The best way to do that is to do ANY titles that come your way, right? Forget how long they are or what genre or anything else. Just get as many titles under your belt as you can. Correct?

100% wrong.

You need to build an audiobook portfolio of quality titles. And the first thing that indicates whether a title is quality is the cover.

Yes, the cover.

We’ve been told all our lives that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Guess what? We do, anyway. And we know this is true, otherwise books wouldn’t have covers!

And for the blossoming audiobook narrator, people will judge you by the cover of the books you do. The quality of the book is a direct reflection on who you are as an audiobook narrator.

The cover is key. Why?

Here’s the scenario: You’ve just attended a mixer and made a great first impression. You now have the casting director of a major publisher interested in you. The first (possibly only) thing they will do is look you up on Audible. What are they going to see? They’re going to see a list of all your titles….. And their covers. And because covers are designed to draw the eye, that’s precisely what will happen. So that casting director will see all of your covers in a nice big list, and they will know if you’re a serious narrator or a desperate hobbyist who narrated a bunch of mediocre titles.

All based on the covers of the books you narrated. You are a product of the titles you narrate. And you want anyone who looks at your audiobook portfolio to think you’re entrusted with narrating high profile titles that sell gobs of copies.

What does a good cover look like? Take a look at the current best sellers on Audible. Are the covers of the books you’re narrating on par with those? Or do they look like something done in a pirated version of Photoshop with the same bland fonts you’ve see time and again? And don’t even get me started on those ebook covers that have been squashed into the square form factor because the author didn’t have the foresight (or budget) to also have a square version commissioned.

Here’s an actual example:

This is a version of Little Women that was published about 12 years ago.

Nothing wrong with it, per se. But very classic-looking, like a book you’d find on your grandmother’s shelf. Nothing wrong with it, but still. Meh. Grandma’s books are dusty.

Now take a look at a new version by my friend, Andrea Emmes:

Guess which one became an Audible bestseller. I’ll give you a hint. It’s the one that looks like a modern take on a new classic. Very Emily Blunt-ish. Appeals to millennials who need to read it for school.

That cover is not only an attractive cover from a sales standpoint, but it is also a stronger statement of who Andrea is as a narrator. This cover indicates she’s a contemporary narrator who can breathe new life into classic works.

See where I’m going with all of this? When you’re building your audiobook portfolio, it’s critical that you have a slew of excellent titles with excellent covers because everything you do going forward is a reflection of who you are as a narrator.

So go forth and speak words! Choose your titles carefully when building your audiobook portfolio and make sure that your books are not only pleasing to the ear but also the eye.

                                      About the Author

Jeffrey Kafer is a full-time SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator and consultant. He has narrated over 500 books in almost every genre for such authors Clive Barker, Steve Alten, Maya Banks, Gregg Olsen and many others. He has 2 degrees in cinema and broadcasting and spent the first part of his career as a video game tester for Microsoft before following his true passion of acting. He’s been on stage since he was 13 (his mom still has the bellhop costume she made) and currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and dog. Visit him at http://audiobookmentor.com or checkout his audiobooks at http://audible.com/jeffreykafer.

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The biggest obstacle I’ve faced in my voice-over career is something I never would have considered: tension. I was worried about the usual things like learning my audio editing software, making sure my home studio was up to par, finding my unique delivery, etc. Those are all great things to focus on! But then I started getting weird pains and aches in my neck and throat. I couldn’t get a full breath when I was recording. It was making for choppy deliveries.  Vocal tension and fatigue seemed to be setting in really quickly. I tried not to panic, but this was really bad, right?

First of all, if you’re experiencing any of these things, don’t be stubborn like me. Go to an ENT immediately. I put it off for way too long, which only made my stress levels go through the roof. I was so convinced they were going to tell me I had to stop working that I just avoided it. Yeah, I know, pretty dumb.

I finally decided I couldn’t put it off any longer. I scheduled my appointment. Really long story short, I had this very common vocal disorder called Muscle Tension Dysphonia. I’ll let you do some internet research on that, but the bottom line is, I was speaking with so much tension the muscles around my larynx were acting like a cage. I learned this way of speaking somewhere along the way. Likely a combination of speaking to huge groups of people at my last job and, interestingly enough, emotional distress. Your emotions can have a huge impact on your voice. So, yay therapy!

