VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

COURVO · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:53 pm Post subject: WHY DO YOU.....

....BLOG?

Many of the fine people on this Board blog.

I confess I don't...nor do I have time to read YOUR blogs.

Do you Blog to increase traffic to your site?
Do you Blog because you have THAT MUCH to say?
Do you Blog for the benefit of sharing your knowledge?
Do you Blog because that seems to be the hip thing to do?
Do you Blog to keep up with everyone else who is blogging?

I'd seriously like to know.

As a journalist, I guess I should be worried about bloggers. Everyone keeps saying they are the most imminent threat to established journalists everywhere...but when I TRY to read blogs, I find an endless series of undocumented claims and counter-claims, or back-and-forth arguments.

Barring that, I find an endless list of articles of "what I did today" on blog sites. Is that supposed to be interesting?

I'm not pointing fingers or denigrating anyone or anything. I just don't get it. Am I turning into an old fogey?

I'm revamping my website, and I guess ultimately, I need to know whether adding a blog is gonna be worth it.

Thanks for reading this far....

Courvo
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

todd ellis · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:03 pm Post subject:

this is not a blog.

obligatory.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Deirdre · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject:

Thank you, Todd.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

KaraEdwards · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:55 pm Post subject:

I can give you a couple of decent reasons to blog...

Mine started as a post-morning-radio-show-outlet. Seriously, I woke up every morning, 5 days a week, (for 11 years) and shared my life and my thoughts with thousands. Post show I needed an 'audience'. Sure, it's considerably smaller, and I don't always have time to keep it up (or sometimes not too much to say)...but it's a good way for the few people who care to keep up with me.

Sometimes I find I have something very useful to say (although few and far between). I've even been known to help a VO or two (newbies mainly) and that's always a good feeling.

Sometimes you get quoted on other blogs, which does help drive traffic to your site.

As far as replacing mainstream journalism...I doubt it. I'd consider blogging to be in addition to other media. Some blogs are very helpful (Bob Souer anyone?) and can point you in new directions. Some are like a glimpse at a private diary and are meant for entertainment.

Blogging is great- if you can keep up with it. It's hard. Right now, my last post was the 16th- I need to think of something clever to write...I know- I'll just put a link to this thread Smile

_________________
Threadjackers local 420

Kara Edwards
http://www.karaedwards.com
kara@karaedwards.com

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:57 pm Post subject:

Dave,

Yes, I blog...pretty much exclusively about voiceover matters. Now and then about something fun that I've done, but most of the time to offer suggestions and guidance to both those who are doing voiceovers and to those looking for voices.

I wish I had time this evening to offer a more thorough response to your questions, but for me this is the bottom line:

In the middle of 2006, my website was seeing an average of about 250 unique visitors a month. At that point, I had been blogging for about a year; but hadn't really put a lot of effort into it. I decided if I was going to do a blog, I would take it seriously. While I've missed some days since, I've tried top post something relevant and, hopefully, interesting every day. As of June 2007 my website is now seeing an average of 650 unique visitors every month. In other words, more than twice as many people are finding me on the Internet now than they were a year ago, through nothing more than a few minutes a day of writing about one of the significant passions of my life: voiceover work.

I hope that helps. As for your question of whether you should blog, my response is: if you going to take it seriously, yes!
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

glittlefield · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject:

So far, to de-rust my writing process. Many moons ago, I used to write a LOT. Like old demo tapes and airchecks, all the stuff I wrote 20 years ago is better off being burnt, but I've been told that I should do it professionally. feh... Like I don't have enough careers to start because of talents my friends said I should use to make a living... Wink

Plus, I can post stuff there that would otherwise be WAY off-topic here. At least I still have a place to share it with everyone.
_________________
Greg Littlefield
VO-BB Member #59

COURVO · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject:

This is great....keep it comin'...

I've been burned by blogs.

Our station website launched a blog and I was one of the featured bloggers. My bosses encouraged all us on-air types to blog. When 6 out of my first 7 blogs got yanked for "content that was incompatible" with the station's website, I got the drift.

Pretty much everything I cared about enough to blog about was considered too opinionated to blog about. Uh, lessee.... I could blog about the weather and traffic.... that was about it.

