Combining Passions

Along with learning the voiceover profession this past year, I have also taken it upon myself to learn as much as possible about the quickly emerging world of social media. I have a fan page and a twitter account. I post occasionally to my linkedin account as well. Socially I also have a twitter account and I am experimenting with foursquare. I don't mention any of this soliciting you as a friend/fan/follower/etc (unless you want to, then by all means, click the links above), I say this because all of this involvement usually leads to one response whenever I am talking to others at social events, "how do you have time for all of that?". Or, my favorite, "I just don't have time to do that". I have learned that it is all quite easy to keep track of and stay on top of it all. It is like anything else. Let it manage you and you're toast. Learn how to manage it and there are no issues.

I just started combining two of my loves this week and I think I may have found a way to buy another 2-3 hours a week! I am a runner, and I am beginning to train for a half marathon in April. My typical workouts at the gym consist of 30-45 minutes on the treadmill. So, now I am downloading podcasts and listening to them as I run.

I was a little worried that this would not keep my attention. But that could not have been further from the truth. I found that the woman's voice on my Nike + told me I was "10 minutes" into my run before I even knew it. Yes, this means a little less time with my favorite bands each week, but I can see a balance of podcasts and playlists as I begin to ramp up my running.

So, any good podcasts out there I should be subscribing to? I would be interested in shows about social media or voiceover work. Suggestions?

My First Year as a Voiceover

It was just over a year ago when I received my community college class catalog in the mail. In it was a class to learn about the industry of voiceovers. I signed up for the class and the rest is history.

After 4 months of professional training with voicecoaches.com I was ready to hang up my shingle. Serge Traylor the Voice Actor was ready for business. This has been a fantastic year. I have learned more than I ever thought I could in a short time. I learned tons about the VO industry (the importance of a home studio these days), but more importantly I learned quite a bit about marketing.

I have been in the marketing profession since 2000. However, this adaptation of social media has been enlightening and educational. I attribute much of what I have learned to starting this business. I have had to learn how to create a website (with the help of my talented artist Aunt's help), I have learned how to market via SEO. I have learned how to market myself via social media platforms.

I am by no means an expert yet however I am consuming information daily to make this voiceover business the best on the market. I don't want to just be a voice for you, I want to be able to assist in your total marketing mix. I hope to do business with you in 2010, and while we are working together, I hope to share with you some of what I have learned in 2009 about marketing in today's world.

Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement, your willingness to lend a hand and your sharing of your Rolodex. I am eternally grateful and plan on paying it forward by helping others in 2010 and beyond.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Serge
sergetraylor.blogspot.com

5 Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Voiceover

In sifting through the google blog search as well as search.twitter.com I realized that there is not much being said about the voiceover industry. I found this interesting as there are so many of us out there. It is my assumption that many of the VO talents out there have been in the industry for some time now and are firmly planted in their communities and recording studio's rolodex. Regardless (not irregardless, like so many people like to say) I would like to fill a void on the internet to help those of you looking to hire voice talent or just get more out of this important piece of your marketing mix. From time to time, I hope I am the right voice for your project, but in general I want you to make the right decision every time so that you continue to produce top quality marketing spots.

As we prepare to replace the 2009 calendars, I present 5 tips for getting the most out of your voiceover.

1. Pay attention to the production quality. In this time of home studios quality can be sacrificed. Some jobs just can't be recorded from a home studio to give you the quality you deserve. In instances like this it is worth it to bring in a studio (and maybe a producer). Home studios are great for online, podcasts and training videos. Think about incorporating a studio for commercial work.

2. Find an actor with whom you are comfortable working. Chemistry is a huge part of getting the final product right. Many times talent is hired on their voice alone and the chemistry is not there in the recording. That lack of chemistry will show through to your audience more than not having the perfect voice to your ears.

3. Consider your competition. By this I don't necessarily mean your product or service's competitor (but, that is important too). What I mean here is think about what else your audience will hear around your marketing. If it is a radio commercial, spend time listening to the station and take note of the types of voices you hear in ads. Will your message stand out or blend in? Make sure it stands out by choosing a voice that is unique to the audience.

