Join Voice Over Pro Alison Pitman in her business basics podcast for voice overs called "Pricing: A Crucial Aspect of the Marketing Mix". Alison discusses a variety of factors that influence pricing, pricing strategies and how to find common ground where both parties feel it is a good price for the value they are adding and or receiving.

Download Podcast Episode 75 »

Tags:

Alison Pitman, UK Female Voice, Business, Voiceovers, Basics, Pricing, Voice Overs, Voice Acting

Transcript of Pricing Voice Over Services, A Crucial Aspect of the Marketing Mix

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week Voices.com is pleased to present Alison Pitman.

Alison Pitman: Hello and many thanks for joining me in my latest business basics podcast for voiceovers. I'm hoping that this podcast will appeal not only to the voiceover artist themselves but also to the voiceover seekers, the clients. What I wanted to talk about this week is pricing which is often a neglected part of the marketing mix but as we all know quite a curial aspect and if you look at any the voiceover forums it does seem to cause immense problems and I think it causes problems on each side.

Voiceover seekers don't know how to price a project, what budge to set and at the same time voiceover artist struggle to set a rate for particular project. They don't want to price themselves to high and obviously they don't want to undercut themselves, so it's this tricky balance of finding a happy medium where both parties feel comfortable and they both feel that it's a good price for the value they are adding and receiving and is this notion of value that I think so important.

The client has to be aware of what their actually purchasing and that the price reflects much more than the provision of a small audio file of your voice and likewise it worth reminding you're the voiceover artist, what value you are offering the client. Again not just your voice but much more of beside, it always surprises me that voiceover seekers even though they're researching at the services to use a professional voiceover so they must have some awareness, a notional idea of the benefits that using a professional voiceover talent will bring to their branch, their company, their product, their service yet they're not willing to pay for it or willing to pay a fair price.

So, why is that? And what is a fair price and what exactly is behind a price? I think some of the problem may stem from the impression that voiceover is a really easy job that anyone can do it. Some people believe all you need is a USB mic and pretty voice and that's it to get you going and it seem that some clients supporting this myth and don't seem to be aware of the true cause that lay behind the quote they've just receive for their radio commercial, their E-learning narration, their corporate radio rate. So if you or your client starts to question your rates, here's some things to take into consideration when and why is what it is.

Firstly, time. This is a significant factor. I don't know if I'm the only person here but I have a huge problem with job postings that start, "This is s quick easy job, will only take you five minutes if you're professional and know what you're doing", this such a posting really winds me up, not only it is extremely rude. Is also incredibly naïve and adds nothing to the posting. So, no, your voiceover won't take five minutes because I've just spent this give minutes opening my e-mail client and reading your job posting. It will take me another five minutes to reply to it, so there is 10 minutes already and all those minutes available.

You see it isn't just the time it takes to record of the voiceover. What about the time it takes to communicate with the client? To discuss the script, the style, the delivery, the quote, the turn-around time, the license usage, etcetera, then you record, then the time it takes to edit, converting the audio to the format of their choice then you upload it to their server, wait for feedback, do record if necessary. Edit, convert, upload again, then write the invoice and note out half to spend hours or days chasing the payment. Do I have to go on? A five minute voiceover does not take five minutes.

Secondly, what about in the other cost that you've incurred? What about your home studio? Some voiceover artist make this cost quite transparent in their pricing, they charge a studio fee. Quality recordings do come at a price, even though equipment has become more affordable, it will need updating and replacing as your career continues to grow and you succeed and this need to be factored into the investment you've made and you continue to make in your voiceover career. What about training and coaching, that's another cost. Consider the investment you've made in attending workshops, purchasing voiceover books, taking part in local collage courses and what about the basic running cost that every business incurs. Stationary, printing cartridges, postage, envelops, telephone calls, broadband connection and your marketing materials, websites, postcards, e-newsletters, all have cost involved.

And your other cost demo production maybe you have a royalty free music library that you offered to your clients, how much that cost? Memberships, are you member of Voices.com or other online costing site? Do you have union memberships? All of these and no doubt many more costs, all need to be considered when you create your rate card and your pricing strategy and I've listed them as a reminder of the value you have placed on yourself and your voiceover career, so that when your fees is questioned, you're confident that the value of your voiceover recording justifies every penny of your quote. So, how do you come up with some concrete figure figures to put on your rate sheet?

