In about one month, I am coming up on my 5th year anniversary as an employee of Voice123.

During that time, I worked in several positions from customer service managing, QA, PR, and now community management. I believe after my second year, I began to notice the trends of what takes place online and when. After looking at some recent content posted, emails received, having several discussions with friends, and looking back at my Skype chats with team members since 2007…I can honestly say for sure…

It is not the end of the world for voice overs…It is just summer.

How did I come to this conclusion? Well, I look at everything in “seasons”. There are things said at the exact same time each year, discussing the same exact issue.

This happens for two simple reasons:

• Google search ranking results
• The content created at times when we are concerned over the state of the industry.

Think about the symptoms that come with summer:

• People take vacation
• They get their semi-annual check-ups and appointments for everything from the car to the kids and doctors.
• Companies post less work
• The jobs being posted may be by those struggling voice seekers, who are in the same shoes as struggling voice talent; they are working on becoming established

Given that 84% of the world’s media is produced in North America, the lack of job activity leads to more free time; not easy for a voice over career.

The result?

• Less job traffic and less pay with more competition immediately leads to negative beliefs

The negative beliefs associated with the result:

• “Amateurs must be infesting the market”
• “Websites are killing the industry”
• “The voice talent on websites are simple hacks working for peanuts”

Enter now Google, and the reasons why such beliefs seem so real one day and not the next…

• First, all must accept that online content is forever. If we ever had a bad day, and wrote about it…it is out there.
• When we get upset about something, it becomes a conversation in our head that needs validation of truth.
• When we turn to Google for answers, we will find the topic has been written about before.
• It validates the belief that “There is a problem”.

What does not really help this generated reality is the way Google works because content that is more popular starts showing up higher in searches and becomes easier to find, especially if comments being left in content leads to more engagement. I made a huge mistake in April some years ago, and every year at the same time, it shows up again. What you have is a situation where all of the negative beliefs you read about have become a hot topic, but unfortunately it is simply the end result of an industry “cycle”…not a trend.

What breaks these cycles?

• Rare events such as The Olympics or Elections that offer a large amount of work across all forms of media
• Cycle-breakers such as new technology
• Surprise marketing trends
• Actions of dedicated thought leaders and professionals
• Taking classes or learning some new form of skill related to the industry that addresses a perceived weakness

When these changes come about, one must simply be prepared for it by being flexible in their way of thinking, while staying dedicated to professionalism. It can be tough, and maybe that is the root cause why so many important conventions and Meetups take place at the same time each year…because if we were busier during this time, we would not find a reason to attend them. When we are not busy, we have a need to make sure all will be ok. I make this bold statement not only because of what I have experienced in Voice123, but also because since 1992 I have seen multiple predictions of doom for this industry come and go. The only thing I really saw, however, was that the way people worked and monetized their business was forever changing.

On a final note, this week I took a look back at voice seeker feedback reports, blogs written at the same time each year, voice talent feedback, Skype chats between myself and staff etc…..only to notice that the biggest concern in June is “amateur infestation driving down budgets”. It is a hot topic for this time of year. I do not like referring to people as an “infestation”, but we should all know that sometimes “what we believe is happening” is more so a case of an industry cycle for a particular time of year. In addition, the result of such a belief leads to more experienced professionals getting the majority of voice over work. Why?

I have my beliefs…What are yours? Why do you think this happens in the summer?

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

If you have ever stayed up late to watch an infomercial, the caption “Results Not Typical”, is usually displayed. It is very easy to say about any service like Voice123 or a profession that offers no guarantee of success regardless of the amount of schooling and education, “There is something wrong with it!”, and very easy to find negative online reviews. But what about those, who do not find anything wrong with it, and why do they seem to say very little in online content?

The answer is quite human: We are all competing to work in an amazing industry, and when voice talent discover their own pot of gold, no one should be expected to talk about it. When we are approached by voice talent, who want to tell us how great it has been for them, we wont say no! As you read this Voice123 endorsement by voice coach Deborah Richards and her student, please know they approached me with it after a webinar, and we were just overwhelmed. It also let us know that there is much more going on than meets the eye when you work online, BUT you can see there is still a great deal of effort that goes into being successful. Deborah Richards states…

“I have been a voice over talent for 34 years (since I was 16.. you do the math) but my greatest and most consistent success has come with joining Voice 123. Its given me a chance to build a foundation of regular customers from across the globe. I opened my own commercial studio two years ago and found I didn’t have the time to devote to auditioning. Thanks to the customer base established through Voice 123, I am still billing my regular $3000 to $5000 dollars a month.

