Do you love to tell people about your voice over work? I'm giving you the opportunity to tell the world!

We've got some hot international press opportunities coming up, which is great in itself, but what is even more fabulous is that we have also been asked to collect and share success stories from members of Voices.com, like you, and details about your experiences using the site.

Do you have a story to share?

People Are Talking

Word on the street is that Voices.com is the place to go to get professional voices recorded for just about everything under the sun.

Our PR people are working on a unique angle and are almost ready to roll... all that's missing is your story!

Could Your Story Be The Ultimate Success Story?

I'm asking you today to share your biggest win, your most exciting moment, or anything else you'd like to tell me that has to do with how you've found success at Voices.com.

What Type Of Story Can You Send?

I'm looking for any type of story that shows how Voices.com has helped you, but here are a few ideas to get you thinking...

Have You Used Your Membership:

๏ With great success?
๏ To solve a problem?
๏ In an interesting situation?
๏ In a quirky or unusual way?

... or do you have any other kind of story that we might find interesting?

What To Include In Your Story:

๏ Your name and where you're from
๏ A bit of background about why you were using the service
๏ How you used the service
๏ What the outcome was
๏ What would have happened if you hadn't been a member of Voices.com
๏ Why you would recommend Voices.com to other people

How To Make Your Story Stand Out:

๏ Be funny
๏ Show your personality
๏ Record in your studio or other interesting environment
๏ Consider music, sound effects and other production elements

PRIZES

We're going to give you gift certificates to spend on anything you wish from Sweetwater Sound if you win this contest. First place will receive a $500 Sweetwater Sound gift certificate, second place receives $300, and third place will receive a $200 gift certificate.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

There Are 2 Ways To Send Your Story

1. Record A Video or Web Cam Clip

Remember to mention your name and how you used Voices.com in the video. Then upload the video to YouTube and send us the link -- or send it to us by email media@voices.com, or using YouSendIt.com (which is a great way of sending large files).

2. Record An Audio Message

Just as before, make sure that you mention your name and how you used Voices.com in your audio recording. To submit, simply email your submission to media@voices.com.

See what other people are saying about Voices.com

We'll start publishing the best responses on our buzz blog.

What's Your Story?

Contest ends Friday June 26, 2009 at 11:59 PM and we'll announce the winners Friday July 3, 2009. Looking forward to being wowed!

Best of luck to you all,

Stephanie and The Voices.com Team

Over the weekend, I decided that the Saturday Giveaway would be conducted through Twitter this time

What's up for grabs?

A 1-year Premium membership to Voices.com!

In order to qualify, you'll need to follow my instructions and get on the Twitter bandwagon.

Why Do You Want a Voices.com Premium Membership?

"Saturday Giveaway: In 140 characters or less, tell me why you want a Premium membership to Voices.com. Reply to this tweet to enter."

On Saturday night, I was tweeting from PodCamp London's evening event at the Windermere Manor, and thought it would be cool to post the Saturday Giveaway through Twitter this time.

If you are interested in a chance to win a 1-year Premium membership from Voices.com, currently valued at $299, you will need to do the following:

1. If you are already on Twitter, reply to me @stephciccarelli and tell me why you want the membership in 140 characters or less.

2. If you are not yet on Twitter, you will need to:

a) Register for a free Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com
b) Follow me here at http://www.twitter.com/stephciccarelli
c) Message me by typing in @stephciccarelli and letting me know, in 140 characters or less, why you want a Voices.com Premium membership

On Twitter, you are able to let other people know what you are doing and you can also send people messages by using the @ symbol in front of their username. In my case, you'd be starting your message to me here @stephciccarelli .

Easy as that!

The winner will be announced on Saturday May 2, 2009 through Twitter and on my Facebook status.

Looking forward to hearing from you on Twitter!

Best wishes,

Stephanie
@stephciccarelli

What do you think of when you hear "Voices.com"?

We're curious to find out!

Comment with what you think our new slogan should be and if your slogan is selected, we'll give you a 1-year Premium membership subscription to Voices.com as well as Julie Williams' How To Make Money in Voice-Overs 5-CD set, a combined value of $449.95!

Learn more by reading this post.

What Is a Slogan?

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, the word slogan, derived from the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm, means:

1 a: a war cry especially of a Scottish clan b: a word or phrase used to express a characteristic position or stand or a goal to be achieved

2: a brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion

In case you're wondering, we're most taken with the second definition, which is a brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion.

Examples of Some Familiar Slogans

Skype: Take a Deep Breath.
Orange: The Future's Bright, the Future's Orange.
Apple: Think different.
Amex: Don't leave home without it.
Smith Barney: We make money the old-fashioned way - we earn it.
DeBeers: A diamond is forever.
Audi: Vorsprung durch technik.
Heinz: Beanz meanz Heinz.
Carlsberg: Probably the best beer in the world

How Do You Write a Slogan?

One of the best ways to get started is through brainstorming and writing down every word or feeling that comes to mind when you think of Voices.com, perhaps what makes us different, what we're known for, how the site can help, etc.

I've found an article on EZarticles.com called 10 Tips For Writing Tag Lines that provides additional guidance and ideas if you're interested.

How Do You Enter the Contest?

Simply leave a comment here on this post with your slogan for Voices.com. You may submit more than one if you desire.

The window of opportunity is limited to 48 hours effective Thursday March 5, 12 p.m. EST through Saturday March 7, 12 p.m. EST. 2009.

The person whose slogan / tag line is chosen as the winning submission will walk away with 2 fabulous prizes, including:

1. A 1-year Premium membership to Voices.com, valued at $300.00
2. Voice-Overs.com owner / VO Forum facilitator Julie Williams' "How To Make Money in Voice-Overs" 5 CD set, valued at $149.95

* Bonus - Bragging rights (you know they're worth something!)

