Talent User Guide: Lin Parkin

2012
Lin Parkin
Customer Service Manager
support@voices.com
Voices.com
Talent User Guide
The Complete How-To Guide For Voice Talent Members of Voices.com
2
Service & Support
North America 1-888-359-3472
International +1-519-858-5660
Email support@voices.com
Web http://www.voices.com
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
1. Joining Voices.com
2. Navigating Your Account
3. Creating Your Prole
4. Showcasing Your Demos
5. Replying To Jobs
6. Receiving Job Offers
7. Reviewing Your Messages
8. Participating In The Community
9. Going For It
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Congratulations on making the decision to join the #1 voice-over marketplace,
Voices.com. Ready to get started? Lets go!
Learning About Voices.com
More than just a marketplace, Voices.com is the premiere destination for quality,
professional voice-over and audio production services. As a talent member, youll
feel right at home using our award-winning web service. Weve designed it with you
and your needs in mind. Our website will be a practical and enjoyable part of your
voice-over operations and promotional activities.
Experiencing First-Class Service
When you work with Voices.com, youll receive the best that the industry has to
offer in customer service, technology, hundreds of voice-over job opportunities per
month, and a wealth of industry resources.
Creating Your Account
Signing up for a membership at Voices.com is easy. There are paid subscription
options with unlimited service as well as free, basic accounts to help you meet your
goals. Within minutes you could be auditioning for voice-over jobs!
http://www.voices.com/talent/plans_and_pricing
1. JOINING VOICES.COM
3
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
My Account
My Account is the landing page when you sign in to your account at Voices.com. It
is the headquarters for managing all of the activities you do at Voices.com. You will
find links to edit your profile information, upload an image, and demos. You will be
able to view how many times your demos have been listened to, and how many
times theyve been favorited. You can also find links to manage your jobs,
payments, and inbox messages.
Account Details
The Account Details area houses your membership type, membership options, and
the type of services included with your membership. You will find numerous helpful
links including access to eBooks, podcasts and our library of articles. There are
also links to our Frequently Asked Questions and access to customer service and
support.
Billing Preferences
Your membership status, registration date, credit card information and billing
address are all stored under your Billing Preferences. You can upgrade your
membership, put in a cancellation request and select your preferred method of
receiving SurePay payments.
Email Preferences
Under Preferences, you can opt to be automatically logged in upon visiting the
Voices.com website, the kind of email you receive from our team (plain text or
HTML) and budget ranges for Job Notifications.
Edit Password
You can make changes to your password in this area of your account. Simply enter
a new password, confirm and hit save.
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
2. NAVIGATING YOUR ACCOUNT
Your Profile is your resume of work and your personal advertisement in our
marketplace. Visitors and potential clients can learn about you, your experience,
and the services you offer. They can view your profile, listen to your demos, read
your ratings and reviews and request a quote from you.
Your profile also determines how jobs are filtered to you. This is based upon
settings such as languages, gender, skill categories, age ranges, union affiliation,
budget ranges, and demo tags.
So, be sure your profile is 100% complete!
We've made that really easy for you! All you need to do is login to your account
and click Edit Profile. Lets go through each section in detail now.
Uploading an Image
You can upload a photo of yourself or an image that represents your business. If
you upload a photo of yourself it is ideal to use a professional headshot. This will
represent your voice-over services in the best light and help you present a
professional, polished image. For best results, upload a square image with equal
dimensions.
To upload your picture, it needs to be saved to your computer as a .gif., .jpeg or .jpg
file.
1. Once logged in to your account, click Profile. Hover your mouse over the
placeholder image. Click on the words "Change"
2. Browse your computer for your image file. Select it. Click open.
3. Click the Save Changes button.
The file should now appear on your profile. If it does not load, you may need to
change the file format or you may need to size down your image in order for it to
upload properly.
5
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
3. CREATING YOUR PROFILE
Contact Info
Be sure to fill out all of your contact information so that we can reach you when
necessary. The only details publicly displayed are your name, city, State/Province,
and Country.
Highlights
The Highlights portion of your profile is where youll write a brief description about
your voice and your capabilities. Try to weave in descriptive key-words that apply to
your voice so that your profile will come up in key-word related searches.
Examples: announcer, authoritative, caring, conversational, fatherly, motherly,
funny, girl/guy next door, warm, urban.
Gender
This fairly self-explanatory. Select your gender and you will be notified of jobs
matching your gender and those who want to hear from both male and female
talent.
