For Voice Over Talents

Continued from Part 1

The Working Actor and the Relentless Pursuit of the Next Gig

The desperation in acting is so strong you can actually feel it in casting waiting rooms. I remember that feeling back when I started out in the acting world in the Southern California market. At that point in my career path it was all about landing leading roles in stage productions and going after film and TV opportunities. Armed with a degree in theatre, I pounded the pavement, joined forces with a few agents, went on auditions and booked some real work.

I did a lot of live theatre at the beginning (mostly unpaid) and in time I was fortunate to win a few TV acting jobs. The most notable (for coolness factor) was a little guest role on “Star Trek Voyager” in which I got to play a friendly alien, complete with bony facial makeup, who has a few lines with Capt. Janeway before being beamed down to my home planet (S7:E2 “Imperfection” for any Netflix streaming fans).

And yes, getting beamed down on a Star Trek episode is truly one of the most memorable things I’ve ever gotten to do in my acting career! I still get occasional requests from Trekkies for a signed headshot (some fans make it a hobby to collect headshots of every actor who has appeared in a Star Trek episode).

There were other TV series episode appearances along the way, a wonderful and rewarding run at South Coast Repertory, along with a slew of opportunities to do commercials, corporate and industrial videos and other on-camera work. These were all great experiences for me and helped to build my skills and develop my acting talents for the future.

No Business Quite Like Show Business

Show business is indeed a business. There are scores of great actors out there, who have honed their craft and can brilliantly play Willy Loman or Medea. Sadly, the majority still have a very hard time making a living as actors, and they have to hold part-time or full-time jobs to get through the slow times and just make ends meet.

In other professions, the more experience and skill that you have, the EASIER it is to find work. But in acting, and many other artistic endeavors, skills, talent and experience don’t automatically translate into an abundance of opportunities, jobs, or a livable income.

In the internet age, an actor must learn and embrace the art of marketing along with the art of acting. The days of just waiting around for your agent to call you with an audition or booking are long gone. Today, an actor has to be their own agent, which adds one more huge challenge to the list of what makes acting a very tough profession.

Realize You May Be Treated Like You Are a Commodity

In many casting situations, actors are viewed as a commodity. This is especially true for voice actors. No matter how great of a voice an actor may have, there are ten more who can replace them in a heartbeat. Yes, there are a few extraordinary voices out there who are instantly recognizable. But, that doesn’t mean they can’t be replaced.

One area of exception is probably in animation, where a select few voice over actors can have very long term success with certain characters. Check out these multi-million dollar voices. If you are fortunate enough to land in this circle of actors, then you probably are about as irreplaceable as an actor can be. Count your blessings and buy your parents a new house!

Here are a couple of other factors that can make a voice over actor harder to replace:

1. They are connected with the branding and image of the company they are working for, so replacing them could cause some brand dis-association for customers.

2. They deliver great service and are very easy to work with, so they are unique and more indispensable in ways beyond just their voice over talents and acting abilities.

Up next, the final part of this three-part series: Life as a Working Actor Requires Perseverance, Tenacity and a few other qualities that may need to be developed.

Photo Credit: Will Act for Food is a photo essay collaboration between Cameron Stiehl and photographer, Ana Delao. Set in and around San Francisco’s Civic Center, this collection of photos shows the state of the arts in America where many artists either work at corporate day jobs, relegating their passion to hobby status, or face poverty. Please visit http://www.cameronstiehl.com for more information.

In today’s world of VO, the successful voiceover talent is not only proficient in the art of voiceover, but he/she is also a savvy entrepreneur. The days of working only in a major market, through reputable talent agencies, and having billing go through a third-party (like the union/payroll service, agency, etc.) are forever changed for many talent. That type of payment may account for only a small portion of a voiceover actor’s income now.

Most of my work nowadays comes through production companies, advertising and marketing firms and corporate or small business voiceover clients. In this current voiceover marketplace, the voiceover talent has to be on top of the money game to ensure they get paid for their services.

How to Avoid Payment Issues

I’ve been working as a professional voiceover talent for over 22 years, and in all of that time, the total number of instances when I did not get paid for voiceover services delivered is less than ten. I’m VERY grateful for that fact. Considering that I’ve generated over ten thousand invoices, that’s a pretty staggering track record on the positive side!