Now, true... this wasn't a genuine blog, just a highly censored blog... but I'm guessing if I really started blogging about stuff that mattered, it'd get back to my boss and I'd be fired anyway. Heck, they may even see THIS.

Does that bother anyone?....or do you really watch what you say?

DCourvo
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:17 pm Post subject:

Dave,

If it's a big concern, maybe you could ask Deirdre to move this thread to a part of the site where it might not be quite so publicly visible?

No, I just say what I think. I have to admit, when doing some searching the other day, I was stunned to discover a blog directory in which there's an entry about bloggers who work for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association...and what's more I was identified as one of them. (I do work for the BGEA, and I do blog, I just wasn't aware that connection was quite so publicly known!)

In any case, I concentrate my blogging efforts toward the business purpose for which I started the blog and worry not a whit about whether anything I write might get me in hot water with my bosses.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

dhouston67 · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:23 pm Post subject:

_________________
Great Voice. Great Choice. For Voice Talking and stuff.
http://davidhoustonvoice.com
Do That Voice! - The DHV Blog

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:53 pm Post subject:

It's part of Search Engine Optimization. If your blog is discoverable (i.e. has an RSS feed), then your site that links to it will rank higher in the search engines.

Plus pretty much everything Bob said. It's just one more facet of branding, marketing, and getting your name out. Not to mention a way to network with other bloggers in the biz.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:49 am Post subject:

if i were to blog, it would be an outlet for me. i think i wouldn't blog much about VO (bob's got that covered) but would like to share my twisted view of simple things and turn it into the stabby kind of snark that makes me laugh and shrills "irreverence!"

and that's why i don't blog (yet).

courvo, i think blogs are a terrific new(ish) way to spread the word, as it were, though methinks there's no threat to traditional journalism or its writers. there's something a little less savory and a bit more suspect in the undocumented claims/counter-claims/back-and-forth argument blog. pssshaw whatever. i mean, perez hilton may have great impact, but ... perez WHO?

houston, thanks for the savage chickens.

brawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwk!
_________________
sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!

www.d3voiceworks.com

Kasbah · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:13 am Post subject:

Dave-

As a military journalist, and lover of all things 2.0, I have a difficult time having a fair and balanced blog. Currently I maintain two different blogs. One for when I'm doing morning radio, (which I may be doing again when I get to Italy...just found out today) and the other is for me to talk about Citizen Journalism, (what you should be afraid of because everyday news organizations are changing their business models to add this capability) Politics, The War, Music, and anything else that makes me happy. I have to be very careful what I write about as I'm bound by Uncle Sam. I have to be very smart when I write. I once wrote a response on another blog about a General Eder. She is THE Army Public Affairs Officer. She just so happened to come over to Iraq...and guess what??? She wanted to talk to ME! Luckily, I wrote only kind words about her. She is a genious! And that is what I said...in so many words.

As far as your bad expierences with blogs...I'll say this. Blogs are much like TV news. You report on specific topics to get a specific target audience (demographic) to watch. This has a direct impact on who gives your station advertisement revenue. Same is the case with blogs. They are targeted at a specific demographic. If written well, they may even make money. And we all know it is all about $$$$
_________________
Kasbah
http://kasbahradio.blogspot.com/
http://afnbroadcaster.blogspot.com/
http://youdothis.blogspot.com/
http://itastethis.blogspot.com/

jrodriguez315 · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:31 am Post subject:

Assuming you don't want to put up a "here's what I did today" type blog, it can be an excellent way to promote your VO business.

More and more companies use blogging as a marketing tool. It increases visibility, establishes the blogger as an "expert" in their given niche, and as Bob mentioned, can help drive visitors to your site. If done right, you could also provide a valuable service to your readers by sharing your formidable knowledge and expertise with those who are interested.

Also, depending on the subject of your blog, you can use Google Adwords to make a little extra money on it.

Here is an interesting article on Five Reasons to Blog that explains more.

NOTE: I personally don't post to my blog as often as I should but I'm sure it would help me in the ways described above if I did.
_________________
Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog

tackerman · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:32 am Post subject:

Soooo, once we're all blogging, then what do we do? Inoccent

Kasbah · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:36 am Post subject: