About Connie Terwilliger

Full-time voice talent working out of professional studio for clients around the world providing high quality VO for narration, eLearning, commercials, animation, telephony and more.
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Is Cold-Calling Dead?

Interesting discussion on Facebook right now about the benefits (or not) of cold-calling. Smiling and Dialing is a term I have used.

Conflicting opinions have emerged. Could advances in technology be killing the Cold-Call?

The original post espoused the positive results of cold-calling using the example of  more work for a repeat client who had initially been the result of a cold-call. This is, of course, cold-calling people who you KNOW are interested in the kind of work you do. Marketing 101 – pre-qualify your leads.

An immediate opposing viewpoint was posted – with face-to-face networking indicated as the key to conversion.

I think that as with so many other things in our business life these days, the times they are a changing.

Do the networking thing first if your potential client is in your physical area. If you are touching someone remotely, then you have three practical choices – email, social networking, and the phone.

My […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00October 27th, 2010|Categories: Business, Marketing|
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The Free Lance Mindset Helps Bridge the Gap

I have always been risk averse. Never was a dare devil. Never did anything “wrong” when I was growing up. I was a good kid, because I didn’t want to get into trouble. I couldn’t imagine gambling, or playing the stock market. So how did I end up in the kind of job where  you never know from day to day if you are going to earn money?!

It could be due to the fact that I saved the peanuts from the Peanut M&M’s during road trips so I would be able to spread out the goodness for a long time. It could be because of my parent’s example of creative eclectic thriftyness. It could also be due to the number of places I lived while growing up – my stability was in being flexible. The ability to jump in and make things happen in pretty much any situation.

And due to the […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00October 17th, 2010|Categories: Business, Marketing, Negotiating|
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Car Noise Reduction

Controlling random noise in a studio is a constant challenge if you don’t have a heavy duty floating walled recording space. Even if your space is treated acoustically and your tracks end up clean and noise free, sometimes there is a lot that ends up on the cutting room floor to achieve that result.

While it may sound a bit odd, I have two recording spaces. One inside a small closet in the main house is primarily for my ISDN projects. The other – the spot where I do most of my work – is out in the back yard in a separate structure. There is a small recording space and another larger area for the rest of the work we need to do when we are not recording.

I’ll tell the story of the two spaces sometime, but right now a growing noise issue is on my mind.

The bulk of my […]

2010-10-03T08:56:39+00:00October 3rd, 2010|Categories: Recording, Technology|
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Gah! Facebook is wonky!

OK – I think I can clearly see my addiction now. Facebook has been going down frequently over the past few days and I find myself compulsively refreshing the screen begging that its little blue interface appears.

There are many people with whom I have no other contact other than through Facebook. No email. No phone. Just a wonky URL.

So now I need to spend some time getting additional contact information from at least some of these folks. Hold on a moment…

Ah – Facebook is back up – for the time being…

See you later!

2010-09-25T11:44:08+00:00September 25th, 2010|Categories: Communication, Musings|
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Fafftermath

I didn’t coin this – fafftermath – but it is what is happening to at least some of the people who attended the first ever FaffCon in Portland OR, September 11 and 12, 2010.

One of the things Amy, the organizer did near the end of the last day, was force everyone in the general session to answer some questions and write down some action items. This was so that we didn’t get back home and let life take over without capitalizing on the information that was shared and the energy that was exchanged and enhanced.

I managed to walk off without my notebook and my notes – and all my remaining business cards, but I did remember at least one of my action items (or if it isn’t on the list when I finally do see it again, it is now!)…get in contact with old clients.

So I have make it a […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00September 21st, 2010|Categories: Business, Techniques, Technology|
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Sunday night. What am I doing at the computer!?

Yes, that is the question. What am I doing at the computer on a Sunday night at around 7:30 in the evening? Well, the answer is that one of my compadres in MCA-I is in New Zealand and he is up and working already and we have a small project to tweak on the MCA-I website. Plus, I am waiting for my nephew from Germany to arrive from Vegas after a cross country trip that started in Connecticut. He and his friends got a late start and probably won’t roll in to SD until late, so I need to find things to do that keep me close to home.

Sunday night is also a good night in general to get prepped for a busy week. Of course, that would assume that one hasn’t spent much time in front of the monitor during the rest of the weekend. Ha! I think I need […]

2010-09-19T18:53:36+00:00September 19th, 2010|Categories: Musings|
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I Love My SEO – But I Could Probably Love It More

SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Without it you do not exist. Well, your website doesn’t exist in the eyes of the search engines and that is like not existing. People can’t find you when the go looking for someone like you.

While people finding me on the web is only part of my overall marketing strategy, it has become a very active “passive” method of bringing new clients to my door. And I have not paid for placement in a long long time. A few years ago I experimented with pay-per-click, but quickly saw what seemed to me like far too much money going out without an equal or greater amount of money coming in.

I was already (and still am) pretty well placed in most of the search engines, simply by the fact that I have been online with a web presence since 1996. First with corporatevideo.com and then shortly thereafter with voiceover-talent.com. […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00September 14th, 2010|Categories: Business|
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Tooting the FaffCon Horn just a bit more

Whatever happens down the road to the concept of FaffCon, the first ever FaffCon Voiceover Un-conference was a rousing success in so many ways. Dave Courvasier posted a blog this morning with his thoughts on day 2 of FaffCon.

http://www.courvo.biz/2010/09/faffcon-foverer.html

The most appealing part to me about this whole event was the lack of selling and the abundance of sharing. Oh, there were people in attendance with something to sell, but this was not a selling event. In something like 30 separate “sessions” I didn’t hear of any that were a sales pitch for anything. I couldn’t get to all of them of course, but that is the feedback I have heard.

Sponsors were promoted during the event with signs, handouts and thank you’s. And the final session on Sunday afternoon was devoted to reading live “commercials” for our sponsors and then drawing tickets for valuable door prizes.

Here is a link to the FaffCon website for more information.

http://www.faffcon.com/ 

I have […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00September 13th, 2010|Categories: Marketing|Tags: |
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FaffCon FaffCon – Here We Come

The reality of gathering together with many of my real and virtual voiceover peeps this weekend for FaffCon in Portland OR is getting closer and closer. My suitcase is being packed in the back of my mind. My laptop has been prepped for a presentation if called upon and for an audition or two if they happen to fall into my lap.

We have an endless supply of great topics to put on the board to see which floats to the top for discussion. I still need to make note of some website resources for a couple of topics that may end up being tackled. But first I have to button up the home front. Make sure cats and parent are fed and watered.

The trip is more meaningful to me since hearing the news this morning about the passing of one of the VO-BB regulars – 

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00September 9th, 2010|Categories: Announcements|Tags: , , |
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A Pat on the Back

We “voiceoverists” (a term coined by self-proclaimed and deservedly so Top Voiceoverist Philip Banks) are celebrating our wonderfulness this month! Out of the blue it is National Voice Over Appreciation Month – or simply National Voice Over Month. It should probably be International Voiceover Month, but the domain says National, so I guess we’ll just have to assume that this means any voiceover folk in ANY Nation!

http://nationalvoiceovermonth.com/index.html

Peter O’Connell was one of a small cadre of voice talent who brainstormed this idea. Peter says, “For the thousands of professional male and female voice over talents, the joy of participating in this industry is recognition enough. But National Voice Over Month allows everyone the chance to understand and appreciate these special artists.”

Dave Courvoisier, Advisory Board member of the non-profit Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists (SaVoa), says “Calling for a month-long […]

2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00September 2nd, 2010|Categories: Announcements, Business, Musings|
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