Trying to connect my 2 voice over endeavors, I’m going to post summaries of The VO Meter podcast that I co-host with Sean Daeley. Here is the first… **The VO Meter Episode 1: Unlocking the Secrets of Voiceover Industry** In the first episode of *The VO Meter*, a podcast designed for aspiring and professional voice

Gratitude Post. Doing some work in between volleyball matches at The University of Maryland. I’m in a beautiful conference room, in the house that Gary Williams built recording voice overs and editing audiobooks. In a week I’ll be recording Coach William’s audiobook. In 2 hours I’ll be back on the mic for the Maryland Tournament

Whew…it’s been a while.  Not that there haven’t been things happening in my voice over world. It’s just…well you know…life. Plus, whenever I write a blog, I have the constant nagging thought, “Does anybody care?” Heck, Do I? I’m not sure I have the answer to that yet. We’ll see where this goes. Anyway, a

Social media is all about growing your brand and staying connected with your online community. In the past, successful social media coordinators differentiated their video content by relying heavily on on-screen captions and text overlay. With the popularization of platforms like Tiktok and Instagram Reels, that trend certainly isn’t going away anytime soon. Instead, the

Back when I fell in love with voice recording, I was a child who instantly gravitated toward micro cassettes and VHS recorders. Things have changed a lot in the years since, and the analog devices I grew up with have been replaced with far more convenient digital alternatives.  One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is

I get a lot of weird outreaches on social media and email. “We’ve been trying to reach you about your car warranty”…check. “Hi, I’m looking to meet attractive men like you”…check. I’ve even received some non sketchy requests from voice over business related people. Due to the success (minor as it is) of our podcast

When it comes to equipment for voice over, there are a LOT of opinions. Should you use an “industry standard” microphone like the Neumann TLM 103, the Sennheiser MKH-416 or the AKG C414? Should you go for the low end of the scale with something like the AT2020, the MXL 990, or EEK! The Blue

Welcome, Friends to another edition of Facebook VO Group say wha? You’ll have to forgive me, because when I read this post, I did a quick eye roll and scrolled on by. I’ve seen it so many times, that I can’t even anymore. Is that still a saying? I think probably not, but leave me

This past weekend was the last Voice Over Atlanta conference…except, it wasn’t. On the last day it was announced that J. Michael Collins and his wife Anna are taking over! The future looks bright for the biggest VO conference in the world, after all. Still, up until Sunday, the whole voice over world thought this

Stage Fright. We all get it sometimes. Whether it be on an actual stage, like a theater, or a virtual one, like your office conference room. You know, the rumbling in your stomach, the butterflies, the cold sweats. In take take a long time to get over your performance anxiety in the workplace. I thought

I’ll never forget the day Bob Bergen told me I sucked… Sort of. Bob, the longtime Looney Tunes Voice of Porky Pig and Tweety Bird is WAY too much of a nice guy to use that kind of language. He did tell me my voice over demos were not at all competitive and I should

This week’s Facebook Group quandary comes from the Indie Audiobook Narrators and Producers Group. In it, a user asked if anyone with Auditory Sensitivity has tried to edit an audiobook and how that has affected them. I actually broke my self imposed rule and answered this in the group as well as here. I think

I’m an audiobook narrator (among other voice over pursuits). I’ve narrated just over 100 books. I’ve produced another 25-30 more. After years of training, going to conferences and trade shows, I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to create a good audiobook. I also know when it’s time to let go. Last

Today’s question from the land of Meta comes from the VO Preneur FB Group run by Voice Talent, Voice Coach, Podcast Host and all around good guy Marc Scott. Someone asked, and I’m paraphrasing, Voice Over work tends to be full of ups and downs, what do you do as a side hustle in order

Today’s FB question nightmare comes from the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group , to which I belong. The question was an amalgam of things that this person was doing in order to “get started” in VO and how to proceed. I won’t cut and paste because it will give away content that is in

I fired a client last week. My biggest client (in a way) Taking a break from my FB pulled questions from other people to one of my own for a change! So, I have been doing these medical explainer videos for a while. Almost as long as I’ve been a voice actor. The Youtube channel

