We recently connected with Jodi Krangle and have shared our conversation below.
Jodi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I’ve been a full time voice actor for over 15 years now but I’ve often seen the voice – and the sound – of a production, pushed to the backburner or thought of last. When that happens, it’s often to the detriment of the project. People will forgive bad video but they won’t forgive bad sound. I noticed a lot of my colleagues and those who were hiring us, were frustrated by how little attention sound was paid when it came to creating a successful project. And as I thought more about this, I decided I wanted to create a podcast that would raise all boats for those of us who work in sound. When it comes right down to it, we buy based on emotions, not logic. SOUND reaches our emotions. It makes us feel. That’s the emotional context we need to relate to a project – to truly connect with it once it’s put out into the world. So my podcast, Audio Branding: The Hidden Gem of Marketing, interviews those people who work in sound – advertisers, marketers, healthcare providers, scientists, musicians & public speakers – anyone who can explain to those listening, just how important sound really is in both our buying decisions and our daily lives.
Jodi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I was growing up, my parents had sing-a-long time, not story time. Sound – and in particular, using my voice – has always been a part of my life.
Back in 1995-96, I volunteered my time at the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) reading magazines on to tape (it really was reel to reel tape at the time!). I didn’t really have any idea what voice over was until then. Afterwards, it took a few years before I could dedicate my time to learning more about it. I did SEO and Internet Marketing for many years (I was an early adopter of the Internet and had a website resource for songwriters back in 1995 that was around until 2016 called The Muse’s Muse) before I decided to give full time voice over a shot. It took about two and a half years before I was making a living, but it was well worth the effort. I still get coaching on a regular basis. They don’t call it voice ACTING for nothing. Even when it comes to commercials, you have to believe what it is you’re saying. If YOU don’t believe it, no one else is going to!
I also decided early on that I wasn’t interested in animation, video games or audio books (even though I’m a media geek from way back!). I wanted to learn the ins and outs of advertising, marketing and branding as it pertained to sound. The psychology behind it fascinated me – and still does. Primarily, I provide voice overs for commercials, corporate narrations for websites and internal presentations, award shows, on hold messaging and have done some narration for TV shows (a season and a half of Buying & Selling on HGTV was one of the early ones) as well as documentary work and intros & outros for podcasts.
In 2018, I won a SOVAS award (the voice over community’s Oscar). And in both 2020 & 2021, my podcast, Audio Branding: The Hidden Gem of Marketing was nominated for a SOVAS. I started the weekly podcast in November of 2019 and over 175 episodes have been created so far with no end in sight. There’s always more to learn about how sound influences our buying decisions and our daily lives. I consider it a privilege to interview some of the top people in the field of advertising, marketing, branding, science, music & public speaking.
Because of the podcast, I was invited to be a jury member for the International Sound Awards this year (2023) along with a very knowledgeable and talented panel.
There’s more information about my voice over services here: https://voiceoversandvocals.com
and about the podcast, here: https://audiobrandingpodcast.com
I also hold Clubhouse discussions about various aspects of sound (usually – check the schedule!) – every Wednesday and Thursday at 2pm Eastern in my club, called The Power of Sound. I know a lot of people have moved on from Clubhouse, but I still find it a very good way to keep in contact with my podcast listeners and colleagues in the world of sound.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
It may sound silly, but I find that thanking people when they pay a bill – or reminding them when a bill is due – keeps me top of mind. Having a good invoicing system may seem like a simple thing and a lot of people may still be relying on a Word document to send their invoicing, but an online system is very much worth investing in. Not only can it act as a decent CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to keep you updated on what money you’re owed and who your clients are, but you can set it to send out reminders on a regular basis (15 days, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, etc). Letting clients know when you’ll be out of the office/recording studio is a good idea too. And it’s funny but I always get a huge influx of work whenever I’m about to take a vacation. I’m sure I’m not the only one. ;)
Ultimately though, it’s about being a reliable partner to your client. I return emails FAST. (Sometimes within minutes.) That’s the thing that most of my clients remark on the most. That I’m reachable – and quick to respond.
If they know that you’ll be there when you say you will be – that you’ll complete work with both efficiency and excellence, they’ll keep coming back. It’s not about sending gifts or remembering a birthday (though that might help occasionally. ;) ). It’s about being the best at what you do and making their job easier in the process. My clients know they can depend on me to make them look good. That’s what keeps them coming back.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I mentioned that I first heard about voice overs in 1995-96. But I didn’t actually start voice over as a career until 2007. From 1995 until then, I was doing Internet Marketing & SEO on this new thing called the Internet for clients all over the world. I’d been fascinated by the Internet since it started and while working on my own pet project, a songwriting resource called The Muse’s Muse, I learned how to promote something I was proud of on a budget of zero. I put that to use for my clients. It was part art and part science. At the time, there were a lot of different search engines and each of them had their unique foibles. But when 2007 rolled around, Google was the only game in town. Really, the only search engine worth paying attention to. And I got BORED.
Things tend to happen when I’m bored. I teach myself a new skill, I take on new projects, I PIVOT. This was one of those times. I knew it was time to start looking into voice overs since I’d put that off for a while. And since I was already self-employed, it was basically just a focus switch. One day I was doing Internet Marketing & SEO, and the next day, I was doing voice overs.
The problem was that I thought, as a musician (I’ve been a singer all my life), I thought I could just do it without any training. I was SO WRONG. My first demos were abysmal. It took having them eviscerated on a message board (those were still around in 2007-2008) to smarten me up. I asked the person who had been the most vocal about how bad they were, what I should do next? And he very kindly took me under his wing and taught me that this was ACTING. That I needed to connect somehow with what I was reading so that others would be believe what I was saying. I had known that a script has a musicality to it, but I hadn’t understood the ACTING aspect of voice acting until that moment. From then on though, I knew the key was coaching. I make sure to get coaching on a regular basis as a result.
And that pivot has led to a truly rewarding career that I’ve kept up for 15 years and intend to keep on doing for at least another 15 more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://voiceoversandvocals.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodikrangle/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodikrangle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
- Other: Audio Branding Podcast: https://audiobrandingpodcast.com Clubhouse – The Power of Sound: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-power-of-sound
Image Credits
I own the right to use all the images provided (though of course, I don’t own the logos of my clients – so if you’d rather not use that “Happy Clients” graphic, I totally understand).