VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

DuffmasterFresh · Joined: 23 Sep 2012 Posts: 10

With social media being so strong these days, it only makes sense for Voice Actors to create Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts to show off their work and interact with potential clients and fans. Aside from a website, social media is a great way to market yourself for little to no cost. I have noticed that a lot of artists of all types, be it painting, photography, VO/VA, etc. tend to use their real name and throw in a word to finish it off. For example, "John Smith Photography" or "John Smith Art" and even "John Smith Voices".

The question is, how should you give yourself a name, especially one that will be on social media and perhaps even a website? I would assume you would want to find a name that pertains to the voice over field in some way if you don't use just your legal name. If someone makes a YouTube channel called "John Smith Voices" and he posted something awesome, he could potentially have millions of people seeing his videos. That being said, it makes sense for each of us to strive to make a name that is easy for others to remember and gets the point across so it can be shared virally. How would you make your name?

I came up with many names that I tried to add VO terms too. I narrowed it down to three names that my friends seem to all like equally. One word in each pertains to the VO field and the other word is a name people can identify me with (varient of legal name).
1) DuffyDubs
2) DynamicDuffy
3) DynamicDuffyDubs

If I choose any of these three names, it would be my URL to everything, such as Facebook.com/DuffyDubs or YouTube.com/DynamicDuffy and finally www.DuffyDubs.com. As you can see, your name means everything because it will go everywhere. You might ask, "why not just use your real name and that it's?" great question, my real name is already taken on all of these social media websites, so I must come up with something like the ones you see above.

What do you guys think of these names 3 names for being the name to my social media websites? If you have ideas for other names for me, please let me know, I am all ears. This could be a name I use for the rest of my life, so it is very important.

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 11:18 pm Post subject:

What's your real name?
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DuffmasterFresh · Joined: 23 Sep 2012 Posts: 10

My name is Kyle Duffy. I can't use it to sign up for anything but I could use variations of it. However, I would rather stay away from "Kyle Duffy Voices" and stick with just one half of my name or the other. Everyone calls me Duffy, so Kyle is not a name I hear often.

Frank F · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:41 am Post subject:

Kyle, branding is a unique proposition. A moniker can be very difficult to determine for yourself, so I suggest you think about this for a while.

One of the first efforts to determine your personal brand name is to find out what your customers call you or think about your work in the VOist arena. Your customers are the people who will determine what you should be branded with, not you.

Frank F
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Philip Banks · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 1:54 am Post subject:

Branding, an example.

Email from head of promos at a major US TV network to one of her producers.

"Nadia,

Have you gotten Philip yet?!"

Think on!

Bruce · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:29 am Post subject:

Some thoughts. Definitely, don't rush this decision. You've got time.

Dub is getting to be quite an old term in our rapidly changing business. Why try and use it for the next 40 years?

I'm still on my first cup of coffee, but when I think of all the successful VOs I can remember, none of them has a tricky nickname. Disc jockeys yes. VOs no. Rappers yes. Great actors no.

In some people's minds if you have to say you're "dynamic", you likely aren't.

As we've summarized here a few times, the best marketing tool is your name, your real name, even if it is made up. Down the line you want producers to say, "I want that Kyle Duffy sound!", or whatever name you pick.

I cannot imagine anyone ever saying, "Get me Dynamic Duffy Dub!" except in a cartoon....maybe.

B
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heyguido · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:47 am Post subject:

Wow. Where to start....

duff/duf/
Noun:
Decaying vegetable matter covering the ground under trees.
A person's buttocks: "I did not get where I am today by sitting on my duff".

Duffmaster. Those who choose to describe themselves as a "master" rarely are.

Fresh. A phrase so NOT fresh in current vernacular as to be approaching moldy.

Dub or dubs. Decidedly gangsta. Totally inappropriate for anyone who wishes to conduct business in anything other than a hoodie.

Branding. Big corporations get this wrong every day. Amateurs can REALLY screw it up. Saying it doesn't make it so.

Branding is not about creating an image for yourself.... Though many would have you think so. Branding is about recognizing and reinforcing the image others have of you.

Most importantly, I think you're approaching this a$$-backwards.

You should be concentrating your efforts on developing your skills, not your image. You should be spending your spare time reading aloud, learning how to get the best possible recording out of your gear, and learning how to edit and produce a finished product that someone else would want to pay you for.

Many of us here have spent years learning these skills alone. A few of us have established a "brand" for ourselves.... But those that have done so did it not by brainstorming a cute or trendy name for themselves, but by making a reputation for themselves based on the quality of their work and the trust they've built with their clients. These are the guys and gals advertisers and agencies know they can go to for consistent, compelling performances every time. Their brand is their work, not their name.

Please don't take this as an attack, a put-down, or, in the vernacular, a dis.

You seem like a nice enough guy. If you're serious about attempting VO as a career, there are some amazing and generous talents here who can help you along the path as you learn and grow. But they can't help you create a brand.

That's up to you. And saying it doesn't make it so.
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Bish · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:22 am Post subject:

Some good points being made here. I certainly get that claiming a good social media handle across the vast, and somewhat fickle, world of all the different sites is worth looking into. Branding can seem forced if not done correctly. At its finest, it invents itself ("Philip" is a wonderful example)... to invent something as organic as something that has invented itself is bloody difficult... which is why the experts in this field are driving Maseratis.

If I was buying a voice, I would be immediately put-off by anyone branding themselves with any type of hyperbole (guru, doctor, etc.) or trying too hard to be hip. But, I'm a Brit, and I tend to be very cynical about this stuff anyway.

To a small extent I realised that my own branding followed me into the VO world. I do not push it professionally at all, but it becomes all pervasive. Since the late 70s, to a lot of people (both personally, and in my corporate life), I'm simply "Bish"... I adopted it wherever possible as my on-line persona and have, to a certain extent, fed the beast. If I start to push it, it will become uncomfortable and forced. Maybe it's not a brand... maybe it's just the label sticking up from the back of my sweater that people have noticed. Bish is fairly unique.

Dub is dated (and far too hip for mere mortals). Unfortunately Duff has negative connotations. This has been explored already. What you do have is a fairly uncommon first name, and that may be a good place to start. You also seem to send out a friendly vibe with an engaging smile... these are things you already have, maybe exploring where your vocal strengths are will give you another element to play with.

My (fairly unoriginal) tag line is An Englishman in New York. This is because I am an Englishman in New York!
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DougVox · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:38 am Post subject:

There's been a ton of great advice shared above, Duff, and you'd do well to take the time to absorb and understand it.

By the way, the effectiveness of Bish's line An Englishman in New York has nothing to do with its level of originality. It's effective because it's accurate.

And that's true of every piece of effective branding.
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heyguido · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:41 am Post subject:

As an aside....

I heard that some wanker named Gordon Sumner was looking for Bish and wants to kick his a$$.... Laugh

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Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:21 am Post subject:

This forum is populated by a nice cross section of reasonably successful voiceoverists. You may want to take a quick check of how many identify themselves using anything other than "normal" name.
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Bailey · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:22 am Post subject:

Nothing much to add here... but remember the Edsel... failure personified.

Whatever shingle you hang out for the world to see will be the alpha or omega of your vocal career, if you don't have the beans to produce a product that is "spot on".
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Bish · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:28 am Post subject:

Yeah Don, ... him and Quentin Crisp. I know I can take Quentin (especially as he passed some time ago), but that Geordie Gordon looks as fit as a butcher's dog, so that could be a problem.

So, to Doug's point, it certainly isn't original, but the number of people that have brought it up to me over the years* made me decide it had some mileage in it. For a short sentence, it actually conveys a lot of information... even the convenience of working with a Brit voice in a different time zone.

* When raised, the perpetrator usually thought they were being original, so the perception was that it wasn't beaten to death.
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Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
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heyguido · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:30 am Post subject:

I like it, Bish. Always have. Inoccent

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Karen Souer · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:51 pm Post subject:

Always great points shared here. I wanted to throw in my two cents as not-a-vo-but-someone-who-hangs-out-with-them-a-lot, and someone who studies social media quite a bit. The points being made about your sound and ability living up to whatever you're putting out are absolutely vital. I have seen people with nice image who sound like they're recording in a tin can.

However, something to keep in mind is the fact that it's not necessarily a good idea to go with something that means something to you and people you know, and will have an entirely different connotation to someone who doesn't know you at all. You have to think about those people, and how to speak to them online. Kyle is a great first name, and you have a great picture there that can speak to people. Personally, I would be leery of some of those common words 'voice' 'dub' etc, because everyone uses them! Every single vo has a voice. What makes YOU unique? What makes Kyle different? Are you a hard worker? Do you have fast turn around time? Are you willing and able to turn out great sound that will fit what the client needs?

I actually wrote about this on my blog yesterday: http://voiceoverassistant.com/2012/10/the-commonalities-in-your-logo/

It is vitally important to establish a strong, positive online presence (Spoiler alert: Going to do a session on this at Faffcon!) and I would look to those aforementioned unique qualities of you personally to find the way you want to establish yourself.
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