Jodi Krangle

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Jodi@VoiceoversAndVocals.com

marketing

Interview with Podcast Producer, Kattie Laur – Part 2

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Kattie Laur has a background in broadcast radio so it naturally seemed to follow that she would become interested in podcasts.  She’s putting that passion to good use as a podcast producer and gives us some tips on what makes a great show, why she feels podcasts are an important medium and how they’re the wave of the advertising future.

In this second part of our interview, she talks about:

* what a podcast needs to do to keep her listening to their intro over and over
* how she decided to create sound breaks to switch between thoughts within a podcast
* how different cultures experience your audio differently (context is everything!)
* the differences between podcasts she’s paid to produce (“learned passion”) vs. her passion projects
* what she can do for people when she’s producing podcasts
* how many different hats she wears, doing what she does
* some more information about how she’s highlighting female-fronted podcasts in her blog
* how podcasting is still a bit of a male-dominated industry – so she feels more people should hear women’s voices in podcasts
* why podcasts appeal to people so much
* how advertisers are catching on to the potential in podcasts

Her website is at: https://www.kattielaur.com

She has some really helpful information in her blogs, too!
She’s written about the 5 key things you need to think about before starting a podcast: https://www.kattielaur.com/blog/how-to-start-a-podcast-5-key-things

And she’s started a blog series that highlights women podcasters and their shows: https://www.kattielaur.com/blog/podcasts-by-women-to-stop-sleeping-on-vol-1

Her ethical travel podcast is called Alpaca My Bags: https://audioboom.com/channels/4984382

(and is in all the major podcast outlets)

And you can find and follow her on Twitter: @podkatt

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

Interview with Podcast Producer, Kattie Laur – Part 1

by

Kattie Laur has a background in broadcast radio so it naturally seemed to follow that she would become interested in podcasts.  She’s putting that passion to good use as a podcast producer and gives us some tips on what makes a great show, why she feels podcasts are an important medium and how they’re the wave of the advertising future.

In this first part of our interview, she talks about:

* her beginnings in studying broadcasting
* her interesting relationship with the CBC
* how she got into podcasting
* how she decided she could produce podcasts for a living
* what kinds of clients she works with
* what fires her up about producing podcasts
* why she feels the concept is way more important than the equipment you use.
* how audio branding plays a role in the production of podcasts

Her website is at: https://www.kattielaur.com

She has some really helpful information in her blogs, too!
She’s written about the 5 key things you need to think about before starting a podcast: https://www.kattielaur.com/blog/how-to-start-a-podcast-5-key-things

And she’s started a blog series that highlights women podcasters and their shows: https://www.kattielaur.com/blog/podcasts-by-women-to-stop-sleeping-on-vol-1

Her ethical travel podcast is called Alpaca My Bags: https://audioboom.com/channels/4984382

(and is in all the major podcast outlets)

And you can find and follow her on Twitter: @podkatt

This episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco (http://www.humbertofranco.com/).

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

Time For A Transition

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Those of you who have been following this blog and accompanying podcast, have seen the direction I’ve been going with this. I know a lot of us are Creatives.  A lot of us need help understanding how not to beat ourselves up in our own heads. And helping people with that (in a distinctly NOT professional capacity!) will never stop being a priority for me.

If you’re still interested in that topic, I’ve created a Facebook Group, just for you. If you’re looking for a place to share your Creativity and get encouragement from fellow Creatives, I invite you to join me there.

HOWEVER, my passion is also sound.

Specifically, voice overs and music.  I use my voice both for my day job and for the pleasure of singing. I’d like to delve deeper into how that works in the greater context of branding – both mine and my clients’.

So while the Silver Linings blogs and podcast episodes will remain out there, and I hope you find them useful, I’ll be transitioning to a new podcast in a month or so.

I’m calling it: Audio Branding: The hidden gem of marketing.  And it really is a “hidden gem”.

In a lot of cases, people forget just how much audio – voice overs, music and sounds in general – influence our behavior on a regular basis.  We’ve gotten used to so many places sounds play a part.

Think about it for a bit.

We expect a car to sound a certain way (and am I the only one who’s freaked out when I’m in a Prius or a Tesla at a stop light??), even if that sound is changing. That’s why our phones still “click” when we take a picture, even if they don’t need to.  Or why that vinyl scratching sound is used in ads all the time to audibly tell us an interruption is happening – even if it’s rare that people listen to records anymore.

The sounds used in advertising, make us automatically familiar with a brand (like McDonalds’ “I’m Lovin’ It” (ba da ba ba ba!), the sound of the Taco Bell bell, the Intel sound logo, or the trill of the NBC logo).  We even recognize that an animated cartoon is The Peanuts (or a parody of it) by the trombone sound that happens when the adults speak.

We could all stand to learn something about audio branding.

Even those of us who make a living in the sphere.  ESPECIALLY those of us who do that. Learn how to leverage your own audio branding – whatever that may be – and you win at marketing.  The shortest bit of sound can be associated with your brand.  It can automatically identify you and bring you to mind.  And really – when it comes to marketing – that kind of instant recognize-ability just can’t be beat!

That’s why a lot of podcasts have musical and voice over intros (And if you need a voice for that sort of thing, that is certainly a service I offer. Feel free to get in touch).  It’s why TV shows have recognizable theme songs.  It’s why there are some pieces of music in a film that are automatically associated with a character – like Darth Vader’s Imperial March.  (And wouldn’t it be cool if we all had theme music?)

I’m certainly not the first one to talk about this …

… but maybe my perspective as a voice actor and a singer will be helpful in digging a little deeper.  And I fully intend to enlist the help of some very knowledgeable friends and colleagues who can also provide some insights.