Languages
Select your first language and then select all other languages which you fluently
speak. There are often different dialects of any given language so be sure to
choose all that apply. Examples: English and English (North American), English and
English (British), French and French (Canadian), French and French (Parisian),
Spanish and Spanish (Castilian), Spanish and Spanish (Latin American) and so on.
Accents
Enter all of the accents you can perform. If youre capable of performing a non-
regional accent include, for example, Standard Non-regional English American.
Ages
Select the all of the age ranges that you can perform. The more versatile you are
the more opportunities you will see.
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Special Skills
Select all of the voice-over categories that youre interested in working in. Ideally,
you will also have a demo in each area of interest.
Experience
List or describe voice-over work you have done in the past or are currently working
on. This is the ideal place to list brand names you have voiced for. If you are new
to the industry you can list any complementary experience you have such as acting,
singing, audio recording, script and copy-writing skills.
Years of Experience
Select the number of years you have worked in the voice-over or broadcasting
industry.
Credentials
Enter any professional training you have received in the credentials area. That
includes training youve undergone at University, College, workshops or seminars. If
you have received any professional designations (e.g.; SaVoa) include that in this
section as well.
Associations
Non-union is the default selection. If you are a member of SAG, AFTRA, ACTRA or
Equity be sure to select your appropriate union affiliation so that you will receive
notification about corresponding jobs.
Studio
Clients want to know that you can get the job done! Enter your all of your studio
equipment including Microphone, Computer & Software, Special Equipment,
Delivery Methods, and Turnaround Time.
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Service Description
This is the best place to describe what kind of work you can do and how you
perform your services. Try to think of it as though a client were asking "How does
your service work?" and write a detailed response.
You might consider elaborating on the facility that you record in (home based
studio, local recording studio, your own production studio, etc.) your estimated
turnaround times, satisfaction guarantees, availability, file delivery options, explain
what an ISDN Line or Phone Patch is if you use one.
This is also the ideal area to list any complimentary services you offer such as
copywriting, post production, music and sound effects library, etc.
Testimonials
If you have a client base already established with references or testimonials that
you can use publicly, enter them here. Clients have told us that reviewing
testimonials can be the deciding factor in whom they award their project to.
Client List
This is where you can enter a point form client list. Many experienced talent opt to
enter a partial list primarily containing brand name clients theyve voiced for.
8
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Recording a Demo
In order to be found in our search engine you must have at least one demo
uploaded to your profile. Record and save your voice-over demo on your computer
as an MP3 file. If you haven't recorded a demo yet, download our free PDF guide.
http://www.voices.com/documents/How-To-Make-A-Voice-Over-Demo.pdf
Demo Settings
All demos and audition files need to have a bitrate of 128 kbps and a sample rate of
44.1 kHz in MP3 format. Your original file names should only contain letters and/or
numbers and should not include any special characters or spaces.
Incorrect: Radio Demo #1.mp3
Correct: RadioDemo1.mp3
Uploading Your Demo
Login to your account at Voices.com and go to Profile, click Demos, click Add New
Demo. 'Browse' your computer to find the MP3 file that you want to add from your
computer.
Title: Add a descriptive title that reects the nature of your demo, i.e. Commercials, Real Estate Listings or Phone Prompts.
Language: Select the language of your demo from the drop down list provided.
Category: Choose an appropriate demo category using the handy drop down list provided for you.
Description: Your description is a written preview of your demo. Youll want to include brand names, characters, accents,
styles of voice-overs contained on each demo.
Featured Demo: Click this box if you want the demo to be the demo displayed on your main prole page.
Order on Page: You can change the order in which your demos are displayed by entering a numerical value in this area. If
you want it to appear rst on your demo page enter the number 1.
Tags: Tags are keywords that improve your search results. To select multiple tags, hold down your CTRL or Option key
while clicking. You can select up to ten tags.
Click the "Save Changes" button. You're done!
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
4. SHOWCASING YOUR DEMOS
Feedback
Once you have completed a job through SurePay, you and your client will have the
opportunity to leave star ratings and feedback for each other. This information is
publicly displayed on your profiles and acts as a valid reference since feedback can
only be left for each other through real jobs awarded through Voices.com.
Theme
Choose your desired colours for your profile under Theme. There are eight colours
to choose from which will enhance your website and compliment your personal
branding.