So today’s FB voice over question of the day comes from…Ugh, I don’t remember. This was one of those I saw, said to myself “Hey, I should blog about that” then saw something shiny and moved on. Anywhoo, it’s still a good one. A voice actor said “A really powerful agent sent me a connection

Today’s Facebook voice over question comes from the very niche Universal Audio Apollo for Voiceover group. The question was how to plug a studio mic into an Iphone 11, in order to record a video? I have tried to figure this out myself. I do a fair amount of youtube videos. Here is an example

I wanted to take a minute to offer a cautionary tale to any new voice actors out there. From time to time, a client will ask you to give them a read of an entire script. There could be a number of reasons for this. One, the producer, or director may just not realize how

The title above says it all. Or does it? Welcome to another addition of questions voice actors ask on Facebook! Today’s entry appeared in the Voice Over Pros Facebook Group The question about which microphone to use for voice over comes up A LOT. Whether or not to use one or both of these particular

Today’s interesting cry for help comes from the Facebook Public Address Announcers group. Someone asked if they should always announce the score at a basketball game. The reasoning was basically, who really cares? If they want to know the score, they should look at the scoreboard. Later in the same week, another announcer stated that

You know that axiom about Sales? The one that says, it takes 5-10 touches in order to close a sale? What that means is in order to get a client to buy in on something, you need to “touch” them 5-10 times. That can mean a meeting, an email, a phone call, or just a

Oh, boy has something crazy happened in my voice over career. I have heard of this happening to other voice actors, but this is the first time it has happened to me. So…I get an email from a VO colleague. They tell me I they received an email from their voice acting agent that included

So Today’s Facebook query about voiceover comes from the Gardner Collective Group and it came in the form of a poll. The options were. Computer Outside booth, Monitors Inside Computer + Monitor in booth Fanless/Silent Laptop in booth + Extra Monitors Now, I’m not sure why those were the only available options. There are any

Here I am, back with another FB inspired rant. A relatively newcomer to the business posted, saying they were offered $250 Canadian for 30 minutes of elearning voiceover work. I can barely keep up with my son’s 4th grade math, but that equals $500 for 1 hour. Now, the conversion rate for CAD to USD

Here we are with another response to a Facebook post. This time from the Indie (ACX And Others) Audiobook Narrators and Producers Group. Someone said they were working out of their double walled vocal booth and was still hearing sounds from neighbors. Particularly washing machines and loud footsteps. “Do I need to adjust my expectations?”

Greetings, It’s been a minute…Ick, I hate that phrase. I never understood it. A minute is supposed to be a small parcel of time right? So why use it to describe a long period between to occurrences of something? Being “meta” I guess? Nevermind. Anyway, its been a LONG frickin’ time! I’ve decided to get

Full Mic Shootout coming up on The VO Meter, www.vometer.com. Get a sneak peak here!

That’s a wrap on an event 2 years in the making. This past weekend, I attended the Mid Atlantic Voice Over conference, 2o18. The event brings together voice over artists, coaches, marketing and branding specialists and vendors from all over the world. I am extremely blessed that it occurs almost in my backyard in Herndon,

Hi everybody, Paul Stefano here. Voice actor a voiceover voice-over artist you know the drill by now, with another VO booth confessional. Talking about bad demos. How does this still happen? You would think it would be easy with all the information out there on the interwebs and in Facebook and Google+…oh wait not that

I have a confession to make. I struggle with knowing my worth and charging appropriately for my services. You may have heard me on my podcast The VO Meter, (www.vometer.com) discussing how it is SO important to set a rate for your voice over work that is commensurate with the amount of work involved, or

Be EVERYWHERE! Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s an expression with which we are all familiar. Did you know that the reverse is also true? As a voice over artist, you have to make sure your eggs (so to speak) are EVERYWHERE! Recently, I’ve started to have the fruits of my labor,

Hello Everyone, This is just a quick note to say THANKS! to all the listeners and fans of our podcast The VO Meter, www.vometer.com When I had this thought about sharing what I have learned 2 years ago, I wasn’t sure it was something anybody wanted to hear. Heck, lots of established pros told me

Having trouble using networking to grow your business? Do you find it hard to meet people at business events? Are you a “wall flower” at networking functions? It doesn’t have to be that hard. Use these 3 strategies at your next industry get together, and you’ll be growing your network in no time. The best

Ahh, The obligatory New Years Resolution blog post…It’s cliche, of course, but darned if it isn’t a good excuse to put something down on paper, or LCD panel, as it were. At any rate, I hope you will indulge me in taking down some notes, more for myself, but that maybe, will help somebody else.

