VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #566 – But…How?
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. Time for a brand new episode of Voice Coaches Radio. I hope this is finding you well here on this, uh, Friday the 13th. My name is Marissa, and I'm not really superstitious. I say that, though, if I, like, Try not to jinx myself, I'm knocking on wood. Throwing salt over the shoulder, trying to avoid black cats, even if they're adorable.
I definitely don't walk under a ladder, mainly because I'm accident prone. But, uh, you know, there's so many things. Uh, today also, just in case you're listening to it, day that this drops, 1. 35 billion dollars is up for grabs for the Mega Millions jackpot, and that's the second largest. ever in history, but the drawing is tonight.
So if you're superstitious yet feel lucky today, I mean, today might be the day. I mean, Taylor Swift would say it's her day. She loves the number 13, just in case you're like out of touch. It's fine. Uh, but I hope here we are two weeks into the new year. I hope that you are having a great start. You know, you've got goals in, in check in line and you're, you're, you know, kind of making checklists to, to actually check things off and, uh, get yourself right to where you want to be.
Uh, I'm almost to where I want to be. I can see the finish line right now. Slowing down on some teaching, uh, getting more. Uh, like more recording underway. I actually did add a second, second station. Are you kidding me, Marissa? Where are you? Uh, ninth station, uh, for radio. Uh, first time ever doing classic rock.
Can I tell you so incredibly weird? I mean, listen, I love classic rock. I will listen to the Rolling Stones and I will listen to like, you know, Bon Jovi is considered classic rock now. God, even Nirvana is considered classic rock now. It's the delivery that, for me, is like, Mmm, are you sure you should have me on this station?
They're trying to slow me right down, but I'm a, I'm an energetic beast, so I'm working really hard on it, you know? That's like one of those things, like, you go to read something out loud for the first time, and you tend to read faster than you speak. We talk about that here in VoiceOver, right? And, I will admit, this is the one station that I have that they do kind of tell you what they want you to say.
No other radio station is really like that. I think it's just because it's a format that doesn't change. Like, classic rock is classic rock. They don't have new songs necessarily to add unless decades go by. So they're like, here, say this. And I'm like, okay. And I've been trying now. It is officially like a full week in.
I think I'm getting the hang of it. But I also could be wrong. I don't know. I listen back and I'm like, yeah, sounds okay. Uh, but I'm also very accustomed to what I typically do. So, I'm like, did I slow down enough? Uh, it does feel very uncomfortable. And, and, you know, when I'm doing a demo session, in order to make somebody more conversational sometimes, I'm like, can you pick it up a hair?
Because when you start going too slow... It, it sounds choppy, it sounds like you're reading, and that's how I feel like I'm coming across sometimes on this radio station. And I'm like, eh, but, I guess like, you know, if they like it, who am I to change? Uh, you know, might as well just keep going as it's going, and by the way, It's money.
So I'm gonna take it. But, you know, again, I hope that you're going and, uh, you know, you're, you're trying to reach some goals this year. I was talking to some students that are like, yeah, I want to try to get my first job. Yeah, I want to go ahead and make sure that I spend X amount of time on this every single day or every single week.
Um, and that's always great to hear. So keep doing that. Keep moving forward. Keep setting goals, knocking them down, getting to the next one. Um, but I wanted to touch on a question. Or like a topic that came up in a class as we were starting the beginning of this year. And it's about how do I get work? Now, I will admit, if you are somebody that is within the Voice Coaches radio program, um, I said radio program, it's actually just the Voice Coaches program.
This is the radio podcast. Stick with it, Marissa. It's almost like it's Monday, but it's not. Um, so if you're with the Voice Coaches program, you have an entire class that is dedicated. To how to get the job, you know, so spend that time in your self learning and, and really absorb the material that is in your fingertips, because I will say.
And this sounds awful, don't be this student, right, don't be this person where you get into a self educated class and you've got, you know, you open up to page one and you see that it is a, um, a ridiculous amount of pages and you go, okay, yeah, no, I'm not gonna do that, that's ridiculous, first of all, you paid for the program, right, you're throwing away Your, your money by doing that too, they give you like a road map to follow.
What are you doing? Like for real, uh, it's a lot of, it's a lot of education in that class, but it's so incredibly helpful because, I mean, I always tell people it really is everything that I have done my entire career. Without even realizing that I was doing the right thing. I, I was just, you know, building relationships.