If you're union member than this can be fairly straight forward, unions do tends to set minimum rates and guideline for voiceover markets and projects. If you're not a union member then there are some options. The voiceover forum are really good place to start, a long side some of the specific pricing questions that are ask a lot of your fellow voiceover actors have very generously shared that own rate card. This is hugely helpful as not only can you see what figure your quote but also how they arrange their pricing policy. Do they do it per word, per finish minutes, per page, you'll notice this will vary from voiceover artist to voiceover artist as well as the method changing depending on the nature of the project and the market is being use in.

Also worth visiting are the online costing sites, Voices.com for example have a downloadable PDF document with rate guidelines for different projects and different markets. In the wider world, there are also pricing strategies and psychologies that other business is employ when they're setting their prices. I wanted to share a few of them with you as you might want to consider them when you next quote for a project. I've taken this idea from Ivana Taylor's, 8 Price Strategies article on the small base-trans website and I recommend if you can to read the article in full.

The first pricing strategy is called, the nine and zero effect. People associate the number with value and zero with quality. So, the psychology of pricing isn't so much about gaining additional sales because the price of piece to be lower. It's about what the price communicates about your offering. So, which do you want to communicate, value or quality? Now, you can price according. The second pricing strategy is called prestige pricing. Higher prices connote higher quality, luxury brands are the perfect example of the strategy. Simply improving the look, package, delivery or promise of your product, you can justify a higher price and support a prestige pricing strategy.

The third pricing strategy is called, quantity suggestive pricing, consumer are receptive to purchasing items in suggested quantities. When you suggest how many you want your customers to buy and give them an attractive price they will do what you tell them. So, for example five voice prompts for five pounds or $5, you've suggested how many they want to buy and you've given them an attractive price.

The last pricing strategy, I wanted to briefly mention was called stuffing the bundle, stuffing the bundle to convey value. Consumers perceive more value when there's more small stuff included in the bundle, you can even calls this a form of value building, TV infomercials are notorious for this strategy. They introduce a main product and keep adding more and more items to the mix to build value while simultaneously discounting the retail price. So, stuffing the bundle for a voiceover might include the voiceover recording, your copy writing skills, adding a royalty free music to the mix, adding things to add value.

Well, I hope this is given you a few ideas about pricing and I hope that your clients will have a better understanding of the true cost involved that there are not just buying a voice but all the expertise, technical ability and the branding value that your particular voice brings to their projects. Well, thanks for listening and if you'd like to get in touch please do e-mail me at alison@thephonevoice.com or visit my website at www.thephonevoice.com . Bye for now.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast visit the voiceover expects show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExpects. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

Links from today's show:

Alison Pitman
Alison Pitman on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Talent Alison Pitman

Based in Bristol, voice actor Alison Pitman has voiced various projects for clients based all over the world recording professionally from her home studio in the UK. Known as "The Phone Voice", Alison specializes in recordings for voicemail, on-hold messages, IVR and corporate narrations. Alison has worked for over 10 years in the film and television industries and played a role in the Oscar nominated "Little Voice". In addition to her performance experience Alison Pitman has a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Did you enjoy Alison's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

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Join professional voice over talent Alison Pitman as she lectures about "Working from Home and Striking a Work / Life Balance". Alison identifies key points that will help anyone who works from home while sharing some special tips for professionals working from home with small children. Transitioning to voice over, mentorship and perseverance are also discussed.

Download Podcast Episode 61 »

Tags:

Alison Pitman, UK Female Voice, Business, Voiceovers, Home Studio, Voice Overs, Voice Acting

Transcript of Working From Home and Striking a Work / Life Balance

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week, Voices.com is pleased to present Alison Pitman.

Alison Pitman: Hello and welcome to the third podcast in my series of Business Basics for Voiceovers. My name is Alison Pitman and this is the second part of my Setting up in Business Top 10 Tips. I hope you found the first five tips helpful.

So let's get straight on to tip number six. I wanted to briefly mention the issue of starting a voiceover business while you're still employed in your day job. This is the route most voiceovers take and makes financial sense for most of us, but before you start trading, it could be an idea to double check your existing employment contract first. Going through it, you may find that you are subject to a restrictive covenant which would prevent you from setting up your business while continuing to work for your current employer.

