, we will host our third annual Advanced Marketing Expo at the GE Theater, right here in Schenectady.

With more than 150 attendees and guests expected from as far away as Alaska, New Mexico, Georgia, South Carolina, California, and Florida, this event is not only a great place to learn, it has become an incredible opportunity for voice actors to network with one another.

For our team, and my wife and I, the expo is also a chance to reconnect with friends who just happen to be some of the top professionals in our field. Stephanie and David Ciccarelli from Voices.com will again join us. In addition to providing incredible professional opportunities for Voice Actors, Voices.com offers customer service that is unmatched in their industry.

Legendary Voice Actor and Author Rodney Saulberry gave a call yesterday to confirm his travel arrangements that will allow him to join us for our event and the VIP Mixer the evening prior.

Super Agent Billy Serow will join us and be on hand Friday Evening and Saturday to interject realistic perspective to those considering pursuing major commercial VO work.

We’ll welcome for the first time, Award winning audio book producer and voice actor Dan Bostick who is sure to be popular as the audio book field continues to expand.

We’ve asked our good friend and Media-Technology expert Dan Dinsmore to share his perspective on emerging opportunities for professional voice actors.

We are excited to have Producer-Trainer David Goldberg from New York’s famous Edge Studios on hand to provide perspective on A market VO.

Traveling from Fort Wayne Indiana to speak about Home Recording will be Mark Magdich from Sweetwater. Sweetwater is the worlds number one audio equipment retailer and mark is an absolute expert when it comes to Home Recording.

Marketing expert and voice actor Jay Silverman will add perspective on the benefits of reaching close to home to build opportunities.

Television host, film, and voice actor Evan Farmer will join our expert panel and answer questions about building success.

Other folks who we expect to be on hand include actor and Voice Coaches Student John James, Voice Over Xtra’s John Florian, and many successful former students and professionals.

We will post videos on Voice Coaches TV, and interviews at Voice Coaches Radio.

and now… no sleep till Sunday!

The Good Ole CD

Posted On: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 3:29 pm | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing | 1 Comment »

Why a CD Demo Is A Critical Component For Building Success

Here is a question that I hear from time to time, typically from an individual new to our field…

Do I really need a CD demo or can i just email my demo as an mp3?

As technology and the availability of technology has increased, the ability to deliver your demo through some web-optimized method has become important. Services like the wonderful folks at voices.com also require you, in most cases, to be able to send your demo via the internet.

However, and this is a great big however, the prospect of singularly marketing yourself through a web based demo can significantly limit your chances for success.

The first thing to consider: What happens when you receive an email with an attachment from someone you don’t know?! In almost all cases it goes straight to junk!

Another thing to consider: It is very easy to hit the “delete” button. Hitting the delete button is much easier than ignoring a physical piece of mail.

I receive many demos on a weekly basis, and the vast majority of those demos are on a CD. In some cases we follow up with the person and request an mp3, but a CD demo does help set an individual apart as a professional.

My best suggestion as someone who is fortunate to both train voice over artists and produce professional voice over work: Give yourself every advantage by presenting your demo as both a physical CD, and as an mp3. By offering both methods of delivery, you’ll put yourself in a tremendous position for a broad range of work opportunities.

Additionally, If you’ve put together a demo and need CDs, they are not expensive. I do suggest that you stay away from making 500 or 1000 CD demo copies. Try to limit any CD order to 100 because your demo will change as you do new work. You don’t want to be saddled with 500 CDs filled with an old demo. (though they do make nice drink coasters)

Also, always be sure to package any CD you send out in a full size CD case so that the sides or “spines” of the CD can be labeled. This will make locating your CD easy when it is stored on a shelf with others.

Bottom Line… CDs are an inexpensive and critical component of your successful self-marketing efforts.

Enjoy What You Do!

David at Voice Coaches

Great Response!

Posted On: Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 5:28 pm | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, VO News | 3 Comments »


Nearly a week after our second Advanced Self marketing Expo wrapped up, we are still receiving an enormous amount of feedback about the event. Below are some excerpts of emails and correspondence we have received.

Thanks, David. What a terrific event! I got what I came for  a renewed sense of excitement, enthusiasm and most of all, inspiration. Again, thanks for a great conference  you and your team did an awesome job! Best, Betsy

The conference exceeded all expectations (and they were high to begin with). It was well-organized, professional and packed with good, substantive information. The speakers/panel were great. I’m so glad I attended. Thank you again for your unbeatable commitment to your students and clients. Natalie

Hello David, Dan Goldman here. I just wanted to say thanks once again for a wonderful Marketing Expo II. In reference to the event the following adjectives come to mind: * Invigorating * Inspiring * Recharging * Communicative * Fun * Rewarding What a great event and what a thrill it was to meet Rodney Saulsberry in person, chat with him, shake his hand and to have his book I purchased while there, signed by him. It is a thrill to know how dedicated you and VoiceCoaches are to the craft of VoiceActing and that is how I like to think of it, as a craft. You and your team have pure undying dedication through your offered services, open communication and a genuine willingness to help; and I greatly understand and appreciate that. I want to greatly increase my business, help others in our craft and deliver to my clients and everyone a super-quality product. Once again, BRAVO on Marketing Expo II !!!

David and Anna, Thank you so much for having us down to speak and for treating us to dinner. You guys have it going on! Congratulations on another successful conference. We’re proud to be part of what you are doing and look forward to the next time we get to see each other. I also want to note that the entire Voice Coaches team is fabulous. We felt right at home and part of the family. Can’t wait to do it again :) Best wishes,

Stephanie and David Voices.com

If you want to learn more about our panelists, visit the Vox Daily Blog at Voices.com. Stephanie and David have done a great job outlining the important points covered by each presenter.

Until next time, Best Regards!

David at Voice Coaches

Winding Down!!

Posted On: Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 10:32 pm | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing, VO News | 4 Comments »

After several months of planning, we have just wrapped up our second Advanced Marketing Expo near our home base in Schenectady New York. The afternoon brought our attendees face to face with Voice Over Super Agent Billy Serow and famed Voice Actor Rodney Saulsberry. Our expert panel concluded the event featuring Q&A with Voice Pro Heather Frenz, Marketing Expert Jay Silverman, Television Host Evan Farmer, Graphic Design Expert Dan Dinsmore, our afternoon presenters Billy Serow and Rodney Saulsberry, and Voice Coaches President David Bourgeois. The energy level at this years event was over the top and I want to sincerely thank everyone who attended. The interaction with attendees was every bit as motivating as the speakers and special guests.

After the event we were fortunate to have dinner with our friends Stephanie and David Ciccarelli from Voices.com, Rodney Saulsberry, and John Gallogly, Robin Paulson, Jenny & Jeff Marcotte, Kristen Neary, and Michael Massa from the Voice Coaches Team.

It was wonderful to have an opportunity to speak with candidly with Rodney and tremendous to reconnect with Stephanie and David, who’s services have helped so many Voice Actors realize their dreams.

On behalf of Anna and Myself, I want to thank everyone who helped make this event a major success!!

BTW…Next years event is being booked next week!

Best Regards!

David at Voice Coaches

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