I’m hosting a special live coaching/mentoring call this Saturday, March 16 at 10 a.m. Pacific / 12 noon Central / 1 p.m. Eastern, exclusively for members of my Hollywood Hustle Habits program!

Hollywood Hustle Habits is a 30-day course, delivered as daily audio messages to you via email. When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to two power-packed audio Webinars from me.

In the program, I share my best strategies & insights gleaned from 15+ years of living and working in Los Angeles. Being the toughest, most competitive market in the world for entertainment, you have to learn to be “hustle minded” if you’re to survive & thrive here.

This Saturday, I’ll answer your questions, and I’ll discuss in more depth some of the key topics in the program. 

One key point I’ll cover in the call is the fear of FEAR — how the fear of feeling a certain way holds us back, and what to do about it.

If you’re already a member, you should receive an email from me shortly with instructions for how to join this Saturday’s live call. If you’re not yet a member, head over to www.HollywoodHustleHabits.com and get started!

Who knows you, baby?

In this segment from my Hollywood Hustle Habits program, I discuss why it’s essential for people to know who you are, and to have a positive impression of you. I explain that not all “knowing” is created equal — there are people in your life who are active and alive in your mind, and others who have been relegated to the back storage room of memory: (3 minutes)

In Hollywood, one of the most important things for people to see you as is BUSY!

In this short clip from my Hollywood Hustle Habits program, I talk why it’s essential for you to be busy, and for others to get the impression that you are busy. I share three power words to get you out of time-wasting conversations — and caution against seeing other people’s time as more valuable than your own: (3 minutes)

You’ve probably seen the viral video of the woman who was interviewed after a small fire broke out in her apartment building. She uttered a line which has become famous:

In our business, nobody has time for weak, lousy, unprofessional-sounding VO demos.

Put yourself in the shoes of an agent, producer or casting director who regularly receives demo submissions.

These folks are busy. Their time is limited — they can only afford to work with artists whom they believe will propel their own careers forward, and allow them to make money.

My VO agent in Los Angeles said that he listens to the majority of demos he receives for about 8-10 seconds.

In other words, he listens to just enough of the demo to know he doesn’t care to listen to any more.

Too many VO demos are what I call “dismissable.” They don’t command a listener’s attention and respect.

They don’t communicate the idea: “I have something valuable to offer to you.”

If you’re going to invest the time and money in creating a VO demo and submit it to people in the business, please make certain that it’s not the kind which can be easily switched off after a few seconds.

A demo has to grab the listener’s ear, captivate their imagination, and clue them in that they are hearing a fellow professional at work.

No one has time for bad demos. But people often have a surprising amount of time, money and opportunity for those who make the grade, and are able to deliver solid, professional results.

Want more great ideas for creating a demo that busy professionals will “have time” for? Join my Voiceover Demo Domination program! Go here for full info: www.VODemoDomination.com

Do you believe it’s necessary to start at the bottom? Are you frustrated because you feel that people in the voiceover business just aren’t recognizing what you have to offer?

In this clip from my Hollywood Hustle Habits program, I talk about why a talented person is more likely to find success nearer toward the top, rather than at the lower rungs. I explain why you must aim high and go for the gold if you want to have a fulfilling career: (2 1/2 minutes)

Hollywood Hustle Habits is an intensive 30-day program — as soon as you sign up, you’ll receive access to two audio Webinars, as well as daily audio messages from me.

For full info & to join the program visit www.HollywoodHustleHabits.com

Remember the song by R.E.M., “Everybody Hurts”?

I’d like to do a version of it for voiceover artists, called “Everybody Flubs.”

No matter how seasoned a pro you are, you are absolutely going to screw up your read from time to time.

It happens to the best of us. You trip. You stumble. Everything’s going along smoothly, and then…

For some inexplicable reason, your mouth doesn’t quite do what your brain tells it to!

There’s no embarrassment whatsoever in “flubbing” — what matters is how you handle it when it happens.

My method for dealing with a flub is twofold. First, welcome the flub. That’s right: Be happy that you flubbed.

Flubs often tell you something. They usually mean you’re not relaxed.

When you flub, stumble, or otherwise mess up: Stop, take a breath and a brief moment of silence. Reconnect mentally with the meaning of what you’re saying, then move on to Step Two…

Return to the beginning of the sentence you flubbed, and pick up your read as though nothing happened.

Do not, whatever you do, DO NOT call attention to a flub!

Inexperienced VO artists will often apologize and make nervous jokes about their flubs. Worse, they lay trips on themselves, and give themselves impossible assignments.

If you chastise yourself, and demand yourself to stop flubbing, you’ll only make the problem worse.

You’re a human being, not a robot. Always remember: It’s your human-ness that got you the job in the first place.

Prepare well, be relaxed and worry-free in the studio. Have fun, and don’t stress out about anything, ever!

Lately I’ve heard a number of demos that would have been great, had they been produced 20 years ago.

A voiceover demo exists to establish you as a contender in today’s cutthroat business. Like all industries, ours grows and evolves over time.

