Voice123 SmartCast Turning One!

I had many questions last year about what SmartCast would be and why it was being implemented. I started at Voice123 on July 2nd, 2007 as an employee/talent. I needed to know if it would work for talents, and make Voice123 the best collection of voice over talents on the market. If so, how? Before I knew it, the weekend came... July 7th, 2007, and many long hours and work weeks later, I see now, compared to a year ago, that Voice123 has the best talents in the online marketplace. Furthermore, through all of the changes, the implementation of SmartCast has played a major role in making Voice123 users a stronger voice over community.

Before SmartCast, and what the old Voice123 left behind on July 6th, 2007:

• Over 2000 auditions submitted daily, that only 20% were listened to by the voice seeker.
  
• Less than 20% of the Voice123 community of talents were booking work. Less talents were working, and therefore, not renewing their subscription.
• The Voice123 customer service team required more industry knowledge.
  
• Talent-voice producers had no idea if their auditions were even heard, or if the voice seeker was no longer listening to auditions. This led to the theory that 'it's a waste of time to submit, if 20 people have already submitted for a project.'
  
• This theory is a thing of the past for Voice123, though it still holds true for many other casting services.
  
• Overall... Voice123 left behind the 'unknown' factor.
  

Voice123 SmartCast... One year later:

• Over 60% of premium subscribers booked work during each quarter in the past 12 months.
• Our Voice Seekers receive auditions in 60 minutes or less when a project is posted between the hours of 7AM and 12AM EST.
• Last month, over 75% of the demos were either opened or reviewed by voice seekers.
• Last month, voice seekers showed a satisfaction rating as high as 95% with Voice123 talents they hired, which means they will be back to offer more opportunities in the future via SmartCast or direct invites!
  
• Our customer service team is now part of the industry, required to stay in training for the voice over industry while working for Voice123. These efforts were put in place to better assist our customers on a knowledgeable business level, both with Voice123 SmartCast and the voice over industry.
  
• We also can give you answers to questions on topics other sites dare not touch, like what to do when you are not paid.
  
• Talent-voice producers can now see when or when not to audition, as well as, what happens to audition submissions.
  
• Talent-voice producers have more access to in-depth project details to see if auditioning is worth the time and effort.
  
• Voice seekers get talents suited for their requests.
  
• Voice seeker efforts, including new interface changes to the project form and audition inbox, is forever increasing communication and education between talents & voice seekers.
• Voice seekers that can provide quality jobs and higher budgets are returning to Voice123.
• The knowledge provided to our team has allowed us to give free Thursday trainings on Voice123 that achieve effective results for an online voice over career. Just ask anyone who has attended.
  

The 'unknown' factor is no more with Voice123, and as scary as the truth can sometimes be, you have the information to see exactly what is going on, so you can make effective business decisions. If you are not sure how to find it, come to a free Thursday Training on how to use Voice123 more effectively. (We will work on making copies of this training available for all who cannot attend.)

The collaboration of all efforts from Alex, Tania, the product development team of SmartCast, talents, voice seekers, and the entire Voice123 team has succeeded in keeping Voice123 the most widely-known, largest and most innovative voice over marketplace. We are committed to updating Voice123 to make it a more complete business tool for the future!

We thank everyone for sticking with Voice123's SmartCast over the past year, and look forward to many successful years to come.

Thank you as always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

What Would You Like to Know?

It is coming up on my one-year anniversary with Voice123! I began working here last year on July 2nd. Being a voice over talent, in the past year I have seen many things occur in the online industry that some days left me scratching my head, and other days thinking, 'If people only knew, this would help them with their careers.'

That said, I am aware lately that I have been writing about many of the things I have noticed, and some days I am at a loss for what to write about. I will gladly write about the topics mentioned to me.

So I ask you... What would you like to know about the online industry or Voice123?

Think hard about this one. We are asked questions all the time at Voice123 like, 'How do I get started?' or 'I have a great voice. What do I do next?'. There are plenty of Voice123 Coaches out there to handle that request. Ask me what you would like to hear about, if you think it could assist your career now that you have already started on Voice123, or even help you use Voice123 more effectively.

I really look forward to hearing back from many of you! Just send me your comments by clicking the "Post a Comment" link below.


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

Red Flags in Project Details

One of the most frequent requests I get from talents is,'I am not sure about this project. What can I do about it?'. Project details sometimes contain what I consider to be 'red flags' that let you know a project may be more trouble than it is worth. From my time as a talent with Voice123, and now being an employee, I feel I should share what I call 'red flags' with you to give you more confidence when looking at each project.

