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The majority of both casting directors and voiceover artists will tell you that Voice123 is the best voiceover casting platform on the internet today. The company is fair, transparent, and honest…which is more that can be said about certain other, similar platforms (I’ll get into that in another blog someday). Every day, dozens of people are casting for voiceover on Voice123.
While many of those jobs are being posted by people who have been using the site for a while, there are also people posting jobs on the site for the first time every day.
So, as someone new to finding the perfect voice for your project on Voice123, how do you know how to most effectively do so? What are the things you should avoid, and what are things which you absolutely must include?
I get more audition invitations from Voice123 every day than I can possibly submit for (and I audition A LOT). So I need to be selective about which auditions are worth my time. For me there are hard red flags and soft red flags, but also jobs that I know I should drop whatever I’m doing and start auditioning for right away. So if you want the best talent auditioning for your project, you have to know the things that voice actors like myself are looking for in project specs.
Here are 5 ways to effectively cast for voiceover on Voice123 (from a voiceover artist’s perspective).
Be Clear About Your Budget
Voice123 gives you the option to either state your specific budget, give the highest budget you’re willing to offer, or simply say you’re “looking for a quote.”
When you state your specific budget for a project, you’re being upfront about the amount of money you have to spend for the voiceover. This is attractive to voiceover artists, and will get you more quality auditions. When you say you’re willing to pay up to a certain amount, most savvy voice actors will quote that amount. Of course, you’ll get some whose approach is to offer a low rate in an effort to be competitive, but these are typically people who are new, or don’t know better.
The worst option for you to select is “looking for a quote.” This tells voiceover artists that the cost is more important to you than the quality, and many who see this will just skip right over it. Sure, you’ll still get plenty of auditions. After all, there are thousands of voice actors on the platform. But if you want quality auditions for your project, be specific about what you have for a budget.
Know What Age and Gender You’re Looking For
I know that if I’m auditioning for a project that’s looking for a male adult voice, I’m going up against all of the other male adults on the platform. But if I audition for a project that doesn’t know what age and gender they want, I’m going up against a lot more people…and my chances are going way down. So I know I’m better off skipping ones like this, so I have more time to audition for jobs in which they know what they’re looking for.
Listen to the Auditions You Receive
I’m not sure if voice buyers are aware of this, but on the voice actor side, it clearly shows the percentage of auditions you’ve actually listened to for all of the projects you’ve posted. If you only bother listening to half, or even 75% of your auditions, voice actors like me are not going to waste our time putting together an audition that may or may not even be listened to.
Give at Least Some Sort of Direction
To be a successful voice actor, it’s important to master as many different delivery styles as you can. The more diverse your skillset, the more opportunities you’ll be able to compete for. So if a project has no direction whatsoever, how do I know which tool to reach for in my toolbox? If it’s up to me to guess, and there’s a good chance I won’t guess correctly, it’s just not worth auditioning for.
Specify the Length of the Recording
You would think this one would be obvious. But you’d be amazed at the amount of projects I see that say the length of the recording is “to be determined.” How am I supposed to know if your budget aligns with my rates, if I don’t know how long it’s going to be. It’s like going to a carpet store and saying, “I need carpet for my home.” “Ok, what size rooms are we talking?” “Well, I don’t know. But here’s what I’m willing to pay.” Or even worse, “I don’t know the size of my rooms, and I don’t know how much money I have.”
If that’s the case, you should probably have all of that worked out before you step foot in the carpet store.
I hope you’ve found it helpful to see some advice for posting a project on Voice123, from the perspective of the talent. My apologies if it came off as a rant, that’s not my intent. I just want you to know what it takes to get the best quality voice actor to audition for your project, so that it can be a success.
I love Voice123, and I want it to always be the best experience for both voiceover artists and clients!
Don’t have time to post a project on Voice123, and you need a voiceover right now? BOOK ME NOW!