J Michael Collins: "P2Ps Are in DECLINE"

In our chat with J. Michael Collins, he emphasizes the importance of using voiceover sites wisely and not overspending on memberships.

He highlights the significance of having a strong marketing game and reaching out to clients on a regular basis.

He also talks about the benefits of search engine optimization for visibility and attracting clients. JMC emphasizes the importance of networking and building relationships in the industry.

Finally, he provides some insights into what can be expected at VO Atlanta 2024.

interviews, AI/TTS, the vo industry, rates, marketing, conferences/conventionsPaul SchmidtJanuary 29, 2024JMCComment

Voice Over CONFERENCES 2024 – Downloadable Calendar

Last year, we started our conferences calendar video series, which I intended to make annual and well, the year went fast. So we're back and we're doing it again this year. Once again, this is not an exhaustive list. It is not meant to be comprehensive. It is meant to be simply my recommendations for you, if you're sitting down in January of 2024, or maybe even a little bit later to figure out, okay, what conferences do I wanna hit? Let me get the details. You can get them all right here in this video.

Doing the Work, Confidence, and MORE with Naked Jen Greenfield

Well, my guest today can probably best be described as a force. When she's in the room, you know it.

She is a successful voice actor. She helps people with branding and LinkedIn and networking, and most impressively, she is what I call a moonshot taker. We'll talk more about that in a little while.

Please welcome to the podcast, my dear friend and work wife, “Naked Jen” Greenfield.

interviewsPaul SchmidtJanuary 18, 2024jen greenfield, confidence, moonthotsComment

8 Strategies To Vet Reputable Coaching & Demo Production

Well, now we've got a problem. At the time we're filming this, there are allegations against a specific coach and demo producer that are not pretty.

Now, the concerning part about these allegations is that they're being made against someone who formerly had a sterling reputation in this business, a very highly accomplished voice actor and a trusted coach and demo producer.

That's scary and quite frankly, sad stuff. And it's nightmare fuel for new or newer voice actors who are trying to figure out who in the hell can I trust in this business?

How do I know? How do I go about finding out?

So today I'm going to attempt to give you eight strategies and a process to vet coaches, to vet demo producers, to vet really any service providers so that you minimize the chances of being taken down the road by someone who is dishonest or sheisty.

professional development, the vo industryPaul SchmidtJanuary 11, 2024coachingComment

Wanna Grow Your Voice Over Business? CUT the Crap!

This time of year, early January, everybody's fired up about their New Year's resolutions. I hate them, but I understand them.

Typically, New Year's Eve resolutions mean setting new goals, which means breaking those down into new added behaviors. It's the psychology of achieving more by doing more and I myself subscribed to it for a very long time.

What we don't talk about is the fact that still, even in this new year, there are still only 24 hours in a day and seven days a week. But every year, we add all these new behaviors to the days and weeks that are already crammed full with existing behaviors. And by Valentine's Day, your brand new treadmill is used for drying clothes.

So why are some voice actors, some freelancers, some people successful and others aren't?

Voice Actors’ Top 5 Biggest Social Media Mistakes

If you're like most voice actors, you feel an immense amount of pressure to post on social media, hoping to use that as a business development strategy, which takes a ton of time and effort and sweat and stress.

You’ve got to plan it, conceive it, design it, produce it, and schedule it. Oh my God. No wonder you're stressed out.

But here's the thing. You're probably going to all this trouble for virtually nothing in return in terms of revenue produced from all that time and sweat and stress and everything else.

The fact is, every voice actor I know is all over social media, and most voice actors still struggle to grow their business. So, what gives?

I'll tell you what gives: content marketing on social media sucks as a business development strategy for voice actors.

And today we're going to talk about why that is, why you're wasting so much time, what social media is good for, and how to properly use it to your advantage.

So, here are the top five biggest social media mistakes voice actors make.

business development, marketing, messaging, social mediaPaul SchmidtDecember 14, 2023social media Comments

Your 6-Point Plan to ROCK VOICE OVER and LIFE in 2024

You have a choice. You can decide right now that you're going to keep doing what you've been doing and keep getting what you've been getting.

Or, you can decide right now that you're done with excuses, done with kidding yourself, and done with half-assing your career and your life.

I said in last week's episode, there are two kinds of people in the world: those that make excuses and those that make it happen. And the fact of the matter is, you can't make it happen without a plan.

Decide. Right now. You're either going to rock the coming year or it's going to rock you.

You already know without me even having to ask you if you executed in the past year or not. If you kept the promises you made to yourself or not. If you were consistent or not.

Now, doing the same things next year as you did this year only makes sense if you made significant progress this year. If you didn't make significant progress this year and you've decided you're done making excuses and you're ready to make it happen, then listen up.

Today, I'm going to give you a six-point plan for killing in the coming year.

The 6 BIG Reasons YOU'LL QUIT VO

If you are a professional voice actor or audiobook narrator, you have one job, and that is to stay in the game as long as possible. Voice over is not a long game. It's an infinite game.

Author Simon Sinek says that in finite games like football or chess, the players are known, the rules are fixed and the end point is clear. The winners and losers are easily identified.

But in infinite games like business or yeah, voiceover or even life itself, the players come and go. The rules are changeable and there is no clearly defined endpoint.

In VO we know this. The players come and go all the time. People every day are coming into and going out of this business. The rules of voiceover are changing all the time. This audition wants natural and authentic. This one wants a classic announcer. Yet, this third one wants quirky and offbeat and on and on and on and on.

And of course, in voiceover, as in all business, there is no clearly defined endpoint. That's why you hear it often referred to as a journey. There is no destination. Again, your job as a video pro is to stay in the game as long as possible.

So, what are the biggest threats to staying in the game? I'm so glad you asked, because that's exactly we're going to talk about today.

Here are the six reasons you'll quit voice over.

GRATEFUL for AI?!? SURELY YOU MUST BE JOKING!

I've been getting a little discouraged lately about the voiceover business.

We are hearing stories of lots of people potentially being allegedly hornswoggled by a particular coach. People are making up Zoom calls with celebrities that probably didn't happen. There's La Niña and war and unrest on the world stage and I'm feeling it all heavier in a way that I probably haven't since maybe 2016.

So when that happens, one of the best strategies I've found to manage it myself is to go hard in the paint on my gratitude practice.

Consistently practicing gratitude does a world of good for my mental well-being. It boosts my overall mood, it lowers my anxiety and my depression. And it's not just about feeling good. It improves my relationships, my sleep. It's good for the immune system. Lots of good stuff there.

So, as we head into Thanksgiving week here in the States, I thought it would be a great time to remind myself and count down the top five things I'm grateful for in the voiceover business.

AI/TTS, conferences/conventions, professional development, rates, sag-aftra, the vo industryPaul SchmidtNovember 16, 2023SAG-AFTRA, GVAA, NAVA, AIComment

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