Voice123 SmartCast has indeed made it easier for me to find them. Compared to the old Voice123, the current version 2.5 gives you statistics to make educated choices on what projects may be more trouble than they are worth. Although we screen all voice seekers, there are always those projects posted that raise concern, and require a little more thought before getting involved. Below are possible 'red flags' you can spot, as well as, questions and solutions on how to address them:

Will a voice seeker listen to my demo?

• Simply go into Project Details.
• Scroll to the bottom of the link 'Click here to learn more about this voice seeker'.
• Look at the info behind the seeker and see if they have a history of listening to demos.
• If you find that the person has a low percentage of opening demos, this maybe someone you are wasting time on. Please note: Even if the seeker deletes demos, the voice seeker interface requires that you must still first open it. They will see your budget quote, profile, and remarks.
• Voice123 still remains the only voice over casting site, that provides you with the info as to what actually happened to your demo after submission.

Is this an experienced voice seeker?

• Look at Team Comments at the bottom of each project.
• See how many projects the person has posted, and again, how many auditions they listen to on average. Note the seeker ID, too, as many re-post projects.
• Watch for spelling and script Writing!
• Are there numerous bad spelling errors? Is the script written poorly?
• Of course, being a creative industry, scripts are written poorly on purpose sometimes, but the way the project description is written can give a clue as to whether it was intended.

Did Voice123 make contact with the voice seeker?

• Scroll to the bottom of the project details.
• Indicated there is how we have made contact with the voice seeker.
• We do have many returning voice seekers, but there are new voice seekers everyday. If you see a first-time user of Voice123, make sure we have contacted them by looking at the 'Team Comments'. We always call a voice seeker and make contact, especially when they first use Voice123.

Bad Gut Feelings?

• Use the Internet and do your own research!
• Learn for yourself, do not simply listen to what everyone says because they are running their own business, like you, but different from yours.
• If you spot anything strange, which creates that nagging gut feeling, remember that gut feelings are formed through your formal education of life experience. A gut feeling comes from sensing something is just not right. Do not ignore it! Research it!
• If you do your own research, and still think something is wrong, make note of what happened, and pass on it. If you wish to report concerns, before and AFTER the project is complete, at the very top of the project details page there is a link to let us know what has happened, or what if you have found to be inaccurate!

As I was writing this, I began to think, 'Wow, this sounds like a lot to consider!' However, I must never forget that the main purpose of Voice123 is to not only provide job opportunities, but to give voice over talents the unique opportunity to be their own business, finance manager, and self-director, by giving them the tools to make educated decisions from 'knowing the score'.

We certainly hope this helps, and if you have any suggestions on future topics you would like to know more about, please let us know! Do not forget that I do Voice123 trainings every Thursday at 1PM EST! All the details can be found in our Voice123 Resource Center.

Thank you as always!


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

Voice Seeker Q&A: Larry Maizlish

Hello again!

Voice Seekers play a vital role in the community of Voice123 by bringing job opportunities to the community of Talent-Voice Producers. Recently, I asked one of our most popular Voice Seekers on Voice123, Larry Maizlish from Voicesoncall, if he would give the Voice123 community some feedback on certain questions I have been asked in the past about auditioning.

Q: What are some things you would like to hear more?
A: More variety in read (copy or script) interpretations. This is different from a variety of voices. Many talents seem to read copy in the same style. It is almost like they are imitating a style they have heard on TV or radio. Talents should recognize each person has their own personality and interpretation. It is that unique personality that should be reflected in the read interpretation. As I often tell talents..."Bring your own unique interpretation to the table every time".

This is what sets one audition out from all the others. While the current trend in commercial reads is more of a conversational nature, it is still the unique personality and interpretation of the talent that makes their voice a better fit for a particular script than some other voice. Talents can increase their chances of getting jobs by just being themselves and interpreting the copy in their own unique way.

Q: What is something you feel the online industry could WITHOUT?
A: There are pros and cons to everything. The online voice talent industry is no exception. With the fairly low cost of basic recording equipment, it seems that almost anyone can call themselves a voice talent. While that may be true, talents could do themselves and the overall industry a service by realizing that being a good voice talent requires work. The industry could use less of the talents who are not willing to work on their performance skills.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so there will always be first time voice talents. If those talents can get involved with performance training and coaching early on in their voice career, everyone would benefit as the overall quality of voice performances is increased. Quality talents book more jobs. Clients end up with a better product and are happier with the result. The entire industry benefits and the bar is raised.

