I received an email this morning from Darrell MacInnis, with some questions I thought worth sharing here. (Note: I asked his permission before quoting him here.)
Bob.. recently discovered your website… informative and your blog.. entertaining. After 23 years of tv/radio news and public affairs… (and reduced to part time)… I’ve jumped into voiceovers. Just wanted to say keep up the great work… As a newcomer, competing in a worldwide marketplace for voice services I’m faced with a giant learning curve. People such as yourself, Peter Drew, Todd Schick, Connie Terwilliger, are appreciated! I’ve gathered so much useful information about putting my own voiceover service together from you folks. It’s true… those who are the most successful are the first to offer advice.
(To which I want to say: I’m not sure I belong in the same list as those talented folks, but let’s continue…)
(I hope I have half your success… so that I’ll have something to give back to others.)
My reply: Thank you for your very kind comments. I’m glad to know that my ramblings have been helpful to you. I’m confident that you will have something to give to others, and you may very well have far more than half my success.
I’ve listed myself under new talent on www.voiceoverdirectory.com and on www.commercialvoices.com.
I have enough opening budget left to list on one of the following two directories, voices123 or voices.com. Although I suspect in the end, I’ll list with both services…as I see you and many others have done.
My reply: I really like the folks at Voices.com (formerly InteractiveVoices.com). They are really decent people. Very responsive and helpful. But, I get far more work through Voice123.com. I’d suggest, since you have funds only to join one or the other, that you join Voice123.com and do the free listing for now with Voices.com. Once you’ve done some more work and can afford to join Voices.com, do so at the $100 level. This would be the most cost effective way to go, I think.
Keep in mind, as you’re reading this: Your Mileage May Vary. For you, it may be that joining any of the above mentioned services is a bad idea. Or, it might be one of the smartest things you’ve ever done. They’ve been excellent advertising investments for me, but you have to decide for yourself.