I’ve now been going to a speech therapist regularly to resolve this issue. I’ve learned some great massage techniques to release vocal tension before I begin recording and I wanted to pass some of these on to you in this week’s Working Wednesday video.

Here’s the overall lesson: if something doesn’t feel right, get it checked out! No need to suffer in silence.

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Everything you thought you knew about networking at audiobook events is wrong and is easier than you think.

The audiobook community is a vibrant one. It’s a tight-knit group, but is always welcoming of those who are serious about the craft and the business. There are lots of audiobook events specifically for audiobook narrators.

What are some of these audiobook events? The Audio Publishers Association holds mixers all around the country at various times of the year. There’s one in LA, NYC, the Midwest, and Seattle. Plus, there’s The Audio Publishers Association Conference everywhere in NYC that is bookended with even more mixers and parties!

And success in the audiobook industry is linked directly to these events. Why? Because audiobook narration is not voice-over. It’s old-school New York publishing: Shake hands, buy a drink, and share a steak with conversation about the Yankees. Human interaction. So you really need to do these audiobook events and get to know the movers and shakers in the business.

But we’re also introverts. I consult with a lot of people who get sweaty palms thinking about networking and elevator pitches and not saying something stupid to the president of Penguin Random House. They freak out and they come up with some reason not to go or if they DO go, then they don’t get the full experience and value because they hung out in the back like a wallflower.


So here’s my advice to make these audiobook events much easier for someone who sits in a box all day talking to themselves. And some of it is NOT what you think:

• Bring business cards. But don’t hand them out. You’re not a business card vending machine. If someone asks for them, sure, hand them one. Be prepared for that, but don’t blindly hand them to everyone after you have 3 minutes of small talk about the weather. No one typically gets hired from a business card.

• Don’t network. I can hear you saying it now: “But Jeff, you idiot, these are networking events!” That’s true, but most of us are introverts and we freak out by the prospect of “networking.” You’re not there to network, you’re there to make friends. Knowing that changes the dynamic and changes what you talk about.

• Don’t talk about audiobooks. Okay, now I’ve totally freaked some of you out. It’s an audiobook event! Shouldn’t I talk about audiobooks? No. Because that’s what everyone else is talking about! Be the person who talks about something else. Everyone should read How to Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. You’ll learn that you should talk about things that are interesting to the other person. So know your audience and do a bit of research ahead of time on who you know is going to be there and what they are interested in. Know that the casting director of XYZ Publisher likes cats and tiny houses? Then research that ahead of time and talk to them about cats and tiny houses! How do you know they like cats and tiny houses? You’d be surprised at what people divulge on social media… Be the person who isn’t always talking about audiobooks. Be the person who is trying to make a real human connection. This is classic Carnegie: If you stand there for 10 minutes and the person you are talking to regales you with discussions about things THEY are interested in, you will walk away with them thinking you are a sparkling conversationalist. And your job is easier, because they are doing the talking!

• Don’t try to juggle too much. That’s not a euphemism for time management. That literally means don’t have too much stuff in your hand. Look, I get it. The crab cakes look amazing and they can only be washed down with a rum and coke. But these audiobook events tend be standing affairs and if you do that, then your hands will be full. Forego shoving free apps into your mouth and leave a hand free for shaking. Plus you won’t look like a pig. Speaking of which, these are appetizers, not your only meal after being let out of prison. If you’re hungry, eat beforehand.

• Dress nicely, but don’t overdo it. Unless you’re going to the Audies, business casual is fine. A suit and tie is rarely necessary, but feel free to iron that shirt of yours that’s been sitting in the bottom of the hamper. Remember, you’re not trying to impress, you’re trying to make friends.

• Don’t get drunk. Seriously, do I need to explain this? It’s not a fraternity party.

• Don’t make it a point to talk to casting directors. Okay, that was clickbait, sorry. Yes, you want to talk to casting directors, but don’t ONLY talk to them. You want to have as many friends in the business as you can and that means engineers, marketing people, and other narrators. Because everyone at some point is a casting director. If I’m not right for a title, then I can recommend someone who is. Who am I going to recommend? Someone I know and like and trust not to embarrass me.

• If it’s hosted, thank the host before you leave. I mean, after all, you didn’t HAVE to be invited.