I was just go ahead and I was spreading the word. I was telling everybody, yeah, I'm on the radio. Yeah, I can do commercial work. Yeah, I can do that. Um, and you know, I was getting my name out there. That is such a big, gigantic part of it. But, you know, again, if you are within the Voice Coaches program, then you have the opportunity where you have like hundreds of pages to, to guide you.
But if you're not in the program. Like, what do you do? I mean, it comes down to the, the word that a lot of people don't like, which is networking. Uh, you know, I remember when I was starting, and, and, and just in radio, and, and like, I was at school, and I think it was one of my teachers that may have been, Hey, hey, you know, like, the audio that you're doing here, you should go ahead and you, you should...
Like, send it out to some radio people, get some feedback. And I always thought, like, nobody's gonna take the time to listen to me and, like, try to help me. I'm nobody. Like, they don't know me. I'm just somebody in some rink a dink town in upstate New York that they've never heard of that's got, like, one stoplight.
That's true, by the way. Uh, and... Little did I understand is that it's such a small industry that people did want to help because, like, you should be helping each other. There's plenty of work to go around, and we should always be trying to lean on each other or ask for feedback to try to keep getting better.
Um, and that's what I did from the jump. And, I mean, I was sending it to people that were working in major markets like New York City, the number one radio market in, like, the country. I got feedback. That's the beautiful part about it. Like, I didn't even want a job there. And truly, I still don't want a job there.
Who wants to live in New York City? Some people are like, yeah, let's do it. I'm like, nah, I'm good. Um, but I was getting that feedback and, and it was great because that's somebody in such a prominent role that took that time, very busy person, took the time to just. tell me to tweak a couple little things and what I was doing positively and gave me that that courage and and that like push to keep moving forward you know what it's doing too is it's like it's keeping you top of mind so it's like that person if they liked you and they they like your personality even if it's just via email it's like oh they heard about this job all of a sudden they've passed along your information to somebody else that they know and here we are.
Now I got a job in Omaha, Nebraska. Now, that's not how I got my job in Omaha, but still, I'm just saying as an example. Um, so, you know, that, that community, that communication is so important. You know, just navigating the industry as a whole. It's, it's an interesting little beast, right? Because it's like, you want to look at businesses that you might want to be a part of, maybe it's places that you absolutely love that you go in every day.
It's a local business, a local establishment, who knows? They could use you for a training video. They could use you for their commercial or their voicemail piece, but they're never going to know that. They can use you if you don't alert them of it, right? So you got to like be your own best advocate and not be scared to like who's gonna celebrate you the most You know and get that word out for you you nobody else is gonna do that for you You've got to go ahead and put the legwork in and the best thing I can say is is literally don't be scared to do it And do it often.
Um, you know, use any platform that you have to make sure people are aware. Because next thing you know, it's like, so and so has this person that they know they, they have this business and it's like, wait a minute, hold on. I just saw, you know, my friend. You know, John, he's got this business and he was just saying, Hey, if you know anybody, and it's like, I, I didn't realize I knew anybody, but let me, let me get you guys in touch with each other, get you connected.
That's how things happen. That's how, that's how ridiculous it can be to get your first job. Like it could be something so out of left field that you're not expecting. So making sure that you are your own best advocate is so incredibly important and just, you know, doing your research, doing your homework so you can know where to audition.
Like there are plenty of places that you can audition for the type of work that you want to get, but you have to go ahead and you have to do the legwork. You have to understand that it's not going to come to you all the time. In fact, most times it won't. I've been very, very lucky and I use the word lucky With air quotes, because it seems like the work that I'm doing right now has just come to me.
However, it's because of the almost 20 years of relationship building that it's done that. Like, I've done 20 years of work. To make sure people are aware of who I am, the quality of product that I deliver, and that I am available, I have a home studio, X, Y, Z. You know, and that's why one radio station came back, then three more, then three more on top of it, then all of a sudden another one.
I've got nine right now, plus commercial work that I've been doing for a couple different things. I do some social media stuff for somebody else. You know, I'm right here with you. Clearly, I'm doing probably way too much, but Hello, it's all the stuff that I want to do. It's all the stuff you probably want to be doing as well in some kind of facets.