So you want to get into the Voice over “Business”? You had better understand that last part! Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be signed to a very popular talent Agency. If you have followed my posts or possibly my Voice Over podcast The VO Meter you know I am still a relative “newcomer” to the business.

Have you ever had to consider your weight when evaluating your VO career? No, I’m not talking about exercise, and fitness…though, I guess that could play a part. Recently, I started looking at upgrading my booth. If you follow my podcast The VO Meter, https:/www.vometer.com you know this has been an ongoing issue for me.

Yesterday, I was reminded how GREAT the VO community is. I recently released a new version of my website complete with re-branding efforts from my fabulous coach Sean Allen Pratt. While it looked great, and had received a great response from both friends and family alike, it wasn’t really doing much for me. I needed

This week, I was reminded that in business, marketing and planning really need to be long range. A colleague posted on social media how “July is always a bad month” for voice over work. As I reflected on the post it occurred to me, July 2017 is actually my BEST month income wise. The seeds

Have you ever heard that axiom, absence makes the heart grow fonder? It’s supposed to be related to a loved one, I think. They go on a trip, you realize how much you miss them, and when they come home, you are even more in love than before. Well as Voice Actors, what do we

What’s the best microphone for voice over? Ever heard that question? Are you a voice actor, who has struggled to find the best microphone for your voice over business? I have struggled with this question since DAY 1 of my voice over business. There are several questions I continually ask myself. What is the best

I was recently featured on the Freelancer.com Community Showcase. The staff there interviewed me about my work and plans for the future. Check it out here: https://www.freelancer.com/community/articles/american-freelancer-builds-career-out-of-lifelong-dream

You have heard the saying a million times…”It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know”. But, bbut, I thought it was about the acting? It is, and of course, as a voice actor, you won’t get anywhere if you can’t act (it’s in the name after all) but the same rules that apply to

I attended my first voice over conference this past weekend. With all the other things going on this time of year, I was only able to make one day of MAVO, the Mid-Atlantic Voice Over conference 2016 http://www.midatlanticvo.com/. Luckily it takes place almost in my backyard. So, when I heard they offered a one day

I have been thinking about starting a podcast for a while. I always liked the idea of setting up a microphone and just “vamping” for as long I could; I guess it’s the old radio deejay in me. The trick was, I never really had a reason! Now that I have passed my 1 year

Oh the lessons we learn in this crazy business we call VO. As my colleague Tom Dheere was no doubt penning his own blog http://tomdheere.com/blog/ about communicating with agents, I was once again slapped in the face with a similar business lesson. I have been fortunate to have landed an agent to represent me in

It can be tough to value yourself and your talents when you run your own business. There is always the inner thoughts in your mind about what is “fair” based on your experience, training and perceived talent. This is especially true of those in the arts. If you ever want to be successful, as well

This week I learned a valuable lesson. Know what you know, know what you don’t, and most importantly once you seek the advice of experts, Listen to them! I have been struggling with getting my sound right. I have spent months worth of time researching, tweaking, and researching some more. As a voice actor here

Necessity is the Mother of Invention. You have heard the adage a thousand times. I experienced this again this week. It was 100 degrees in Charm City several days this week. Heat index (still not sure this is a real thing) makes it “feel” like 115 degrees! My booth, made up entirely of sound absorbing

So here is my first epiphany on the personal studio. You know what your space sounds like, right…right? Most coaches and engineers will tell you it’s hard or nearly impossible to know what you really sound like. The way sound resonates in the human body colors your perception of your own voice. So, how then

This weekend marks the 4th of July holiday, in America. My apologies to my colleagues in or from Great Britain…Too soon? The custom for many in the land of milk and honey is to take this weekend to head to the beach. In New Jersey, they call it “Going Down the Shore”. In other places

As a voice over artist (or Voice Actor as most of us like to be called) random tips and tricks come up nearly every day. More accurately, they are shared by other industry pros, and we adopt them! I have been fortunate enough to get advice from some of the greatest minds in the voice