“Paul, if these weren’t actually letters from actual viewers, would I be able to do this (flap, flap, flap)” – D. Letterman

“Peter, I’m a voice talent (and) I’m considering becoming a premium member of voice123 (as I see you already are). But, I’m wondering about recovering the 195.00 fee.

Does voice123 really turn into work? I’m capable of my own production work, and would put the time into doing many auditions per week. But, does it really pay? Do you get often stiffed by clients? Do you end up doing endless auditions with few results, or is it really all they say it is? I appreciate your time in answering.

Thanks in advance
Doug”

Hi Doug:

Voice over job sites are like any investment.

Are you ready to lose $195?

That’s the question you have to ask yourself when you invest in a site like Voices 123 or Voices.com or those like them.

Here’s another question: how much is an hour of your time worth? You’re going to do a lot of custom auditions and hear nothing back. Likely 90% of the time you won’t get the job. When you dollarize your time, that’s a lot of money wasted. Are you ok with that?

Want another question?

Are you ready to bid on often significantly low balled voice projects created by people who often care less about your voice and more about your price?

Are you willing to join a process where an announcer who sounds like crap will get the job because he’ll do a five page narration for $50 and “the experience”?

Whittling it all down to the naked truth as I see it, past the marketing hyperbole, I believe these questions are the questions YOU have to answer for yourself.

The answer for me was ok, I can swim here. If the water’s too cold (a project with a lousy fee, too many bidders, even poorly written) then I don’t swim there on that day.

I’ve made enough money to cover my expenses on these sites and then some. I also have enough other business from other sources (thank you God!) that I don’t have to rely on these sites. And because of that busier schedule, I may look at not joining back up because I don’t have the time to do custom auditions for these voice-over Wal-Marts.

Does that sound a bit jaded? Maybe I’m guilty as charged but everybody who’s ever worked in broadcasting has a dash of that sprinkled on them.

I recently had the good fortune to meet the owners of Voices.com and they are sincere people trying to run a challenging business in an honest manner. So then in fairness I will refer to them as the Target of voice overs (a retailer I visit far too frequently in my accountant’s opinion).

A shorter, even more curt way to answer this might have been “you’ll have to answer that for yourself.” Or as my Mom said on occasion “you won’t know unless you try.”

Good luck.

– Peter

Tags: commentary, technology, voice 123, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Masochistic.

Gluttons for punishment.

Sadistic wackos.

If you’re one of the folks who requested a link to my Podcamp Toronto 2007 presentation “Pod Presence – aka awesome sounding podcasts”, you have to choose from one of the above descriptors.

If you decide to watch it, you’ll also have to pick one.

In either case, you’ll quickly understand why I remain firmly planted behind a microphone and NOT in front of a camera.

Watch the presentation here. (@ 35 minutes via Quick Time)

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, podcamptoronto, podcasting, technology, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Have you ever been to an event, not really knowing what to expect only to be blown away from the collective knowledge in the room?

That’s what Podcamp Toronto was like. They took a simple audio process and outlined the future of it and the possibilities for it. Commercially, it’s an impressive future.

No one was profiting from it except to share their knowledge and gain new insight. I learned so much and still have to figure out how to process the stuff I heard but haven’t yet committed to memory.

I would highly suggest you all take a look at these seminars and take notes.

For some months now, a fellow voice over talent by the name of Elaine Singer has been corresponding with me on VO topics. Elaine is in Toronto and I’m in Buffalo (2 hours away) and we’re both in the internet business networking groups, Ryze and Linked In. Yet we never got a chance to meet. (Voice talents love to get together to share industry stories and insights we each other…they’re like war stories only funnier). Well we met at Podcamp Toronto and she was just as charming and smart as you’d guess from her posts on VO-BB. A great new friend!

And in my perspective on the voice lead companies, my attitude has changed a bit having now met David and Stephanie from Voices.com. My read is that they really are as customer centric as their site appears (as has been mentioned by others, their site seems more service oriented than V123 and now I believe I know why). They are sincere in both word and deed; they want everybody to succeed: voice talents to get quality leads and clients to be exposed to quality voice talents.

If you have a podcamp coming to your town, try and get to it. The Torontonians / Canadians / podcasters / bloggers who I met impressed the heck out of me. It would be worth risking your time at a podcamp in your area to see if the local knowledge bank in your area is as impressive as the folks I met with in Toronto.