If this is the case and you do set up your business, then your employer may be able to claim damages if they showed that they have suffered a financial detriment as a result of your breach of contract. If you want to find out more about these clauses, I would point you in the direction of Voiceover Universe and then ask a voiceover attorney group. Even if there isn't such a clause in your contract, there is still an implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

If you take a common sense approach, you can usually work out whether you're trading as a voiceover artist or make an impact during your day job to the extent that your current employer will seek to terminate your contract. If you're working on your voiceover business in the evenings, on weekends, it should really not interfere with your current employment. However, if you start taking calls at work for your voiceovers or taking time off work to devote more time to voiceover, your employer might well have a problem with that.

Also, think about what you and your boss consider your free pass not time. You may both have quite different ideas and expectations of what they actually is. With the advances in technology, mobile phones, broadband, wifi, you can be contactable by your boss at any time. Do they expect you to be on call at any time? Delineations between work and free time brings me to my next point which most people setting up any kind of business will face.

Tip number seven. Working for yourself and working at home. There are so many issues under this broad banner so I'm just going to touch on some lightly. It's a topic that really deserves a whole podcast to itself. When you start working for yourself, you quickly learn how much the risk to do, so it's quite easy to let work overtake your home life. Working for yourself allows you the opportunity to do things your way. However, self motivation is key and if you don't have it, you could be your very own worst enemy.

If you lose focus, your business could suffer. You may be able to choose your own hours but this doesn't mean taking frequent holidays. Remember, you will only get a lot out of your business if you put a lot into it. Working from home may seem ideal but striking the right work life balance can be hard. It can be difficult to switch off from work if the temptation to carry on is there or difficult to concentrate on it.

For instance, if you have children which will be discussed in the next tip. Try to (set some) periods in which to relax and set yourself a cut-off point in the evening to start working in order to maintain a boundary between work and the rest of your life. Other home working tips include starting the working day with something easy, fun or interesting. This helps to build momentum throughout the day. Stick to a schedule. Many people have found that a 9 to 5 or 9 to 6 schedule really helps them keep on track and stay productive.

Separate your work area from your living area. This includes your phone and computer. Work on networking. Since you don't have co-workers, it's good to get to know people who are doing the same things as you do. Forums like vobb.com and Julie Williams voiceover forum are really helpful and the latest site, Voiceover Universe has tons of useful information and links to other voiceover artists.

There are so many issues when it comes to working from home and my next tip focuses on one of the main ones. Tip number eight, children. This section is for working moms and dads. Setting up a business when you have children adds a whole extra challenge. Launching a voiceover business is tough if you don't have clear child-free time to devote to it. Recording voiceovers brings its own unique challenges that do have a compatibility problem with children, unless you have extremely quiet children.

Fit in work into nap times or while the children are watching cartoons is not a realistic option. Child care is key whether it's friends and family helping out for a few set of hours or a more formalized arrangements with a nursery, childminder or nanny. It's wise to get child care options sorted out as soon as possible. It can take ages to get your child into the nursery or pre-school of your choice, so if you can plan ahead, the earlier the better.

As a working mom will judge, you will need to plan your time even more carefully. Work out. What aspects of your work you can do while the kids are around and what needs to be left until they enter the house. I tend to find looking and responding to e-mails are all that can be done with my little one around. Possibly, writing and sending invoices, checking web stats, monitoring forums and blogs can be managed also, but anything that involves recording voiceovers, writing press releases or podcast, these need my undivided attention. So I leave these until the little one is at the nursery with grandparents or when daddy has come home.

Some people recommend getting up extra early so you can have some quiet working time before the household awakes. Alternatively, staying up later also helps. Once they've gone to bed can be the perfect time to plan for the next day. Clear out the (in-books) and get some writing or recording completed. It's also extremely helpful if you have a supportive spouse or partner. You can take the kids outside or keep them entertained elsewhere in the house while you work. Remember, it's also important to switch off the microphone and play with them.

Work is important for so many reasons but so is spending quality time playing and having fun with your children. Their childhood lasts such a short time and the great benefit of working as a voiceover is that you can work from home and spend quality time with all your family.