Q: What do you find the most positive aspect of casting online?
A: Casting online opens up many possibilities, the best one being the choice of talent voices is very large. With the current advancing online technologies, it is rare that we actually need the talent in front of us, in our studio. Still, we mostly want a variety of choices in order to make a selection. Online casting allows us to put together those different voice choices for review of each project.

Q: Where do you see this online industry in 10 years?
A: The online world is exploding for many industries and the voice business is no exception. This not only gives the clients access to more and more talents, the growth in the online voiceover business give talents more exposure to get their names and demos out in front of clients. The numbers of projects available to online talents is growing and will continue to grow at an increasing rate over the next few years. The key is not the quantity of the jobs, it is really the quality of the talent. The numbers of jobs are increasing, now. The talents who will benefit are those with performance skills and versatility. The people who regularly work on expanding their skills are the ones who will benefit from the increased job growth.

I personally would like to thank Larry Maizlish Voicesoncall for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions. Since April of 2007, Larry Maizlish has posted over 150 projects and direct invites. He is also a premium subscriber to Voice123 as a talent-voice producer. Voice123 hopes this insight has provided some new insight or ideas for working online.

Thank you as always!

Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

Demo Tagging: UPDATE!

Hello!

The following is giving you some updates on the recently released Demo Tagging feature, and how well it is going!

It is going great! The response has been overwhelming, over 4350 demos have been tagged in just three days! We are very happy with the results so far, and thank all that have participated.

We have heard some questions over the weekend, and I hope you will read my responses to them, as I know that many of you are curious about this feature.

Q: Where is the demo tagging feature?
A: If you have not found it yet, it is a link/graphic that appears after you submit an audition. IMPORTANT: The tags other people have given to your demos will not appear in your profile page, tags will be used mainly to help voice seekers find you, and you will have full control over what tags truly represent your voice.

Q: What is demo tagging?
A: One or two words describing your demo, therefore making it easier to find in search engines and the upcoming search feature, in the future when someone does a search. It is not a critique to your demo, just a way of describing it.

Q: Am I only helping the competition by demo tagging?
A: NO, not at all. I must emphasize again, the TALENT, will be able to remove anything you dislike once the feature is done with this initial phase. It will only be three keywords anyway.

Q: Can't somebody just leave a whole bunch of words I do not know about or leave me negative tags if they are my competition?
A: NO, not at all. We are monitoring this community experiment. Also, you can only leave three keywords. Second, this is only being offered to Premium subscribers. Third, if someone does leave negative tags, YOU CAN REMOVE THEM BEFORE THE TAGS ARE ACTUALLY USED. Lastly, the process is anonymous.

Q: Will this affect how SmartCast invites me to projects?
A: No.

Q: Who sees this info coming in, and what if I do not want my demo tagged?
A: Right now, only Voice123 sees it. Talents will have control to remove tags soon enough, yet I think you would be missing out on a great opportunity to be found much easier. If you wish to skip the process, you may be putting a restriction on how well you can be found. I do training every Thursday at 1PM EST to explain how Voice123 works, and the people I have helped find work easier because they understand what works. They do it all on their own.

Q: Why even bother?
A: Voice123's tools put all the decisions in YOUR hands, the talents. We strive to make this the best online marketing tool for voice overs, and this stage of the game is somewhat educational, safe, but IN NO WAY has an effect on the current status of your profile.

Q: I still do not like that it is 'anonymous'.
A: Understood, that is why YOU can change any tag you dislike in the future. You never know, someone might tag you something you find brilliant.

Q: Is this something you think you can safely learn from, especially if you can remove the tags?
A: YES!!! Voice seekers wish to contact talents easier and directly many times, and we are in the beginning stages of creating something new for the upcoming search feature release. In the future, one of those voice seekers will be able to find you quickly and easily because of your demo tags... that YOU will control.

We still do have a contest going on to give away five free 1-year subscriptions. We hope you can participate!

Q: Why do all of this, if you know it will create concern?
A: I see no reason for concern because Voice123 hired a talent, speaks with talents all the time, both online and offline, and researches the very best out there to directly assist in making the online experience profitable at Voice123. This experiment will last for a few weeks, we will be announcing the winners, you will be able to remove the tags you don't agree with, and then voice seekers will be able to find you easier with the tags and keywords you do agree with.