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, podcamptoronto, podcasting, technology, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice, voices.com by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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What a tremendous experience. Saturday, I participated in Podcamp Toronto 2007. It was arranged by a group of talented podcasting, sales, marketing, advertising, internet (and pros from countless other industries) to share their knowledge of podcasting (and explain what in some cases is a booming commercial industry).

Billed as an “unconference”, I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. The “un” upon reflection having experienced it, means a more relaxed and interactive learning environment; it does not mean that there was any less talent and insight shared, in fact, just the opposite.

I like a lot about Podcamp, but what I think I liked most was coming across presenters and podcasters whom I might not have ever met in any other forum; each offered a thoughtful, smart and unusual perspective on this burgeoning industry. Remember that point in your life where you were in a business and someone said “hey you know this web site thing is interesting, do you think we should get on that internet thingy and get us one?”

Here’s you wake up call….podcasting has greater potential than you can possible imagine. This is the ground floor, get in on it.

Two presenters whose sessions I really enjoyed were Mitch Joel of Twist Image, a marketing agency Montréal whose presentation on “Building Your Personal Brand through Podcasting” was spot on. Great reading on his blog as well. The other presenter who was very impressive was Julien Smith, a Montréal based designer, entrepreneur, student, and podcaster whose presentation Giving Your Podcast A Google Presence was really smart. I’m going to have to get myself up to Montréal…it must be something in the water.

And my special thanks for Leesa Barnes of Podnomics and Caprica Interactive Marketing who was kind enough to include me in this experience. A great friend and a great client, thanks Leesa.

I have a bunch of other stories from Podcamp Toronto 2007 that I’ll save for later, including a visit with voice over talent Elaine Singer, the presentation I made to a packed house (boy was I surprised) and a visit with the owners of Voices.com, Stephanie and David Ciccarelli.

Final note, check out http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/ to find the location of the next Podcamp in your area.

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, podcamptoronto, podcasting, technology, voice actors, voiceover advice, voices.com by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Editor’s Note: It’s very rare that I would post an entire release on voice over blog on! but this is one of those rate times for my friend Leesa Barnes who is one of the organizers of Podcamp Toronto. As I have noted in the past, any excuse is a great excuse to visit Toronto, one of my favorite cities and home to some of my favorite clients. If you are in the area, I hope you’ll join us (yes, I’ll be presenting too…but they’ve asked me to stand in a dark corner and face the wall when I present. Must be a Canadian thing!)

(Toronto, ON) – Podcamp Toronto (http://www.podcamptoronto.org), a 2-day unconference which will be held at Ryerson University on February 24-25, 2007, will teach people how to plan, produce and publish a podcast. Attendance is free.

A podcast is a multimedia file that’s syndicated over the Internet. Similar to an Internet radio program, podcasting allows people to download audio or video content when they want to view or listen to it.

“Both hobbyist and companies are using podcasts to communicate with fans or clients,” says Leesa Barnes, one of the organizers behind Podcamp Toronto. “There’s a guy who uses his podcast to teach people how to knit and there’s a large corporation that uses their podcast to give end users tips on how to maintain their computers.”

The very first Podcamp was held in Boston in September 2006. It was born out of the desire to share information about audio and video podcasting and related subjects. Podcamp Toronto is a 100% free, volunteer-driven, sponsor-supported event. Otherwise known as an unconference, Podcamp Toronto focuses primarily on allowing people to share ideas, interact with each other and learn in an open environment.

“Using the unconference method means that attendees will learn from those in the trenches, the very people who are producing podcasts on a day to day basis,” says Barnes. “Whether you’re a seasoned podcaster or someone who’s just curious about this new medium, Podcamp Toronto will allow you to learn at your own pace.”

Sessions includes Interviewing Techniques, Video Podcasting for the Average Joe, Podcasting 101, 7 Ways to Monetize Your Podcast, How to Create Hollywood Effects from Your Living Room and Podcasting in Public Interest. There are a number of panel discussions, including Will Podcasting Kill Radio, Using Podcasting in Secondary Schools and What’s Hot in Marketing Your Podcast. The hosts of 2 of Canada’s most listened to podcasts – In Over Your Head and Galacticast – will be on hand to answer questions about replicating their success. These are just a sample of the 25+ sessions and panels being offered.