Effective networking at audiobook events means doing less traditional networking and more just being yourself. Talk to everyone! Be a real human! It’s those kinds of connections that will eventually lead to more work and a more fulfilling career as a narrator.

Thanks for tuning into our content! There’s always VO conversations happening out there that are dying for a voice like yours to participate, so what are you waiting for? Join the conversation to see what voice talents are saying. 

  About the Author

Jeffrey Kafer is a full-time SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator and consultant. He has narrated over 500 books in almost every genre for such authors Clive Barker, Steve Alten, Maya Banks, Gregg Olsen and many others. He has 2 degrees in cinema and broadcasting and spent the first part of his career as a video game tester for Microsoft before following his true passion of acting. He’s been on stage since he was 13 (his mom still has the bellhop costume she made) and currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and dog. Visit him at http://audiobookmentor.com or checkout his audiobooks at http://audible.com/jeffreykafer

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Most animated series require going to a recording studio. Many times, depending on the budget, all the actors work together. However, for Shaboom, we go in separately to record.

This episode was about Rosh Hashanah and a few short folk stories. I play Lila, the daughter of the family. In the short stories, the producer wasn’t sure who would play what roles, but had me in mind for a couple of the characters. We played in the studio to find a voice for each of the additional characters. It isn’t uncommon to read for a character that another actor will also read for. The final casting will be often be determined later.  Producers like to make sure each voice is distinct and discernible from the others.

I invited Mark Chen, another VO talent, to come observe the session, and he graciously volunteered to record some video with my phone from start to finish.

Mark and I had a lot of fun recording in the booth. Tune into the video to hear how I got the job and what my home studio looks like.  I hope you have a fun time watching!

Let’s go!

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We all know success is better achieved with set goals. However, it can be difficult to figure out the process that works perfectly for you. Organizing my voice-over goals and making to-do lists are just a few of the things that I do to keep myself on track with my voice-over career.

Here’s my process:

Do a Brain Dump

We carry a lot around in our brain. If you try to organize your voice-over goals entirely using your memory, you’re just asking to feel overwhelmed. Write down every single thing you have to do. Include the tiny stuff like buy eggs and the big stuff like sign with a voice-over agent. Break each of these down into manageable tasks. Buying eggs is pretty simple and includes little prep work. Signing with a voice-over agent is going to require a bunch of prior action items.

Organize Your Lists

Separate your tasks into different days. Make categories like Today, Tomorrow, This Week, This Month, This Year, etc. I recommend keeping these lists on your phone using an app like Wunderlist. That way, your list is in your pocket at all times. Organize your Brain Dump items into these categories. Every day you’ll check your lists and move items around accordingly. If you think of any new tasks, just plug them into the appropriate list. This method is expanded on in one of my favorite books, Push by Chalene Johnson.

Must-Dos vs Want-Tos

There are always going to be things we have to do to reach success that aren’t fun. It’s just the reality. These are called the Must-Dos. Must-Dos are like business finances or collecting leads. Want-Tos are the things that still need to get done, but are much more enjoyable, like recording a new commercial for a client or working on a monologue for an acting class. Condense the Must-Do tasks into a couple of hours during your day. Stay focused, put your phone on airplane mode, and get to work. This will get those less desirable tasks out of the way quickly so you can work on the stuff you really want to.

Here are a few personal book recommendations to help you achieve your goals:

Push by Chalene Johnson

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

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Vocal training is a lifelong process. It’s necessary to have discipline and awareness in order to learn and maintain healthy vocal techniques. As a voice actor, your body and voice are your instruments and you must be consistently practicing, training your voice, and keeping your instrument in the best “shape” possible. As a voice-over professional, I personally like to think of myself as an athlete, if I don’t train and go to the gym to maintain my form, my skill set will weaken. Below are the areas of focus I believe are imperative to classically train your voice.

Your Body
Your entire body is involved in voice acting, it’s the vessel through which we convey the text of a script. There are many physical demands put upon voice-over actors in the booth, including but not limited to: standing for long periods of time, hours of speaking in various characters for audiobooks, as well as conveying different volumes and character voices for animation or video games. As a voice actor, we must warm up our bodies and ensure they are free of tension when we are called upon to record in a booth for several hours. There are various physical techniques known for releasing tension such as Feldenkrais, Fitzmaurice Voicework, and Alexander Technique. I recommend you try one of the above techniques, or integrate a yoga and/or meditation practice into your lifestyle which helps free our muscles from unnecessary tension.

