Survay - What Would You Like On A New Radio/Voice Site?

Keith Farrell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 28

Hi guys, it’s been a long time since I posted around here, but I've been busy working on some new projects. I've got a string of 3 new (community based) Radio and Voice Over websites to open. I'm hoping to use you folks here to fill this topic with many ideas and opinions for the following.

If voice123.com created a sister site. I am curious to know what features you'd like installed on it? We've seen the likes of www.RadioDaddy.Com www.JingleMad.com www.RadioWaves.Fm and www.voices-com. They are all radio and voice over community web sites.

1) What are your favorite features in the above sites? And what are the worst?
2) If you were launching a voice123.com sister site, what features/modules would you change or what features would you add? I.e. Demo Vault that stored all demos, clients can then listen to demos and hire a talent from the member’s uploaded demo. etc. etc...
3) More importantly, what do you think makes a new radio/voice over community a good one?

Obviously in my own opinion, it needs to have simple navigation and very good modules that serve a decent purpose. I hate visiting sites that have overcrowded features with no meaning to its uses. For me, simplicity is an asset! To be honest; Out of all the sites I listed above, I think if they were all combined into one website. It would be really cool, but perhaps a little over crowded...

Anyway; I look forward to your opinions.

Keith Farrell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 28

jezs, 30 views and no replys Surprised

BUMPIDY BUMP Laughing

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

I would think that another variation of the same-old same-old would be doomed to failure, regardless of the trimmings.
With thousands of voices snatching at every little job morsel out there, the sites generally become raucous flea markets.

Only brand spanking new paradigms would catch my attention:
1) $750 membership fee (ostensibly limits talent pool),
2) Fee for seekers to post casting calls (theoretically creates ROI mentality for serious seekers),
3) 10% commission to site on jobs won (in principle, this commits site to seek jobs over postings),
4) Solid, convincing marketing plan,
5) Updated statistics on jobs won by site talent,
6) Commitment from clients to hear every audition they sought,
7) No job budgets under, say, $250,
Cool

Billing and collection by site,
9) Yearly parties,
10) More that I can't think of off-hand.

This blueprint, of course, already exists. It's called the casting director/agent/talent chain, and anything that approximates it while incorporating the home studio/internet tsunami is the wave I'd catch.

Voice On!

Keith Farrell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 28

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

Your post is drawing scant replies, Keith, because in one form or another this subject has been filibustered here for years.

And yes, there is a swamp of "lost hopes" for Pay to Play sites.

By 6), I simply meant some commitment to avoid what I view as the sites' most hopeless weakness: solid, hopeful, hard-working auditions that disappear into the ether; never to be heard by anyone. To me, it is simply scandalous that talents pay to answer leads, but their efforts are not listened to.
It's like buying a yearly train pass, but there's no station...no tracks...no train.

As to the $750, I had meant to add that a portion of it (say $400) would go towards the talent's 10% commissions. Still, however, I'd happily pay $2.50 a day to be part of a site from which respectful, creative seekers were very liable to hire someone.

Mind though, Keith, that we're talking in the abstract here. I'd never jump into any such venture on the basis of hype and hyperbole.
I already tried that with voices-com and voice123. They are - to me - little more than the cluttered bulletin boards at the local post office.

It would have to be a more professional model; one, for example, that doesn`t mis-spell Survey.
But I`m glad to hear that your blueprint includes Number 9. It`s very high on my list.

Voice On!

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

Keith Farrell · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Sep 2007 Posts: 28

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been away...

Maxine Dunn · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 675

Hi Keith ~

Are you suggesting the idea of creating another voice-over marketing website or asking for feedback in order to gather information for creating a possible voice-over marketing venue?

A website where you would request payment for membership from voice-actors to have access to auditions? A website where there would be a forum such as this one and we could post our opinions and thoughts, etc.? A website that would enable voice-seekers to find us, and hire us?

If that is the point of your question, I just have to ask why at this point, considering the plethora of similar venues all vying for our professional attention and dollars, are you even remotely contemplating the need or even SEE the need in the community for yet another voice-over shopping mall?

Thanks for letting me know your rationale and fundamental reasons for thinking yet another venue is called for, and perhaps explaining your question in a bit more detail. As, from my standpoint, we are just about maxed out, (for the moment anyway), with voice-over forums, shopping malls, online venues to market our talent, etc. Can you please explain why you feel that we need yet another? And if you feel that we do, what expertise do you or your business partners bring to the table that would make your venue more desirable or profitable for those in the industry over others that are vastly more experienced, like Alex Torrenegra or Larry Maizlish?

Thanks for clarifying the question in your post.

And as an aside and succinctly pointed our by Mr. Jadah, yes, your misspelling of the word “survey,” in the title of your post, whether a typo or not, left an immediate negative impression on whatever it was that your post was going to be about. And something I’m sure my fellow Savvy friends will attest to, I am very tuned in to the grammatical aspects of professional correspondence. Some people like that about me, some people dislike it, but I feel that being adept with professional correspondence is a good indicator of….professionalism in general. I’m perhaps more sensitive than other people think necessary but I’ve always felt that spelling is important. And I didn’t get the immediate feeling that “Survay” was a “typo.”

If you don’t mind my pointing these out, other things that I noticed in your posts were for example, your capitalization of words following a semi-colon, (shouldn’t be capitalized). Using periods when a comma is the obvious choice. Using the word “hate” in a professional correspondence. Using profanity in your posts. Typing the word “to” when it should have been “too.” Using the phrase, “to be honest….” We would hope that a person is always honest and doesn’t need that caveat.

You may think I’m completely nit-picky when it comes to professional correspondence, however what if I was a potential customer thinking of you being the president of my new voice-over marketing site that I’d paid $300.00 to subscribe to? I would want to know that all your website text and correspondence would be proofread and copyedited with the utmost professionalism. So why should your posts here be any different? I’m not being mean, but just trying to make a point here I suppose that professional correspondence is an acquired skill and worth pursuing if you want to be successful in business. Ultimately your business would be representing me in a professional way so your “typos” and poor grammar and incorrect use of punctuation would reflect on me. Please don’t take these observations personally. I’m just pointing out details that your potential customers might perhaps notice and that would be a detriment to your efforts.

Also, if you use words like “sh-t” in your correspondence here, am I supposed to assume that you would be the utmost professional when dealing with you in a business sense? That is, of course, if you are in fact suggesting the need for yet another voice-over marketing website.

I truly applaud you for thinking in the entrepreneurial way that you are, however I’m suggesting that if you are hoping, from your post, to solicit professional’s opinions and also potential future business, that you tidy up your professional presentation.

Maxine