Looking Forward to Hearing Your Ideas!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Dean Mitchell

Do You Want a Copy of Voice For Hire?

Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé's book "Voice for Hire: Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice-Overs" is up for grabs this week at VOX Daily!

I've recently reviewed this book and it is a must read for any professional voice over artist, regardless of what stage of your career you are in.

For a Chance to Win, Leave a Comment!

Voice For Hire

The only thing I can say is "Boy, do I wish I had read this wonderful book earlier!" Voice For Hire is a fantastic book that I highly recommend. Having recently read and reviewed it, I can share that this read is fully deserving of a place in your personal library at home.

Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé did an amazing job putting this together and I'm pleased to be able to share the love by giving away another copy of this Book / CD treasure on how to make it (and stay in the room once you've got there) in voice overs.

If you like, you can read the Voice For Hire review and return to comment for a chance to win.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Voice For Hire!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to our last giveaways' contest winner, Steve Suekey, who has already received Rodney Saulsberry's "Better Than Before" CD in the post.

So... Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Voice For Hire!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

If you had 30 seconds to ask anything about how to record voiceovers at home or on the road, what would your single most important question be?

My friend Harlan Hogan, author of "Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home... And On the Road", along with his co-author, Jeffrey P. Fisher, are conducting an online survey to learn more about what voice artists want to know regarding recording voice overs (whether at home or on the road) with the top questions answered via a live teleseminar, TBA, facilitated by Dan O'Day.

Want to get in on the call?

Learn more now!

Here's What To Do

If you've been waiting to read Harlan's book or have read it and have follow up questions that you'd like to ask, make sure that you register for the call now and submit your question for Harlan and Jeffrey.

Here's the link where you can do just that:

Register for Harlan Hogan's FREE teleseminar and ask your question now.

Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Do you need some musical motivation to get your voice over career rockin'?

Rodney Saulsberry has generously donated a copy of his latest album "Better Than Before", full of inspirational messages and upbeat music to get you going.

Want a chance to win?

Comment on this article and read on for more details.

Better Than Before

One of the most sought after voiceover artists in the world, Rodney Saulsberry, has returned to his musical roots with the release of his new album, "Better Than Before". This smooth and exciting CD is designed to uplift listeners and keep them in a positive frame of mind.

The voice of many commercial products including Twix Candy Bars, Zatarain's Cajun Foods and Toyota Camry to name a few, Rodney Saulsberry mentors through song, drawing on messages from his two bestselling books, You Can Bank on Your Voice and Step Up to the Mic.

Rodney shared, "I recorded this CD for the voiceover community and all individuals who seek success. These seven motivational and inspirational songs were designed to help us navigate these tough times, as we pursue our VO careers with a positive attitude, and a confident frame of mind."

Comment Now For a Chance to Win Rodney's Motivational Music CD

How do you enter the contest? Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

VOX Daily giveaways may include prizes such as:

๏ Voice Acting Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners are drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win are notified by email to confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner is announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway presents itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to our most recent contest winner Dave Almond, who will be receiving one of Julie Williams digital audio players featuring 5 hours of content entitled "How To Make Money in Voice-Overs Even If you Don't Live in N.Y. or L.A." in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

5 Hours of Portable Voice-Over Goodness

Do you have some time to spare?

Want to spend it in the company of a voice over coach delivering prime content?

Today's your lucky day!

Enter this contest to for a chance to win a cool, mobile gift from Julie Williams of Voice-Overs.com that includes 5 hours of audio from "How To Make Money In Voice-Overs Even If You Aren't in N.Y. or L.A." on one digital player, complete with earbuds and AAA battery.

How To Make Money In Voice-Overs, 3rd Edition

Julie Williams' 5 CD set gives you some very helpful tools that assist you in the marketing aspect of your business, focusing on the single most challenging aspect of pursuing voice over as a professional... that would be making a consistent amount of money to make a living!

Listeners will learn how to do just that with this comprehensive course in voice over marketing for talent who want to compete in the global voice over marketplace, regardless of where they live.

The course includes almost 5 hours of extensive information from national voice talent Julie Williams as well as feature interviews with industry experts Gabrielle Nistico of Voice Hunter, business consultant Kristine Oller, lawyer and voice over talent Rob Sciglimpaglia, Voices.com co-founder Stephanie Ciccarelli, producer and composer Frank Maranzino, Larry Maizlish of Voices On Call, and Village Green Studios graphic designer Jason Sikes.

Comment Now For a Chance to Win This Digital Player

How do you enter the contest? Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

VOX Daily giveaways may include prizes such as:

๏ Voice Acting Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners are drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win are notified by email to confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner is announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway presents itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to our most recent contest winner Joeran Lee, who will be receiving a copy of Paul Russell's book "Acting : Make It Your Business" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Want to learn how to avoid mistakes and achieve success as a working actor?

The author of the giveaway for this week, Paul Russell, has been in the business for nearly 30 years, working as a casting director, director and former actor. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, Broadway, and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

If anyone has some hot tips to share from years of experience in different facets of the entertainment industry, Paul Russell does, and he's donated a copy of his brand new book (released October 2008) "Acting : Make It Your Business" for giveaway on VOX Daily.

Want to win? Leave a comment!

Acting : Make It Your Business

Written by an award-winning, veteran casting director, this book puts the power to land jobs and thrive in any medium - stage, film, TV, or the Internet - directly into the hands of the actor. This blunt, wise, and often hilarious guide overflows with cutting-edge audition, marketing, and networking strategies, combining traditional techniques with those best suited for the digital age.

Well-known actors and powerful agents make cameos throughout, offering newcomers and working professionals alike a clear-eyed, uncensored perspective on survival and advancement within the entertainment industry.

Praise for Paul Russell and Acting : Make It Your Business

"Humorous and witty... Actors everywhere who are trying to succeed in the business, young or old, on stage or on camera, in New York or anywhere in the world, take note: This is your road map."