It’s important that your demo have a fresh, contemporary feel to it. If a demo has a “yesterday sound,” it’s likely (inadvertently) promoting you as a “yesterday talent.” 

Unfortunately, many demo producers are painfully behind the times. Their demos are not just stale — they’re rancid.

This is often the result of a cookie-cutter mentality & approach. Some producers have been using the same tired copy, the same cheesy music and sound effects, for years.

When someone listens to your demo, they should get a sense of having just turned on the TV or radio. All of the spots need to sound reasonably up-to-date.

Beware of commercials for brands that are no longer with us. Borders, Washington Mutual and Tower Records were fine companies in their day, but they don’t do much advertising anymore.

Likewise, be careful with products or terms that might be associated with an earlier era. While it can be great to include a technology spot or two, you probably shouldn’t refer to the “World Wide Web,” or gush over CompuServe’s blazing-fast 56k dial-up speeds.

A surprising number of demos that I’ve listened to recently are monophonic — i.e., not mixed in stereo. There’s no reason for this. In the early days of the web, demos were typically in mono (and often encoded at a low bitrate) so they could be downloaded easily. With high-speed Internet, this is not an issue.

A demo is a living document — it’s not chisleled in stone. Revisit your demo(s) often, and feel free to freshen & revise them as needed.

For more great tips about creating a commercial VO demo that POPS, check out Voiceover Demo Domination: www.VODemoDomination.com

As soon as you sign up, you’ll get a link to instantly download all of our previously recorded audio Webinars, plus instructions for how to join our exclusive LinkedIn group.

You’ll also receive my video tutorial about creating awesome VO landing pages to market different aspects of your talent — don’t miss it!

We began our new series of Voiceover Demo Domination Webinars on Sunday, and we’re off to a thrilling start!

Steve Reisberg of the TGMD Agency in Los Angeles was our guest. Steve is TGMD’s booth director & “gatekeeper” — when an artist submits a VO demo to the agency seeking representation, it first goes to Steve.

Only if Steve approves the demo does it get passed along to the agents! It’s vitally important that we know how to impress the Steves of our industry. That’s why I’m so excited to have him back for this new round of Webinars.

Here’s an excerpt from our latest Webinar, in which we play a commercial demo from Ed Krattiger, and Steve and I give our comments: (6 minutes)

In the clip, Steve explains why, even though he likes Ed’s demo a lot, he still wouldn’t forward it on to the agents. This is a basic reality of our business that every one of us needs to be aware of.

Join Voiceover Demo Domination, and download the full 1 hour+ Webinar with Steve. You’ll also get instant access to six previous Webinars, my 75-minute video tutorial about creating killer voiceover landing pages, access to our private LinkedIn group — and you can join us for upcoming live Sunday Webinars, including a session with my own Los Angeles VO agent! For full info & to join us, visit www.VODemoDomination.com

My Voiceover Demo Domination course is back — and it’s better than ever!

This Sunday (1/27), we kick off our new series of live Webinars with an in-depth discussion with Steve Reisberg, booth director & “gatekeeper” at the TGMD Agency in Los Angeles.

We’ve also got Webinars scheduled with my own voiceover agent (Ilko Drozdoski), as well as my demo co-producer/engineer Pat Torres!

Who should register for this program? A few categories of VO artists come to mind…

1. You’re relatively new to VO, and want to get a sense of what demos, marketing and self-promotion is all about. If you haven’t yet made a demo, that’s OK. In fact, you might be the best position of all.

By participating in the course, you’ll get a better idea of what to do when you’re ready to make your demo. I’ll help to prepare you so you can make your time in the studio as valuable as possible, and create a package that promotes you to the utmost.

2. You have a commercial voiceover demo that you’re not entirely satisfied with, and want to know what you can do to make it better. This course is filled with stimulating ideas — you can share your demos in our private LinkedIn group, and get feedback from me and others in the group.

Joining Voiceover Demo Domination connects you with a community of likeminded professionals. Everyone is focused on being as supportive and helpful as possible, while at the same time giving brutally honest feedback. We pull no punches about what we hear!

3. You’re a VO pro who’s looking to further refine your marketing, and gain some new insights about reaching and winning over the right people. Part of our 2.0 course includes a discussion about what I’ve learned about voiceover landing pages — how to use simple, to-the-point websites to put one specific angle of your talent across fast.

In this edition of the program, in addition to examining commercial demos, we also venture into the area of creating powerful specialty demos.

In short, just about everybody who is involved in voiceover, or is looking to become established in VO, will get a lot out of this program. I personally guarantee that you will find this experience highly valuable — if you don’t agree, I’ll give you your money back.

As voiceover artists, demos are a constant part of our marketing lives. No matter how long you’ve been in the business, or where you happen to be right now along the continuum of success, you can’t afford not to understand how demos work, and how to use them to your maximum advantage.

When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to seven previously recorded Webinars, with myself and special industry guests. You’ll also receive a link to watch my tutorial video about creating killer VO landing pages, and you’ll be eligible to join our private LinkedIn group.

Enrollment in Voiceover Demo Domination is just $99 — to register, visit www.VODemoDomination.com