Celebrating Success: Let’s Hear it for Julanne! (A Sneak Peek into the Voiceover Industry)

This picture was taken in 2005, five years after I first met Julanne Dalke at the very first Wishweavers workshop.

Julanne came to the event with a laundry list of dreams, and within just a few short months had accomplished four of them. We became friends when I interviewed her for the Wishweavers Workshop documentary, which aired on CCTV in Salem, Oregon. We’ve remained dear friends ever since.

I love speaking with especially creative people in creative fields and Julanne is no exception. Because she has such a flair for interior design, I once called on her when I needed help decorating an apartment. She’s an experienced artist in several mediums.

Brazilian Renaissance                         Leilani                                                              Children of the Light

She’s also a gifted writer with a wonderful voice.

Julanne once attended my monthly Wishweavers Miracle Manifestation class to discuss an intriguing collection of short stories from her childhood. She walked out of the class with a plan to create an audio book, the recording studio contact to make it happen, and her audio book, Filbert Street, was born.

I’ve been in no less than three women’s groups with Julanne over the years, currently our Success Weavers Circle mastermind experience. I’ve heard her read aloud enough to know many people have encouraged her to use her voice in some way. I’ve also known enough voiceover artists to know it’s not an easy field to break into.

Julanne has been in the industry since last August. I’m thrilled to present you with the results of her first contract for a national brand, Miracle-Gro.

(Yes, that’s her voice: “Water. Just water. Lots and lots of water.” And, yes, people get paid for this!)

Here are Julanne’s nuggets of wisdom for anyone interested in the voiceover field or overcoming obstacles in any field.

1. What prompted you to pursue a career in the voiceover (VO) industry?

I was inspired by the contrast I was seeing in my life. I realized if my future were to embrace the  creativity I longed to reflect in my true nature as a human being, I would need to move away from a J.O.B. (just over broke) and into an inspired life that thrilled me.

Clackamas community college was offering a class to determine if a person might be a good fit for VO through an evaluation process. I showed up and got a high evaluation score. It was all I needed to decide to make money where my mouth is.

2. What have been some of the challenges you didn’t expect?

I was shocked at how many people tried to talk me out of my dream. Often I got “Do you know how hard it is to break into the VO business?”

I found early on to get my advice from people who have walked the path. If someone tries to criticize you? Do not hear it. Don’t let anyone or anything distract you from the clarity that you know. Protect your gem.

3. What motivates you to continue?

VO is my passion. I am a creative. This is one avenue I can express myself and I thrive on prestige.

4. Tell us a bit about your regular schedule.

I wake early, do morning devotions, check in with and continue to build my social media platform. Exercise, meditate and respond to and select the auditions for the morning based on East coast time. Audition. Eat lunch and select another ten auditions for the afternoon session based on West coast time. Aim for quitting time at 4:00 so I can complete home chores, prepare dinner and spend time with my family.

5. How exactly did this Miracle-Gro ad transpire?

I responded to an audition invitation within a casting company from an LA producer and submitted a query letter with recording of the script provided. They wanted the character to express the authority and sound of June Cleaver from the Leave it to Beaver television series. I did my research, made the recording, submitted it and landed the job.

6. How does it feel now that the YouTube video has gotten close to 4000 hits?

Amazing! This commercial is earmarked as “The” 2016 commercial for Scotts Miracle-Gro.

7. Where will you go from here in your VO career?

That’s a good question.

I focus on what is wanted, opening the channel for more of the same.

8. What advice do you have for anyone wanting to get into this business?

Gather information to develop your perception of the big picture. Go from a dreamer to a doer, all the while do not try too much with your actions as efforting causes resistance and you might find yourself focusing on what has not transpired just yet. One to two years is not unreasonable to succeed in VO and a full time emphasis initially is critical. The return on your investment can come over months or years. Risk rejection – it is your friend. 90% of the work is not glamorous. Get good training with a reputable company that will continue to give you support once you launch your career. (I’m not talking about YouTube training although I enlist those helps every day in continuation of my education.) Enlist the help of a media polisher and a branding professional and beef up your social media platform. Pull and push people to your web site. Keep it clean, simple and professional with a primary objective – to get the visitor to listen to your demo. Don’t distract with long bios. Blog and respond to others blogs in the related industry. Reach out and keep your head in the game by being an active participant in your own destiny.

Create a consistent and persistent effort. Tenacity trumps talent. Understand the marketplace. Your plan should be to generate income, not hit and miss. Technology is a game changer. There are literally millions of applications for VO now. You must be your own best agent.

Today you must have studio quality equipment to sound competitive.

A competitive professionally produced demo opens more doors than any other thing as it gets you audition opportunities.

Compare yourself to the best. Learn from them. Are you marketable? You must exude credibility.

Be consistent.

And finally,

“Don’t try to produce the result without the emotion. Create the emotion that will produce the result.”

If you have any questions re: voiceover, Julanne is happy to answer them on the blog. For more information on Julanne as a voice artist, find her here: http://www.Julannesvot.com

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Authentically Yours, Laura