-- Bernard Telsey, casting director (Rent, Sex & The City: The Movie, Wicked)

"All the right questions asked and answered... and with a generous portion of good humor."

-- Suzanne Ryan, casting director (Law & Order)

"Paul's book made me proud to be a part of the acting community in this business we call 'show'."

-- Karen Ziemba, actress, Tony and Drama Desk Award winner

"Paul Russell's words are not only blunt and accurate. They zero in on all the questions every actor wants to know but is afraid to ask."

-- Ken Melamed, talent agency, Bret Adams, Ltd.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner Jasen Anthony who will be receiving an autographed copy of Rodney Saulsberry's book "You Can Bank on Your Voice" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Acting : Make It Your Business by Paul Russell!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Have you heard of Rodney Saulsberry's book "You Can Bank on Your Voice?"

We're giving it away this week, so if you've been waiting to read this fabulous book, now is the time to put your name in the hat.

Comment for a chance to win!

You Can Bank on Your Voice

I had the opportunity to review You Can Bank on Your Voice by Rodney Saulsberry in January of 2007 and highly recommend this book to all voice over professionals, particularly those who are fresh in their careers or are aspiring to join the fray.

Click here to read the review of You Can Bank on Your Voice.

Published in 2004, Rodney Saulsberry's book (covers all aspects of getting started as a voice-over talent coupled with well chosen vignettes from his own career to entertain and inspire.

While the book was literally brimming with useful information about getting started, setting up a home studio, growing your business and taking care of your voice, I'd like to mention the three elements that stood out the most to me.

These elements were:

๏ Rodney's storytelling capabilities
๏ The attention given to the importance of relationships in the voice-over business
๏ A comprehensive guide on how to interpret copy for commercials, tags, promos, trailers, and legal tags as well as hard sell / soft sell reads and so on

In addition to the core content, Rodney includes several appendices covering copy samples, vocal exercises, and resources as well as an extensive glossary.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winners, Bill Johnson, Roger Tremaine, and Jay Lerner who will all be invited to join Nancy and Anna's teleseminar.

Yes, you read correctly, there were 3 winners! In the middle of last week, Nancy and Anna generously offered to donate two more seats on the call as a surprise for those who entered the contest. If you didn't win but would still like to get on the call, click here for more details.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Rodney Saulsberry's book You Can Bank on Your Voice!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. If you haven't heard Rodney Saulsberry before, take a listen to his podcasts on Voice Over Experts.

New York, New York!

On Friday December 5th, 2008 voice over talent will be descending on New York City and partying it up at a networking event in Manhattan presented by Erik Sheppard of Voice Talent Productions.

Admission is free with your RSVP.

If you can make it, you should be there, because David and I would really love to meet you!

Find out more about this event here at VOX Daily.

New York Voice Over Mixer 2008

The 2008 New York Voice Over Mixer is being held on December 5th in Manhattan.

You're invited to spend the evening networking with some of the worlds most respected voice over industry professionals.

The event will be from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Butterfield 8 located at 5 East 38th Street New York, NY 10016 (between 5th Ave and Madison Ave). Food and cocktails will be available for purchase throughout the evening.

This is an excellent opportunity for coaches, agents, actors and other voice professionals to share information about their services and to learn about others in a casual and friendly environment.

Just taking a peek now, I'm happy to say that Bob Bergen, Peter Rofé and Elaine Clark have already sent in their RSVPs.

There will also be a number of prizes raffled off including a few from Voices.com... a Platinum membership, to name just one!

Take note: Be sure to bring plenty of business cards and be ready for a fun filled evening.

To learn more about the event, what's being raffled off and who is coming, check out this link here at Voice Talent Productions.

To RSVP, email Erik@VoiceTalentProductions.com and also comment here on this blog post for your friends to see at VOX Daily.

Looking forward to seeing you in The Big Apple!

Cheers,

Stephanie and David Ciccarelli

What Are You Doing on The Evening of Wednesday November 12, 2008?

You could be joining Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino on their teleseminar!

Comment for a chance to win a seat on this wonderful Radio Autopsy teleseminar.

Learn more now :) COMMENT for a chance to WIN!

Acting for Advertising Part 7, Wednesday, November 12th

Join Nancy and Anna on November 12th 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific for Acting for Advertising Part 7.

This is not a sequel. Each of these Teleseminars reveals a chapter from Nancy's core curriculum, useful Q and A from your peers, plus more marketing and business tips that you can put to use immediately.

Each moment offers unique "behind the velvet rope of the agency/casting scene" advice not available anywhere else.

60 minute lecture, 15 min Q and A... so bring your questions and notebooks!

Here are just a few of the topics you'll learn about on the call:

๏ U-TURN Part 3 of a Radio Autopsy!

- How to recognize and service the CRITICAL mid-story axis point.
- If you don't raise the stakes in the "problem" zone, you risk being "announcery" in the solution.
- Where you must exaggerate escalation of the "want," then snap with sharp contrast into a relaxed "solve."
- The auditions performances that HOOK THE BOOKINGS on scripts written in this pattern do things you might not have thought were tasteful or necessary!
- Hear the audition examples that inspired Nancy to decide to teach this stuff to already-great actors!

๏ Behind The Agent Curtain

- Taking CONTROL of Your Reaction to Constructive Criticism - Defensiveness Can Get You DROPPED.
- Are you "Over-Represented?"...Pros and Cons to playing Hamlet in EVERY hamlet.
- The most dangerous paragraph to overlook in your talent agency CONTRACT.

๏ Actor to Actor--Crucial follow up tips that keep clients booking you REPEATEDLY!

๏ And as always, bring your questions for a killer Q and A!

If you don't win the drawing, just $39 gets you in on the call.