In recent years, using PayPal and credit cards to secure the full payment before releasing final audio files has provided some accounting leverage. I use that approach with almost all new clients, many smaller-sized jobs, and nearly all voiceover clients located outside of the US.

The other main reason I think I’ve been able to avoid payment issues is due to the accounting system that I follow religiously. Here are the key things that I do to make sure the check is always in the mail, and ultimately in my bank account.

1. Send out invoices within a reasonable time-frame

My system is set up for Monday delivery of invoices for all jobs completed the previous week. My business manager (aka my husband) handles all the accounting, and employs a checklist-driven system to automate as much as possible. First thing on the weekly list is “Send Out Invoices.” Occasionally we send one even faster if a client needs that. And, when it comes to PayPal invoices, I always send those directly through PayPal as soon as possible, usually upon completion of the project and/or prior to delivery of final audio. So, a good rule of thumb would be “send invoices within one week of job date.” NO exceptions!

2.  Include wording in the invoice that explains what will happen if payment is not received within a specific time-frame

This gives me some leverage and recourse if a payment is overdue. The wording I use says basically, that prompt payment is appreciated and payments that are still outstanding after 60 days (from date of invoice) will have a late fee applied, which keeps increasing monthly until payment is made. You can determine the dollar amounts and/or percentages you want to use for the late fee (I use $20 per month or 2% interest per month, whichever is greater). This is a very standard practice these days, not only for voice over talents but for many other businesses as well. I rarely have to charge a late fee, but it’s good to have it there when I need it.

3. Have a professional, organized Accounts Receivables System

Whether you’re using a software program or doing the old school approach in a ledger, make sure you have an accurate, easy-to-use system for logging your payments as they come in. Since some payments come in electronically through PayPal or a merchant account service if you accept credit cards, you need to have a way to keep track of those digital notices too. Until fairly recently, we used to track payments in a ledger, which created a bit of redundancy, since we also use Quicken to send out invoices. But, when it comes to accounting, redundancy can be a good thing. That approach worked well for many years and we rarely had issues or errors. We now employ a similar method of tracking with the ledger now in an excel spreadsheet. The digital version offers additional useful benefits, such as being able to sort the data for tax purposes or other reasons. It doesn’t really matter what your system is, as long as it’s comfortable for you, and you can do what you need to do each week to keep track.

4.  Follow steps consistently when receiving payments

This may seem obvious but it’s actually worth mentioning. If you don’t have specific steps to follow, you can easily make an error, which will lead to additional work and hassle later on. You want your clients to trust that they’re dealing with a professional, who follows good business and accounting practices. Simple steps, done consistently, will ensure proficiency.

Examples of types of steps to follow are:

– Write the invoice number on each received check, so you can easily backtrack it later on if there is a question.

– Make copies of all checks before depositing.

– Always follow your sequence of steps in the SAME ORDER so it is habitual and consistent. If you have delegated accounting to someone else, make sure they are following a procedure, and not randomly skipping steps.

– Include the “payment received date” and check number in your accounts receivables log.

Keeping a detailed accounting of payments will save you time, energy and money. If you’re not a detail-oriented person or you don’t like tracking things like this, find someone who can help you and pay them to do the job! I can personally recommend Tina Maloney, the VO Helper, who has many great skills and loves to work with the numbers. There are other virtual assistants out there who can assist with accounting. If all else fails, marry an accountant!

5.  Watch the 30 day deadline like a hawk

For me, it’s 30 days from the invoice date. You may prefer a deadline that is shorter or longer depending on the types of clients you work with. From our software and even in the old ledger book, we can easily see when a payment has crossed the 30 day threshold for payment. An email is sent out to all clients who reach this point to follow-up on payment status.

It’s a very polite and friendly message (and not automated), and it almost always generates a reply with a status update of when we can expect the check. If we don’t get a reply, we re-send again the following week. After three attempts, we get on the phone and get more urgent with our communication. But, we always are polite and professional with how we communicate. Here’s a very good article that covers the importance of being polite in these situations.

You may notice that my late fee doesn’t apply until 60 days, but I contact the client at the 30 day mark. This is because, I want to make sure the payment is in process at 30 days. Sometimes the original invoice didn’t get to the right person. At 30 days, I feel comfortable checking in to make sure the ball is rolling, and to find out when I can expect a check to arrive. Keep in mind, I don’t do this myself, I have my accounting support person handle this correspondence.