The Lips, The Mouth, The Tongue, The Teeth!

What do these all have in common? They help us with our diction and articulation in the booth. Voice-over coaching sessions can move quickly and sometimes actors are expected to deliver large amounts of text clearly and concisely in a short amount of time. It’s imperative that you’re ready for any tongue twisting text a client throws at you, so developing those articulators is required. You must train your voice so articulation and diction sounds clear, but also natural.

Breath Support

I graduated from undergrad with a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre and breath support is something I continue to work on in my voice-over career. Breathing involves so many muscles: intercostal muscles, abdomen, and diaphragm (this is where tension will come through as your enemy). Yoga has really helped me find ease with my breath and taught me not to push or force the breath unnecessarily. I recommend working with a singing teacher on your breath support, and/or challenging yourself with long phrases (in singing or text) to develop good habits to sustain some of the phrases you will find in demanding copy. Shakespearean text is a great tool to train your voice and practice breath support due to his use of long phrases. If you’re consistently working on your breath support, you’ll soon find that long texts such as narration or audiobooks begin to feel effortless.

Resonators

It’s important to know the inner mechanics of sound throughout your body. Once your vocal cords vibrate to produce tone, that tone then resonates throughout various ducts and chambers. There is head resonance, mouth resonance, chest resonance, and nasal resonance. When you choose to explore all of the sound possibilities different resonation can produce, it will be extremely helpful in your vocal health and technique and in certain voice-over areas such as animation, video games, and audiobooks.

Phrasing and Musicality

I have found my music and ear training to be extremely helpful in my voice-over career. While you always want to sound natural, it’s necessary to hear varying inflections and to be able to adjust based on a casting director or client’s notes. Just as phrasing makes a big difference in playing a piece of music, the same can be said for speaking text in theatre, as well as voice-over copy. I recommend listening to music and various voice-over professionals use of phrasing and musicality with a more critical ear. It can be difficult to find a trusted singing teacher, but the right mentor can help you not only train your voice, but also train your ear, which is extremely helpful for a voice acting career.

These are a few books I have found helpful throughout my training:

Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater

The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer by Patsy Rodenburg

Speak with Distinction by Edith Skinner

Also, don’t forget to join in the conversation and share your positive experiences about Such A Voice!

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You may have been told our

There are a couple of things that can propel you into the vast world of VO that many of our coaches (who are all voice actors and were once in your shoes) have suggested.

• Throw your ego out the door because there’s always room for improvement. Ok, keep your ego intact because you need it for your self-confidence (which is a must in the VO industry) but don’t assume because you’ve taken a few workshops that you have the chops now. You need to train and practice on a regular basis, just like an athlete, just like a musician, just like a professional chef. Beyonce didn’t make it to the top and then just stop and let the fruits of her labor work for her. She still practices, rehearses and continues perfecting it all. Laying down some cash for proper voice-over training with coaches may feel costly at the time, but you have to consider that those sessions will pay for themselves after you’ve had a few job offers, which ideally you will if you keep working on improving your skills. A voice coach will take you out of your comfort zone and help you to grow as a voice actor in ways that you wouldn’t otherwise on your own. The best part of working with a coach is that it’s fun!
• Make it happen, don’t wait for it to happen. Well, there’s some waiting involved after you submit auditions of course, but I’m talking about being proactive and sharing your enthusiasm for your new career endeavors with everyone. The more people who know you’re getting into voice acting, the more likely you are to find work. Networking is huge and although you may cringe at the idea of it, again, it’s a step outside your comfort zone which can potentially bring results. This can also mean getting your business cards made, launching your website, your business Facebook page, and your LinkedIn profile. It means cold calls and emailing prospective clients. Prepare yourself for rejection and take it with a grain of salt when it happens. Remember that a rejection doesn’t mean you don’t have talent, it means you didn’t fit the voice description of what the client had in mind.
• Setting realistic goals helps you with time management. It can feel overwhelming to embark on a voice acting career. If you’re anything like me when you feel overwhelmed you shut down and don’t accomplish anything except accumulating a YouTube history of funny cat videos. Now as entertaining as that is, it’s not going to bring you anything but guilt later on for not getting anything done. So, set goals for yourself and I’m talking realistic goals. Not goals like- Send auditions this week. No, that’s too broad and too vague. Get detailed with your goals and ask someone to hold you accountable. This could be the voice-over coach that you’ve invested in. Setting goals will ideally teach you how to organize your time as well. What helps me is to use my Google calendar as my guiding light. I write my goals into the time and day slots that I want to get them done. When I do that, I usually achieve said goals. If I just think it and assume I’ll get it done, it doesn’t happen. In that case, what gets done is more accumulation of cat videos. With setting goals and practical organization of your time, it can be helpful to create a routine for yourself so that you’re dedicating a set amount of hours each day to starting your voice acting career.
• A professional demo and high-quality equipment are key. I cannot stress enough how important a professional demo is. Imagine you’re interviewing someone for a job and they show up in ripped jeans with their hair askew. Would you hire that person based on your first impression? Unless it’s for a heavy metal music booking company, probably not. Your demo is your prospective client’s first impression of you. If there’s background noise or the sound is muffled or you’re popping your p’s too much, that’s going to reflect poorly on you and what the client assumes your capabilities are. Get into a studio with a producer and director so that you can take advantage of their expertise. Don’t forget that we can help you with that too!