Despite what you may hear or read on other websites that may have fumbled their attempts in the past, there has been a large recent increase in the amount of projects posted on Voice123, which means...

The Premium Talents of Voice123 are wanted!

The proof is in the Voice Over Project Directory.

Just last week alone, over 200 SmartCast projects were posted on Voice123... More than 200 projects in nine days for our talents, not to mention direct invites to non-SmartCast projects in Voice123.

No predictions from us. Only truth and direction. Your decisions make Voice123 the best out there, and we thank you as always for supporting us. I am a talent and I believe the company that works weekends and nights to help others get work is the company I will stick with always. I firmly believe in this positive development of Voice123 to assist in talents getting work.

I hope to see all of you soon at a training, if you have any questions! It is my favorite hour of the week!

Thank you for your time and I hope this helps,


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

New Premium Talent Feature: Demo Tags!

Voice123 is proud to introduce a new Premium Talent feature: Demo Tags!

This is currently a community experiment, giving talents the unique opportunity to anonymously tag a description of another talent's demo, also anonymous.

Why 'tag' someone else's demo?

Plain and simple... 'Tagging a demo' is a very serious and effective online marketing tool used to increase the exposure of a talent's demo on Voice123.

How do you tag a demo?

Don't worry! It is very easy! 'Tagging' is a simple anonymous process in which talent#1 adds a keyword to talent#2's voice over demo. This is currently used on other websites, so anyone familiar with this type of feature knows it is a great way to increase your exposure on a website, in this case Voice123! You will have the opportunity to tag one or more demos right after you upload an audition or reply to a message to someone else in the marketplace. Tagging of demos is completely optional.

Eventually, when the initial tagging is complete, a future update will allow the owners of the tagged demos to remove the tags they do not agree with, yet will not know who actually left the tag originally. The process is safe, anonymous, and helpful in learning how to increase your online exposure.

Voice123 will monitor this new feature, and will determine if it is working, while exploring new ways on how to better improve the Voice123 experience for all users!

Important note!

We will be rewarding free one-year subscriptions to FIVE Voice123 users during this process! We encourage all of you to take full advantage of this opportunity! The more tagging you do, the higher your chances are of winning a FREE one-year subscription!

At Voice123, we strive to provide you the best service and exposure possible for marketing yourself, and this is a very popular tool we believe you can all benefit from.

We are always looking to keep Voice123 above the cutting edge of the online voice over industry.

Thank you so much!

Juan Salcedo
General Manager

Demo Tagging Update: there is a more recent blog posting with some Q&A about this exciting feature, you can check it here:
http://voice123team.blogspot.com/2008/06/demo-tagging-update.html

 

Background Noise: Did you hear something?

As a Quality Assurance Manager for Voice123, and a voice over talent, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of my experience from hearing demos uploaded onto Voice123 for profiles, and most importantly, auditions!

I have listened to over 100,000 demos to date working for Voice123, to date. I have heard just about everyone and everything, and there is no doubt in my mind that if your recording lacks quality, it hurts your chances of being hired. One of the easiest things to fix about your recording is something so small, yet a talent's ear may not always pick it up... Background Noise! It can just kill a job opportunity! As talent-voice producers, our only way to show what we do best is to send out quality recordings of our auditions to voice seekers.

Voice seekers have written me about how wonderful many demos are, but do stop to tell me occasionally about the demos that had strange noises in the background (excluding watermarks). There is no doubt that the voice seeker will judge our ability to perform the final job based on what they hear in the audition. I hope the info below can give you insight to make the very best of every opportunity!

Common types of background noise:

• Car keys in pocket or car horn outside.


• Talent holding paper in hand, and moving with it.


• Printers shutting off and on during recording.


• Humming caused by cables touching metal, or the computer.


• A child calling out or a dog barking.


• Air conditioner or computer fan running in the background.


• Clicking in the mouth, if the person has a dry mouth.


• Popping in the microphone for every plosive used.


• Music, in the attempt to sound as if it is part of the spot, or failed attempts at watermarking in which the watermark becomes the star of the script.

Whenever reading copy, you have to create the image with your voice as to what you are selling, so the background cannot be there because that noise becomes part of the image. For example, I heard someone doing a very nice read for a medical supply company, and right after she started, I heard a printer adjust its paper tray. The voice over talent kept on going, as if it never happened, and all I could think is, 'Does she know her printer needs more paper?' The thought process took me away from what I was supposed to be learning about buying.