Another added benefit of having someone else followup on late payments is that I can avoid having unpleasant mental associations with certain clients just because they are late in paying an invoice. It’s easy to fall into that trap and start to feel a little resentful about so-and-so not paying up when you distinctly recall turning around his or her project on a dime and totally over-delivering on the voiceover services end! It’s better if I personally don’t know who is late in paying bills in the 30 – 90 day late window. I sleep better, I avoid negative emotions spoiling my day, and in general, I’m able to feel very good about all of my clients. Knowing that I have someone tracking this and following up on my behalf keeps me out of the whole conversation. In this case, it is true that ignorance is bliss!

An Organized Accounting System Pays Dividends

While staying on top of your accounting system and procedures does take some consistent work and follow-through, the results are hugely worth the effort, and will have a positive impact on your productivity and overall mental state. And, as voiceover talents, keeping that positive mental attitude is a critical part of success over the long run.

Please share any additional accounting procedures that you find work well for you. I’d love to hear about your ideas and experiences!

I recall a little awards presentation at the local VFW for my daughter’s school a few years back.  Middle-schoolers were asked to write a short essay on why our armed forces are important.  My daughter is a truly outstanding writer, but she didn’t win the contest.

In fact, she didn’t even place.

This was quite upsetting to her, as she had become accustomed to winning in most aspects of her 13 years of life at the time. She’s consistently been a 4.0 student, a medal-winning member of her Science Olympiad team, sings solos in her choir, takes dance, has made a good income as a child voice over actor for several years.

She’s been very involved in theatre productions since she was about 8 years old, winning many leading roles. Can you relate – fellow proud parents of over-achieving youngsters??

Yet, when she didn’t win top three in this little writing content, and she knew that she would not be advancing any further, she declared that she must be a terrible writer.

Why else would she not have been selected as the winner? And if she couldn’t even be selected as a winner in a little school essay contest, how could she ever think that she could someday be a published writer (which is one of her goals)?

Of course, this became one of those “teach-able moments” for me as a parent, feeling like I needed to jump in and provide a better perspective.  My husband and I were quick to point out that there are many successful people in all different types of professions, who have failed many more times than they have succeeded.

That the MOST successful people are usually also the people who have failed the most in life.

That failure is usually what drives a serious, goal-driven person to keep moving forward, refining, and improving upon their given talent, until they reach an even higher goal.

We tried to help her see that there is subjectivity in judging any artistic endeavor, such as writing.  It’s just someone’s opinion and if there had been different judges there could have been a different outcome.

My husband pointed out that JK Rowling was turned down many times, before she finally found a publisher willing to publish her first Harry Potter book (and there are dozens more stories like that one). Meryl Streep has lost MANY more awards than she’s won.  Does that make her a loser? Of course not. There are hundreds of examples of people who persisted in the face of failure and repetitive loss.

Despite all this evidence to support the notion that losing isn’t really a bad thing after all, my daughter still felt the sting; the “agony of defeat,” and it took until the next morning for her to be back to her usual cheery self again. A few hours of sleep can do wonders!

Winning and Losing – Two Sides of the Same Coin

So what is it, within each of us, that makes us want to win, and hate to lose?  And why do losses in life lead us to doubt our abilities ?  Why does another person’s opinion (or group of people – or “experts”) mean so much?  Why do we need an award to feel worthy?

An inaugural award ceremony for the VO industry a few months prior to my daughter’s award ceremony prompted quite a bit of chatter on both sides about why this (a) was great and long overdue, or (b) self-serving, bordering on non-essential in the industry.

One side argued that asking for money from VO actors to nominate themselves in certain categories was outrageous, and simply a way for the proprietors to make money.  The other side argued that this is standard in the industry, pointing out that acting, advertising, and other creative awards always require a fee to enter, and that winning is then a great feather in the cap for future work, elevating one’s name or company to an “award-winning” status.

I suppose that having “Academy Award Winner” in front of your name can be an achievement of recognition within an industry to propel your career forward.  At least it lets everyone know that you were selected, above all others in your category as the BEST one, for a given year.

