I did a fair amount of research into to Pay-to-play type sites available out there and VDC consistently came out atop its competitors. There is quite a lot of trepidation about the P2P model in general, and I can totally understand why. The idea of paying for leads, basically for the privilege of contacting clients, can feel a little unfair at first glance. However, I’ve come around on my thinking of the model and decided that it is worth the cost of admission.
Speed Up The Auditioning Process
Over the last three weeks, I’ve adjusted my approach significantly. When my account first activated, I spent hours auditioning, cutting each one together and sending them off one at a time. About ten hours later, I had auditioned for about fifteen different jobs. A couple days in I decided to filter by deadlines, take the ones that were ending that day, and record/edit all the auditions in one go and then send out the auditions. At this point I’d already drafted a cover letter template that I have barely altered since. This cut down the amount of time I spent auditioning dramatically.
Try, Learn, Repeat
After doing some more research, I changed my approach. I turned email alerts back on and auditioned for jobs as soon as they came out. This has definitely improved my ‘listen’ and ‘like’ rate. I’m now sitting at 93 jobs answered, 91 demo listens, 10 likes, and four jobs complete with a fifth one in process. While the money is still firmly in part-time territory, this means I’d earned enough in one month to pay for a yearlong subscription, which includes increased visibility on the site. I also have enough fodder to start cutting together demos specifically geared toward different types of jobs (internet, video games, business, etc). Once I have all of those in place, that should improve to book gigs without having to produce a custom demo for each job.
What is Your Voice Over Strategy?
Worth the price of admission? Well, that’s up to you.
While I was pessimistic about the chances of Voices.com working out originally, it has proven itself to be a great tool for finding VO gigs. I’ve been fortunate enough to garner the attention of a few clients within my wheelhouse, which, turns out, is video games. I’ve already had repeat clients, which is pretty mind-blowing considering I’ve been at this a little longer than three weeks. If you’re able to put the time in and quickly produce quality demos, Voices can absolutely work for you. Just know that it takes a flexible schedule (it is essential that you respond to jobs as quickly as possible, because they fill up fast) and a fair amount of work making auditions. The good news is, after making all those auditions, you can turn around and improve your hard marketing system whether they get you the job or not.
I never thought I could start my VO career with this much momentum. While VDC hasn’t been my only source for work (aiming for 35 different, consistent sources by next winter), it’s certainly been the biggest. It certainly seems like there’s room for growth with this model and I am looking forward to a fruitful year with them.
<3
Rex