Late bloomer. Slow adopter. Stability oriented. Ornery. Call it whatever you wish, I am not one to jump on the newest developments. But apparently this Social Media thing is getting more popular around the world, so perhaps it is time to take advantage of it.

Most every discussion of the business side of Voice over Work stresses the importance of utilizing social media to build your presence. It appears that the profile I have on MySpace isn’t going to attract much notice, so I have ventured out into LinkedIn to build my brand (another buzzphrase going around). If nothing else, it’s cool to start building those connections and see where they might lead. Facebook and Instagram will follow soon.

One of my Group has published a serialized Anne of Green Gables on Instagram, and as a co-venture into one medium we are going to dabble with an audio accompaniment to that publication. This is a bit of a throwback for me, dipping into the public domain and using it for a marketing tool. Having completed the recording of Chapter One so far, and not having read or seen the movie before, I suspect that there is some mix-up with the adoption, unless they name this poor orphan Anne. SPOILER ALERT!!!

We haven’t discussed the Voice over Work itself much lately, what with a bit of a holiday break and the mini-Nerdfest during December. I must say I am enjoying still a steady flow of repeat business. So much so that I have not done any cold auditions on ACX, and only one upon request, over the last month! Those that continue to roll in are generally in the second tier of PFH rates, the $50-$100 range. As an experiment, I have changed my rate on ACX to the third tier, the $100-$200 range.

On Upwork, I have acquired several running contracts for PowerPoint slideshows, YouTube videos, voice work for instructional apps, etc. These are a nice change from the audiobook, but I will say I still enjoy the long-form narration. Of these contracts, one is for 30-50 hours total, and another for approximately 100 hours, both being in the third tier of PFH work. That is very exciting, in a blatantly fiscal/fiduciary sense…

On the technical side of things, I have been making use of GFTB’s Home Studio Evaluation process, and if you haven’t found someone to provide you with this kind of service, I recommend that you do so. I will probably talk further about sound dampening, noise floors, and reflections in an ensuing post, but for now suffice it to say that I received an indication that there are no further improvements needing to be made in my production chain.

The downside of that is that any shortcomings in the work going forward must be the result of me! That’s a little daunting, as I can no longer say things like, “As soon as I get my noise floor low enough, I will be more accepted in the market.” Now I will have to admit it’s just me, and figure out how to fix that part!

To that end, I am taking another stab at the Bunny, if they will allow me to audition again. Fourth time’s a charm, right?

Categories: Audiobook, Business Development, Equipment, Finances, Voice ActingTags: Per Finished Hour, Royalty Share