There are ways to stop background noise, some obvious, some not so obvious. Obviously, you need a quiet area, but to block sound, you can also try some of the following things (in order of what is most expensive to least):

• Professionally built studio with sound-proofing.


• Hanging moving blankets in a closed space, even if in a closet.


• Recording while sitting in a car. You would be surprised how well it works. (Just make sure your local neighborhood watch is aware of what you are doing. ha! )


• Making sure the microphone pattern is not directed towards any sound.


• Making sure the microphone cable runs to the source of recording without touching metal or any other sources of interference.

Other recommendations:

• Listen to your demo, not for what you say or how you sound, but for the noise around it.


• Listen as many times as possible, and then one more time. What else do you hear, other than yourself reading copy?


• If you edit through programs like Pro Tools or Audacity, edit out the dead air, since most noise is heard when we are not talking. Use websites and forums to play your demos for other people, and see what they hear.


• A second or third opinion is always best. If they say they hear things you did not, do not take it personally. Just learn from it.


• Remember that you are putting your voice out there as a product, and therefore it should be represented at its very best!

Recording something is simple, but the question to be considered... is it 'industry standard'? Would your favorite singer record an album, and sell it, if it was recorded poorly? Most likely not. There is always information on the Internet to assist you in soundproofing your recordings. Do the research before recording. Your voice is the product, and it is worth the very best.


Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

How Do You 'Solve For X' ?

Are you ever curious as to why you have not booked work, even though you did your very best? One of the toughest things to deal with in this industry is simply 'not knowing why you did not book a job'.

This is even more difficult to deal with when the reaction to your work was very positive. In the regular business world, you are occasionally given a courtesy phone call or email to tell you, 'Thanks, but we are going with someone else right now. We will keep your resume on file.'

However, the creative business world does not always offer that consideration, if ever at all. The online world does not even give you a not-so-charming, 'NEXT!'. The very first agent I freelanced with once told me, after I lost out in a commercial in the final callback, was 'Steven! Talent-shhhmalent! Ya' did ya' best! That's all ya' can do!'.

What she referred to in her own NYC-savvy way is, 'Not knowing' is not easy to accept, but the truth is that people lose out on jobs for all sorts of reasons, usually for all the reasons we never expected or just do not sound right to us because we did everything that was asked of us. What was missing? What was the missing X factor? And where do you begin when 'solving for X'?

Understanding the other side of the equation helps. Several factors might play a part:

• The client was given what they asked for perfectly... and then realized they no longer liked it, or became bored with it.
  
• The client wanted someone who sounded like someone they knew, but did not know how to describe it well enough. Therefore, the person was almost hired by accident for sounding like someone else.
• Something, maybe a new experience, and/or a new epiphany caused this client to change his/her creative direction.
  

The creative industry is subjective, and therefore, people are booked for all the wrong reasons that we would never expect. This does not mean that the client does not recognize talent. It just meant they were not the right fit for the part. For that reason, you really can never explain to someone 'Why didn't I get the job?', on a case by case basis.

Unless you want to hear strange things like, 'That man sounded more like my sister than you did.', you waste your time worrying about it. There is a creative team and idea behind every project. They come to talents to fill that need, and we are expected to know what they want all the time. That is impossible, but you can increase your odds.

• Find coaches that help your voice grow as a product, and challenge you to become a better voice over talent. Attend classes to try new things, practice, and research things you may want to try in the future. Classes are a great safety net to try new ideas, fail miserably, and no harm was done.
• Set goals for yourself, and treat your voice as a 'business' you are looking to sell. Figure out where you are now, and where you want to be in the future with your career. Just what types of voice overs can you do now, and what do you have to work on?
• Market yourself efficiently. No one will know to come find you, if they do not know you exist. Learn what it means to market yourself online. It is very different from what we all did to get an agent's or casting director's attention.
• Positive, supportive voice over friends & family, who understand what you do, to get professional and productive, unbiased opinions on your work. Explore the reasons for their feedback, and never take it personally.
• Always make sure you are doing your best at all times behind the mic, remain flexible, while knowing just how far you will go, and what you will accept.

Let's just say, you have been doing all this already... and even then, you may not sound like the client's friend's brother he met a party that told this funny joke... the whole inspiration behind the voice the client wanted.