Tip number nine. Tip number nine, it's something you can implement at any stage of your voiceover career. Get yourself a mentor. Having a mentor can be a huge support and can help you see the wood from the trees. Mentoring can provide a second opinion and offer constructive feedback and impartial advice. A mentor won't run your voiceover business for you but can give you the benefit of their experience and bring with them their skills and knowledge as well as widening your contacts within the industry.

What makes a good mentor for you will be a completely personal decision. You may prefer someone you can develop a friendly, easy-going relationship with. Another voiceover may prefer a mentor who specializes in the technical side of voiceover. Whichever mentor you choose, it's critical that you find someone you're comfortable working with. Mentoring can help you personally by building confidence in your own skills, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.

It's important to remain open to their feedback and take their opinions and thoughts as constructive criticism. The guidance and wisdom of a mentor can be invaluable to the success of a new and established voiceover business.

Tip number 10. My final tip is this, don't give up too early. There is no such thing as an overnight success story. It can take years, decades even to get established as a voiceover artist. Try something and if it doesn't work, try something different. The successful voiceover artists are those that have persistence and tenacity in bucket loads.

Well, thank you for listening and I hope this podcast has given you more food for thought. If you would like to get in touch, do send me an e-mail at alison@thephonevoice.com. Until the next time. Bye for now.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Alison Pitman
Alison Pitman on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Talent Alison Pitman

Based in Bristol, voice actor Alison Pitman has voiced various projects for clients based all over the world recording professionally from her home studio in the UK. Known as "The Phone Voice", Alison specializes in recordings for voicemail, on-hold messages, IVR and corporate narrations. Alison has worked for over 10 years in the film and television industries and played a role in the Oscar nominated "Little Voice". In addition to her performance experience Alison Pitman has a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Did you enjoy Alison's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

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Join professional voice talent Alison Pitman of the UK in her second podcast lecture "Setting Up A Voice Over Business ". In this episode, you'll discover five tips that will help you take the plunge into professional voice acting. Alison also shares that if you love what you do and believe in your talents, success is within your reach.

Download Podcast Episode 55 »

Tags:

Alison Pitman, UK Female Voice, Business, Voiceovers, Basics, Voice Overs, Voice Acting

Transcript of Setting Up a Voice Over Business

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

This week, Voices.com is pleased to present Alison Pitman.

Alison Pitman: Hello and welcome to the second in my series of business podcast for voiceover artists and businesses. My name is Alison Pitman and this week, I'm going to take a step back a bit and talk about setting up in business. If you're thinking of taking the plunge and working full time exclusively as a voiceover talent, hopefully this will give you some ideas and encouragement.

Here is the first five of ten tips to help start your voiceover business. Listen out for the final five in part two of this podcast next week.

Tip number one. Doing what you love.

This is often the first thing people think about when they consider setting up a business. Here is an opportunity to make a living doing something I really love and that I'm passionate about. I'm assuming that as a voiceover artist, you have that passion because anyone pursuing any creative business whether it's voiceover or acting, film directing, musicianship, writing. If you don't love what you do, you'll find it so difficult to have a successful business with it. The creative industries are incredibly overcrowded and a really hard nut to crack and if you don't have a love of what you do and a self-belief in your talents, then it will be a real struggle to make any money at all, let alone enough to support yourself and your family.

Also remember you're going to be spending so much time and energy starting and developing your voiceover business. It's really important to know now that you do truly enjoy what you do. Now, remember to keep this in your head when you hit the tough times.

So we now know you've got the passion. Now, stand back and think dispassionately. Can you turn your voiceover hobby into a profitable enterprise? Is there a market for your voice? This process of market research is probably something you've done already without realizing it. If you look hard enough even for the most unique, unusual voices, there will be projects and productions looking for a sound like yours. Ask yourself whether these projects will be often enough and lucrative enough to make a living from it. If not, what are your options? Change career? Or maybe take some training to develop your range and techniques as a voice artist to improve your employability.

Tip number two, the business plan.