As a voice coach, I consider membership to Voice123 a critical tool, as critical as your microphone. My usual process with new voice talent is training them, create the demos, get them on Voice123, and continue to work with them on their auditioning technique. Within a month or two they have booked their first jobs. Then I can go to the agents and get them signed as  proven earners, revenue generators in V/O. That’s led to more than half  of my students being signed with a top agency in their first year.

I have tried other pay-2-play sites, and focused on Voice 123 because its this site that generated the most success, was the most user friendly and produced the range of job fees that best suited me and my students. I have to go now because thanks to the (Voice123) team I have to lay down my audio for my next job.

Deborah Richards at Creative Studios of Atlanta”

Shortly after receiving that email, I was written by one of her students, Aerin Cole…

“I have been using Voice 123 for the past 7-months as virtual agent and don’t know how I could survive this VO life without it? The system is easy to use and understand. I sat in on a webinar yesterday with Steven Lowell yesterday and he seemed very approachable and willing to answer any questions we had. My subscription paid for itself in a couple of months. – Aerin Cole“

Have you ever attended the webinar we do at Voice123? It is helpful!

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

Recently Voice123 did a change to its system in which renewing voice talent would not have SmartCast statistics reset.

We received a great deal of positive feedback about this change by renewing subscribers, but in haste, we did not mention the person responsible, a web developer named Angel Mesías Rendón, out of Bogota, Colombia. He worked with a great deal of customer feedback to improve this issue SmartCast, which had many renewing to Voice123 feeling like they just started using the website…even after 10 years of customer loyalty.

We just wanted to take a moment to show you some faces behind the scenes, too. Websites are interesting because beyond the “Contact Us” page of each site, it is very hard to get to know the people who work for you, or even get to see them. So far, those who have renewed with Voice123 have expressed an appreciation in the change. Angel will be working on more improvements, and given he is quite new to the Voice123 team, would love some feedback from you.

Comments or questions? Please let me know!

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

This article comes to you from Simon Hill, Voice123 voice over talent. He wrote me about an amazing experience he had in a film he did that went to Cannes Film Festival.

He admits, the movie is a bit dark, but he did get to act and voice act in it!

See Like Smoke teaser trailer here.

The point of sharing this is to show what he did to prepare. Simon writes…

“My first short film is playing at the Cannes Film Festival this week in the short film corner. It’s pretty incredible considering this was only supposed to be a resume builder for me! I performed the lead role last summer while enrolled in the full-time acting intensive at Vancouver Acting School. Because of the emotional demand of this film, I employed many different methods of bringing myself into it.  For example, there is a scene where my character Argon confronts his ex business partner for the first time.  Argon already needed to be in an emotional place of brewing hysteria.  Before every take I would run down the block, do 50 push ups, then scream at the top of my lungs and think of a time that paralleled the situation.  Believe me when I say this, I was exhausted after every single day of filming.

Out of nowhere, this little short film I performed in almost a year ago, is now premiering at the biggest film festival in the world.  It’s something I never expected would happen.  But I guess when you work with some amazingly talented people, you can definitely raise your expectations!”

Congrats to him, and let him know your questions or comments!

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

I am writing this today based around an experience that took place with Voice123 & VoiceBunny co-founder Alex Torrenegra, which he writes about in Learning from a failed Endeavor.

Drawing an analogy to his experience, imagine you are a voice actor who will get to interview with the top voice agencies from around the world, and if they take you on board, you will have connections that would have taken years to make on your own…When it comes to growing a web business…this is how I view Endeavor. His experience brought down to earth a simple fact…like a voice actor, web startups experience the same struggles, and rejection is just part of the learning process.

Voice actors and web startups must be…

• Passionate
• Artists (each in their own way)
• Business savvy & tech savvy
• Wise enough to look at a script and have the vision to predict if what they do will lead to a positive outcome. (Keep in mind…two different kinds of “script”)
• A steel gut for rejection
  

  It’s a good thing no matter what

Like a voice actor needing an agent, a web startup needs a VC (Venture Capitalist), and many times both hear the exact same phrase…

“Interesting, I will get back to you”

Argh! Don’t you just hate that? It happens. Does this mean it is time to sit and wait for them to get back to you? No! You have to keep moving forward.

Throughout history, businesses have grown through the process of working with other businesses to collaborate and make something even more amazing that takes on a life of its own aka. goes “viral”. This will not happen by standing still, waiting for others to bring you to where you want to go. Like a voice actor or web startup, there are special “moments” that feel “make or break”. For a voice actor, it may be a chance meeting where they get to audition for many prestigious agents, or meet someone who is a great contact for future work. For a web startup, it may be an experience to work with those who can take a business to the next level.

