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kat Keesling

Genius from Kat Keesling on handling “demo reel” payment

May 2, 2011 by George 3 Comments

Kat Keesling Headshot
Kat Keesling, super genius

Back in 2009, I had the pleasure to work with Diane Havens and Kat Keesling on the Hear the Bill Project. Their brainchild was to help ordinary people who would have a very difficult time wading through the complexities of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate versions by bringing together voice actors to volunteer their time and read them in their entirety. It was a perfect example of an empowered citizenry and the greatness of our industry: well over a hundred voice artists contributed, and the project received glowing remarks in the press.

Kat has continued to be one of the people in our community of artists I listen to and read, and this weekend she posted an outstanding article on her Pure Opinion blog that may be flying under the radar. Entitled “A better response to the ‘demo reel’ payment,” she lays out what I consider a brilliant way to respond to these requests, which often come from students and non-profits with little to spend on professional talent. She points out the baseline conflict everyone faces about doing this kind of work:

Anyone who knows me knows my generosity with my voice. I lend it out for causes freely when I believe in what I am doing. However, I am not living in my parent’s basement or off of a Trust Fund and have struggled with limitations I must work within to keep my time profitable.

It not only includes a sample response, but links to the use of Creative Commons Licensing, which allows the use of your work, but protects you in the event of misuse.

Rather than quote her extensively, I urge you to go and read the article in its entirety. I told Kat that she is “about 18,000,000 times smarter than me,” and that may be an understatement. Thank you, Kat, for taking the time to put this into the public, and I hope it will become a resource for everyone struggling with these questions.

Filed Under: Career Development, Tip o' the Hat, Voice Artists, Voiceover - Work Tagged With: Creative Commons, kat Keesling, low budget work, nonprofit, time

Alan Sklar on Marketing

April 22, 2011 by George 1 Comment

Alan Sklar
Alan Sklar

VoiceOverXtra has a great two-part article on marketing by voice talent Alan Sklar. In both Part 1 and Part 2, he shares some of the little things he has done over the years to make himself accessible and memorable to clients, potential clients, and agents. his technique comes from having been a salesperson in the paint industry for 20 plus years, and he knew what to look for when talking to a potential client, how to make sure you are not forgotten, and being bold in your efforts to get them to take your information.

I think boldness is the key, at least for me. For all my on stage experience and sining in front of hundreds and thousands of people, the “boldness” it takes to make that step into selling my goods has always been daunting. I feel like I am making progress though, and I will definitely be looking at some of Alan’s tips and techniques to make it work. So often in the new, high tech world of blogs, Twitter,  Facebook, and the Internet itself, we lose sight of the need to be physically introduced to some people in order to “make the sale.”

Kat Keesling wrote about this with a different twist in her blog post a few weeks ago, “Are You Booking a First Class Flight to Say Hi to your Next Door Neighbor?” She points out the need to use tools proper to the task at hand, and that sometimes includes just going over and saying hello, telling them what you do.

Alan’s articles are must reads. So is Kat’s, even if I have mentioned hers before. Give them all a read, and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Career Development, Marketing, Sales and Contacts Tagged With: Alan Sklar, don't be forgotten, go outside, kat Keesling, marketing, memorable, personal relationships, sales, VoiceOverXtra

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