VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:54 am Post subject: Benefit to PRO P2P Subscription

I just signed up for a free Voice123 account and was wondering, what is the real benefit of the Pro subscription? Have any of you booked with a free account, or is that just wishful thinking?

Chuck Davis · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:57 am Post subject:

I've booked with free listings on Bodalgo and Voices.com. Once on each.

Work can be had from the P2P's and the subscription price can easily be recouped in one booking....provided you're not underbidding or going for the cheapies.
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

Philip Banks · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:17 am Post subject:

For all the BS and pure nonsense surrounding such sites there is one constant; the people who get work would get work anyway. If you are getting work from other sources then $300 is probably worth a punt, if you're not then I would question the wisdom of spending the money unless you can afford to lose it.

Kelly Brennan · Contributor Joined: 07 Dec 2011 Posts: 31

In addition to the free account, Voice123 has a "free" Pro trial - I think it is a two month trial where you get all the benefits of the paid account.

I did it in October and made more than enough to cover the $300 year long fee. Figured might as well give it a shot for the whole year since I had already made the fee through a booking with them.

Might want to give them a call and see if you can get the free trial.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:47 am Post subject:

Unless it's changed, you can't submit auditions on V123 with a free subscription. I've been a paying member there for about 8 years and each year recoup my money tenfold (more, really). Just Friday landed two jobs there that will pay around $2000.

It is a crapshoot to some degree. You have to, first of all, be very good. You need to be selective about what you audition for. But I like the fact that, unlike Voices.com, there is usually a reasonable limit to how many auditions can be submitted for a project.
_________________
Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:27 am Post subject:

DougVox · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:29 am Post subject:

Great perspective, Bob!

I'd never thought of it in quite that way, and you make tons of sense.
_________________
Doug Turkel (tur-KELL)
Voiceover UNnouncer®
UNnouncer.com

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:38 am Post subject:

Doug,

Thank you. Even non-union where the commissions can be as high as 20%, one would need to book no less than $1500 annually to make the fee worth it at either Voice123.com or the equivalent level of service from Voices.com. A similar formula would apply to Bodalgo.com or any other similar site.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Ed Gambill · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:46 am Post subject:

There is one big difference between the P2P sites and an agent. An agent wants to maximize the fee for there VO talent. The P2P don’t seem to care about that, even though the VO’s are paying the cost and generating the revenue for the P2P sites.
_________________
Esse quam videri "To be rather than to seem"
www.SaVoa.org

No. 07000 Member AES

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:04 am Post subject:

It is true that generally speaking, the work I land thru my agents pays better. It is also true that agents are getting fewer and fewer leads due to more and more clients, producers and voice-seekers getting their talent via the online sites. It's cheaper for them to do so.

I know many talents don't like that, but it's how it is. We used to drive to Turtles or Tower records to buy our cassettes and cds. Now we download our music from iTunes. It's the way of the world now, and it includes voicecasting.

Another point, in response to Bob mentioning the 10x figure: I may only book a job every month or two via V123 when things slow down, but almost without fail that job turns into repeat business. Almost ALL of my business now (realistically, about 90% of it) is repeat business, most of it first gleaned via one of the online sites. I'm beginning to see the same thing happen thru jobs landed at ACX for audiobooks now, too.
_________________
Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

imaginator · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:12 am Post subject:

...for what it's worth to you:

i dropped voices.com after three years of chasing auditions with about two or three jobs.

established a free account with v123 after being asked to by someone i already knew so that i could be more easily grouped in his auditioning for a particular project (i didn't understand why that would help, but i complied). didn't get that job, but was later found by a recording studio which provided a very nice ISDN job and has called me back twice so far.

on the other hand, i won a free two-month premium subscription with v123 last fall...used it judiciously...and never got one job. perhaps that says more about my talent than their business, but use it for what you will.
_________________
rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:20 am Post subject:

The difference between being a "premium" member of Voice123 and a "standard" member is roughly the same as that of buying a lottery ticket or not buying a lottery ticket. Buying a ticket gives you very little chance of winning some money; not buying a ticket further reduces your chances but saves you the price of the ticket.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:13 pm Post subject:

Hi all,

Just a quick update. I decided to do the premium membership at V123. As it happens, I auditioned through SmartCast and got a gig making my money back (and more on top of that) within the first week. I have the rest of this year to try to further that, so all-in-all it was a good decision for me.

Thank you all for your insights. They were very helpful.
_________________
Ben Stovall Voiceover
http://www.benstovall.com

"When you're nearing the end of your rope, tie a knot. Keep on hanging. Keep on remembering, that there ain't nobody bad like you." -- The Electrifying Mojo

Chuck Davis · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:15 am Post subject:

Way to go Ben. Do keep in touch with anyone you book with through V123. I've had great luck in converting "one hits" into repeat clients that way. Look at the V123 connection simply as an introduction to new clients. Give 'em great service and build a relationship from there.
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

Scott Pollak · Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:38 am Post subject:

Good job, Ben. Thanks for the update and glad it's working out for you.

I know there are a lot of P2P naysayers, and I understand that, but last week alone, in one day, I booked 2 jobs via V123 that paid around $2000. And it's looking like another one - as v/o for a new TV series - is close.

So for some, it works great. For others..... meh.....
_________________
Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com