It is that time when you throw all your cards on the table and say…

“This is who I am. This is what I do, why I do it, and this is what I have built. I would enjoy the opportunity to work with you because it will be equally beneficial…”

(insert a wait for an answer that feels like a life time)

That struggle…to put your art work out there for public approval, and wait for it to be denied or accepted is a daily struggle for any artist, be it voice actors, and case-in-point Alex Torrenegra. There will always be people you would just do anything to work with, and sometimes these people say, “Not interested.” Like a voice actor or web startup, does that mean it is time to take to the Internet and start blasting others for rejecting you because if they rejected you CLEARLY it is a sign of their lack of professionalism? No, not at all. Is it time for assumptions and finger-pointing? No. All of that is counter-productive.

Like a voice actor or web startup, what do you do? Listen to those reasons why people want to work with you, those who do not, and remember what you did when your only feedback was the sound of silence. Then, take a step back from what you experienced and remember these tips:

• “Never give up.”
• “We all do our best until we know better.”
• “Thank people for their feedback because this world is give and take.”
• “Take necessary action to fix what did not work.”

…and no matter what happens…even when your emotions drive you to do so…and you just want to explode…

• “Never take anything personally”

No one likes a sore loser in any field of work. That last one is the hardest part, because like a voice actor, web startups are in a business where if you do not have passion…no one will believe in you, and passion is not proven through words, but through actions that help you arrive at your destination. When that passion is rejected…it is hard to not take it personally. They will believe in you, if you keep showing up and get better each time, but not if you are viewed as a sore loser.

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

Julia Lipman

We receive feedback about Voice123 every single day, and over the years we have gotten to know many of you through email conversations. The best thing about it is getting to hear the honest opinions from voice talent like

you! Last week, Julia Lipman of Voice123 sent us this great email she agreed to share with everyone, and we did keep it real. See if you have the same thoughts!

10 Reasons Why I Enjoy Voice123 by Julia Lipman

1. A wide range of jobs

I have been fortunate enough to book all kinds of jobs through Voice123 including medical narrations, elearning projects, radio and TV commercials, corporate narrations, IVR on-hold messages, non-profit infomercials/web videos, travel videos, instructional videos, audiobooks, the list goes on…..

2. Repeat business

Some of the relationships I have formed with clients I have found or found me through Voice123 are continuing.  I am always thrilled when they come back to me for another project!

3. Non-payment help

I have not forgotten that when a client did not pay me, you and your team (Leo Lopez) got the money for me.  I was so thankful for that.  I tell that story to friends over and over again.  This type of customer service is very personal and very rare!  You were also very helpful when I asked you a follow up question about a particular job I was thinking of auditioning for, but was worried because it was like the under-$50 job I did not get paid for; you provided me with relevant information which helped  me make an informed decision about it.  Recently, I was also grateful for your advice when I was not getting any work (it had been quite a few months) and I was getting disheartened about it.  Since then as I told you I did get a job and since that job I got one more and two more repeat clients.

4. Web site is user friendly

I love the Voice123 web site because when I get an email I can see right away without even opening it what the job is and how much it is paying.  No need to look further if I’m not interested and if I am, it’s so easy to get to the job quickly.  Another thing I like is the job page – the colors, the layout, everything is so easy to see and it’s all on one page, including the script.  I don’t have to open up several folders to get to the job, download links to get the script, etc.  I also love the printable version of the script option!

5. Ability to market through demos/past work

One of the things I like about auditioning is that not only do voice seekers ask for a custom demo, but they also ask for a generic demo.  I think this gives voice talent an opportunity to provide voice seekers with quick and easy access to a demo or sample of their work.  No one has the time to download links you provide them or to go onto your web site to take a listen.  This a great feature.

6. Range of budgets

I like that this is not restricted.  I have done jobs for under $50, for $100, $500 and up.  I used to be afraid of  the “To be defined “category, but I have grown to love it because it gives me a chance to figure out what I think my time is worth and what the voice seeker might pay.  On a recent job “TBD” job I did, I quoted for 2 videos what I thought was high and the voice seeker actually doubled the budget!  I was so shocked but then I realized that there actually are some very caring, professional people out there who don’t want to take advantage of voice talent.  A couple of clients have also thrown in an extra $50 or $100 at the end of the project because they were pleased with the end result.  Pretty amazing!

7. Subscription

A very small thing, but I like that you do not automatically renew subscriptions every year!  BTW, I just renewed my premium subscription.

8.  Networking

I have been lucky to have been referred to other jobs or projects by voice seekers who do not hire me.  Recently, I auditioned for a job and the voice seeker said that I wasn’t chosen but asked if I interested in another project she thought I would be perfect for.  Sometimes voice seekers have gotten back to me and said they will keep me in mind for future projects or that they are sorry I wasn’t chosen, which I think is incredibly nice and thoughtful.  I have also found other voice talent, who posted jobs who have said they will keep me in mind for future projects, and I am doing the same.  This is all just through auditioning.

