The punch line is, "There is no typical work week!"
For better or worse, you should get used to your voiceover work flow to being in a constant state of flux. Work will naturally come in during the holidays, and you should anticipate having less commercial work in the weeks in between. Your work flow is also heavily determined by your own diligence at networking.
Despite the changes in your weekly work flow, you should still make time every week to network. Contacting potential clients, and touching base with clients you have worked with in the past, is how you will make sure to have as much work as you want at all times of the year.
How far ahead of time do you start contacting your clients? Three months is a healthy amount of time to allow both your clients and you the time and energy to produce high-quality work for any holiday. Now is the time to check in with clients about Christmas and New Year commercials, and by this time next month you might already be thinking about Valentine's Day. After that batch of work gets sent out, think about Mother's Day, etc.
If you are realizing that you passed up the opportunity to get more voiceover work for the winter holidays, go ahead and start contacting clients for the next major wave of holidays. Be the first to get your foot in the door! Also be sure to keep an eye on events that might change from one year to the next, such as Sweeps.
When you start to get the hang of the yearly work flow, you will be able to plan ahead to dry spells more accurately. For example, January and February tend to be relatively slow periods for national commercial spots. Being able to predict a slower work flow will let you be more responsible with your voiceover business planning, as well as help you relax when you do not have a lot of work to do!
Keep in mind that your overall work flow does not need to slow down in between the holidays. Networking within your local community should keep you busy with radio voice-overs, commercials, and telephony recordings until the next major holiday rolls around!
For better or worse, you should get used to your voiceover work flow to being in a constant state of flux. Work will naturally come in during the holidays, and you should anticipate having less commercial work in the weeks in between. Your work flow is also heavily determined by your own diligence at networking.
Despite the changes in your weekly work flow, you should still make time every week to network. Contacting potential clients, and touching base with clients you have worked with in the past, is how you will make sure to have as much work as you want at all times of the year.
How far ahead of time do you start contacting your clients? Three months is a healthy amount of time to allow both your clients and you the time and energy to produce high-quality work for any holiday. Now is the time to check in with clients about Christmas and New Year commercials, and by this time next month you might already be thinking about Valentine's Day. After that batch of work gets sent out, think about Mother's Day, etc.
If you are realizing that you passed up the opportunity to get more voiceover work for the winter holidays, go ahead and start contacting clients for the next major wave of holidays. Be the first to get your foot in the door! Also be sure to keep an eye on events that might change from one year to the next, such as Sweeps.
When you start to get the hang of the yearly work flow, you will be able to plan ahead to dry spells more accurately. For example, January and February tend to be relatively slow periods for national commercial spots. Being able to predict a slower work flow will let you be more responsible with your voiceover business planning, as well as help you relax when you do not have a lot of work to do!
Keep in mind that your overall work flow does not need to slow down in between the holidays. Networking within your local community should keep you busy with radio voice-overs, commercials, and telephony recordings until the next major holiday rolls around!
About the Author:
Such A Voice currently offers beginning voice over training in cities all over the US. Visit us today to register and start on your path to getting paying voice over jobs with your speaking voice.