If after reading this article, you’re still feeling apprehensive and not jazzed enough, here are some books that I recommend to get you off your tush and into the world of voice acting!

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

You’re a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

We always enjoy hearing your feedback, so join the conversation and see what’s trending about Such A Voice!

We also provide more tips about how to get started with your voice acting career on our YouTube channel. We even have a video for this post, so you can hear the blog author, Bekka Burton, in action. Check it out below: 

                                                                                                   About the Author

Bekka Burton is a copywriter, scriptwriter and copy editor at Such A Voice. She’s also an English Language teacher forcing fun grammar activities onto unsuspecting students in Barcelona, Spain. She’s currently studying an online Diploma course for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Trinity College in London and will be pursuing a Master’s in Linguistics in Fall 2018. When she’s not studying, writing, editing or teaching, she’s sure to be found hiking mountains, reading books, and eating her way through many European cities.

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Looking for voice-over work

It’s a large portion of one’s voice-over career pie, so my first piece of advice is to enjoy the search! Make a personal game of how to get voice work by setting up daily or weekly challenges, keeping track of how many people you have contacted in one day, upping that number by the following week, calculating results on follow-ups, etc. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes! Finding ways to stay motivated in the search is a huge part of success.

Most of us do not start our VO careers with agency representation.

Showing an agent you are able to obtain work experience through your own marketing efforts can serve you well when being considered for their talent roster. Even if you are freelancing with a few agents, your search for work never really stops. Why? Because you will get audition opportunities for projects that either come to the agency directly or through casting breakdowns that agents have access to. This leaves several avenues to explore on your own.

Pay-to-play websites

This is an option I recommend, especially to voice-over artists just starting out. It’s a good idea to continue keeping an active profile on at least one pay-to-play website, even after you have gained substantial work experience, because you always want to maintain a few good channels of potential VO income streams.

Casting Directors

A relationship you definitely want to develop is one with any casting director who books VO talent. I suggest searching for casting directors located in your home state first, so if they reach out to give you an audition or just want to meet you in person first, you can actually get to the physical studio. After exhausting all possibilities locally, then branch out and research how to get voice work elsewhere. Always look up the company website first, checking the menu for anything related to “talent.” Most companies will include a link which specifically directs talent on how to submit demos. If the company doesn’t indicate how to submit your demos on their website, then I suggest contacting them via email or phone call to express interest in sending them your demo. I believe in asking first, not just sending materials to that general contact info@ email address. If you don’t receive a reply after a week, then call the office, stating the date you sent the inquiry and letting them know that you are simply following up on your request. After reading Jillian Nielsen’s article about how to get voice work by following up with voice-over clients and agencies, I have a new mantra: The magic is in the follow-up!

Facebook and LinkedIn are great ways to connect with other VO talents.