10
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Jobs
Guest talent are able to reply to Private Jobs at Voices.com. Premium and Platinum
members are able to reply to all job opportunities they are qualified for, including
Public and Private Jobs. Lets explore the differences.
Public Jobs
A Public Job is a job posted by a client that all eligible subscribers can apply for.
Usually dozens of talent will apply for these job postings. Clients who post Public
Jobs would like to hear from as many voice talent as possible before awarding the
job. You will know that it is a Public Job by the subject line of the notification email.
Private Jobs
There are two types of Private Jobs. There is a Private Job where only you and
perhaps a handful of other talent were specifically requested by the client to
audition. Then there is a Private Invitation where the client has requested that you
audition for their public job posting.
Clients who post Private Jobs are likely to have several voices in mind and simply
want to compare responses from those individuals rather than open themselves up
to dozens of replies from a variety of voice-over talent. Private Invitations are
usually sent when a client wants to hear a wide variety of samples but is particularly
interested in hearing you audition for their job.
Private jobs are noted in the subject line of the email notification and by the
envelope icon in your Hiring Folder.
Hiring
You can navigate directly to a job posting by clicking the "Reply to Job" link in the
email notification or by logging in and clicking on Jobs > Hiring, in your Voices.com
account. You can sort Jobs by using the available columns which include Job #,
Language, Gender, Budget, Match, Status, and Deadline depending on your
preference. You can also search for a job by ID number Search Jobs search bar in
the right hand corner of your job listings page.
5. REPLYING TO JOBS
11
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
VoiceMatch
All talent at Voices.com have a VoiceMatch score to each job posting. The
VoiceMatch score is out of 100 and puts a numerical value on your direct match to
the job posting. The score is indicated on the main job listings page as well as on
the job details page. This helps take the guesswork out of how likely you are to be
considered for that job, saving you time when auditioning. Many talent do not apply
for jobs where they have a score of less than 95%.
VoiceMatch shows a number out of a possible 100% perfect match. Here's how the
points add up:
First Language 25
Second Language 20
Third Language 15
Fourth Language 10
Fifth Language 5
Gender 25
Skill Category 5
Age Range 10
Union Affiliation 5
Budget Ranges 5
Demo Category 15
First Demo Tag 5
Second Demo Tag 5
TOTAL 100%
Note: A job can only have one language, so the better matched a talent's language
is, the more points they are assigned.
12
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Replying to a Job Posting
This will bring you to the page that fully describes the project requirements, script,
budget range and deadline. Under Tools on the upper right hand side of the job
description you will see some additional details including your VoiceMatch score,
the job status, and Submitted X of X Responses" which indicates how many
people have already responded to the job posting.
Prior to submitting your audition you will see a 0 because you have not submitted
an audition yet. Once you submit your audition and review it from your Answered
tab you will see your actual placement in the total number of responses received by
the client. You can also print the job posting, report abuse if you find the job
suspicious, or delete the job.
If this project interests you, click on 'Reply To Job.' Once you have clicked on 'Reply
To Job,' you will land on the audition page to submit your proposal, quote, and
audition demo.
You can only submit once to a job posting so please do not reply to the job until you
are ready to send them your audition demo.
13
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Proposals
The most rewarded auditions that clients consider when they are looking for a voice
include custom written proposals for their project. A persuasive and relevant note
will catch more eyes quickly than even the most creative demo. Here is a sample
proposal that you could use and personalize:
Hello (Client Name),
Thank you for reviewing my audition submission. I've had over X years of
experience recording (type of recording). Some of my past (type of recording)
clients include Company 1, Company 2 and Company 3.
I'd be interested in working with you on your project and I can have your recording
done in less than 24 hours.
If you are also interested in working with me please click the Award job button to get
started.
Warmest Regards,
(Your Name)
PS. If you don't feel I'm right for this project but may be right for future projects you
can add me to your Favorites and reach out to me later!
14
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Providing a Quote
You must submit a quote when auditioning. Whenever possible provide a quote
within the client's budget range. Try not to quote less than their minimum budget
and if you quote above their minimum budget explain why in your proposal.
Quote Field
As an example, if you would like to receive $200 for the job enter 200 into the 'Your
Fee' field and the 10% SurePay escrow fee will be added on top of your fee which
covers credit card processing, file delivery, mediation and dispute resolution
services if needed.
To be clear, you will always receive the full amount you quote in the Your Fee field.
