Lesson #7 -

Reinvent Yourself, Part 2

My wife asked me to explain what was obvious to me. “Who is Ron Radio?”

Ron Radio is a term I have used for years to refer to radio veterans who have experienced the rich radio experience and who have been affected by the radio culture. We are the ones who lived, breathed, and passionately gave our all for something we thought was the greatest job on earth.

As youngsters we dreamed of the opportunity to get behind the microphone. We listened to legendary disc jockeys on legendary radio stations and longed to be like them. We copied their styles and even their content. If a big name personality said something daring on the air then you could expect that same colorful phrase to spread across the country.

A famous aircheck made the rounds in the 70s featuring a big name radio personality declaring on the air that he was so excited that “he had just wet his pants.” Not surprisingly, disc jockeys all over America were proudly announcing that they too “had just wet their pants.”

Then there were the tight formats that demanded that air personalities conform to the formula de jour. Format clocks, aircheck sessions with the program director, liner cards, and very strict limitations on allowable talk time were the rule for many years. It’s amazing that some of the most undisciplined human beings on God’s earth were locked into such an incredibly disciplined profession.

Of course, there have always been the rebels who dared to be different. But by in large, Ron Radio was molded and shaped by an unavoidable environment. Although radio voices come in many different varieties most are easily recognized and associated with radio. That is not a bad thing until Ron Radio determines to become Victor Voice Talent.

When you’ve always made a living with your voice there is a natural assumption that voice talent is a natural progression from radio personality. However, when the day comes that you are finally ready to part from the radio ranks you are in for a rude awakening.

I’m not suggesting that you need to forget about everything you ever learned. But I do believe that you’re going to have to do some reinventing. I’ll preface that by saying that if your plan is to just pick up a few bucks on the side then just leave things the way they are. If you were good in radio and if you were in demand to cut commercials then that should be enough to keep you going. On the other hand, if it’s a voice talent career that you’re looking for then you will definitely need to make some changes.

Here now are some steps you can take to “get the Ron out of Ron Radio.”

• 1. Listen to successful voice talent professionals. One of the things that will quickly become obvious is that most of them don’t have the radio sound. In fact, you may find yourself amazed at the quality of their voices. That beautiful rich resonant voice that you worked so hard to develop is no longer “in.” The voices getting the most work these days belong to voice actors with “unique” and “natural” voices.
  

• 2. Find your unique “sound print.” Get to work on cleaning up your vocal sound. Record yourself and listen with a critical ear. Try to identify that part of your voice that is truly natural. Remove intentional coloring of the voice. Push with the diaphragm for a smooth stream of air but don’t pinch or constrict the vocal chords in any way that is unnatural. Strive to get back to the voice that God gave you. Practice daily. You’ll sound awful initially but keep at it. Hold off on cutting demos and sharing your work until you have arrived at your unique sound print.
  

• 3. Voice act. Find some books and magazines representative of all kinds of literature, turn on the recorder, and read aloud for as long as you can. Don’t just read. Act.
  

• 4. Slow down. Learn the difference between “natural” on the radio and “natural” in regard to voice talent. Work at being conversational.
  

• 5. Talk “to” – not “down.
  

• 6. Invest in the best audio equipment you can afford. To be competitive you’re going to have to provide a product that is technically superior.
  

• 7. Don’t over produce. In radio we learned all kinds of techniques for editing, mixing, and manipulating sound. Voice talent is about your voice… not your production abilities. There will occasionally be opportunities to use those acquired skills but most often you will be hired for your voice and not your production wizardry. Avoid electronic manipulation of your voice and use no more than a hint of sound processing.
  

• 8. Avoid the temptation to audition for everything. Now more than ever you need to be honest with yourself. Only audition for those projects for which you are best suited. In radio you were often assigned spots outside your element. As a voice talent you must find your niche and stay in your element. Don’t be all over the road. What makes you “special?”
  

• 9. Define your market. Once you have clearly defined what you do you must then identify who you plan to do it for. What and who is your target “market?”
  

• 10. Aggressively and intentionally market yourself. You’ll need a well-conceived and highly targeted web site. Keep it focused and not all over the road. Make sure the landing page gives that potential client everything he is looking for. You’ve got about 8 seconds to get the point across. Maximize the potential of your web site with solid SEO (search engine optimization), SEI (search engine inclusion), and SEM (search engine marketing on Google, Yahoo, and other major search engines). There are plenty of web gurus around who can help. Invest in memberships in the best of the voice talent web sites.  Voices.com, Voice123.com, VOPlanet.com, and Bodalgo.com are worth a try. Take advantage of free social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and MySpace. I also use direct marketing through an online service called Digital Express.
  

Building a business is hard work and it takes a lot of time. Divide your day into segments that allot time for personal and product development, marketing (minimum 2 hours daily), recording/editing projects, and auditioning (at least 5 per day), and record keeping. Give phenomenal customer service.

Get committed. Be persistent. Define your dream. Set goals. Go for it. And by all means, don’t look back. The best days of your life are still ahead. You can get the Ron out of Ron Radio.

These lessons have been written by Richard Weirich. 

For help with your voice talent career contact Richard at rw7475@gmail.com or (205) 260-9362. 

Voice Talent coaching services are available.  Initial critiques are free.