The first VO job I booked was directly off my first commercial demo and it came through a Facebook connection. I never even met this contact in person, but he listened to the commercial demo I had posted on my Facebook wall. Not long after, one of his business contacts, who owns a commercial video production company, asked him whether he knew anyone who does voice-over work. The job was for a drive-in movie theatre in upstate New York. So post your demos on your Facebook page to start the buzz that you do this work!

Set up a LinkedIn profile and don’t be shy about trying to connect specifically with industry professionals who do the hiring of VO artists. It may take a little research to know who hires for animation features or which advertising companies have an in-house VO department, but once your research has answered these questions for you, hit up new LinkedIn connections. Once someone does accept you request, send a short message thanking them and asking if you can forward them your demo.

VO work from your day job.

Consider if the place where you work may have some voice-over opportunities and pitch your services to your boss. If they have a demo to listen to, it may be easier for them to see your vision. Opportunities about how to get voice work may be right in front of you at your day job!

Your efforts may not show results right away.

One day, I emailed my materials (headshot, resume, and demo) to a long list of production houses in the New York area. A year and a half later, one of those companies contacted me for an audition which I booked. When this company contacted me, I didn’t remember them at first, and asked how they heard about me! They said, “I’m not sure but we have your resume and demo here.” So be professional and remember who you contact by keeping a log. Lesson learned on my part, I now keep an Excel spreadsheet!

Take what you know about your voice and pitch it to the companies and places you feel are a good fit.

It is important to know your sound. If you have an upbeat, perky voice, it’s not likely you’ll get an audition for a Christian Dior perfume campaign, however, your voice may be just perfect for that healthy snack for kids! When you’re searching for work, aligning your sound and services to the product or story can produce results. Start locally. Visit your local retail stores, speak to store managers. Learn to ASK for what you want, and you’ll be amazed at how people just love to let others know that they know someone…

For more inspiration on how to focus your efforts in your own backyard as well as some personal success stories check out Ratana Therakulsathit’s article, How to Get Voice Work: Networking Can Help Kickstart Your Career.

Enjoyed this content? Tell us how we can make our blog even more valuable here.

And don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel for more tips about voice-overs. Here’s this week’s blog video:

                                         About the Author

Rosemary Chase is a NY-based SAG-AFTRA union actor and voice-over artist. She has been featured on numerous television and feature film projects, including such hit shows as “Elementary”, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, and has appeared in several episodes of “Saturday Night Live”. She has voiced projects for GE Capital, Fidelity, a variety of dubbing projects, and a short film (playing an on-air radio personality). She landed her first feature animation film playing a loveable cow, Theodora, in “Pup 2 No Good”. Rosemary’s long list of diverse acting training from local studios around her NYC neighborhood include stand-up comedy at The Comedy Cellar, improv at Upright Citizen’s Brigade, and Meisner Training, at MN Studio. To learn more about Rosemary’s journey as a voice-over artist, visit www.rosemarychase.com.

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So you have your goals and plan in place. Great! Make sure those goals are S.M.A.R.T. = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based. Now get working on them! Every. Single. Day. Success in the voice-over business is 50% your lovely and unique voice and 50% hustle (marketing and business). Don’t let anyone out-hustle you.

After you have been working on those goals for a while it’s time to check in with yourself and see how you are doing. I have several different types of goals – weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. I check in with myself based upon when the deadlines are for each goal.  If I haven’t achieved the goal yet, I evaluate the reason and either adjust or abandon that goal.  Assessing yourself can be a good tool, but I’ve found something that works even better: Accountabilibuddies!

An Accountabilibuddy is one who keeps another accountable in their actions. I’ve also heard the term Accountability Partner, but I like Accountabilibuddy because it comes from an episode of South Park!  Accountabilibuddies do three things for us:

1. Help give us measurement and feedback. They check to see how we are progressing towards our goals and offer feedback to help us do better.
2. Keep us honest. We tend to fall for our own excuses – “I am soooo busy!”, “The kids started school this week”, “I’m exhausted – I just can’t.”.  If we know we are accountable to someone else who knows what we are committed to, those excuses don’t sound so valid.
3. Help us get over perceived walls. If you’ve set quality goals for yourself, it is going to be hard work – fun – but work!  You will get frustrated after the 10^th audition that doesn’t get booked.  You might even flirt with quitting.  When, not if, but when this happens, you need someone who knows your goals and your struggles, and how to help you get unstuck.