Next Saturday when the winner of this contest is announced, I'll include a link to where you can learn more about the teleseminar and or signup.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Melissa Reizian Frank, who will be receiving a Premium Membership upon the launch of the all-new Voices.com.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win a seat on Nancy and Anna's teleseminar for November 12, 2008!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Want to Win a Voices.com Premium Membership?

I'm very excited to give this prize away and can't wait to hear from you!

If you'd like to win a 1-year Premium membership to Voices.com, valued at $299, effective upon the launch of the new site, leave a comment!

Premium Membership to Voices.com

By joining Voices.com as a Premium member, you'll discover the power of online career management using intuitive technology and bolster your career with superior marketing opportunities and visibility for your voice at Voices.com.

With the ability to upload 100MB of audio, video, and text documents, your Voices.com website will be the primary destination for clients seeking your vocal expertise on the Internet. You'll be able to audition for jobs and promote your services in Unlimited Featured Talent Directory Listings as well as enjoy priority ranking in the Voices.com search engine.

Here's some more information:

๏ Audition for voice-over jobs that are sent to you via email. We guarantee that all voice talent will receive the project notifications at the same time. 500+ jobs are posted at Voices.com each month.

๏ Get contacted directly. Clients can email you from your web page (http://yourname.voices.com) and hire you for work.

๏ Showcase your voice-over demos online. Easily send files to business associates, casting directors and advertising agencies. (100MB)

๏ Priority ranking in the search results. Your name appears above other membership levels.

๏ Be promoted as a Featured Talent on the home page.

๏ Get paid directly. Set your own rates. Accept online credit card payments with the industry-leading SurePay™ Escrow service or by using your own PayPal account.

๏ Bonus eBooks! Included are the 150 page eBook "The Definitive Guide to Voice-Over Success", "The Voice Over Script Collection" and "Commercial Scripts for Radio and Television Ads", a $90 value!

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is have a preexisting profile on Voices.com (regardless of voice talent membership level) and comment on this article to let me know that you'd like to win the 1-year Premium membership subscription to Voices.com!

This is open to all voice talents (international voice talents included) and the drawing will take place on November 1st, 2008 so be sure that you're in by October 31st to be safe :)

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Crystal Porter, who will be receiving a Traditional Medicinals prize package in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win a Premium Membership to the All-New Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Is your voice in need of some tender loving care?

This week, we're giving away a rocking package featuring some products from Traditional Medicinals.

Leave a comment and let me know that you'd like to win!

Traditional Medicinals

I've heard many people say recently that they are coming down with the flu, head colds and other nasty bugs and thought that it was the perfect time to spread some warm tea and pastilles :)

This package will include the products you see in the image above, including a Throat Coat tea sampler, some soothing pastilles, and some stress relief ordered just for you by Voices.com from the good people at Traditional Medicinals.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win some fab products from Traditional Medicinals!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Pete Gold, who will be receiving Julie Williams' Proven Voice-Over Techniques.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Traditional Medicinals from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Do You Know Any Proven Voice-Over Techniques?

Julie Williams of Voice-Overs.com has generously donated a copy of her CD "Proven Voice-Over Techniques", an edited version of Julie's 11-hour voice-over workshop.

You might recognize Julie as one of our experts on the Voice Over Experts podcast and from a previous giveaway. If you click on her name above, you'll be taken to her profile and will be able to listen to her speak to learn more about her and her teaching style.

Want To Win This CD? Leave a Comment!

Proven Voice-Over Techniques

Last summer we held a Julie Williams workshop at Voices.com. A group of voice actors from London and the surrounding area gathered together and listened to Julie's CD as we ate some pizza and networked.

Vince Londini, Randy White, Michele Dyck, Pete Newman, Jorge Mendoza, and Bob Purssglove were there with several members of the Voices.com team including Laurynda Pasma, Erica Bontje, Carol Mroz and myself.

Here's a picture I took later on, but since we're on the topic of who was there, I'll insert it just below. We were on the phone with Julie Williams at this point, listening intently as she told us a story and shared more tips about voice over marketing.

In between tracks, we'd take breaks to discuss the material presented which often segued into other conversations about technology, marketing and how to use your voice.

During one of these instances, the question of "Should I invest in an ISDN line or Source-Connect" came up, one that is being asked quite a bit more these days with the new (and less expensive) technology on the market.

It was conversations like these with banter or "talking shop" that really helped to unite our band of guests and believe me, with Julie's CD as the inspiration, we could have talked all day!

One aspect of Julie's CD was about promotion and production of voice over demos. Everyone found these insights very useful and also appreciated the "Coloring Words" segment to help them really give life to the copy that they read.

Jam packed with information and audio samples, this workshop concentrates on Julie's first and most important step in the 1-2-3 Start of Voice-Overs: Your VO Delivery: refining your craft.

Topics Covered:

๏ Interpretive reading: Making it "real"
๏ Developing your "half voice" for intimacy
๏ Emphasis with: punching & coloring
๏ Handling humor and emotional material
๏ Dialog Copy: Interacting with another
๏ Subtly improving your less talented partner!
๏ Pacing for each type of job
๏ Producing a "killer" demo tape
๏ Merchandising your talents

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Julie's CD!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Jim Lankford, who will be receiving a 1-hour Promo / Trailer demo coaching session with David Alden.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Julie Williams' CD "Proven Voice-Over Techniques" from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/sweetym

Want to get into Promos and Trailers?

This week on the VOX Daily Saturday Giveaway, I'm pleased to present you with an opportunity to win a 1-hour Promo/Trailer demo coaching session with David Alden, a talented voice artist and instructor who has worked with top names in Promos and Theatrical Trailers including Joe Cipriano, George DelHoyo, Ben Patrick Johnson and more!

David has also joined our faculty on Voice Over Experts so expect to hear from him this week in conjunction with this fabulous giveaway.