So the only way to do that though, is to follow that roadmap that I've pretty much been on, which is advocating for yourself. It is spreading the word. It is doing the hustle.
Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
I definitely don't walk under a ladder, mainly because I'm accident prone. But, uh, you know, there's so many things. Uh, today also, just in case you're listening to it, day that this drops, 1. 35 billion dollars is up for grabs for the Mega Millions jackpot, and that's the second largest. ever in history, but the drawing is tonight.
So if you're superstitious yet feel lucky today, I mean, today might be the day. I mean, Taylor Swift would say it's her day. She loves the number 13, just in case you're like out of touch. It's fine. Uh, but I hope here we are two weeks into the new year. I hope that you are having a great start. You know, you've got goals in, in check in line and you're, you're, you know, kind of making checklists to, to actually check things off and, uh, get yourself right to where you want to be.
Uh, I'm almost to where I want to be. I can see the finish line right now. Slowing down on some teaching, uh, getting more. Uh, like more recording underway. I actually did add a second, second station. Are you kidding me, Marissa? Where are you? Uh, ninth station, uh, for radio. Uh, first time ever doing classic rock.
Can I tell you so incredibly weird? I mean, listen, I love classic rock. I will listen to the Rolling Stones and I will listen to like, you know, Bon Jovi is considered classic rock now. God, even Nirvana is considered classic rock now. It's the delivery that, for me, is like, Mmm, are you sure you should have me on this station?
They're trying to slow me right down, but I'm a, I'm an energetic beast, so I'm working really hard on it, you know? That's like one of those things, like, you go to read something out loud for the first time, and you tend to read faster than you speak. We talk about that here in VoiceOver, right? And, I will admit, this is the one station that I have that they do kind of tell you what they want you to say.
No other radio station is really like that. I think it's just because it's a format that doesn't change. Like, classic rock is classic rock. They don't have new songs necessarily to add unless decades go by. So they're like, here, say this. And I'm like, okay. And I've been trying now. It is officially like a full week in.
I think I'm getting the hang of it. But I also could be wrong. I don't know. I listen back and I'm like, yeah, sounds okay. Uh, but I'm also very accustomed to what I typically do. So, I'm like, did I slow down enough? Uh, it does feel very uncomfortable. And, and, you know, when I'm doing a demo session, in order to make somebody more conversational sometimes, I'm like, can you pick it up a hair?
Because when you start going too slow... It, it sounds choppy, it sounds like you're reading, and that's how I feel like I'm coming across sometimes on this radio station. And I'm like, eh, but, I guess like, you know, if they like it, who am I to change? Uh, you know, might as well just keep going as it's going, and by the way, It's money.
So I'm gonna take it. But, you know, again, I hope that you're going and, uh, you know, you're, you're trying to reach some goals this year. I was talking to some students that are like, yeah, I want to try to get my first job. Yeah, I want to go ahead and make sure that I spend X amount of time on this every single day or every single week.
Um, and that's always great to hear. So keep doing that. Keep moving forward. Keep setting goals, knocking them down, getting to the next one. Um, but I wanted to touch on a question. Or like a topic that came up in a class as we were starting the beginning of this year. And it's about how do I get work? Now, I will admit, if you are somebody that is within the Voice Coaches radio program, um, I said radio program, it's actually just the Voice Coaches program.
This is the radio podcast. Stick with it, Marissa. It's almost like it's Monday, but it's not. Um, so if you're with the Voice Coaches program, you have an entire class that is dedicated. To how to get the job, you know, so spend that time in your self learning and, and really absorb the material that is in your fingertips, because I will say.
And this sounds awful, don't be this student, right, don't be this person where you get into a self educated class and you've got, you know, you open up to page one and you see that it is a, um, a ridiculous amount of pages and you go, okay, yeah, no, I'm not gonna do that, that's ridiculous, first of all, you paid for the program, right, you're throwing away Your, your money by doing that too, they give you like a road map to follow.
What are you doing? Like for real, uh, it's a lot of, it's a lot of education in that class, but it's so incredibly helpful because, I mean, I always tell people it really is everything that I have done my entire career. Without even realizing that I was doing the right thing. I, I was just, you know, building relationships.