The SurePay fee is charged to the client, not to you.
15
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Audition Demos
A demo must be included with your audition. You can send either a custom demo
which you've recorded specifically for the job OR an MP3 that you have already
uploaded to your website. You cannot send both.
Custom Auditions
If there is a script with the job posting it is recommended that you record a custom
audition using a portion of the script provided. You do not need to record the entire
script when auditioning, 30 seconds is usually plenty. If its a short script you may
want to change the wording slightly or send a stock demo in the corresponding
category.
To upload a custom demo, click on the 'Browse' button to locate the file on your
computer hard drive. You will receive a confirmation that your audition was
submitted successfully once you have clicked on 'Submit' to conclude the
auditioning process.
Stock Demos as Auditions
If there is no script with the job posting you can submit a demo that you have
previously uploaded to your demo page at Voices.com.
Select one of your demos from the 'Existing MP3' option. This will give you a drop
down menu of all files uploaded to your demo page. Click on the file that you would
like to audition with, and then click 'Submit' to conclude the auditioning process.
A copy of your audition will be recorded in your 'Answered' jobs area for future
reference.
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Answered Jobs and Statuses
If youve auditioned for a job, the status of that job will change to Answered and
be filed accordingly under Answered Jobs in your account. When the job's deadline
date has passed or the client decides theyve received enough auditions the job be
listed as Closed. You may still be hired for the job after it has switched to closed
so dont delete it at this point.
Once a job has been awarded to someone youll see the statuses change to
Finalizing, Working and Completed as they move through the SurePay
process. Once its switched to one of those stages it is safe to delete it. If a job is
awarded to you we will notify you via email and the job will move to your Awarded
tab.
Awarded Jobs
When a client hits Award Job on your audition and makes a deposit for your
services into SurePay the job will move to your Awarded tab. It is under this tab
where you will manage all of the aspects of the hiring process from accepting the
job, denying the job, finalizing the details, delivering the files, reviewing payment
details, and leaving feedback for your client.
Completed Jobs
All jobs you've completed through Voices.com are stored under your Jobs >
Completed tab. Youll be able to instantly view the job ID number, title and click
through to view the details of the job, payment, and feedback.
Deleted Jobs
When you delete a job posting from your Hiring or Answered tab it will be stored
under Jobs > Deleted. There is no storage capacity and the jobs are permanently
stored there. This allows you to easily search your deleted jobs to relocate them in
the event a client contacts you down the road about a job you had previously
responded to.
17
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Theres nothing better than getting a job offer in the world of freelance services!
Discover more about job offers at Voices.com.
Hiring Process
At Voices.com, we have a brilliant service in place that will help you manage all
aspects of accepting a voice-over job... its called SurePay.
SurePay is an escrow payment service that enables a client to make a full deposit
upfront for your services. We hold the payment until the files are delivered to the
client and the client authorizes us to release the funds to you. This service
guarantees the clients satisfaction and guarantees that you will receive payment for
the work you provide. Win, win!
The Job Offer
The process starts with the client clicking Award Job on your audition response.
This prompts the client to immediately make a deposit into our SurePay system to
secure your services and finalize the terms of the job such as the delivery deadline.
They can also attach the full script and provide any other special instructions at this
time.
Terms and Files
We will send you an email to notify you of the job offer and provide a link directly to
the Terms page where you can view the job offer and either accept or decline the
job. Once you have accepted the job it will open up our file delivery service which
will allow you to upload any file type required by the client, up to 250mb in size. If
the client requires multiple files, we recommend uploading them all at once in a .zip
file.
6. RECEIVING JOB OFFERS
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
File Approval and Requesting Release
Once you have uploaded all the files for the job, the client is notified that they have
files waiting for their approval. The client will then login, listen to the work provided,
click Approve File and click Release Payment. You will have the ability to click
Request Release, which will send the client a reminder that they need to approve
the files and authorize the payment. We recommend giving the client three
business days before clicking the Request Release button. If its been over seven
business days, please contact Voices.com at support@voices.com and we will
follow up with the client.
Feedback
Once the client has approved your files and released the payment both of you will
have the ability to leave feedback and a star rating for each other. Feedback is
publicly displayed on the Feedback page of your profile.
Payments
In this area of your account, youll see two sections including Held in Escrow and
Payments Sent.
Held in Escrow contains invoices for jobs that you are currently working on. If you
click on the title of the job, you will see the printable invoice containing the details of
the job and the clients direct contact information.