Want to Win? Read to Learn More and Leave a Comment!

David Alden

With nearly 30 years of experience, David Alden is a well-trained and seasoned actor, voice actor, voice-over coach and voice-over director for on-air network promos, and for a number of years, theatrical trailers.

He has worked and continues work with the top trailer and promo voices in North America, such as, the late Don Lafontaine, Joe Cipriano, George Del Hoyo, Tony Rodgers, Ben Patrick Johnson, Scott Rummell, Jonathan Cook, Rino Romano, Ashton Smith and many, many more.

To date, he has directed voiceover sessions for approximately 50,000 promos & trailers. Being an actor and voice actor allows David to bring forward his unique perspective and wisdom to the creative process thereby facilitating an environment in which a voice actor's best performance may emerge.

As a consultant/career coach to Promo voice-over talent, David coaches privately as time allows. This gift of David's time is certainly worth hundreds of dollars and I hope to see a great number of you commenting for a chance to study with him.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win this 1 hour coaching session with David Alden!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Michael Montgomery, who will be receiving a copy of Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé's newly released book "Voice For Hire" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win the Training Session With David Alden!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Want to Win the Newest Book on the VO Market?

Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé's book highly anticipated book "Voice for Hire: Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice-Overs" is quickly approaching it's release date and will soon be found in stores across the US. The book hits the shelves on September 30th, 2008!

Want To Win Voice For Hire? Leave a Comment!

Voice For Hire

Many months ago, I had the pleasure of corresponding with Randy Thomas as she told me about her forthcoming book (Voice For Hire). I'm glad that the release date (September 30th) is nearly here and I personally can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book (I contributed some information from Voices.com and am excited to read what Randy and Peter included!).

According to the authors, this book is great for voice talent at any juncture in their career and or training, and as the newest voice over book on the market, it should be an interesting read for all of us.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Voice For Hire!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Martin Auman, who will be receiving the 5 CD Set "How to Make Money In Voice-Overs" by Julie Williams.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Randy Thomas and Peter Rofé's book from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Can You Make Money in Voice-Overs Even If You're Not in New York City or Los Angeles?

Julie Williams of Voice-Overs.com has just released the 3rd edition of her CD marketing guide "How To Make Money In Voice-Overs", regularly priced at $169.95.

You might recognize Julie as one of our experts on the Voice Over Experts podcast. If you click on her name above, you'll be taken to her profile and will be able to listen to her speak to learn more about her and her teaching style.

Want To Win This Marketing Course? Leave a Comment!

How To Make Money in VO (even if you're not in the Big Apple or La La Land)

One of the myths of voice over is that you need to be in a major center to make money doing what you love. That may have been the case decades ago, but thanks to technology, affordable audio recording equipment and principally, the Internet, making a living as a voice over artist living outside of New York City and Los Angeles is not only doable but an achievable reality if you put your heart, mind and resources into making a career as a professional voice over talent.

Julie Williams' 5 CD set (now in its 3rd edition) gives you some very helpful tools that assist you in the marketing aspect of your business, focusing on the single most challenging aspect of pursuing voice over as a professional... that would be making a consistent amount of money to make a living!

Listeners will learn how to do just that with this comprehensive course in voice over marketing for talent who want to compete in the global voice over marketplace, regardless of where they live.

The course includes almost 5 hours of extensive information from national voice talent Julie Williams as well as feature interviews with industry experts Gabrielle Nistico, Kristine Oller, Rob Sciglimpaglia, Stephanie Ciccarelli, Frank Maranzino, Larry Maizlish, and Jason Sikes.

Voice over pro and author, Harlan Hogan, described Julie's CD set as “A wonderful source! It’s up-to-date, upbeat, and full of practical, pragmatic advice. I really enjoyed the interviews with various experts in the industry. Well worth the investment, even if you DO live in NY or LA!”

You can read a review of Julie's "How To Make Money In Voice-Overs" on Voice Over Times.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Julie's CDs!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Summer James, who will be receiving a publicity campaign promoting her voice over work for Breast Cancer Awareness Month featured on Lifetime's Army Wives and FordCares.com.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Julie Williams' CD course from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Did You Know There is Another Way To Get Voices.com Working For You?

Earlier this summer, we launched a new membership level called "Platinum", a service designed for voice over talent who want to get the absolute most for their career out of the Internet by way of greater visibility in the search engines, insider tips and some major publicity.

The Platinum Membership Includes:

๏ All of the features and benefits of the Premium membership at Voices.com
๏ Additional Listings on 10 Niche Voice Over Websites
๏ 2 Personalized Publicity Campaigns
๏ Exclusive Monthly Marketing Reports
๏ Advertisements throughout the Voices.com Advertising Network

There have been a number of impressive success stories so far, two in particular that are detailed below.

I'll also share a compelling reason to join that you've never heard before.

Is becoming a Platinum member the right decision for you? Find out here at VOX Daily.

The Wheels of Progress Are Turning

A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email out to our Platinum members with updates about their membership, an insider report and an invitation to kick start their publicity campaigns, several of which are circulating right now on news websites, including Google News, Yahoo! and others.

When I asked for feedback on how their Platinum memberships were going so far (after two months of service), I received a number of jaw-dropping and grateful emails from people who are experiencing great success.

I'd like to share a couple of the stories here with you.

Larry Wayne's Platinum Experience

My news is that I am becoming the imaging voice for one of the world's fastest growing and increasingly important new industries... wind power! I am also doing :30 ads for Vestas airing on CNN.  And just the other day they had me do intros for a new regular Bloomberg Financial feature that talks about Vestas. I am majorly pumped about this!  This came within days of opening the new websites as a Platinum member. I would also say the Vestas account alone has already paid for the Platinum membership!

