The
Internet is revolutionizing the
voice-over business. Today quality
remote recording of voiceovers can be
done virtually anywhere. With a PC, mic,
and Internet connection, almost anyone
can set up shop as a voice talent.
History of the Revolution
A few years ago, a remote session
entailed a voice over talent standing in
a commercial production house studio,
say, in L.A., taking direction over the
telephone through a "phone patch" from,
say, New York City.
The next innovation in remote recording
was the satellite link. It sounds great
on either end, but it's very expensive,
so it's suited only for sessions with
the biggest budgets and most expensive
talents.
A few years after the satellite link
came the more economical ISDN, which
stands for Integrated Services Digital
Network. ISDN is a digital hookup via
the telephone system. Each location is
connected to the other through a piece
of hardware called a "codec." An ISDN
hookup is preferred by agencies and
clients with budgets large enough to
accommodate the additional cost of
recording an out-of-market voice over
artist.
The latest, and, so far, most liberating
technology available to voice over
talents is the now ubiquitous .mp3 file,
the same file type used for swapping
songs over the 'Net. A voice talent
anywhere in the world can set up a home
studio and be in business. The talent
records the voiceover, with direction
via phone patch, if desired by the
client, into a PC equipped with simple
audio editing software. Next an .mp3
file is created and then sent as an
email attachment to the agency and/or
client. No expensive satellite or ISDN
linkups. No commercial production
facility. Simply put: no middleman.
Is this a good thing? Not entirely. The
home VO studio explosion can be likened
to the desktop publishing frenzy of 15
years ago. Just because you have a
powerful printing press in a box on your
desk doesn't mean you're automatically
going to produce coherent, well-designed
publicatioTns. Everyone thought they
could buy PageMaker, print some business
cards and letterhead, and, voila, an
instant living publishing newsletters.
Of course, the vast majority of these
desktop publishing newbies discovered it
takes more than technology to succeed.
First and foremost, it takes talent,
training, and experience to use the
tool, the software, effectively, and,
most important, profitably.
With that caveat out of the way, and
assuming you have the chops to make a go
of your home voice-over business, let's
look at how the Internet also has
revolutionized promotion of voice over
talents.
Drumming up business
Before the home studio, voiceover
artists had to go to studios to record.
Promotion included distributing your
demo on cassette or CD to production
houses, ad agencies, talent agents, and
casting agents; making phone calls;
sending reminder cards with your latest
credits; sending thank you gifts to
clients at holiday time; and networking
with anyone and everyone. Actually, to
be successful, you still have to do all
of those things, but now you have
additional promotional opportunities via
the World Wide Web.
So, where to start? First, put up a
website. Design it yourself or hire a
site designer. www.magicInet.com is a
new hosting service specializing in
helping voice actors and other
performers get their website on-line.
What should you put on your website? The
most important function of your site is
to feature your demos. It also should
highlight your credits, contact info,
and bio. The best way to learn about
voice-over website design is to look at
voice talent sites. Do a search for
keywords, e.g. voiceovers, voice overs,
voice over talent, voice over artists,
and any other search terms you can think
of and see what other talents have done.
If you're designing your own site,
subscribe to a couple of search engine
optimization email newsletters, e.g.
WebProNews and SiteProNews. They'll give
you lots of helpful design info and help
you "optimize" your site, so you get
high placement in search engines.
OK. You have your website up and hummin'.
Now, be sure to put your website's
address on anything and everything you
mail to prospective clients: you demos,
stationery, business cards, reminder
cards, etc. If you still have reams of
stationery left, then just include the
website address in the letters you type
and print. For all those demos, business
cards, and reminder cards still sitting
on your shelf, buy some labels, print
your website address on them, and stick
'em on.
Caveat Emptor!
There are plenty of places on the World
Wide Web to promote your voice over
services, both free and for a fee--BUT
BE CAREFUL! Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)
is the operative phrase. Here are some
free places to place a link to your
website:
http://www.voiceartist.com/,
http://www.radio411.com/addlink.htm,
http://www.starsnsites.com/voice/index.html,
http://audioworld.com/
As for paying for to listed with an
on-line voice talent site, be sure the
site is legitimate. Unfortunately, like
so many other things that start off
well, a few bad apples begin turning up.
Before you pony up any dough, be sure to
speak/write to other talent listed on
the site to see if the site has actually
gotten them any work. Here are a few
legitimate fee-based websites:
www.mktmania.com, www.voice123.com,
www.gotvoices.com, www.1212.com,
www.voicefinder.biz,
www.voiceoverselect.com,
www.interactivevoices.com,
www.commercialvoices.com
In addition to fee-for-inclusion
websites, there are fee-for-inclusion
CDs, which are distributed to ad
agencies, production houses, talent
agents, radio and TV stations, etc.
Again, CAVEAT EMPTOR! There are scam
artists who have discovered that
voice-over people can be very eager to
promote their services. These scammers
offer CD demos that, well, either never
get made or sent. They sure take your
money, though. So, be careful. Make sure
any company you deal with is reputable.
Ask for references. If it's a start-up
operation, wait until the first CD is
sent out and is in circulation for a
while. Then call some of the
participants and see if they got any
work out of it. Here two reputable CD
demo services:
http://www.tmcentury.com/?products/HitDisc/hdemo.htm,
http://www.vo-usa.com/contact.htm If you
know of any other reputable CD demo
services, then please email me, pdrew@portone.com,
and I'll add it to my list and this
article.
Groups and forums
There are a lot of voice over related
groups and forums on the Web. Go to
Yahoo Groups and type in voice over,
voiceovers, voice over talent, voice
over artist, etc., and you'll find many
groups where you can drop in and learn
from others. Participate if you'd like,
but remember, anything you post in these
chat rooms stays there pretty much for
life. If you might regret saying
something, then keep your fingers away
from the keyboard.
Marketing vs. talent
You may be the greatest voice talent on
the planet, but, if no one knows who you
are, well, then that's wasted talent.
So, get out there and promote and make
your business a success.
©Peter
Drew
Peter
Drew, a freelance voice-over talent and
copywriter/producer with decades of
experience, is heard on radio and
television stations, corporate
presentations, web sites, and
messages-on-hold across America and
countries around the world. To send an
email regarding this article, please
visit Peter Drew Voiceovers at
http://www.peterdrewvo.com/
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