Ever wonder why you aren’t getting as many invites as you’d like? I get emails everyday from people who are puzzled (or furious) as to why they weren’t invited to certain auditions.
Often times, the reason goes back to what you have (or do not have) in your profile.
First, let me say that having your profile sections filled out completely and properly is absolutely required. If you have areas that are blank, you will get overlooked.
Here are 2 very common profile mistakes that cause talent to get overlooked by SmartCast:
1. “Pre-, Post- and Production Services.”
This one is huge. Please, make sure you have this section filled out properly. If not, you will get overlooked.
Log into your account and click on “My Profile.” Then click on “My Voice Details.”
Scroll down to “Pre-, Post- and Production Services.” Have you left some things unchecked here? This section is so important. Are you proficient at editing? Most users of Voice123 are. If so, you must place a checkmark next to “I can deliver edited and finished voice tracks.” A large majority of auditions require this. If you do not have this checked, SmartCast assumes you can’t do it and doesn’t invite you. This one simple detail makes all the difference in the world!
Also under this section is “I can provide voice direction.” Many people leave this unchecked because they’re unsure of what it means. Voice direction means that you know how to interpret a script and make decisions on how something should be read. It also means that, if need be, you can direct other talent. This area should be checked if this is something you are comfortable doing.
2. Filters
This is very common. In fact, it is so common, that even if you have been on the site for years, I urge you to look at this anyways.
When you have your “My Voice Details” page open, scroll all the way down to the very bottom. You will see an area labeled “Voice123 SmartCast Matching Filters.”
This allows you to opt out of receiving certain invites. This might be helpful if you do not want to be invited to jobs that are considered low budget. To opt out, you simply place a checkmark next to each one that you do NOT want to receive. If you want to be invited to everything, you would leave all of these unchecked.
People get confused here and mistakenly place a check mark next to each one, thinking they are opting themselves IN, when they have mistakenly opted themselves OUT! Please look at this on your profile and make sure you have it set correctly.
Also, many people opt out of receiving invites that are “Flexible.” Flexible just means that the seeker presents a price range instead of a fixed budget. This does not mean the job is low budget. In fact, many jobs marked flexible are high budget. So be sure you have not opted out of receiving invites to “Flexible” jobs. If you have, you are passing up higher paying auditions, guaranteed.
Check these things and make sure the rest of your profile is in good shape!
About the author
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Michelle Falzon is a Voice Over Talent and a Voice123 Casting Ninja |
Jill Melancon
February 5, 2013
all good advice–thanks michelle!
Michelle Falzon
February 5, 2013
You are welcome, Jill! You would be surprised at how many people do not have these things marked in their profile. I cannot stress how important it is to have these correctly marked. It makes all the difference in the world.
Dave Wallace
February 5, 2013
Good advice on all counts. I would also add that nobody should be afraid of “To Be Defined,” either. It’s an option to opt out of projects that list that as their budget, but I recommend against doing that. In the interest of not sounding hypocritical, I’ll admit that for a long time I turned down projects with the “To Be Defined,” label. Not sure why, in hindsight. Maybe it was just that I got this vibe that I’d be dealing with a client that wasn’t completely forthcoming or honest, because they weren’t outright saying what their budget would be.
I’m sure there are clients like that, but ever since I started auditioning for “To Be Defined” projects, I’ve found that that vibe was mostly misplaced and uncalled for. Often all it means is that client isn’t sure what to charge, and is looking for a couple different options. I’ve booked a good number of jobs that had “To Be Defined,” listed as their budget, and the clients ended up willing to pay me SAG-AFTRA scale (the minimum fee that I can work for as a SAG-AFTRA actor).
All that to say, to anybody else reading this…don’t shy away from “To Be Defined”!
Cicely Caremia
February 5, 2013
The tone of your advice speaks down to the talent and suggests that it is the shortcomings of the talent and there is nothing wrong with Smartcast. Rather than pumping out reasons why Smartcast is ignoring me why not take the approach “Here are some tips that will enhance your oportunities to be found by Smartcast”.
Michelle Falzon
February 5, 2013
Thank you for the comments, Dave! I absolutely agree with you. I used to do the same thing regarding TBD. I think it also comes down to not knowing what figure the voice seeker has in their head and wondering if it is worth the time to audition for someone who might reject you based on your quote. But, like you, I gave it a try a few times and was (usually) pretty happy with the results. Don’t be afraid of “To Be Defined”!
Michelle Falzon
February 5, 2013
Hi Cicely,
I, in no way, meant to speak down to anyone. In fact, the very purpose of my post is to help talent get more opportunities. If you do not have the proper items checked in your profile, how can SmartCast match you correctly to job postings? These 2 items are overlooked a lot and the last thing I want is for people to miss out on gigs because of a small detail in their profile.