While I love watching awards shows, I’ve never agreed that judging a “best” performance of one actor over another is necessary.  Can’t they all be terrific, in their varying roles?  Isn’t that what life it about; variety in everything… Something for everyone?

We were also quick to point out that when accolades are given to the award winners, the “haters” often appear. So, even when you achieve the “winner” status, then you may have to deal with folks who are trying to knock you out of that position, or attack you just because you are a “winner” and they are jealous or insecure about their own talent and ability, or whatever.

Of course, that shouldn’t be a reason to avoid winning, or doing one’s best. But in school, (especially in junior high) this type of dynamic can be brutal. It’s hard to watch your child have to deal with cruel people. Yet, those types of people exist in the world, so we all must learn how to manage the way we think, feel, and respond to what they say and do.

Add social media to the mix and the situation becomes even more intense, particularly when cruel comments can be posted anonymously or under fake accounts.

Social media is also a place where kids, and adults, are constantly exposed to other people’s biggest “wins.” Based on the carefully selected moments and photos people post on their feeds, many lives can appear to be the epitome of perfect, made up only of gorgeous sunsets, exotic vacations and blissful encounters. When those viewing the picture-perfect feeds start comparing the feeds to their own rather ordinary lives, the “agony of defeat” can become a perpetual state of mind.

Striving to Be the Best at What You Do

I understand wanting to be the best.  In the voiceover profession, certainly competition is a big part of the day to day.  When only one voice will be selected for any given commercial voice over spot or campaign, and money, future connections and status is on the line for the winner of the competition, it drives us all to up our game.

But is this what we teach our kids?  That life is about competing for everything, and that it’s usually winner take all? It seems like after about 4th grade, they start keeping score in sporting matches, and begin handing out letter grades, to make sure to label who is the first place team, or A student. What does that do to the ones who aren’t first, or who pull a C average?

We’d like to think it motivates them to do better. But sometimes there is an opposite outcome and a person gets very discouraged because they can’t seem to measure up. There are many casualties that result from this “always be the best” attitude.

I don’t have the answers to these questions.  Personally, I fluctuate back and forth between the message that a strong work ethic is very important and that competition is pervasive and pretty much unavoidable on virtually every level of existence, and that practice is always necessary to be in the winner’s circle, regardless of how naturally gifted you are at something.

Then, on the other side, I have to show compassion for people, and kids especially (including my own) who may not be at the top of the heap, and who struggle with their self-esteem when the game keeps getting harder to play and win.

I find in raising my children that this one perspective around how to handle winning and losing can have big ripple effects. I suspect that the habits they create around this now will shape their future success and quality of life. So, it’s important to try to help them see a balanced approach that celebrates winning and also recognizes losing for the value that it brings.

How do you deal with losing in life and work? What perspective do you use that helps you see losing as a valuable step in winning? Please share your thoughts and comments!

My goal from the very beginning of my acting career was to be a successful working actor. I had the dream that I could make my living as an actor for my entire life, despite the discouraging statistics around job outlook and wage projections for working actors.

In the “old days” before the Internet, the acting landscape was a whole lot different than it is today.

The old-school way of building a successful acting career consisted of landing a job, doing it well, and then landing another job that was more visible, doing it well, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Growing your acting career was based on making new contacts, gaining experience, honing skills and talents, and ultimately (and most importantly) doing “good work” on stage, on screen or in the recording booth.

With persistence and a little bit of luck, eventually the right people would take notice and better opportunities would lead to better jobs and increasing levels of success.

That was how the game looked to me as a young, fresh-out-of-college drama grad embarking on my journey to live my dream and be a successful working actor.

And, do you know what? That simple approach has served me quite well over the years. Even as I transitioned from stage and screen acting to being a professional voice over actor, I still found that if I primarily focused on doing “good work” at every step along the way, one success always lead to another. It was a clear, predictable path.

A Lot More to Professional Voice Over Acting Than People Realize

In today’s internet-driven world, being good at what you do as an actor (especially a professional voice over actor) is still most important. However, there is a new part of the success equation that can create some daunting challenges for many would-be voice over actors just starting out. And even for the seasoned pros, it can still be a time-consuming and arduous treadmill.

TRUTH: We working actors have to do a whole lot more marketing of our talents and ourselves than I ever imagined would be necessary.