Also, I'm working with two producers in Orange County on a trailer for a totally new concept for a film. At this point they are just trying to come up with a non broadcast non theatrical trailer of several minutes to show to interested producers. I KNOW they found me on the new trailer website!

Larry Wayne
Wayne Audio

Janice Downes' Platinum Experience

I've had people ask me on a regular basis if I think Voices.com is worth it, and my answer is always the same, definitely! I especially found it interesting when I talked to other V/O talent at Voice 2008 in LA.... when I told people that I was able to quit my full time sales job and do voiceover within 4 months of joining Voices.com, and that 90% of my jobs originated from Voices.com they couldn't believe it!

Many times that week people would continually ask me about that, and suggested I must be the exception. I don't think so at all.

Within that year I have worked my way to currently being ranked the Top Female Voice by your clients. My ranking on your site is my greatest industry achievement to date, and I am proud of that.

Janice Downes
Studio Voice Work

Have Some Questions About Going Platinum?

Perhaps you've been thinking along these lines:

Question #1: I'd love to do it but I think the price is too high.

Response: The Platinum membership is the only service of its kind and we've priced the package extremely competitively for what it includes. We bundled over $7000.00 worth of value into this membership, and we're making available for $1995.00.

Question #2: $1995.00 sounds like a large investment. Can I pay in installments?

Response: Yes, you can make quarterly payments of $498.75 to help break up the fee over the year and still get the same service and personalized attention.

Question #3: Won't there be thousands of people doing this? How will I be found?

Response: The Platinum membership is limited to only 100 people. This is the most effective, robust and highly customized online membership for the services being rendered that you will see anywhere, period.

Question #4: I'm a professional voice talent. Do you screen people for Platinum memberships? I don't want to be lumped in with newbies.

Response: We understand. You'll be comforted to know that Voices.com is only offering this membership to professional voice over talents. We reserve the right to refund customers who purchase the membership if they are not professionals. Just because someone has the money doesn't mean that they will be able to join the Platinum membership.

Question #5: What will you do for me that I'm not already doing myself?

Response: As a professional voice talent who is running their own business, you have more important things to do during your day like auditioning and recording voice overs for your clients as well as making time for your family and doing what you love.

By investing in the Platinum membership, you're unloading tasks that you don't have time to do for yourself such as marketing, promotion, search engine optimization, researching the industry and public relations, all of which make a huge difference in your career when done well but are often neglected in favor of other more critical day-to-day business activities.

As experts in these areas, we are working hard for our Platinum members in a capacity unheard of for a voice over marketplace serving as their publicists, branding consultants, search engine virtuosos, market researchers, and champions of their voices over services.

The Time Is Now

The earlier you do this, the sooner you'll receive media attention and publicity for your work that will catapult you into the fall during the busy advertising season.

There's No Shortage of Work In the Voice Over Business

Companies are having to try new things to make themselves competitive and assert their staying power, and do you know what?

Voice over is on their to do list.

Now is the time to let the world know that you are here to meet their voice over needs and exceed their expectations, moving forward as an agent of change using your Platinum membership as the vehicle that will help get you there.

3 Great Things Going For You Right Now

๏ There is still room for more members on the Platinum sites at present (but memberships will sell quickly so act now)
๏ You can now pay in quarterly installments over the year
๏ It's the busiest season for advertisers as they prepare their campaigns for the holidays

How Do You Get Started as Platinum?

You can make payment:

๏ Online using PayPal
๏ Phone us toll-free in North America at 1-888-359-3472 to pay with a VISA or Mastercard
๏ Sign and fax your authorization for quarterly billing (Voices.com Platinum Order Form)
๏ Mail a check / cheque to our corporate address at:

Voices.com
130-100 Collip Circle
London, ON Canada
N6G 4X8

Looking forward to serving you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie and The Voices.com Team

©iStockphoto.com/Sergei Popov

And Now For Something Completely Different!

Do you want to get the word out about your voice over services in a big way?

This week on the Saturday Giveaway, we're asking you to leave a comment pitching your most recent voice acting or voice over related achievement for a chance to be selected to win a publicity campaign from Voices.com, a value of $400.00!

As I said, this is something different, so take a good look at what I'm outlining here for you when participating this week.

You Could Be Making Headline News

Have you done something noteworthy lately?

This week, Voices.com is giving away a publicity package that includes:

๏ Professionally written press release announcing your news
๏ Distribution across the World Wide Web
๏ Links to your websites
๏ Coverage on Voice Over Times
๏ Interview on VOX Daily

Want To See a Couple of Examples?

Something unique about this giveaway is that it is customized to promote your voice and achievements.

You may have read press releases this week via Google News featuring voice actors L. Harvey Gold and Larry Wayne. Both are Platinum members at Voices.com and receive PR packages as part of their membership.

More press releases will be coming out soon for other Platinum members but I thought I'd share these with you today as they're hot off the press:

Canadian Promo Voice L. Harvey Gold Goes Platinum at Voices.com

Voice of Vestas Larry Wayne Going Strong as Platinum Talent at Voices.com

If you've been thinking about joining as a Platinum member but have been sitting on the fence, this is just a small taste of what could be done for your voice over career when you partner with Voices.com.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win The Publicity Campaign?

All you need to do is comment on this article with your pitch. I'll be reading each and every one of the comments looking for a timely, exciting story to select as the winner of this giveaway.

Usually, the winner is selected by drawing a random integer at Random.org based upon how many comments were left, but this time will be different and the winner will be picked based upon relevancy and a little something called "buzz" factor.

Each week, we give away something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

Giveaways at Voices.com include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

Next Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Linda Naugle, who will be receiving Harlan Hogan's VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor in the mail soon.

Comment With Your Pitch for an Opportunity to Win The Publicity Package from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Shawn Gearhart

Tales & Techniques

Ever been for a ride-along with one of the pros to watch their journey to voice over greatness?