4. Make sure it sounds natural. Have you listened to other voiceovers and you can picture the actors sitting in a studio reading their scripts? Chances are most people listening are visualizing the same thing. Be willing to alter your script once you hear it read to make it more conversational. Your discerning ear in the studio and your willingness to change some less important copy could make your finished product much more effective.

5. Think about continuity. I don't just say this for the sake of repeat business for your voiceover. Where this really is important is in the building of your brand. When you hire a professional voiceover you are actually hiring the voice of your brand. You want your marketing to stand out. To stand out you need a unique and identifiable voice. Think longer term than just your current project. Is this the voice you want for your brand for the foreseeable future?

Best of luck to you in 2010. If you are in need of a new voice talent, please consider me. My commercial and narrative demos can be found at www.sergetraylor.com.

Thanks,

Serge

something I learned from my sister

Find what you love – surround yourself with what you love – it will lead you to what you should do in life

Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful lesson, Bevin.

Serge

New Year, New Opportunities

As Jan approaches I am finding many new opportunities for voiceover work.

New businesses are popping up all around where a professional voiceover allows them to add premium subscriptions to their sites. To meet the demand of this evolving business landscape I am investing in a home studio. If you need voiceover talent and don't have, or don't want to pay for studio time I am now in the game. I look forward to setting up the new studio in mid Jan and working on a new project for you soon there after. I will be working on a new pricing model for this added flexibility as well.

I hope to work with you soon.

Serge

Social Media Is Changing

Social media is changing, you know how I know this? Because my Mom is on Facebook. I know I am not the only one whose mother is on Facebook. Actually, I hear that Moms are one of the fastest growing groups signing up for a Facebook account.

I don't mean this in a bad way. I don't post things that I would not want my own mother to read (and that should be a lesson to many others out there). What else do mothers and sons share? Not the same music, there is definitely a generational gap there. Not clothing styles, same type of gap. Not the same taste in TV shows or movies.

But social media sites like Facebook have found a way to attract all. Moms are there, 20-somethings are there, highschoolers are there. All participating, all connecting, and rarely overlapping.

I am amazed by this. By this universal acceptance of this communication tool. I read some others' posts about things that they did that were illegal or maybe socially frowned upon and I wonder if their mothers are on Facebook. I guess the next thing you will be able to do is determine which sub-set of friends you want to send a message to. This is partially already in existence with groups, but still clunky to manage. But with more and more people's moms seeing what their kids are being said, what is going to happen? Will moms just shrug it off? Or will kids censor what they write? Or maybe find a new place to talk.

And all of this talk about moms...what about the dads? Many people fear others' dads much more than their moms.

-Serge

Working Forward - December is good for that

Another year is coming to a close. Hard to believe that Dec is knocking on our door, especially with this spring-like weather here in St. Louis as of late.

Each December I find myself managing my schedule like no other month. Everything seems to take a little longer. You have to manage around vacation and holiday schedules of your colleagues and business partners. Seems that the week that Christmas falls on is pretty much written off across the board.

There are some advantages to this different schedule though. I find it a great time to organize all that I have worked on over the past year. I make a backup of all of my important digital files and put it on a series of DVDs so that I can access historical projects easily. It is also a great time to get ahead on projects for the coming year. Many businesses have new budgets as of Jan 1. By now the briefing has most likely begun on 2010 Jan projects, though "work" should not begin until Jan 1.

It about time to put this year into the time capsule and make 2010 an even better year. I look forward to working forward a little again this Dec...get off on the right foot for the new year. What projects are on your horizon? What can you do to set yourself up for a strong 2010? What will you learn when you close up 2009?

St. Louis Interactive Festival

Thanks to the good folks over at the St. Louis Bloggers Guild for putting on a great event today. It was basically a last minute decision to spend my Saturday going to seminars and panel discussions, but it was a good decision. Topics included how to use social bookmarking (and which ones to use), online design, how to use social media to find (or keep) jobs, intellectual property and integrating video and audio into websites and blogs. All of the subjects were handled well and the combination of the panelists + the audience made for a great discussion, one hour at a time.