It can be quite useful to write a business plan for your voiceover career. I must admit it's not something I do straight away but it is a good exercise in focusing your mind getting in the professional mindset and defining exactly what you want to achieve, how and when. It's also great to have them to refer back to as you business develops. You'll find various general business plan templates available on the Web and also Voices.com have one which is designed specifically for the voiceover artist in mind. A business plan is also vital if you need to raise finance through a bank loan or overdraft for example. Investors want to see in black and white what they're investing in. Finance also brings me to my next point.

Tip number three, finance.

How much money are you going to need? What you need it for and how you're going to get it? With the credit crunch seemingly not wanting to go away, raising external finance through bank loans and investors isn't as easy as it once was so you need to consider other options. Firstly, what you need the money for. Well to start with, you're going to need cash to pay the bills and feed yourself until your business gets going. Some say that it can take about three years before a business gets really established and generates a decent income so having savings, an additional job or in my case like many others, a very understanding partner or spouse with a steady income.

So what else do you need finance for? A home studio comes high on the list of most voiceover artist. There have been plenty of articles, blogs and pods about home studio equipment and their cost which I'm not going to go over here. Suffice to say when you're starting up, do you really need all that fancy gear? Start small and as your experience and expertise grows, then grow your equipment chain around that.

For my first voiceover job, I didn't even have a proper microphone. I recorded into a Sony digital video camera and edited the audio using video editing software. Needless to say, the audio quality wasn't brilliant but it got me jobs and I could build up my portfolio and my bank balance so I could afford better and proper gear. Have a look around the web and see what you can buy within your budgets, take a look at Harlan Hogan's portable studio booth for example. For $129, what more could you ask for and he even has an article with instructions as to how to build one yourself. His website is HarlanHogan.com.

Think carefully and spend wisely. Do you really need ISDN facilities right away? So let's take a look at other set-up costs.

Tip number four, business cards, website design, domain registration, hosting, office equipment, advertising and marketing costs and a whole host of others.

Work out what you really need now. What would be nice to have in the future? What can you really do without? Also, look at the skills you have now. What can you do yourself to keep costs down? Do you really need a website designer? Could you design a simple site yourself? Are there any goods or services you need that you could do in exchange for, for your voiceover services. For example, why not see if your local printers can get you some free business cards in exchange for you recording their voicemail greetings or website audio.

And always look around on the internet and the high street to get a good range of prices My final tip for this podcast comes under the general heading of professionalism.

Tip number five, be professional from the start.

Everything about you and the way you do business needs to let people know that you are a serious professional. Get yourself some business cards, a work phone number. Get your voice on the business line voicemail and a proper business e-mail address and get professional help. It doesn't take long to realize that running a voiceover business isn't all about being a voiceover actor. You are now responsible for a whole diverse range of activities, bookkeeping, sales and marketing, administration, some of these tasks would really benefit from expert help.

If you're not an accountant, hire one. If you need to write a contract, why not hire a lawyer. This also applies to tax and legal issues. It's an awful lot easier and often a lot cheaper to get these things sorted right from the start rather than try and to unpick the mess afterwards. Are you setting up as a sole trader or you registering as a business? These will have implications on the tax you're liable for and the VAT you may have to pay. It's worth seeking out professional help from your local tax office to get all the information you need and the forms that you need to fill in.

Consider joining professional organizations and unions. The recently created SaVoa organization, the Society of Accredited Voiceover Artists is a good place to start. Visit their website at Savoa.org to find out more. Unions vary from country to country, Equity here in the UK, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFTRA in the States and ACTRA in Canada. It may also be worth considering your local small business organizations where you can keep up to date with the latest in general business practices as well as providing a good avenue for networking.

I hope these first five tips were helpful and please, do tune in for the final five in my next podcast. Thanks for listening and if you would like to get in touch, please visit my website at ThePhoneVoice.com. Until the next time, bye for now.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Alison Pitman
Alison Pitman on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Talent Alison Pitman

Based in Bristol, voice actor Alison Pitman has voiced various projects for clients based all over the world recording professionally from her home studio in the UK. Known as "The Phone Voice", Alison specializes in recordings for voicemail, on-hold messages, IVR and corporate narrations. Alison has worked for over 10 years in the film and television industries and played a role in the Oscar nominated "Little Voice". In addition to her performance experience Alison Pitman has a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Did you enjoy Alison's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

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Join professional voice talent Alison Pitman in the first of her "Business Basics for Voice Actors" podcasts. Alison highlights aspects of business processes and implementation from the perspective of a working voice actor in the United Kingdom.