A blog is updated almost daily with news about Podcamp Toronto. Sponsors include Scotiabank, the first Canadian bank to produce a podcast called The Money Clip and BabyTel, a voice-over IP company.

Visit http://www.podcamptoronto.org for more information or to register for free for Podcamp Toronto.

Media Contacts

Leesa Barnes

mailto:leesa.barnes@gmail.com

(647) 225-3792

Jay Moonah

mailto:jay@jaymoonah.com

(416) 885-5341

-30-

Tags: peter o'connell, podcamptoronto, podcasting, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Proving yet again that in some ways I am a day late and a dollar short on my tech knowledge (shoring up some tech specs on this blog would be one short coming I am still currently working on…Bob Souer, don’t give up on me yet!)…I humbly introduce audioconnell.com’s newest attribute, our Favicon.

Not to be confused with Flavor Flav, I am only hoping there are at least a few of you who quizzically furrowed your brow at that word. I didn’t know it existed until a few minutes ago myself. I only knew it by its original Latin name: Logo to the left of the URL.

Pronounced fav-eye-con, it is short for ‘Favorites Icon.’ A Favicon is a multi-resolution image included on nearly all professional developed sites. Within Internet Explorer the Favicon is displayed on the Address line and in the Favorites menu. The Favicon allows the webmaster to further promote their site, and to create a more customized appearance within a visitor’s browser. Often, the Favicon reflects the look and feel of the web site or the organization’s logo.

So now I’ve got one. Frequent visitors will even say “well, you had one when you first re-did the site”, it was a smooshed version of the company “microphone” (RCA-77 for the microphone aficionados in the audience). But it looked, well, like crap (are we allowed to say “looked” on voice over blogs?) Anyway I needed to change it.

Well have you ever tried to change an easily read or identified image to a 16 pixel x 16 pixel version? It’s hard and it looks bad. I was lost for any ideas on how to make my favicon look good and mean anything.

Fate interceded as it always does. I had been working on some embroidered swag so that I might like a voice over talent turned NASCAR fan at networking events (of which I attend many…networking events not NASCAR races). I used the main audio’connell Voice Over Talent logo and sent it to Land’s End Business Outfitters because I always like their clothes, how well they wear and I had had some stuff made there years ago and it was great. Some things don’t age well, however, and the logo makers and managers at LEBO really didn’t do a hot job in my opinion. The shirts I had made were ok (just ok, embroidery was so-so) and when they tried to tackle the baseball hat, their embroidery wheels seemingly came off completely.

So after two months of what I deemed mostly unsatisfactory results, I went to my friend and past client Cindy Miller. Cindy’s name may be familiar to you for a number of reasons: she’s a former LPGA tour player and she’s been seen often on the Golf Channel’s Big Break III: Ladies Only. She also holds golf clinics, gives lessons, gives keynote addresses and, with her husband and former PGA Tour Player Allen Miller, owns an embroidery company called Tee Shots.

In answer to your question, you’re right, I should have gone to her in the first place, I know, don’t remind me. Let me get back to how this relates to the Favicon. So I am talking with Cindy about this hat thing and she says why don’t you try something different with the hat, something a bit eclectic. So I put on the old thinking cap (which I likely won’t wear as much after I get the new baseball caps) and played with ideas.

The idea struck me that I should create an icon that could be like a secondary logo, something you often see NHL teams (like the always exciting Buffalo Sabres, who’s new, main “mullet” buffalo logo I dislike intensely) use on their jerseys; they have their main logo and then a secondary icon. I wanted something cool, unique, maybe a bit more modern than my current logo which I also designed. I settled on the red “a” in the audio’connell Voice Over Talent logo encircled by an “O” with an apostrophe. Then I realized, if it can work for a hat, it could work on my “Logo to the left of the URL” too.

And so it was born. Ann Hackett from aHa! Designs helped bring my idea to life.

Tonight, I checked on Google to see if there was a name for this logoed doodad and found out about the Favicon. I may yet refine the graphic a bit cause it looks a bit jagged, but over all its what I wanted.

So thank you Favicon, you are a subtle branding reminder that great things in marketing are sometimes very small.

Tags: advertising, commentary, internet, marketing, silliness, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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