First, the most important step:
Always focus what you type in the form, on what you want (NOT what you DO NOT want). Putting in phrases stating what you do not want may lead to voice-over talent matching your request to record the opposite of what you need.
Second, the more details the better:
Talents, by trade, are creative professionals who follow what you ask them to do. They will do what you ask, if you put the details in there. The talent profiles on Voice123 are very detailed, and even includes additional business services that they offer as talent-voice producers. They will perform what you ask them to read, but if there is little description, words spelled incorrectly, or if proper pronunciations are left out, you may leave them scratching their heads. Using words to describe the read you want will help talents give you a creative effective audition, with proper pronunciations for difficult or uncommon words. All of this cuts down on time, and re-reads.
Try using words like real, smooth, friendly, conversational etc. Tell talents anything that comes to mind that inspired the script. Example:
"The read needs to sound like a friendly guy who has just won a new car. It has to be real, like he is from New York City."
In that small phrase, I used several words like New York City, friendly, real, and also set up the situation at hand! Asking for sound-a-likes is helpful, but it may get you many reads that sound like someone else, and therefore, it may be an impersonation of how someone reads & the emotion is lost. Even in simple things like 'IVR phone messages', you may want to set the mood for the people who call your office, so let them know what your office is like. Example:
"I need a phone message for my company. Our office sells life insurance, so the read should reflect an office with calm and caring people."
Third, always be upfront about fees and requirements:
From experience, Voice123 has seen more productive results when someone posts a job and lets talents know how much they will be paid ahead of time, what they must do when hired, or when production will begin. If you do not know, give as much info as possible as to your situation. We know that sometimes things change, but the most professional talents are more inclined to audition & be more flexible when more budget and requirement details provided. Being upfront about where the project is at in terms of budget and production leaves a talent confident in doing business with you.
Above all, Voice123 has trained industry professionals on Live Chat for you, as well as, in their administrative staff, and a customer service phone and email support. If you are ever curious or need help in creating a project, or do not know what to ask for, we can help!
Voice123 has made great strides in the past two years to make sure that posting a project is easier and gets great results! If you are ready for the quickest, most effective voice casting experience, post a free project and experience it for yourself!
Hope to see you soon,
Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager
Did you know that posting a project through Voice123 SmartCast gets you auditions in one hour or less? Voice123 has the experience to do things the right way the first time and faster than any other casting alternative!