You
are blooming, growing, flowering. Enjoy your growth! Visit this
"self-esteem" link and read my articles on increasing your self-worth!
If
You're Considering Making Money As A Voiceover Professional, READ
THIS!! Then contact me for a consultation in-person, by phone, email,
fax. I own and am a professional audio engineer/audio producer in my
DALLAS recording studio. I have trained hundreds of voiceover
talents and broadcasters now working nationally and internationally in
my workshops, in college classes, and in private consultations.
Teleconferencing is now available if you do not live in or can travel
to the Dallas area to work with me. Or, if you prefer, ask me about
travelling to your location to produce your CD demo in a recording
studio where you are.
Who Are Your Teachers? Choosing a Coach--- The
first thing all students should ask is: What are my teachers'
credentials? What have they voiced? How long have they been in the
voiceover business? Do they have radio or TV experience? Are they a
credentialed, degreed educator or only an "out of work actor teaching
for extra money?
Is doing voiceovers their primary occupation now or are they primarily
an on-camera actor or stage actor whose experience in voiceovers is
limited? With whom have they trained as voiceover talents or
actors/speech coaches? Do they practice effective educational
techniques in the classroom or private session setting (teaching
is a very special skill. Some actors are NOT effective teachers because
they have not studied educational methods and have little experience as
teachers).
What awards have they won? Are they talents (voice actors) or also
audio producers/writers? Are the instructors active in all areas of the
current voiceover profession--radio/tv commercials, telephone
messaging, video and film narration, cartoons or video games, toys,
more (in other words, are they up-to-date)?
Today's voiceover profession is multi-faceted. Statistics gathered by
the two major unions in our field, AFTRA and SAG, find that voicing
commercials is the LEAST of what voiceover talents do! Most jobs today
are in the narration field, particularly the educational, medical,
military, and corporate narration fields. Audio book narration is
growing exponentially. Working in the fields of videogames and cartoons
for adults and children is also a huge field. Telephone messaging is a
wonderful way to earn money with your voice. And it's done everywhere,
small towns to major centers.
Next, ask the instructor about the actual content of a workshop or seminar. Does the seminar feature hands-on performance and vital information about
starting or perpetuating a viable career in the business, making money
in it, working for yourself from an in-home recording studio, working
with broadcasting agents in multiple cities?
BE SURE AND ENROLL
IN OUR BUSINESS OF VOICEOVERS WORKSHOP! This is where you'll learn how
to operate as a professional, a WORKING pro in our business today.
Acting or voice acting workshops are NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.
If a workshop or seminar is not meeting your needs, perhaps you should
schedule a private lesson either in-person or by phone/e-mail. I have
helped so many students learn the voiceover technique and business, to
get started in the broadcast field. I consult with experienced
voiceover talents, film and TV actors, and stage actors, helping them
to expand their capabilities and earning potentials too. I have worked
with voice talents you see on national TV daily on CNN and MSNBC and
the FOX network! I have worked with professionals on Texas Cable News,
NPR Radio, WABC in New York, and countless talk show radio hosts and
radio staffers from all fifty states!
Some of my
clients/students are on-air personalities at radio or TV stations who
want to enter the free-lance voiceover market or improve announcing
skills. I also coach celebrities who do product endorsements and
commercials. I can't name them here but you can ask me privately when
we have our first consultation or you attend one of my workshops!
Politicians and professional businessmen and -women (and many attorneys
and judges and physicians!) seek my traiing when their careers demand
radio and TV appearances.
One more item:
I read online and hear from my colleagues in other U.S. cities that
some teachers are charging outrageous prices for workshops! Ask
yourself: Why should I pay $600 or even $999 or more for a workshop
when I can study with Bettye Zoller for a wonderful workshop at
affordable rates? Make no mistake: I can offer my services for far less
here in Dallas than would be possible in New York or Los Angeles and
surrounding environs...but why not join the many who travel to Dallas
each year to let me help them? Even with travel expenses which can be
"budget" if you plan for them wisely, you can still obtain my services
at reasonable prices here and that includes a world-class "killer"
voiceover CD demo you'd pay three times as much for in NYC or LA and
not get the demo quality you get from me either!!
Let me help you!
Your Voiceover DemoYour
Voiceover Demo is your calling card, your method of advertising your
abilities to those who can hire you. It must show not only commercials
but a WIDE VARIETY of voiceover genres. I will produce and
duplicate/package your CD demo the right way. CD duplication and
packaging are available if you need assistance with that. If you
choose, make your CD demo with me (or your audio book or traning CD
project) and do the duplication and packaging elsewhere---but ask about
our rates first and see if we can't save you money!!
If you're starting a voiceover business NEVER consider creating a voiceover demo without professional guidance!
BEWARE of schools or
coaches who promise a finished voiceover demo
from a class or a workshop!WALK
AWAY (run as fast as you can) when someone says this to you. The demo
will be worthless to you. Each year, I consult with many who have spent
their hard-earned money on demos they believed were a "bargain." And be
careful about recording studios who tell you that "all you need is a
sixty second demo." This is true in one respect: You do need short MP3
demos to post on websites and to send to people as email
attachments...but you need MORE than just a short one-minute demo that
shows only too-short snippets of commercials. In today's world, your
demos should be lengthy enough to show your range, your abilities in a
wide variety of voiceover script fields. And then, I will produce your
short edits for you of your longer versions. And don't just voice
commercials on that demo. Remember; Commercials are the least of what
we do for money!
Bettye Zoller
Are you working but
hating it? Do you long for a career you can enjoy, thrive in, and look
forward to every day? Regardless of your career choice, it should be
work that constantly delights you although it is sometimes a challenge.
Follow your dream! Many of my clients are switching careers or
considering voiceovers in their retirement years. Some are college
students, young mothers or fathers looking for extra income and an
income source that KNOWS NO AGE!!