Solving for 'X'? It may just be the classic combination of hard work, a 'never say die' attitude towards doing something you love, and learning just how far you should go to achieve your goals.



Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

It's a Small, Small Online World...

Question/Answer chat with the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards voice and Voice123 Talent: September Day Leach

The online world is smaller, and more competitive, so the need to be positive with each other online is of extreme importance all the time! You never know who you will cross paths with because what goes online, stays there! For me, there is a sense of excitement knowing that I had met a particular Voice123 talent in the beginning stages of my experiences with Voice123, first as a talent, and then reconnecting as a Voice123 team-member, with September Day Leach.

Not too long ago, I had the chance to contact her again. I asked her about a special job she won at Voice123, that brought me back in contact with her last November:

Q: Do you mind telling Voice123 how we first came in contact?
A: I believe you found my profile on here and asked how you could become a successful VO artist :)

Q: Wait a minute! I thought you contacted my MySpace page shortly after I became a premium member in 2006, waaaay before I worked here, and asked me if I belong to any casting sites! No?
A: LOL!! I wondered if you would catch that ;) Of course, I contacted you wanting to pick your brain about the industry and you turned me on to getting a membership :)

Q: So... how long have you been in the voice over business?
A: I started working at the local radio station when I was 16, writing and voicing commercials. But I never thought there would be a career in it so I just dabbled here and there until 2005. That was the year I decided to really make a go of it and I've been full time ever since 2006.

Q: Great! I found out you were with Voice123 last year after news you had booked something big. What very interesting job did you book last year through Voice123?
A: The MTV VMAs :) (2007 MTV Video Music Awards)

Q: How were you hired? Privately or SmartCast?
A: SmartCast!

Q: Where did you record your audition, and what took place when the seeker showed interest?
A: I recorded the audition from my home studio. Once the seeker showed interest, it was about a month more of auditions.

Q: A month! What were the re-auditions like and how many? I personally know how re-auditions make people nervous that work will be stolen.
A: The re-auditions. Oh! I must've done at least 20 or so. Sexy, not-as-sexy, robotic, smooth, hyper, friendly, showgirl, energetic, emphasis on this word, emphasis on that word, faster, slower. It was terribly nerve-wracking knowing that I could get bumped out of the running any day. I do remember one of the associate producers telling me that for the longest time I was known as "42" because they weren't allowed to know our names until they settled on a voice! In the end, I was told I got it a week before the show, lost it later that day. Got it again the next day. Went in to record the stuff at a studio in downtown Atlanta 4 days before the show. Found out they didn't like it that night. Was told later that night that I would be flying to Vegas the next day. It was a serious whirlwind!

Q: Wow! What was that like, traveling for a voice over job?
A: Exciting, scary, thrilling. I'd traveled to VO jobs before, but mostly just to the downtown area (Atlanta). Flying across the country to a city that I had never been to before? (Las Vegas) Well, that was plain awesome. Taking a limo to a glamorous hotel, staying in the coolest rock 'n roll room ever, having access to every area backstage... I still get goosebumps thinking about it :)

Q: Tell us what it was like to record this job?
A: Well, I was in a studio part of the time. I had 2 sessions at a studio in Las Vegas where we recorded everything. I was on stand-by in a trailer during the broadcast just in case something happened.

Q: Did you see anyone you did not expect to see, or are a fan of, while at the Awards?
A: I met Christian Norman, the president of MTV Networks. She sat in on my sessions. I had no clue who she was at the time, which was probably a good thing! But I was amazed that she was a) in Las Vegas and b) at my session. Other than that, I chatted with Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen, Chris Daughtry, Rhianna, Chris Brown, and Fall Out Boy.

Q: Any word on going back?
A: Not yet :) I know I made a good impression so I'm hoping that it was good enough to last a whole year!

Q: How important has auditioning online been to your voice over career?
A: Extremely. I landed the gig of a lifetime in the first 2 years of my career all because of online auditioning. Even if I don't get invited back to announce again, the rewards of having that credit on my resume can't be calculated.

Q: I noticed you use a nickname. What nickname do you like to go by?
A: Ember

Q: Thanks so much for your time!
A: My pleasure!

All of Voice123 thanks her for taking the time out to share this experience with us, as we found that it could be helpful to everyone!

Funny thing... I have never met September Day Leach, yet I am in a position now of 'Voice123 team member', it is always great to come across an online friend again with positive news to share, and it was recently great to hear she continues to do well with Voice123!

We look forward to future interviews with users of Voice123!



Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

QA at Voice123 - Insider Look

What Makes Voice123 The Right Choice

Hello, if we have not been introduced I am Steven Lowell, Quality Assurance Manager at Voice123. I am also a talent with the site, and a former user of many other online sites. Alex Torrenegra hired me from 'the front lines' back in July 2007, to help translate the needs of users at Voice123. Recently, after consulting a professional Voice123 talent on how to set up his profile, this very satisfied talent expressed the need for all talents to know certain things we are doing because well... many do not know about it. Please read below. I feel this is a long overdue email about why Voice123 talents stay with us.

Consultations!
Since November 2007, I have been giving free consultations in the forms of Thursday Trainings once a week at 1PM (USA ET), and in serious cases, personal consultations (by appointment). I use statistics provided by SmartCast, and some tips from being a talent at Voice123 and a voice talent. We understand the Internet & Online Marketing is still new to many, and we want to help. Thankfully, SmartCast gives straight numbers and facts that tell the story of how a talent and voice seeker behave on Voice123, how they have connected, and the success of the booking.

Consultations started after feedback from talents showed concern of the 'auto-renew' subscription policy of some websites... A way to take advantage of a customer's inability to cancel payments or their mistakes to not remember what they are subscribed to online. After all, not everyone knows how to cancel payments, nor should they be charged a subscription fee while attempting to figure it out. The last thing you want to worry about is, 'Did they charge me again? I do not remember!'. I feel that the last people on this planet, who should be nickel and dimed out of money, are talents. We chose the hardest profession on the planet! I feel everyone should know how to use their profile, which includes knowing how to cancel it.

Voice123 lets the time lapse, yet advises talents that their subscriptions will run out. We leave the choice up to you, the talent, to renew.

If you have a personal situation that causes you to miss long periods of time on your subscription, let us know! We can help with that, too!


Effective solutions for everyone!
Since starting in July 2007, using statistics from SmartCast, as well as my personal experience, we have helped over 15 talents and voice seekers with something that has not been offered before... Helping someone get paid! Although we do not get involved in disputes, my personal methods learned from my days on Wall St. have been working, and has created some long overdue trust within the Voice123 community. I personally understand the fear of 'not knowing if you will get paid', and know how it can deter someone from enjoying Voice123.

We are also making an aggressive campaign to give all users of Voice123 the empathy and business sense they need, as well as, serving the customer by giving them truth and facts they were not understanding before!

Questions about Demo & Profile Quality Assurance, after you have created a profile or auditioned
Demos: We listen to ALL your demos with highly trained ears. If I hear something, I say something to you. Yet, the ultimate judge of what to use on the profile is YOU. This is professional courtesy of sharing an opinion that may assist talents and voice seekers i.e. The Voice123 community. To date, our staff has listened to over two million auditions internationally, so they also have an understanding of various industry cultures and standards.

Profiles: Profiles (including new version 2.5's 'demo descriptions') are the most important tool to receiving SmartCast invites. Many know this and in doing QA I find, there are many who try to trump Voice123 by stuffing words, or by putting web links everywhere in the My Voice Details section, but Google engineers caught onto that long ago. We let you know when there is a problem. We have to because the results of this practice are short-lived. Before the Internet, it was not wise to lie on resumes because it could be easily proven and hurt someone's reputation. Sure there is the 'creative spin', but do not misrepresent yourself on your profile. I do not see why that should ever change. Now that you can list someone as spam or get websites banned from search engines, this is very important for us to protect you and your profiles.

Projects approved...Who, how, what, where & when, why?

Who?

• Since implementing version 2.0 SmartCast, and more recently version 2.5, an update of parameters... more and more seekers are posting with us every day! The voice seekers who left us some time ago because of complaints with the old system, are now coming back! This year alone, we have processed and approved over 3600 SmartCast projects, not to mention thousands of non-SmartCast projects and private invitations to other projects.
• We know who is being booked because they tell the QA Manager (me) all about how great the talents at Voice123 are and how they are coming back. I have even shared some of their testimonials with you personally, via our Customer Service system.
• We know many of our talents are voice seekers as well, and they have experienced the process, even if posting a personal project.

How?