I was just go ahead and I was spreading the word. I was telling everybody, yeah, I'm on the radio. Yeah, I can do commercial work. Yeah, I can do that. Um, and you know, I was getting my name out there. That is such a big, gigantic part of it. But, you know, again, if you are within the Voice Coaches program, then you have the opportunity where you have like hundreds of pages to, to guide you.
But if you're not in the program. Like, what do you do? I mean, it comes down to the, the word that a lot of people don't like, which is networking. Uh, you know, I remember when I was starting, and, and, and just in radio, and, and like, I was at school, and I think it was one of my teachers that may have been, Hey, hey, you know, like, the audio that you're doing here, you should go ahead and you, you should...
Like, send it out to some radio people, get some feedback. And I always thought, like, nobody's gonna take the time to listen to me and, like, try to help me. I'm nobody. Like, they don't know me. I'm just somebody in some rink a dink town in upstate New York that they've never heard of that's got, like, one stoplight.
That's true, by the way. Uh, and... Little did I understand is that it's such a small industry that people did want to help because, like, you should be helping each other. There's plenty of work to go around, and we should always be trying to lean on each other or ask for feedback to try to keep getting better.
Um, and that's what I did from the jump. And, I mean, I was sending it to people that were working in major markets like New York City, the number one radio market in, like, the country. I got feedback. That's the beautiful part about it. Like, I didn't even want a job there. And truly, I still don't want a job there.
Who wants to live in New York City? Some people are like, yeah, let's do it. I'm like, nah, I'm good. Um, but I was getting that feedback and, and it was great because that's somebody in such a prominent role that took that time, very busy person, took the time to just. tell me to tweak a couple little things and what I was doing positively and gave me that that courage and and that like push to keep moving forward you know what it's doing too is it's like it's keeping you top of mind so it's like that person if they liked you and they they like your personality even if it's just via email it's like oh they heard about this job all of a sudden they've passed along your information to somebody else that they know and here we are.
Now I got a job in Omaha, Nebraska. Now, that's not how I got my job in Omaha, but still, I'm just saying as an example. Um, so, you know, that, that community, that communication is so important. You know, just navigating the industry as a whole. It's, it's an interesting little beast, right? Because it's like, you want to look at businesses that you might want to be a part of, maybe it's places that you absolutely love that you go in every day.
It's a local business, a local establishment, who knows? They could use you for a training video. They could use you for their commercial or their voicemail piece, but they're never going to know that. They can use you if you don't alert them of it, right? So you got to like be your own best advocate and not be scared to like who's gonna celebrate you the most You know and get that word out for you you nobody else is gonna do that for you You've got to go ahead and put the legwork in and the best thing I can say is is literally don't be scared to do it And do it often.
Um, you know, use any platform that you have to make sure people are aware. Because next thing you know, it's like, so and so has this person that they know they, they have this business and it's like, wait a minute, hold on. I just saw, you know, my friend. You know, John, he's got this business and he was just saying, Hey, if you know anybody, and it's like, I, I didn't realize I knew anybody, but let me, let me get you guys in touch with each other, get you connected.
That's how things happen. That's how, that's how ridiculous it can be to get your first job. Like it could be something so out of left field that you're not expecting. So making sure that you are your own best advocate is so incredibly important and just, you know, doing your research, doing your homework so you can know where to audition.
Like there are plenty of places that you can audition for the type of work that you want to get, but you have to go ahead and you have to do the legwork. You have to understand that it's not going to come to you all the time. In fact, most times it won't. I've been very, very lucky and I use the word lucky With air quotes, because it seems like the work that I'm doing right now has just come to me.
However, it's because of the almost 20 years of relationship building that it's done that. Like, I've done 20 years of work. To make sure people are aware of who I am, the quality of product that I deliver, and that I am available, I have a home studio, X, Y, Z. You know, and that's why one radio station came back, then three more, then three more on top of it, then all of a sudden another one.
I've got nine right now, plus commercial work that I've been doing for a couple different things. I do some social media stuff for somebody else. You know, I'm right here with you. Clearly, I'm doing probably way too much, but Hello, it's all the stuff that I want to do. It's all the stuff you probably want to be doing as well in some kind of facets.
So the only way to do that though, is to follow that roadmap that I've pretty much been on, which is advocating for yourself. It is spreading the word. It is doing the hustle.
Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa answers a students question regarding how to get work.
