Voice Actor Marc Scott Offers Tips for Talent to Keep on Track for 2014
Marc Scott is a well known voice actor, especially in the blogging community. He is very active on Twitter and other online forums, spreading his advice and tips for successfully working with clients. He offers up straight forward blog posts to help novice and even experienced voice actors to keep their business moving.
We caught up with him to find out about his experience in online castings. He explains about cutting down the audition process and his professionalism working with clients meaning repeat business.
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What are some of the best tips you can give to established voice actors wanting to improve their skill set and improve business this year?
My best advice to established voice actors is never stop learning. I recently took a Small Business and Entrepreneurship course online through a local community college. Even after being in business for myself for years, I was amazed at how much I learned! Read books on business, marketing, sales and such. They’re literally filled with wisdom just waiting to be applied. Always be on the lookout for courses, books, conferences, or any other opportunity to invest in knowledge!
Another thing I encourage veteran talent to do is invest in the newcomers. It’s really easy to complain about newbies coming in and ruining the business, lowballing rates, etc. But how productive is that in the long run? Not very! So mentor new talent in an encouraging way. It gives you an opportunity to pass down your skills and make the industry better for everyone!
What were your initial thoughts when you saw another voice over casting website, The Voice Realm, enter the marketplace?
A little competition never hurt anyone. Or does it? When there are really great sites competing on behalf of the voice actor, I think it can be a good thing. When there are really great sites competing to offer the cheapest voice overs possible, that obviously hurts everyone. When I first heard The Voice Realm was coming, I was determined to keep an open mind and find out what the site was all about.
I was impressed with the commitment to limiting the number of voice actors, and using a very thorough screening process. I was also quite happy to see rates that were fair while remaining competitive.
How has the site surprised you?
The most surprising thing has been the number of jobs that get booked without auditions. I wasn’t a big believer of the concept in the beginning. Don’t get me wrong, as a talent, I thought the idea was great. I just didn’t think voice seekers would buy into it. Evidently, I was wrong!
What are the budgets for jobs like compared to what you have seen on other sites?
I’m only regularly active on one other casting site at this time, and I find The Voice Realm budgets are quite closely in line with the jobs I’m auditioning for and booking on that other site. Sometimes they’re lower. Sometimes they’re a little higher.
I will say that I love not having to compete via quotes. Having a set rate eliminates much of the low balling nonsense that takes place on some other sites.
You’ve been getting a lot of repeat bookings, what’s the benefit of keeping them coming through The Voice Realm as opposed to trying to take the client offsite?
I’ve been very blessed to get connected with one client in particular who is posting projects for me on a near weekly basis. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to have made such a great connection. It’s also a testament to my philosophy that happy clients are repeat clients!
Booking through the site is nice because everything is done for me. I just sign in, download the script, record, upload the audio and that’s it. It certainly eliminates some work on my end. That said, I work with so many great client, and honestly, I very seldom have any issues working with clients offsite.
Any advice for anyone looking to break into voice overs in 2014?
Voice over is like any other skill in life. You don’t just wake up one morning and become a brilliant guitar player, a best-selling author, a star chef, or a pro athlete. Like anything, a great investment in training is necessary. Maybe you really do have a great voice like everyone tells you, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle, not the whole puzzle!
Invest in coaching. Take some classes. Attend a conference. Find a mentor. Don’t just jump into the world of voice over with both feet and then give up in a few months when you haven’t made it big. Do things the right way, and the pay off will be there in the end.
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Marc points out that while rates are similar across a number of sites, he does save time by not having to audition or complete other work on his end, such as invoicing and chasing up clients for money. How much do you value all the time being spent on auditions? Let us know in the comments below.
You can follow Marc’s informative blog for tips on a successful voice over career.
