Episode 412: 5 Tips for Content Creation

One of my students came to me with a question I think a lot of you are sitting with.

They want to make commentary content. Real opinions under their real name. Maybe short form videos, maybe a Substack, maybe pitching some freelance pieces. But they are worried specifically about commercial voiceover. Not that the content would offend anyone. That some brands and higher-ups in production just do not want to work with anyone who reads as too political online, regardless of what the politics are.

That is a very smart distinction. And I want to unpack it honestly.

The Direct Risk Is Lower Than You Think

A creative director is not watching a car commercial and thinking, who is that, let me go look at their TikTok. The odds that someone hears your read, Googles you, finds a heated video from last year, and pulls the job from you is pretty low. That argument is correct.

But that is not really where the risk lives.

Where the Risk Actually Lives

The risk is reputational and relational. The industry is a small space. Agents talk to casting directors, casting directors talk to producers, producers talk to other producers. And the thing that travels through those conversations is not your demo.

It is you. The one-line description of you.

Oh that person? They are so great, super easy in a session. Oh that person? They are so talented, super kind. Oh that person? Yeah, I am not really sure what their deal is, they are kind of a lot online.

That last one. Nobody even had to Google you and you still got filed in a drawer. And you will never know that happened.

It is usually not about what side you are on. It is about how you are doing it. A lot of agents and casting people quietly prefer talent who read as a blank slate. Not because they disagree with you. Because a blank slate is easy. Any brand can project onto it. There is no friction, no extra conversation, no email to the client that has to explain something.

Commercial advertising is one of the most risk-averse businesses on the planet. These are people who will hold twelve meetings about the color of a font.

It Is Not Really Reversible

You can delete posts. You can go quiet for a year. But impressions last. Screenshots exist. The person who filed you in that drawer is not going to check back in six months to see if you have changed.

The question is not will this cost me a job. It is what do I want people to say about me when I am not in the room.

Not All Voiceover Works the Same Way

Commercial wants a blank slate more than anyone. But animation and video games are much more tolerant of public personality. In fact they sometimes want it because it creates a fandom. Audiobooks depend on the genre, but plenty of narrators have public opinions and a following because of those opinions. Indie narrative work, podcasts, documentaries, your own projects, a point of view can actually be an asset. It can be the whole reason someone hires you.

So the first question is what work do you actually want? If your dream is national TV spots for a bank, your content strategy is different than if your dream is narrating climate nonfiction.

Volume and Tone Matter More Than What You Post

A voice actor who sometimes posts a sharp, well-written take on something they care about reads as a person with opinions. Totally normal, kind of refreshing. A voice actor whose entire feed is commentary starts to read as an activist who also happens to do voiceover. Not good or bad. Just a different drawer.

Same goes for tone. Thoughtful reads differently than furious. Curious reads differently than dunking on people. You can hold the exact same opinion and come across as someone a producer wants in a session or someone a producer wants to avoid, purely on delivery. Which, if you think about it, is literally our job.

What Cringe Actually Is

Cringe is not having opinions. Cringe is not being earnest. Cringe is not posting about your kid, your dog, your divorce, or your garden. Cringe is a mismatch.

It shows up in three ways. The first is unprocessed. Posting from inside the experience instead of the other side of it. There is a big difference between sharing a hard experience and live streaming your nervous system. The first builds connection. The second makes people want to look away.

The second is performative. The post exists so people will see you having an opinion, not because you have anything to add. The audience can feel that.

The third is engagement bait. The rage post, the hot take you do not actually believe in, the thing you know will get comments. It might grow your numbers. But followers are not clients. A thousand people arguing in your comments does not equal one producer who trusts you. Growth and reputation are not the same scoreboard.

Five Practical Content Tips

Build content buckets. Pick three to five topics you actually want to talk about. Every idea goes into a bucket. Buckets keep you from becoming one thing by accident and let you see the mixture of content you are making.

Decide your ratio. Give yourself some loose structure. Maybe mostly voiceover, some personal, a little passion topic. Post on some kind of rhythm so your feed reflects what you decided and not what you felt at 1am.

Match the platform to the message. TikTok is loud and fast and very public. Substack is slower with room for nuance. A small private account is different again. You do not have to choose between your values and your career. You can put your sharpest commentary somewhere with room for it and keep your professional facing feed more balanced. That is not hiding. That is choosing the right room.

Give it a day. If you are angry or fired up, write it, film it, save it, and look at it tomorrow. If you still want to post it, post it. Most of the time you will edit it into something better. Sometimes you will realize it was a journal entry and not a post.

Know what you want to be known for. Before you post anything, finish this sentence. When people think of me I want them to think blank. Then ask whether this post moves you toward that sentence or away from it. That is the whole filter.

The Bottom Line

Every post is a choice about where you want to be filed. You get to make that choice on purpose instead of letting the algorithm or your worst Tuesday make it for you.

Have the opinions. Share the hard stuff. Just pick the room, pick the volume, and know what you want people to say about you when you are not there.

Want to Keep the Conversation Going?

The written version of today's tips is on The Actor's Index on Substack. And if you have a post sitting in your drafts that you are not sure about, reach out. Let's strategize together. mandy@actingbusinessbootcamp.com.