Go for a spin with Harlan Hogan and enjoy a non-stop tour of how he got started and courageously made it to the upper echelons of commercial voice over success.

Want to Win? Leave a Comment!

VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-over Actor

VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor, published in 2002, takes you on Harlan Hogan's journey from the mischievous to the magnificent, complete with colorful anecdotes, real life experiences and insightful "been there done that" takeaways that you can apply to your career found throughout this unique education, specifically, the tales and the techniques of a prominent voice-over actor.

You may know his voice from commercial campaigns such as the exterminating voice that "Kills bugs fast, Kills bugs dead", "The cereal even Mikey likes", and "Hey Culligan Man!"

If you lived through the 60s or weren't there but would love to know what it was like "making it" in the business through the psychedelic years through the seventies and beyond, this book will take you on a wild ride of radio jock antics through to silliness in the booth, recounted by the voice of a very successful voice actor and lecturer, Harlan Hogan.

This book contains a wealth of tested tips for surviving and thriving as a voice-over actor. Harlan's indispensable guide features dozens of techniques to help readers train their voices, gain experience, make a demo, join unions, get an agent, and more. It also includes strategies for finding work in venues outside film and television, including games, automated telephone systems, and even websites.

Today Harlan's voice is still bringing us memorable slogans like Ford 150's "How's that for trendy...", "It's not home but it's close" for Cracker Barrel and reminding viewers day in and day out that "This program was made possible by viewers like you. Thank you".

To read a review of this book, click here.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Harlan's book!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Adam Fox, who will be receiving Elaine Clark's There's Money Where Your Mouth Is in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Harlan Hogan's book from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Is There Money Where Your Mouth Is?

Elaine Clark of Voice One wrote an amazing book, now in its second edition, called "There's Money Where Your Mouth is: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Voice-Overs".

You might recognize Elaine as one of our experts on the Voice Over Experts podcast. If you click on her name above, you'll be taken to her profile and will be able to listen to her speak to learn more about her teaching style.

Want to Win? Leave a Comment!

There's Money Where Your Mouth Is

Described at Amazon as:

Aimed at seasoned actors as well as vocal talents who lack show-biz experience, this career manual offers the most complete guide to a lucrative field.

Voices are increasingly in demand for commercials, cartoon characters, announcements, and other voice-over spots. This outstanding handbook explains how to launch a career and find work. Along with sample commercials and script copy, the author gives advice on vocal exercises, on self-promotion, and on business matters, and this expanded edition includes new tips on making a demo CD; vocal modulation and breath techniques; advanced copy-reading techniques; and a section on how copywriters see the job of the voice artists they write for.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win Elaine's book!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winners, Wayne Henderson, Greg Hamilton, Bill Keating, Joe J Thomas, Daniel Rodrigues, Debbie Nomburg, and Kirk Greenhill who will all be receiving a trio of "Entertainer's Secret Throat Relief" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Elaine Clark's book from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Is Your Throat Difficult to Tame in the Booth?

Ever find that you get a dry throat or hoarse voice and need a quick fix to solve the problem?

This week, we're giving away Entertainer's Secret Throat Relief spray gift packages (package includes 3 bottles), sure to help you get through anything from long form narration to knocking out the perfect one-liner.

Used by many voice actors and performers in the industry, Entertainer's Secret is something that you can use in the studio, at rehearsal or on the go.

UPDATE!

There will be 5 winners drawn for this contest (each receiving a gift package containing 3 bottles), so if you haven't commented yet, get in there for more chances to win!!!

Want to win? Leave a comment!

Entertainer's Secret

Entertainer's Secret is a throat relief spray that might just be the ticket to drive your hoarseness away with a quick blast of moisturized goodness.

As their website says, Entertainer's Secret Throat Relief is a spray formulated to resemble natural mucosal secretions and designed to moisturize, humidify and lubricate the mucous membranes of the throat and larynx.

How Does it Work?

Entertainer's Secret is a unique, easy to use, non-medicinal throat spray that:

* Supplements the throat's natural moisturizers
* Comforts, soothes
* Restores vocal quality Safely, Quickly, and Effectively

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let me know that you'd like to win an Entertainer's Secret package!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Rob Taylor, who will be receiving his copy of "Secrets of Voice-Over Success" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win 1 of 5 Entertainer's Secret Prize Packs from Voices.com!

Looking forward to hearing from you! Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Fame & Fortune

What does it take to make it big time in voice-overs?

Is there a roadmap to achieve your dreams?

Find out how some of today's top pros made it to the big league in Joan Baker's book Secrets of Voice-Over Success : Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It.

Joan Baker’s book, SECRETS OF VOICE-OVER SUCCESS, published in 2005, is a practical handbook for anyone seeking a career in voice-over acting.

The foreword is written by fellow voice-over actor David Hyde Pierce (Niles on Frasier), and consists of compelling career stories from the top voice-over actors in the industry including:

๏ Don LaFontaine
๏ George DelHoyo
๏ Keith David
๏ Dave Fennoy
๏ E.G Daily
๏ Nancy Giles
๏ Bill Ratner
๏ Rodd Houston
๏ Joe Cipriano
๏ Stephen Newman
๏ Cedering Fox
๏ Sylvia Villagran
๏ Valerie Smaldone
๏ Steve Zirnkilton
๏ Hattie Winston
๏ Joan Baker
๏ Fred Collins
๏ Janice Pendarvis
๏ Les Marshak

All proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Praise for "Secrets of Voice-Over Success"

“For anyone who thinks they would like to be a voice-over talent, as well as those already in the profession, this is the book they should read before sending out another demo tape. In the voices of super successes in the field, readers will learn about everything from interpreting scripts to packing their tapes, along with the people they should get to know for the best chances of success, and they range far beyond agents. Joan Baker's own passion for the business is shared by the other 18 experts she has enlisted to share their career successes, and she has put their stories together along with a history of the voice-over profession in a readable, accessible book that is fascinating to even an outsider. To do it all for a cause that is dear to her heart shows that Ms. Baker is much more than a voice.”

