Happy Mid-Year!
Typically, I'm not one to use arbitrary measures of time (like the New Year) to set goals and wait for them to institute major changes in my life. Yet, they are useful reminders to take some time to recalibrate ourselves personally and professionally.
As we round the corner on the half-waypoint of 2021, I'm taking some time to reflect on how the first half of the year has gone. What have I accomplished, what is half-finished (or less), where have I dropped the ball, and what is it time to let go of?
I also plan on looking more at what has worked for me when it's come to securing new clients in 2021 and what seems to be failing miserably.
For example, my pay-to-play book rate has felt staggeringly low lately... but is it really? My income is up year-over-year from 2020 (but I'd guess most of us are in that boat given the dumpster fire that was 2020), so the question becomes, are new bookings actually up or is it due to an uptick in return clients?
Maybe I'm seeing more success than I realize from other marketing efforts? How can I trace those back?
More importantly... how I can leverage other marketing channels more effectively? I had some early success this year from direct marketing via email. Why did I stop when I saw some success? That seems silly.
These are questions I plan on finding the answer to right after I hit send on this message to all of you.
So, I encourage you to also dig into your own questions to figure out how you can keep moving your business forward in the next half of the year. Feel free to start with the ideas in the rambling paragraphs above and jump into your own questions as you start uncovering them for yourself.
Happy Mid-Year,
Josh
Halfway Already
When it comes to evaluating where your business stands at the mid-year, its important to have some idea of what exactly you want to examine. Set some goals, scratch off the ones that aren't producing results, and remember to focus on what you can control – the daily process over the long-term results.
6 Essential Elements of a Midyear Business Review
Freelance Estimate Anxiety
This literally happened to me yesterday. Despite years of sending quotes I still get some anxiety when I get asked for a quote on a new project from a new potential client. I'm going to try to remember the advice in this article (paraphrasing): "The worst thing that can happen is not losing the job, but booking it at a bad rate."
A simple trick to get past freelance estimate anxiety
Do you have a "Plan B"?
Me? Not really? But one thing I've learned since taking the leap to full time VO is that everyone needs something different to feel comfortable in their self-employment. If you're have some unease around taking the leap and continuing to pay the bills, figure out what you need to get comfortable when the time comes.
Here's Courvo's take.
More on Robots
This will probably become a semi-regular segment. If you haven't played Witcher 3... stop what you're doing and go do that first because the voice acting is stellar and the game is fantastic. That said, a game modder was able to use AI and the original performance to add an entirely new segment to the game that includes VO. I wouldn't say it's "scary good", but it's decent, if not a little stiff feeling.
Hear for yourself in the trailer at the top of this article:
Voice AI is scary good now. Video game actors hate it.
VOMM Ad of the Week
This week it's not just one VO-focused ad, but an entire campaign. Boston Pizza is fully leveraging the "back to normal" idea and re-training on patio usage. I actually laughed out loud at the tv spot, but the physical aspect of the campaign is equally hilarious.
Calling the helpline is also well worth the time (despite the robot voice): 1-855-BP-HOW-TO.