9. Resources

Finally, I wanted to let you know that I read your manualon line and it’s fabulous!  I have been meaning to read it for a while and finally did.  It has so many useful tips and great advice.  I go back to it frequently.  I also enjoy your posts/emails on specific subjects.

10. Excellent customer service

On a couple of occasions I have had questions and have contacted Voice123 via email or live chat.  I have to say that I am impressed with the quick response I get with email inquiries.  It’s never been more than 24 hours or so when I hear back and often you, Steven, have contacted me directly!  I feel very lucky that I am able to communicate directly with you because that is not always possible in this business.  I find it much better than dealing with different people every time I contact Voice123.  As far as the live chat goes, The Voice 123 team has always been very helpful to me.  Not only have they answered my question, but they often suggest resources or tips I have not thought about.  I recently spoke with Tara Tyler (twice) on the live chat and she was so helpful.  It’s clear that your team really enjoys what they do!

What I would like to see…
If you are looking for feedback on what else I think might be useful, I need help with is quoting for jobs which I’m sure everyone does.  I have looked at the Voice123 rate sheet, but it is too general for me; what would be great is a table/list  of past Voice123 jobs with some of the details in the current job postings like type of project, budget, purpose of recording, length of recording and/or word count to give voice talent a quick reference guide to what other Voice123 jobs have paid.  It’s so difficult unless you can see based on the number of word’s/minutes/type of project (not just general category like regional radio/tv) what might be reasonable.  I started one of my own, but didn’t get very far!  Often when I get an email, I’m scrambling to find past jobs to try to come up with a reasonable fee to fit the client’s budget where it is “to be defined” or a range or whether or not to spend the time to audition.

Thanks to Julia!  Do you have questions comments or feedback?

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

What are you doing Monday night? Voice123 and Edge Studio present Talk With a Pro with Home Studio Master…Dan Lenard! If you have doubts about your home studio setup, or may be just want to ask Dan some questions about equipment and audio…join us!

See more details here!

Dan Lenard contributes to this Voice123 WordPress in the Home Studio Master section. He has been a radio personality, a radio Production Director and Operations Manager, and also a high school Media and Social Studies teacher. He earned his BA in Broadcasting from Buffalo State College in 1980 and then in 2002, an MS in Creative Studies. His experience as a teacher and lecturer on many subjects with his dry sense of humor allows him to explain complex technological voice-over stuff into language anyone can understand.

Dan conducts many webinars on home voice-over topics with VoiceoverXtra. He currently hosts the very popular and acclaimed weekly live webcast “East-West AUDIO Body Shop” with Co-host, home studio engineer, George Whittam, Sunday nights at 9 Eastern Time and 6 pm Pacific.

Great info coming up! We hope you can make it!

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

Coming up with the funds to find voice over work can be a hassle, especially if you hit a slump around the time your Premium Subscription to Voice123 runs out.

Yet, Voice123 is worth it because of these basic facts. Voice123 offers…

1. Increased job growth since 2007

2. Technology that helps you avoid “early bird gets the worm auditioning” (On average Voice123 jobs see 13 auditions)

3. A chance to be in professional company. Your voice seekers love working with voice talent.

…and then…Voice123 offers this at $295/yr USD?  Yes…ouch, BUT we are doing something about it for you!

Voice123 is now offering Group Rates for you and your friends!

Which group rate do you like best?

Group Rate #1  – You and a couple friends…save $300

• Purchase 2 premium subscriptions, get the 3rd one for free.

Group Rate #2 – Those close friends you work with…save $750

• Purchase 5 premium subscriptions, we will add 6-months free on each profile!

Group Rate #3 – Get the crowd together…save $900

• Purchase 10 premium subscriptions, get three premium subscriptions free!

Interested or have a group of voice talent to discuss other possible group rates? Email me at steven@voice123.com!

Need a Voice123 profile? Sign up here

There is plenty of voice over work on Voice123, so we hope buying with a little help from your friends proves to be useful!

*This offer is good beginning May 11th, 2012 and valid to June 30th, 2012.*

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

What is VO Buzz Weekly? Take a look!

We think you will find this info helpful for your voice over career!

About the author

Steven is the Community Manager of Voice123

This Sunday Home Studio Master, Dan Lenard, and George Whittam, owner of Eldorado Recording Services welcome Harlan Hogan! Along with the great recording advice, Harlan is a bringing a surprise of his own.

Please see their website for more info.

The creator of the VO:1-A Harlan Hogan mic will have some special news that all voice talent will find helpful for recording from home.

What exactly? Please join Dan, George, and Harlan to find out!