Payments Sent contains invoices of all jobs youve completed through Voices.coms
escrow service. You can click into each one to view and print the invoices for your
records.
19
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Inbox
You can manage all incoming and outgoing messages sent to you at Voices.com
through the internal messaging system. Clients can initiate a conversation with you
from your audition response by clicking Ask a Question or Send a Thank You Note.
Received
All new messages sent to you will be filed in your Received folder in your Inbox for
easy reference and archiving. The number of messages you have waiting for you
will be indicated in blue brackets beside the word Inbox.
Sent
If youve replied to a client email or have sent any messages using Voices.com,
they will be filed in your Sent folder in your Inbox.
Deleted
All messages which you have deleted from your sent or received folders will be
archived in your deleted folder. You can restore the message if you need to reply
again.
Templates
Why reinvent the wheel? To save time when auditioning you can create templates
for your proposals which you can personalize each time you audition. Create as
many as you like to help you address the different types of voice-over jobs you will
be auditioning for.
7. REVIEWING YOUR MESSAGES
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Voices.com is home to a strong and supportive community where youll find first
class support, educational tools, resources and more.
Answers
Voices.com Answers is a continuously improving collection of questions and
answers that are created, edited and organized by the community here at
Voices.com. Answer or pose an industry-related question here:
http://www.voices.com/answers
Blogs
Voices.com offers a number of blogs including the industries most trusted voice-
over blog VOX Daily. The VOX Daily blog offers a daily dose of voice acting
news, articles, tutorials, interviews, intelligent conversation and business ideas for
voice talent and voice actors. To visit VOX Daily now, go to:
http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/
Podcasts
A podcast is like an online radio show with the bonus that it is available to you
whenever you want to listen. The Voice Over Experts podcast, our most popular
podcast, is recommended for professional development and business ideas. Youll
hear from some of the top voice-over instructors, authors and voice acting
celebrities from around the world as they share some of their knowledge with you,
free of charge. To listen to some podcasts now, go to:
http://podcasts.voices.com
8. PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMUNITY
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Resources
One of our most comprehensive sections is the Resource section, where you can
download a multitude of helpful products such as Voices.com Apps, articles, and
eBooks such as the Telephone Systems Kit. You'll also find infographics, the music
and sound effects library, rate sheets, scripts, and more.
To view our Resources, visit: http://www.voices.com/resources
Help Section
Located in the upper right hand corner of every screen at Voices.com, you can
access a database of over 500 industry related questions.
To view the Help section, visit: http://www.voices.com/help
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question about how to use the website, how much to budget for your
voice-over and so on, you can search our FAQs from the Help section. This help is
ready when you are and is available 24/7. If you cant find the answer that you are
looking for ask us via email, telephone or live chat and a live person will be happy
to help!
To browse the frequently asked questions, visit: http://www.voices.com/help/faq
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
Now you have tools and knowledge - put them to use!
Ready to take the next step? Start your experience today by joining Voices.com,
the #1 voice-over marketplace. Enjoy access to voice-over opportunities, friendly
customer care representatives, and create your very own voice talent website for
free to showcase your voice and highlight your abilities. To launch your career,
create your free account at Voices.com now!
http://www.voices.com/talent/plans_and_pricing
9. GO FOR IT
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Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6
TV COMMERCIALS
EXAMPLES
Voices.com was established in 2004 and is now the technology and industry leading
website that connects businesses with professional voice talents. Radio and television
stations, advertising agencies and Fortune 500 companies rely upon the Voices.com
marketplace to search for, audition and hire voice talents with the assistance of our
innovative SurePay escrow service and our Web application.
The winner of several awards, including the 1to1 Impact Award, Customer Relationship
Management Elite Award, and the DigiFest New Voices Award, Voices.com has raised its
prole signicantly this year ranking on the PROFIT Hot 50 recognizing 534% growth
over the past two years. In 2012 Voices.com won Business of the Year from the Chamber
of Commerce.
Clients include NBC, ESPN, PBS, The History Channel, Reader's Digest, Comcast, Bell
Canada, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, ING, Western Union, Ford, GM, Jaguar, Firestone
Tires, American Airlines, the US Army, the US Government and thousands more.
ABOUT VOICES.COM
24
Service & Support
Global Headquarters
150 Dufferin Ave.
Suite 800
London ON
N6A 5N6

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