For now though, I found a blog post on Gary Vaynerchuck‘s website that describes what “audio branding” means, and how he feels it’s the wave of the future.  I couldn’t agree more (and check out his own audio branding.  Pretty cool stuff!)

Here’s a quote from the article:

Over the next decade or two, what your brand sounds like is actually going to be an unbelievably crucial variable of success in a world that will be driven primarily by two things: voice and brand.

The Rise of Audio Branding

Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast?  If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453  And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!

Your Voice Is A Powerful Tool

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Your Voice Is A Powerful Tool

In my quest to always be learning more about my own business – and other businesses in general, I’ve started reading a lot more non-fiction.  One of the books that was suggested to me by some very smart business people I trust, is called Never Split The Difference (Negotiating as if your life depended on it) by Chris Voss.  It’s a really interesting study in negotiation from the viewpoint of someone who negotiated hostage situations for the FBI.  Each chapter has a captivating story about a particular negotiation and explains key information on how the negotiation was successfully concluded.

In the second chapter, Mr. Voss says something very insightful (really, the whole book is full of insight) – and as a voice actor, it kind of affirmed what I do every day.  He says, “Smile at someone on the street, and as a reflex, they’ll smile back.  Understanding that reflex and putting it into practice is critical to the success of just about every negotiating skill there is to learn.”

Fascinating.

And it’s even more fascinating when you realize that you can *hear* a smile when someone is speaking.  He continues on to say, “That’s why your most powerful tool in any verbal communication is your voice.  You can use your voice to intentionally reach into someone’s brain and flip an emotional switch.  Distrusting to trusting. Nervous to calm.  In an instant, the switch will flip just like that with the right delivery.”

I’m really liking where this book is going.

To take that to a deeper level as it relates to voice over work, think of what you’re trying to make your listener feel, and use the tone of voice that will be most likely to get them there.   Are you talking about a difficult subject?  A calm, soothing tone of voice will allow the listener to relax a bit and take in the difficult information.  Are you on your listener’s side and telling them about a great new product or service that could help them in their daily life?  A friendly voice – that could almost shade to playful – might be more in order.  Never underestimate the power of a smile.  Your audience can hear it.  And that reflex to return the smile, takes over.

Now of course, this is really basic information and doesn’t take into account the skill of connecting with what you’re reading (which is where the acting comes in), nor does it really get down to the nitty gritty of understanding what the writer of that copy intended.  Again, that’s a skill that comes with time and experience. (And perhaps the aid of a voice acting coach.) But at its basic, lizard brain level, we humans are actually pretty predictable.

In many cases, negotiation has more to do with getting past our own biases, and understanding those of the person we’re negotiating with.  We can often get overwhelmed by our own thought processes – and negotiating from a point of strength means quieting those inner voices – and helping the person you’re negotiating with, to quiet theirs.  It’s a game of feeling and emotion – no matter how much we want to deny it.

I found this highly educational and entertaining TED Talk with Mr. Voss on YouTube (from March of this year) – and I really enjoyed it. (And the ending actually moved me to tears.)  Negotiation techniques can make people around you feel heard.  And that’s an important skill to have as a fellow human being.

Stop the Elevator Speeches – Have a Discussion

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StopTheElevatorSpeeches-Spoken-JodiKrangle

So apparently, I’ve been living under a rock.  Recently, my friend Jerad Spencer alerted me to a podcast that featured Sam Horn at Intrigue.  Now, she’s been around for a while, so my missing her rise in popularity is entirely my fault.  That said, what she teaches – and how she teaches it – definitely raised my brows.  (And when you watch this TED Talk, you’ll see what I mean by that.)

She raises some very important points.  A typical elevator speech isn’t really a discussion.  It’s just a bunch of informative words that actually shut down discussion.  If you want people to remember you?  You need to relate what you do specifically to them, and engage in an actual conversation.  Otherwise, you’ll get lost in all the other elevator speeches.

How does Sam suggest we do this?  She says we should ask a three part question.  She talks about this specifically at around the 12:30 mark of her video – but it’s well worth watching the entire thing to get the full picture.  There’s also a small portion in that video that deals with introverts and overcoming the fears that keep them from reaching out.  Since I AM one, that spoke very deeply to me.  That particular story broke my heart – especially knowing that I could have seen myself in that exact situation (not selling a novel, but maybe something similar).

When I was done watching this video, I ordered one of her books to learn more.  (Got Your Attention?)

Maybe it’ll inspire you too.

Finding Your Niche (or not) With Andrew and Pete

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FindingYourNicheWithAndrewAndPete-Spoken-JodiKrangle

These guys are so much fun that it probably wouldn’t matter what they were talking about.  I’d still love watching their informative videos. (Full disclosure, I’ve been an Atomic member in the past.)  As it happens though, they tend to pick really timely and interesting business-related topics – mostly having to do with creating content, increasing your reach online and improving your conversions.   They just do it in such a fun way that I find it somewhat … mesmerizing.

Their latest video is about whether or not you need to choose a niche.  If you’re just starting out with your business, the idea of that can be pretty daunting.  But their advice is to not sweat it.  They would prefer that you choose two things to start with: your differentiator and a clear focus on how you’re going to grow your business.  These two things, they suggest, are enough without choosing a niche.  The niche can come later.  Does having one make things a lot easier?  It definitely does.  But they rightly point out that the quest for a niche can paralyze people and keep them from getting on with things.  All in all, it’s a wonderfully encouraging video and is really entertaining to watch – just like ALL their videos.

I’ve linked to their latest one here, but if you’d like to see more, they have an outstanding YouTube channel that you can check out, and a website of their own, where they help small businesses and entrepreneurs grow.  I adore these guys.  And if you give them a chance, I think you will too.

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