• To me, it is a no-brainer… and not very different from how things have always been done at Voice123. The difference with Voice123, proudly enough, is what I can provide as a QA Manager. Alex knew, when he hired me, about my experience in operations and fraud investigation. (In NYC, you are a talent, actor, and whatever else gets you 'benefits', when the work is slow.)
• How do we do it? Easy… We call the seeker. We get his/her info. We talk to them about how to use SmartCast because they have to learn how it works as well. We advise when things are missing from a project. We email them too.
• After much debate, still a great deal of projects go through because SmartCast has taught talents of the red flags of auditioning for the wrong project, and we provide you with useful stats like:
• Do they listen to auditions? (Click voice seeker details at the bottom of Project Details)
• Are they posting for the first time? (See Team Comments on Project Details)
• Do they know how to write a script or project description? (You simply have to see how someone writes the original description and script to judge if they are professional. It is just too easy to make something 'look professional' on the Internet)

What?

• The types of projects approved on Voice123 vary in nature because this is an international website, growing everyday.
• Take a look at our Project Directory, and see all the SmartCast projects for yourself!

Where & When?

• Voice123 approves projects from 7AM - 12AM (USA ET), Monday through Friday, and yes... we work weekends! We approve projects from 10am - 6pm (USA ET) on Saturday & Sunday.
• Being a talent myself, and having a dedicated team like we do, we check to see how Voice123 is doing, even on our days off. Many talents know that if there is money to be earned, then you have to audition... and that means we work while you audition. Take a look at the various ways to reach us when you have problems using Voice123: http://voice123.com/doc/support.html

Why?
A question I have heard is: "Steven, you are in charge of 'Quality'. Why was this project approved?" The answer to this question you should read carefully:

• Voice123 SmartCast is set up to give talents the ability to choose what they want to audition for when invited to the project. We also understand that there are many veterans out there. I also live in New York and take classes from them. For that reason, as a Quality Assurance Manager it is not my job to block legit work from talents who have paid to use Voice123. Veterans know the score, and the more they show it, the more Voice123 will evolve, and we will be here to listen. The current Voice123 has budget filters for talents, so they can make the choice to be their own manager, self-director, and sound engineer, and charge what they know they are worth. Ultimately, I have seen that voice seekers know ‘you get what you pay for’, and the lower the budget quote, the lower the expectations. This one change, seemingly so small, has had voice seekers raising budgets because everyone wants a great voice over talent! Your choices have shaped it!
• I will not lie to you, and tell you that some real strange projects come through Voice123. This is a symptom of the youth of online casting, but therein lies the burning question a QA Manager struggles with:
• Am I in charge of deciding what job opportunities to block from the very people who pay to use Voice123? The answer is 'No'. I trust talents know themselves, and know what they will and will not audition for if invited. I was an agent's assistant, so I know a problem when I see it. As a QA Manager, I monitor any possible issues. My responsibility is to protect and facilitate the users of the marketplace, not take away job opportunities from talents. I trust that statistics from SmartCast will allow me to research problems to find solutions.
• Low budgets... well... the ultimate power of change lies in what the talent will accept because everyone has the choice to say 'No, thank you'. The fact is that people use the Internet for lower prices, speed, and ease of use. The practice of setting minimums or price ranges for voice seekers is a mistake. For example, if you were a seeker and had $2,000 to spend, but you see a lower price already offered as a possibility, and you know people will audition anyway, it is human nature that you will try to save money first. Even if there was a price range, you now have it in writing that you are agreeing that the price quote may change at anytime because the voice seeker chose an indefinite number. The higher number is eye-candy while the lower number may be the intended usage. This is something I experienced back in 2006. Always get it in writing in your favor.
• We have found through SmartCast, and emails from professional talents to me, that they get paid higher budgets when they are allowed to negotiate themselves anyway.
• Even still, we have so many great statistics in place to help someone become a better online marketer such as the "My Stats Page" - Personal stats showing a talent to talent comparison, so you can gauge when you are doing too much or too little, when something is not working out.

Finally... This past April broke our record for SmartCast projects posted in April 2008 with over 755 projects in 30 Days, not to mention a month with religious observances!

I know many of us have spoken before, and I will always give my best to assist you as a talent, and give information that serves the customer, instead of just plain old 'customer service'.

Now being behind the scenes, I have the unique opportunity to help Voice123 make a difference for everyone involved in this process. I always look forward to hearing from all of you. Please send us your thoughts, feedback, and comments below!

Thanks for reading and see you around Voice123!



Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager

PS: Please do not forget that I do hold a training session on how to use Voice123.com every Thursday at 1PM (USA ET), click here for details on how to join the training. If you think you would like to see a different time, let us know!