Sure, I expected I’d have to promote myself and my profession to some degree, and make lots of new contacts along the way.

But the level and type of marketing that seems to be required today to keep the new business flowing is completely unexpected.

Not only do we have to perform the good work that is at the foundation of our profession, but we have to build and maintain a great website, create fabulous “google-worthy” blog content that builds our audience, contribute profoundly to social media and, in general, stay on top of the constant technological changes that affect how we market our services and selves.

Our livelihood as actors no longer hinges on simply doing what we do well. Now, we also have to build and maintain an intriguing online persona that is attractive to our potential clients as well as to the world in general.

No pressure there!

In a memorable interview, the highly accomplished, talented and ubiquitous Kevin Bacon was asked on The Today Show about how he would navigate the waters of social media, in addition to simply plying his acting craft, if he were just starting out in the entertainment industry today.

Fast forward to about the 2:45 minute mark to hear him speak on this topic… 

He was obviously pretty reticent about the idea. He mentions how when he was young and building his career he “really just wanted to be a serious actor,” (doing good work) and the idea of being a “personality” was the last thing he wanted to think about.

Kevin goes on to say,

Now, in a funny way, if you want to be taken seriously (as an actor) you almost have to be more of a personality and you have to nurture that part of your persona. And that’s a kind of pressure I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with.

I guess in a way, he prefers a full six degrees of separation from his audience over the one degree provided by his Twitter feed.

I’ll bet William Shatner would agree, especially after a particularly memorable Twitter backlash he was hit with soon after Leonard Nimoy’s death.

When William Shatner tweeted over the weekend that he had a prior charity commitment that would prevent him from attending Nimoy’s funeral, he got hit with a negative (and totally inappropriate IMHO) Twitter-storm of responses. Wow, makes me wonder why celebs put up with that kind of “fan support.”

Oh yeah, because they HAVE TO!

I guess these days, if you’re an actor or celebrity, YOUR business is EVERYbody’s business. It’s all apparently just part of that persona-maintenance project. 

How Does an Actor Manage It All

While the pressures of celebrity are not part of my universe, I do still have to play a similar game of persona managing.

So, if this is the new normal, how the heck do we keep up with all this stuff? And by stuff, I mean all of the chores we have to do in addition to our actual professional skills for which we actually get paid!

1. Outsource What You Can

For working professional voice over talents, one way to manage it all is to outsource, if we can afford it. Procuring agents, forming a marketing team, hiring (or in my case marrying) a business manager, an audio editor and others to help us out, can free up huge amounts of time which allow us to get back to the work of doing our good work.

However, one must be mindful to manage and maintain these relationships as well, since they can easily disappear or be disrupted. Additionally, delegating the management of marketing our persona to others can be very tricky business and demands some oversight. These types of relationships must be chosen very carefully.

Based on the Twitter backlash received by Shatner, along with the social media horror stories many companies have lived to tell, it’s also imperative to be very careful about what gets posted on your social media accounts.

2.  Find the DIY Marketing Approach that Works Best For You

If we can’t afford or just don’t want to go down the road of hiring extra help, we can still look for ways to get the biggest bang for our personal efforts using whatever marketing strategy seems to fit best. The content generation approach is certainly not the only way to go, but it seems most effective if you are trying to build good search engine rankings.

In addition to publishing regular blog posts, you can also to choose to incorporate additional DIY marketing strategies such as:

• Keyword research and SEO
• Scheduling social media posts in advance for an entire week, or month
• Investing in automated marketing software that takes care of the repetitive tasks, like email nurturing
• Expanding your exposure with guest blogs and responses to industry-related questions in forums and groups

Finding DIY marketing tactics that gel with your personality and strengths is key. But the tricky question around this whole marketing approach question is “how much time will I have to spend on my marketing?”

The tricky question around this whole marketing approach question is “how much time will I have to spend on my marketing?”

Every minute I spend marketing is a minute I’m not spending recording a job, preparing a quote or crafting a custom voiceover audition. This is the primary reason why I’ve chosen to delegate as much of my marketing chores as I can. That way, I can stay focused on doing my good work and earning the income that allows me to keep on living my dream of being a successful working actor.

How do you manage the marketing chores that are required in your business? I’d love to hear your comments, especially if you have found effective strategies that are working well for you.