How to choose an Accountabilibuddy:

1. Choose someone you respect and trust. You will be sharing your goals, your fears and your struggles with this person. Make sure you can trust them. Also, make sure you are able to have frank conversations with this person – it’s important to be able to call each other out on your excuses when you aren’t accomplishing your goals.
2. Choose someone who is not financially or emotionally tied to your success. An Accountabilibuddy is there to support YOU and vice versa. If they are too emotionally or financially entangled, objectivity goes out the window.  For this reason, spouses and family members make poor Accountabilibuddies.
3. Choose someone who wants accountability too. It works best if you are both at the same level in your industry – or if you are from two different industries. Have set meeting times. Have an agenda for those meetings. I promise, you’ll want to have your goals accomplished by the time you meet with your buddy!

No matter how you follow through on your SMART goals, whether it is by checking in with yourself, or by acquiring an Accountabilibuddy; remember that this voice-over business is a journey. Best wishes on your grand adventure!

For more information on marketing your voice, please attend my next teleconference on Tuesday, September 20^th at 8pm Eastern.

Find this useful?  Dig even deeper into topics like this in our VIP Membership program.

Jillian Nielsen is an expressive voice talent with over 14 years of experience in radio and television commercial and promotional voice-overs.

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I constantly hear things like, “I put it on the back burner because the timing hasn’t been right, and I have no time to do auditions.” I also hear excuses like, “I don’t know how to put my website together. I can’t begin marketing myself because I don’t have my studio set up yet, and I can’t reach out to any media companies because I’m moving next month.”

Keep in mind, these excuses come after spending three to four months training, acquiring the equipment, creating professional demos, and setting up a foundation for a voice-over business.

As a coach here at SuchAVoice.com, one of my responsibilities is to conduct follow up and follow through interviews with our students. Our goal is to check in with our voice-over talents and verify that they have all the tools in place to begin auditioning and to make certain they are ready to begin competing for professional voice-over gigs.

Often, I discover that they are ready by all reasonable metrics except one. They haven’t adjusted their thinking to fit voice-over activities into their lives. They simply haven’t planned for how their voice-over business will change their daily routines. They haven’t made working their voice-over business into a healthy habit, and without healthy habits the results simply do not fall into place.

Hey, I get it. The truth is a new voice-over business, at the beginning, is just one more thing to do in an already overloaded busy life. Without a work/life balance plan, new habits are tough to form and old ones are tough to break. A beginning voice-over talent needs predictable expectations of how much work will it take, how much time will it take, and an accountability partner who can help them to set and stay true to their business goals.

In this article, I’ll outline three primary challenges new voice-over talents face with respect to their work/life balance and strategies they can use to integrate voice-overs into their lives. The only tool needed to deal with these challenges is a calendar.

# 1. Schedule Time for Auditions 

Auditions are a cornerstone to successful emergence into the world of voice-over. They must be done with consistency, and for that, they must be scheduled. A time carved into one’s calendar for daily auditions will work wonders over time. Block out 30 minutes per day from 9 PM to 9:30 PM as an example. If it’s scheduled, it will get done. If it isn’t, it won’t. The time is there, provided it is planned for.

# 2. Schedule Time for Marketing

Marketing dominates a new voice talent’s business activities for the beginning stages of a voice-over career. Marketing activities can take many forms, but it ultimately results in the building of a list of viable prospects who hire voice talents on a consistent basis and who express an interest in hiring the talent. Scheduling 30 minutes per day for the purpose of sending three emails, finding three new leads, or inviting three qualified prospects to listen to a demo will create results over time.

# 3. Schedule Time for Fun

Activities that have no enjoyment will be much more difficult to maintain. Conscientious initiative to make voice-over activities fun will transform the process of forming healthy habits. That which is enjoyed will fill an individual with immense energy.

Just Play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. Auditions can be fun. Listening and analyzing other VO talents demos can be fun. Poking about other VO talent’s websites can be fun. The most common trait I discover when speaking to successful voice-over professionals is the ability to enjoy the work. Just make it fun.

Such A Voice offers coaching programs for emerging voice-over talents centered in fundamental voice-over technique, mastery of equipment setup and utilization, simple sound engineering and sound editing, and in career development and business planning.

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