VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[dlrosenberg]

I'm getting back into the business after a hiatus of many years and recently took a one evening VO "course" at a local adult school. The "course" attracted a wide demographic/experiental sample - from a real pro who does a lot of work for Fox, ABC, etc., to folks like me who have spent a lot of time on the air, plus a heaping serving of the barely articulate.

OK, so about the freebies...the instructor set everyone's expectations that success would not be easy and that we might want to consider attracting our first jobs by doing an initial freebie for the client, the idea being that the client would reward our submission with paid future work.

Having been in sales for many years, I have learned that doing something for free the first time only gets you the opportunity to do something for free the next time. It's simply too easy to train your clients the wrong way from the start. Once under this rock, you may never be able to crawl out. Submission begets slavery.

Am I wrong? This seems very unprofessional and a sign of desperation. What is your approach to this method? Recommended? Avoid like the plague?

Thanks

[tackerman]

If you work for free it's going to be very difficult to make any money...

This is along the same lines as the client that asks for the first job at half your going rate saying they'll pay your full rate in the future.

Don't hold your breath.

[Deirdre]

I recommend doing free stuff to people just starting out.
It's a way to do a real project, develop a character, etc. But I only recommend it if everyone else inolved is doing it for free as well, like college kids' projects or full-tilt PSAs.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

[TC]

I took a similar course not so long ago, and the instructor gave somewhat similar advice. But he didn't tell us to do free work for paying clients. Instead, he told us to do free work for people who need free voice work done. Like reading services for the blind, or librivox.org, where people record literature that is in the public domain -- free audiobooks, basically. These are low-pressure, low-risk opportunites that, nonetheless, require some level of capability and quality from the talent. T-Ball for voice talkers, I suppose.

I agree that doing a job free for a client who would otherwise pay for that work does nothing but set a bad precedent.

[Bailey]

[Dave]

I'm on the side of doing freebies...for non-profit groups...

But, not clients that are looking to profit off the talents newness to the job market. Just because you are new doesn't mean you work for free. After all, if you are good enough to get the gig...you should be paid for it.
_________________
. If at first you don't succeed, then bomb disposal probably isn't for you.

[dlrosenberg]

Thanks to all for the responses. I appreciate the suggestions re doing work gratis for not-for-profits (although we should be mindful of the recent brouhaha over the executive salaries of the American Red Cross, for example - not all "charitie" are created equal.)

To sum up what you all have said: it's OK to do an initial free gig for a for-profit client so long as you clearly set the expectation that this is a one-time thing.

[Rick Gordon]

Greetings All,

I agree with all of the above except doing one-time freebies for a client who would otherwise pay. Not good business and it puts you in that "Call Rick, be nice, he will probably do this short project for free".

I do do projects for free. Web site welcomes of up to 150 words (approx 1 minute) in exchange for a link to my site or a credit such as "Narration supplied by Rick Gordon". This has worked well in the past but rarely happens lately.

We at CV encourge all of our members to offer "free" productions for Charities, Religious Organizations and in general just worthy causes. They never have the funds however many of their members are potential clients and you could just receive a legit job as a result of your kindness.

The only other freebie I would suggest considering is for a good solid client who only requires 25-50 words. This is a good move and shows them that you do not always concentrate on the almighty dollar. Especially if this freebie is not going public, or only used on their Intranet for a short period of time.

Bottom line....use common sense.....and continue to be a "nice person" to deal with.

Make sense?

All the Best,
Rick Gordon
_________________
World - Class
Voice Artists
Get Hit and Get Heard
GUARANTEED!

[donrandall]

[bobsouer]

In keeping with the thoughts expressed above by Deirdre, here's a quick story.

Several years ago when I worked as a Program Director in Pittsburgh, PA a young lady named Kelly called me one day to ask if I would consider letting her do some free voiceovers for our station in exchange for copies of the things she recorded to use for her demo, and for the experience she would gain. Since I had no budget for outside talent, of course, I agreed.

As it turned out, Kelly was quite a talented lady who did some really excellent work for us. And a little over a year later, she had signed with the top talent agency in Pittsburgh and was booking thousands of dollars a year in paying work. The last time I talked with her, she continues to do well.

Since then, I've advised a few people that I thought had real talent to see if they can find a local station willing to work out a similar deal.

Under some limited circumstances, I do work at no charge for Christian ministries.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
ISDN, Source Connect, phone patch