Download Podcast Episode 50 »

Tags:

Alison Pitman, UK Female Voice, Business, Voiceovers, Basics, Voice Overs, Voice Acting

Transcript of Business Basics for Voice Actors

[Opening Music]

Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.

Now for our special guest.

Alison Pitman: Hello, my name is Alison Pitman and welcome to the first of my occasional series of podcast on various business aspects for voiceover talents and businesses.

Firstly, I am assuming that you are in business and voiceover is than just a hobby to you. It's important to get into the professional mindset as it will subconsciously influence your manner of communications and it will give you credibility both in your mind and more importantly, in the minds of other. So you've set yourself up in business as a voiceover artist. Now what?

The voiceover business is no different to any other online or offline business. All need to be concerned and involved with marketing, sales, finance, administration, branding, websites and so on and so on. Auditioning is a process that's really no different to a construction company for example tendering for a building project. The key for any business is closing the deal, making the sale, getting your voice chosen for that project. In all these situations, communication is critical and can mean the difference between getting cast or not.

In the online world, how you communicate and the way you present yourself through these communications especially through the medium of e-mail is really important.

Firstly, speed of response. So what company has found you website, listened to your online demos and likes what they hear. They send you an e-mail, requesting further information, maybe a quote or request for your rate card, they hit send and then what? Put yourself in their shoes. This maybe the first time they have ever outsourced a project before. They have not met you in person before. All the know of you is your online presence. They want to know are you still in business.

A clue to that maybe is whether they see that your website gets updated on a regular basis, maybe you have a last updated date on your website to show visitors. They also need to know has their e-mail got through to you. One possibility is to set up and auto response on your e-mail program, include a message thanking them for their interest and that you'll be in touch as soon as possible. That gives them the reassurance that the e-mail has got through and to the right person.

Once they know you actually exist and their e-mail has arrived, they'll be waiting for your response. Again, a prompt response is really appreciated. Although not so prompt that you forget to include all the information they are after. Make sure the manner of your response is professional but also in keeping with your own branding. Does your voice come through your writing? And also consider the company that you are corresponding to. For example, my voice is often used for corporate training narrations and therefore the branding of my voice leads towards the straightforward, matter-of-fact, authoritative edge and the companies that contact me tend to reflect this. They lean towards a more corporate, conservative structure so they appreciate a correspondence style that is similar to their own whereas if your signature voice is more laid-back and relaxed in nature, maybe your communications should reflect this more.

Obviously, there is a balancing act to follow. It's just something to keep in mind. Don't get too casual or they may not take you as a serious professional and worst-case scenario tried to beat your rates down but on the other hand, don't be so formal as to alienate people.

Remember, people want to do business with people they like and people they like are like them. You want to create relationships with clients and maintain them so they keep coming back for more. Whichever style you correspond, they key is to persuade this company that they want to work with you and your voice. They need to feel and you need to make them feel that they are in the best of hands, that they can trust you to deliver what they're after not just in terms of interpreting the copy but the delivery of the audio file in the format they need, in the time scale you've promised and the budget you've set.

Again, if this is the firs time they've worked with a voiceover artist, through your e-mail communications, you need to hold their hand and walk them through the process so it's as a painless as possible. Believe me, it is really appreciated by your clients. And hopefully if you deliver all that you promise in a manner they relate to, they will not only use your voice again, but also recommend you to other business associates.

Well, thank you for listening and I do hope you found at least some of it interesting. If you would like further information or to contact me, please visit my website at ThePhoneVoice.com. Bye for now.

Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.

If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.

[Closing Music]

Links from today's show:

Alison Pitman
Alison Pitman on Voices.com

Your Instructor this week:

Voice Over Talent Alison Pitman

Based in Bristol, voice actor Alison Pitman has voiced various projects for clients based all over the world recording professionally from her home studio in the UK. Known as "The Phone Voice", Alison specializes in recordings for voicemail, on-hold messages, IVR and corporate narrations. Alison has worked for over 10 years in the film and television industries and played a role in the Oscar nominated "Little Voice". In addition to her performance experience Alison Pitman has a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Did you enjoy Alison's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

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