Key take aways for me were the tools that are available to aggregate and simplify social media; tweetdeck and cotweet. Also the analytics tools are quite abundant; twitalizer, twitteranalyzer, click tale to name a few.

In the end I walked away understanding how to better utilize social media to learn from you (the reader) not only for my voiceover work, but also for my not-for-profit and my day job at Energizer. The one note I will leave you with is this. Be sure to always be personable online. With my voiceover work, the service is me, so that sounds easy, you will always hear from me, the person, not me the company.

If you want to hear more of the conversation from this great event, look for #SLIF on twitter on Oct 17. Also, you can follow me on twitter @Serge_Voiceover.

Until next time.

Serge
sergetraylor.blogspot.com

Social Online Shopping

Came across a great new site today, plurchase.com. This site allows people to shop online and make comments about what they see in the online stores to friends of theirs who they have told that they are shopping.

I am not much of a shopper myself, but I do know that so much of "shopping" is the social aspect of two girls getting together and not just buying stuff on sale, but also commenting on the stuff they see. Now this can be achieved online. A text message box shows up on the right side and you and your friends can chat away.

What a great way to make this activity in real time.

So far it is only working on Zappos and Amazon, but it should take off quick.

Serge

Do Unto Others...

I spent 5 days in beautiful Sonoma County California last week. Touring many wineries that were a little off the beaten path. I am familiar with many of the varietals that can be found in local wine shops and at our supermarket, so we wanted to see some of the smaller vineyards, the ones who only produce a couple thousand cases of wine a year.

What I was pleasantly surprised to see was how nicely all of the wineries played together. It is an interesting situation out there. Each winery is in direct competition with the next, but they also rely upon each other to survive. Yes, many of them do source grapes from other vineyards, but they rely upon each other for more than that. Without the many other wineries in close proximity, would anyone actually go to theirs?

They were quick to open up a map and make suggestions as to where else we should visit. They love their work, and just want people to enjoy wine.

What I learned from this was that it is OK, and good business, to embrace competition and find a way to make it work for your business. So, I offer up my services to you. If I am not the voice for you, let me know if I can help you find the right one. Like wineries, there are many different "flavors" in voice talents. Let me help you find the right one for your job.

Serge
www.sergetraylor.com

It was fun to be 10 again

The pinewood derby event was great. An amazing turnout for a fun event. I heard there were over 40 cars entered, most of which were faster than ours. Where we lost in speed we made up for in style. While a Billy Mays (tribute?) car won the show prize, I have to believe that the sergetraylor.com microphone car had to be up there in the voting. My only disappointment was that the audio track that I had cut to accompany the microphone was not able to be used. The party was too loud for this to work. So, I was promoting the voice over company without a voice to be heard.

We did make a splash though, if you want to follow future events or even get some facebook flair, follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Serge-Traylor-Male-Voiceover-Talent/48857714060?ref=sgm

Maybe you are on twitter and want to tweet me: www.twitter.com/serge_voiceover

If you just want to see more about a pinewood derby for "adults" go to coolfiremedia.com for all of the wrap up.

Teamwork

It has been talked about more times than is possible repeating. However, it still seems lost in some organizations. A team is a group of individuals that bring a certain "something" to benefit the greater good of the group. Teamwork is essential in most that we do. Families are teams. Co-workers are teams. Friends are teams.

I assembled a team to help me put together an advertising program. An unconventional ad program at that. A local agency, Coolfire Media, is holding a pinewood derby race with benefits going to the St. Louis Ad Club. Being in the voiceover world, I saw the perfect opportunity to get my company out in front of the influencers in the ad world. Not to mention the great recipient - the local ad club.

What kind of team did I need? Well, we were building a car. So I needed someone handy. We had to be unique, have strong branding and be clever. So I enlisted two friends of mine who are entrepreneurs and have spent time at agencies. I also needed help with the production of marketing pieces, so I enlisted another friend with great Illustrator skills and a good eye for design. By surrounding myself with all of the great teammates we are able to come up with a strong marketing program that should help Serge Traylor stand out from everything else going on at this party/event.

