Career Advice

My friend Dave Christi has recently graduated from a unique school. My friend Dan Nachtrab calls is The Fast Track to Self Employment Academy. Here are a few bits of advice Dan gave to Dave and that he has in turn given me permission to pass along to you, in case you too have or soon will graduate from this same, uh, institution.

• This is a job. Treat it as such. Put in your eight plus hours a day.
• Thank your wife for helping you pursue your dream.
• Make a plan and set goals: One Month, Three Months, and so on. When you hit a goal, celebrate it with a gift to yourself.
• Thank your wife for helping you pursue your dream.
• If the mic is off, the marketing hat is on: networking, SEO, defining your mission statement, labeling mailers, etc.
• Thank your wife for helping you pursue your dream and buy her a gift. (Massages packages are nice.)
• Practice your craft.
• Be happy. It rubs off on others.
• Only share your successes with your closest, dearest, jump-in-front-of-a-bus-to-save-you friends. Others will knock you down and try to keep you in your current place. Why? You make them realize they gave up on their dreams. (This might include family members, not just friends.)
• Thank your wife for helping you pursue your dream.

Thank you, Dan. Good advice.

Pat Fraley emailed today to remind me that he is teaching a weekend voiceover seminar June 21 and 22, 2008 in Hartford, CT. If you live and voice anywhere in the East, think seriously about this opportunity for 2 days of fun and learning. Each day’s class can be done individually, but if you’re going to take both days, there’s a $100 discount off the combined price. Along with registration details, you’ll also find two free lessons from Pat here on the official web page.

As someone who has studied with Pat multiple times I can assure you that if you decide to take this class you’ll learn a ton and have a great time.

(Further update: Bobbin Beam’s blog includes her observations about the conversation.)

My friend Tom Dheere has the first of two articles up on VoiceOverXtra about marketing and self-promotion. When the second is published I’ll update this post. Good stuff, Tom. And thank you John Florian for your excellent site.

9:00 PM (Eastern) Dan O’Day greets us and introduces the two special guests, Pat Fraley and Dick Orkin.

(Update: Please note that what I’ve written here are my impressions of these events. All errors and mis-characterizations are my own.)

9:06 PM – The first question is to Dick Orkin. How do you keep the humor in your commercials focused on the product or client? Dick replies that the humor is never the focus, the product or service is and the humor grows out of the story about that product or service. A follow-up question asks how to keep the humor from outshining the product or service. Dick says that’s never really been a big problem because of the way they keep the focus on the story and not on the humor. It’s always about developing the story. A second follow-up question asks if there are some simple steps that a sales team can take to help make sure the commercials for their clients can be as effective as possible. How is the product or service different in a substantive way from the competition and is there anything exclusive about the product or service and use a story to illustrate those differences or exclusivities.

9:13 PM Second question is actually 3 related questions to Pat Fraley. How can I stand out on the Internet from all the other people who have web sites that say they do voiceovers too? Pat says first become really excellent. A web site is really mainly about promotion or advertising one’s services. Public relations, or building a clientèle, is how you make a career rather than just going from job to job. Building a career is a lot more than just putting up a shingle. You need to find people who are wise, who can help you keep moving to the next levels.

9:18 PM Dan fields the third question. What are the basic elements to consider when branding a radio station? Dan says that there are 3 important questions to ask: Who is your audience? What do they care about? Where does the station intersect the things listener’s lives in an important way?

9:20 PM Question for Dick Orkin. Where did the ideas for Chickenman and Tooth Fairy come from? WCFL radio’s program director gave Dick the task of coming up with some kind of a feature that could capitalize on the Batman phenomenon in the 1960s. Chickenman specifically was to find something that would be a completely opposite image of a bat, and a chicken seemed like the best answer to that challenge. The character was influenced by other television characters of the time, as well.

9:27 PM Question for Pat Fraley. Do you have a routine before you always do before a voiceover session? Pat answers that the key for him is to deal with his anxieties, because even after 34 years he still has to do that. And he does that by concentrating on what’s true and when things are especially bad, praying.

9:30 PM Another question for Pat Fraley. What is the most effective technique to be “present” in a session. Pat’s answer: “I don’t know.” Dan asks Dick to respond. He says he simply concentrates on the story on the page, and builds a back story for 10 minutes before the script begins.

9:33 PM Dan takes another question about working as a copywriter. Do you have to sell your script to the client or do they just accept what you do because of your excellent reputation. Dan begins by mentioning that he actually limits the amount of copywriting he does. Further, he makes a point to each potential writing client that his copy isn’t going to sound like pretty much any other radio advertising. He also requires each client to answer about 30 custom questions prepared for each client, in writing. Also, he doesn’t write commercials, he creates campaigns. (Sidebar: If you have a deadline of next Thursday and you finish copy on Monday, don’t turn it in until next Thursday. Don’t give your clients the idea that your work is easier than it is.) Each professional needs to have a set of standards about which they will go to the mat.

9:45 PM Question for Pat Fraley. Have you ever walked away from a spot because you were the wrong voice? He says “yes.” Related question. Have you ever declined work because of something with which you don’t feel right or comfortable? Yes, every week? Dick Orkin comments that he too has turned down work because of his personal standards.

9:50 PM Question for Dick. What is one tool I can use to write more “real” and “believable” commercials? Dick responds: Watch and listen. Pay attention to people. You need to be a people watcher. In airports. Restaurants. While getting a haircut. Everywhere. A related question asks how to writing dialog more effectively. Dick answers be careful not to make characters bigger than life, they have to be woven in to the story. Conversations unfold spontaneously in real life, they need to do the same when writing.

9:55 PM Question for Pat Fraley. How can I build a full-time voiceover career? (From someone who is working in radio now.) Pat says, first become really good. That requires hard work, and a lot of study. Find wise people and learn from them. Dick mentions: listen to other people, rather than spending time what “I” am going to say. Listen, listen, listen. And be in the moment. Quickly.

10:02 PM Question for Dick. Have you ever had trouble from a client about your writing style? Dick mentions that he (like Dan) has standards and makes those clear from the outset. Every commercial prepared by the Radio Ranch is done through a story. Dick is also asked if he’s ever turned down a client because they couldn’t agree on the copy? Yes, it has happened, but not often. He’s not willing to do a bad commercial just to get some business.

10:07 PM Question for Pat. What, about the voiceover business, keeps you awake at night? Pat says he sees it as a temptation to be anxious, not that he has to live in anxiety. But, ultimately, if he’s anxious, it’s about money. There’s always a flow of work and sometimes that flow is at low ebb. You never know that things are going to go better, for sure.
10:10 PM Dick comments that we need to realize that voiceover isn’t so much about commercials anymore. It’s about all kinds of audio. Games. Audiobooks. Internet. All kinds of opportunities. Pat adds that the techniques discussed apply to all of these kinds of audio.

All 3 of these guys are featured at the 13th Annual International Radio Creative and Production Summit in Los Angeles this August (the 8th and 9th). Dan has an affiliate program this year, so if you decide to attend the Summit for the first time and you put my name as your reference in the comment field of the registration form, I’ll get a commission from Dan. On the other hand, if you don’t want me to get the commission, don’t include my name. Your price will be exactly the same either way.
Whatever you decide, I hope I get to see you in Los Angeles in August.

This coming Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Dan O’Day is hosting a free 70 minute teleseminar. Sign up at Dan’s teleseminar registration page and you’ll be able to ask a question of not just one, but all three of these guys.

Dick Orkin, legendary radio ad man and creator of Chickenman, The Tooth Fairy and a plethora of memorable radio commercials.

Pat Fraley, whose voice you’ve heard thousands of times in film and television animation.

And Dan O’Day, a true legend in his own mind. Wait, I mean …uh … a terrific teacher and coach to winning radio stations all over the globe. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

I’m grateful to call all 3 of these men friends, and to have studied multiple times with each of them. I’ve already signed up. I hope you will too.

By the way, Dan has promised this teleseminar will not be a sales pitch and I believe him. In the 11 years I’ve known Dan I’ve observed that he is one of the most truthful people I’ve ever known.

However, I hope you won’t mind a quick sales pitch right now from me. Because, you see, all 3 of these guys are going to be featured presenters at the 13th Annual International Radio Creative and Production Summit, to be held at the LAX Hilton on Friday and Saturday, August 8 and 9, 2008. I mention this, because listening to this teleseminar will give you a chance to get a solid preview of why attending this year’s Summit will be so valuable. And if you do decide to attend the Summit for the first time this year, and you happen to put my name in the comments field on Dan’s Summit Registration form, I’ll receive an affiliate referral fee. But, please, if you’d rather I DIDN’T get the commission, then DON’T
put my name in the comment box. Your price for the Summit will be
exactly the same regardless of whether you put me down as referring you
or not.

With the number of days left until the study weekend (Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, 2008) and the number of seats left both in short supply, Bob has posted a note on the VO-BB that he’s offering a 10% discount for anyone who signs up at the last minute. Registration details are here. And mention that you heard about Bob’s discount through the VO-BB.

My friend Tracy Pattin offers some common sense suggestions about negotiation on the VoiceRegistry blog.

Pat Fraley will be teaching a weekend voiceover seminar June 21 and 22, 2008 in Hartford, CT. If you live and voice in the Northeast, you might want take advantage of this opportunity for 2 days of fun and learning. Register here and have a great time.