So what does a station do when a song has reached a high percentage on the burn scale? What happens to that song? 

It gets shelved.

"But I was still getting a few conversions out of it!"

Maybe you were...but are you willing to risk alienating the majority of your customers at the sake of a few that still love you for your tired old strategy? 

I plead with you...put your song on the shelf. Come up with another idea and implement it immediately. Your customers will become more intrigued by the new approach and you will more than likely regain customers you have lost. This doesn't mean you can't bring back the strategy to use in the future (distant future, not near). Just put it on the shelf for the time being. 

Always revise your strategy. Always be willing to re-evaluate what you are doing, and how you can do it better.

Are your customers tired of your song? Are you feeling the burn?

Have you reached a point in your heart, where you ask yourself what is your motivation for what you're doing? Why do you own your own business? Why do you work the job you work? It can't simply be about money. If it is simply about money, chances are you aren't happy or feel totally fulfilled.

Do you love what you do? Or...are you just biding your time, collecting a paycheck, and trying to maintain your sanity during your free time?

I started this business because I have always enjoyed the creative process. I have always enjoyed performance. I needed an outlet and Defining Voice Productions provides that for me. The neat little perk, in addition to those main reasons, is that I get paid for doing it.

Here's a suggestion,  if you aren't doing what you love to do...if you aren't doing what you feel is your gift in life...make the bold step to move on. The economy is terrible, I realize that. However, opportunities still exist for you to be happy and feel fulfilled. Perhaps you're simply using the economy as an excuse. Maybe you are giving yourself a reason to not take a step that's scary to take.

One of my favorite quotes is this...

"Nothing that's worth having in this world comes easy."

Are you willing to fight for what you want, or will you be content in your comfort zone?

Earlier this week, I came to that realization again that I needed some help. You see I lost a headlamp on my car. It just burned out...nothing more, so I figured that I would be able to run by the local auto parts store, pick up a new bulb and fix it myself. Right?

Wrong. Although, I got fairly far in the process I continued to get stuck on one final step. For whatever reason, I just could not complete the job. That's when I realized I was over my head. Looking in the car manual it was made clear to me if I didn't do everything correctly I could damage my car and break something serious.

Finally, after some thought I took the vehicle to my trusted auto mechanic. Twenty minutes later, I was out the door with a fixed headlamp.

What does any of this have to do with the price of tea in China? It's simple...really. You see we are all blessed with talents and abilities. We should do our best to stay within those boundaries. I'm not saying you shouldn't expand your horizons and learn how to do new things...but there are some things you should simply stay away from.

When I decided it was time to relaunch DefiningVoice.com I knew that I didn't have the experience to write code, design new logos, redesign and relaunch a new website. So...I went out and I found someone that I trusted that specialized in doing just this type of work. (iSite Multimedia) Why? Because my customers deserved the best I could offer. As much as my ego would have loved to do all of this on my own and claim the credit, I knew my limits.

Do your customers deserve the very best you have to offer? What tasks are you doing for your business that you should hire out? We all have them. Right now, I can think of a few things that I'm doing for my business that I should ask for help with. None of us are immune.

I've been in the radio business for more than ten years now and can tell you that there is a successful formula to a great commercial or advertisement. I have also seen the faulty formula.

The faulty formula, more times than not, involves clients that want to step behind the mic and do their own work. Sometimes it works. Most of the time it doesn't.

What causes it to not work?

• Bad audio quality
• Incorrect music selections
• Difficult to understand accents
• Improper copy reading style

Those are just a few reasons. Most important, though, is knowing your limits. Are you currently voicing your own ebooks, commercials, and sales pages? Are you currently creating your own videos? I'm not necessarily saying that you should give it up and hire me. (Although that would be nice) Just evaluate what you're doing and where your skill set lies. 

Our customers deserve our very best, and obviously our very best will, ideally, translate into bigger sales. Whatever you may need help in accomplishing for your business, seek it.

If I can be of any help to you in Defining Your Message please let me know. I would be more than happy to help.

I haven't had an opportunity yet, to share with everyone how the whole process went down with the Chicago Cubs Public Address Announcer position, and why I turned down the audition at Wrigley Field this past Monday.

The Chicago Cubs, as you might have heard, were looking for a new Public Address Announcer for the upcoming baseball season. A Public Address announcer is responsible for the in stadium announcements including promotions, announcing the batters, and etc. I applied for the job and submitted my audition video. 

During the process I never watched one single video from all of my competitors.  Why?  Because to me...it didn't matter. I felt comfortable enough in what I did, that it didn't matter to me what the other people were like. I didn't want to put myself in a position where I was feeling too good or too bad about the product that I put out there.

A week ago, around 6pm eastern, I received an email from the Cubs congratulating me on being a finalist. Exciting, huh? I thought so too. The representative from the Cubs asked me to call him to discuss the next step of the audition process and the compensation for the job. 

I did so, and after speaking with him, my family and friends I decided to turn the opportunity down. Some of you might very well think I'm crazy for turning down the chance of working with a Major League Baseball team, but I feel very comfortable in the decision I made.

Without delving too deep in the specifics, let me just say I love my home base of South Carolina. I have a great job and spend my weekends at the ballpark calling game for the National Champion Gamecocks. The compensation for the Cubs job wasn't great, and the logistics of getting to Chicago in two days was almost impossible for a job I knew I wouldn't take if it was offered to me.

So here I am, back where I was when I started the process. Right? 

No. Not at all. I can't tell you how much fun the video was to make. Not to mention the exposure it provided for Defining Voice Productions. It also reminded me how many people out there support me, and that's always a blessing. 

If I had to pass along any wisdom from this, it would be this...

If you see something that you want to do, no matter how silly it might look or seem to you and the outside world, do it. Do it for fun. Do it because you want to experience something different. Do it so you'll have a story to tell. Do it because you might actually reach your dream.

I'd rather regret the things I've done, than regret not doing something I wanted to.

The demos and media page now features descriptions of each project along with the demo, so you can get a better idea of why each project needed the special touch and attention it received. This blog will be updated frequently, so please check back or add us to your RSS feed. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well.

If you have any questions about DefiningVoice.com or Defining Voice Productions please use the “Contact Will” page. I look forward to hearing from you!