Check sergetraylor.com after Aug 6, 2009 to see the results (in the events page). See how this team came together, took a challenge, and performed better than any one of us could have done on our own.

What do you need to complete your team? Where are you strong? Where do you need someone else to help out to make the program better? We all want to think we can do it all alone. But, sometimes it is not just a better product in the end. Sometimes you even have more fun going at it with people who think differently than you. Build your super team. Do more.

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In it to win, place or show

With credit to Seth Godin, a recent posting of his talked about a business that is going to go online and he mentioned that there is only one way to go - to win.

That really got me thinking about business projects. In the corporate world, how many times are you too afraid to really go for the win, and settle for good enough? Recently I auditioned for a VO project where the client wanted to market more effectively against a new target market. The customer ended up going with a voice that fit their character better than I did (and I agree with that position).

Then I saw the ad. I have to say, I am glad that I was not involved with it. They made a commercial to show. They went safe. They went low budget (a low budget ad does not have to look like it, this one did). They just wanted to have new commercials on the air. And guess what, in my opinion, they actually went further away from their target market.

When you are investing hard-earned money, money that is designed to drive the business, drive the business by trying to win. Always aim to be the best. You never know, you might actually attain it.

Devil's in the Details

At my 9-5 job today I came across a classic situation of a company (actually two companies) not paying attention to the details. The possible ramifications are not life-threatening, but thinking the project through would have led to a possibly less embarrassing outcome.

In the battery business, we are use to checking out the battery powered devices at our partner's offices. Have a meeting with a remote control in the room? Chances are someone will open the back of the remote and look to see which brand of batteries are in it. We expect our agencies to support us by purchasing (and using) our products; Energizer batteries.

Today a contractor was at the headquarters to install motion-sensitive hand towel dispensers in all of the restrooms. The contractor was most likely hired by the building management group, not Energizer, but still we occupy 9 of the total 12 floors across two buildings. As the contractor was getting ready to install the first of the towel dispensers an Energizer colleague spotted the Rayovac batteries that he was installing in the unit. "WHOA!, WHOA! WHOA!", she screamed. "We can't have Rayovac batteries in our home office of Energizer!". She found her way to someone with keys to the product closets and supplied the contractor with enough D-cell batteries to power all of the towel dispensers and told her to take those Rayovac batteries out of the office.

Like I said, not life-threatening, but when you are working with another company you need to be aware of what they do, what they sell. Would you take Miller Beer over to the Busch household? How about order Dominos pizza to be delivered to Papa Johns?

When you go to represent yourself at another company or person's house, think about what they may be sensitive to. Paying attention to the details can cement a relationship...or maybe sink it. And, please don't bring over any batteries to my house other than Energizer.

How To Make Your Advertising Stand Out

You never know when you will find the perfect ad vehicle. Tonight I was scanning facebook and came across a local event that will be held to benefit the Ad Club of St. Louis and their scholarship.

It is being put on by a local advertising agency I have been talking to about getting in the door.

The event? A pinewood derby. This is an event that I have been talking about getting together with some friends for a few years...and today I stumbled upon it.

The best part about it is that as I try to break into the agency rolodex's here in St. Louis, I will have this opportunity to put my name in front of many of them in a social environment and stand out. Most of the entrants will be agencies, many entering multiple cars. Then there will be the Power Serge car...the lone voiceover entrant.

Where can you get your message out that will be seen and appreciated by your audience? Don't just do what the next guy or gal is doing, be unique, stand out, and so will your message.

Own it

Too many people are on cruise control.

Life comes at them, they deal with it temporarily or swat at it like a bullfighter and let it just keep going right on by. I do this, you probably do too, sometimes. It's easy. How much effort does it really take to really own what you are doing? To put your heart and soul into your efforts and really aim to do the best.

This is what I want to do every time. This is what voiceovers allow me to do, everytime. I can say that because I love being in front of the microphone and creating. But what about those times when the "love" is just not there. Those times when you just have to do something so that it gets done?

Those are the best times to really "own" something. Those are the times when stepping up and giving your "A game" (thanks to Tiger) or 110% (thanks to countless other athletes) really matters.

I know a guy who now believes that he should "do the minimum to get by". I don't get this attitude at all and I find that it has taken me to a mood that I don't like. I am now challenging myself to own what I do. I will do it for myself, but I also hope that people like him take notice and some of it rubs off.

I WILL OWN IT

More Voice is not always a good thing

I have been on several flights this week. One thing that stood out to me on each leg of each trip is that there is way too many announcements going on once on the plane. I realize that there are safety messages that must be said based upon FAA, but there is simply overkill.

This got me to thinking about communication in general. When is a message too much? You want your audience to appreciate (and listen) to everything that you say. When you try to say too much, you lose your audience, or worse yet turn them off.

When I am flying I don't need the pilot playing tour guide, "we will be flying over Springfield and taking a left at Centerville". This information is of no use to me as we are 33,000 ft (or more) and I can't tell Paducah from Chicago at this height. Also, the pilot comes on during the middle of the flight when many passengers are sleeping. Thus waking them and making them angry.

In your communication are you talking just to talk? Are you telling people stuff that means something to you but not to them? Be sure to understand and respect your audience and your message will be much better received.

Now, if I could just get an airline or two to read this...and turn down the volume of their announcements while they're at it...

Why is launching a website so difficult?

Six months ago I bought the domain name www.sergetraylor.com through google apps. Still, I am yet to be able to get a site posted. Why? Well, it is not that the site is not created...it is. It is sitting on my hosting account's server waiting for a domain transfer to go through. You see, for about 3 months I have been trying to send my domain name from google (godaddy) to webhostingpad. Seemed like it would be simple enough. I read all of the instructions, followed them to a "t" - only to get denied. So I tried again - denied again. I called up godaddy and they mentioned that I needed to make my site public. This was never in any instructions.

So, now it has been 9 days since I changed that setting. I received an email to confirm the transfer...still nothing.

It is amazing how difficult these companies make it to do things that should be so simple. I am finding that if you are not someone who builds and manages sites everyday that you don't stand a chance in this world. That is too bad. Everyone has a site now and it seems that there should be tools available for anyone to get a site out on the web. Keep those web designers employed by those who want a professional looking site, but let someone like me be able to get my own site up within 3 months time.

Well, I have been talking around and found a friend who will host my site and also take care of the domain transfer. Sorry webhostingpad, looks like you just lost a customer for life.

Let's count the days until my site can go live...my bet is within 7. Check back soon.
www.sergetraylor.com.

Serge

Commercial Demos

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Narrative Demos

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Audiobooks Continue to Gain Popularity

Have you been to the library lately? Take a look at the audiobook section next time you are there. Every type of book you can imagine has now been spoken and recorded. As we all continue to live busier lives, and many of us take digital media players with us - audiobooks make more sense than ever.

On a trip to Spain a while back I loaded up a Grisham book on my iPod and took it along with me. The only down side of that was remembering what track I was on when I turned the iPod back on.

Doing a little research I found out that the audiobook industry is indeed growing. A study conducted last year by the Audio Publishers Association stated that 28% of adults have listened to an audiobook and that sales of audiobooks is up 12% since 2006. http://www.audiopub.org/resources-industry-data.asp

What do you have to say? Should you be releasing an audio version of you story to reach your audience how and where they are?

Closer to a reality

The voice over business took one step closer to reality this week when I decided upon my logo. It is one thing to simply rely upon my unique name, it is another to associate a design to it that I feel captures my style and represents me as I feel it should.

With demo CDs being edited as we speak, I need to have the other pieces of the business ready to go. This logo will drive the design of sergetraylor.com.

Getting So Close

On Feb 5 I went into the studio to record my demo CD. I have about 10 commercial clips along with 4 narrative clips. It was a great experience. So fun to do the "acting" part of it and combine it with my own personal style.

The plan from here is to have the demo CD complete in about 6-7 weeks. In the meantime I will be hard at work on the marketing plan and business development. Plan on seeing a facebook page, twitter account, craigslist ads, website and of course this blog.

I would love some help from anyone on potential leads for business. If you know of a business that has training videos, or online audio I would like to reach out to them to see if they need a new voice for their product of service.

signing off~

Serge