- J.C. Barden, Editor on THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Secrets Of Voice-Over Success embodies wisdom and diversity in a collection of journey's from 19 artists' points of view that leaves one with an instinctive experience of what it takes for a career in the voice-over industry. There is no book that tells it like it is so clearly. And that all royalties from this project benefit the Alzheimer's Association this book truly reaches the height of the human spirit and dignity too."

- Sandy Grushow, Chairman Fox Television Entertainment Group

"Ms. Baker's book is among the most unique contributions I have seen to the Alzheimer's Association's mission to cure this disease…"

- Sheldon Goldberg, President & CEO of The Alzheimer's Association

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let us know that you'd like to win the book!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The Giveaways Will Include Voice Acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's winner, Paul Hernandez, who will be receiving his copy of "Word of Mouth" in the mail soon.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Ever heard of the amazing voice actor and casting director Susan Blu?

Susan co-authored the third edition of "Word of Mouth : A Guide to Commercial and Animation Voice-Over Excellence" with Molly Ann Mullin and Cynthia Songé, a book all about the rudiments of voice acting, giving yourself permission to play, and learning how to release the characters within.

Want to win Word of Mouth? Leave a comment to get in on the fun!

First published in 1987, "Word of Mouth" was the first-ever book written that focused on voice-overs. The edition printed in 2006 addresses technological changes that have developed since the initial printing.

The book has 160 pages of core content, a glossary, an industry contact list and also includes an entertaining instructional CD that was recorded at the time of the book's first release in 1987.

Many of you know about Susan Blu's extensive career in animation voice overs (Transformers, Smurfs, etc.) and also know her as a casting director and instructor.

If you'd like to read the review, click on this link:

Word of Mouth, 3rd Edition

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let us know that you'd like to win the book!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's winner, David Rodwell, who will be receiving his copy of "Step Up to the Mic" in the mail soon.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

The VOX Daily Saturday Giveaway!

Starting today, we're going to be having weekly Saturday Giveaways to show our appreciation to our readers and say "thank you" for subscribing to VOX Daily.

Kicking it off, there's a copy of "Step Up to the Mic" by Rodney Saulsberry, a dear friend and phenomenal person, who also happens to be one of the most in-demand voice actors and lecturers around.

Rodney Saulsberry's "Step Up to the Mic" is a book all about stepping up to life's challenges and a positive approach on how to succeed from the perspective of a voice actor.

If you're looking for an uplifting, empowering and nourishing book to read, you'll want to comment here on VOX Daily for a chance to win this book!

Saturday Giveaway for August 2, 2008 : Step Up to the Mic

I've had a chance to read Rodney Saulsberry's books, "You Can Bank on Your Voice" and "Step Up to the Mic" (they've actually both been reviewed on the blog already), and I think it's truly fitting to start with Rodney's gem of a book that will encourage you, challenge you, and help you to grow in your voice over career.

If you'd like to read the review, click on this link:

"Step Up to the Mic"

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

All you need to do is comment on this article and let us know that you'd like to win the book!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Don't forget to comment :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Ever wondered how you could get a free link on the Voices.com home page?

We've just created 3 new opportunities to get your name front and center.

Want to find out how?

New section on Voices.com home page

Over the weekend, we added a new section to our home page called "What's New" that features three comments, updating a couple of times per week. These comments are representative of feedback submitted to our blogs, podcasts and also success stories.

Which comments are posted on the home page?

Throughout the week, we go through our blogs and choose the most interesting, insightful and exciting comments, rewarding the commenter by featuring their thoughts and providing a link to their Voices.com website from our home page.

How does it work?

Blogs

1. Find a blog that you like
2. Visit one of the blogs and read an article
3. Leave a comment

Podcasts

1. Pick a podcast
2. Listen to an episode
3. Comment on something you heard about in the podcast

Success Stories

1. Connect with someone at Voices.com on a project that needs some voice over work
2. Send us an email using this form and share your experience
3. See your story published on the Buzz blog

Ready to roll?

Looking forward to reading your comments as they come in and hearing your success stories!

Best wishes,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Looking for a voice over coach?

We have recently developed a network that connects voice acting instructors with students seeking voice over training.

Check out more information here at VOX Daily!

Voice Coaches Network Vision

Building relationships and facilitating connections is one of our specialties at Voices.com.

After years of nurturing and developing relationships with the top voice over instructors in North America and abroad, we thought it was time to standardize and publicly announce the amazing opportunities available to voice over trainers, calling this new initiative the "Voices.com Voice Coaches Network".

Over the past four years, we have collaborated with voice over coaches in many ways, all of which are symbiotic and directly benefit the voice over industry at large.

You've likely seen this in action first hand as a reader of VOX Daily, Ask the Voice Cat, Master VO or as a listener to the podcasts Voice Over Experts and VOX Talk.

We're pleased to offer an interactive directory of teachers who provide voice over training across the US, Canada and Great Britain... and beyond!

Want to know a bit more about the actual voice coaches network?

As part of the Voices.com Voice Coaches Network, instructors are given free publicity and the opportunity to educate on a pro bono basis via the Voice Over Experts podcast.

Voice trainers can also have their articles and upcoming workshops posted on the VOX Daily blog as well as special mentions on Voice Over Times, the online news source for the voice over industry.

An Overview of Benefits Free for Coaches Include:

- Promotion through the Voice Over Experts Podcast
- Your own Voice Coaches Profile
- Press Release Writing and Distribution
- Have your articles published on the VOX Daily Blog
- Coverage on Voice Over Times
- Join the Affiliate Program
- Receive exclusive opportunities through Voices.com (book reviews, participate in Voices.com sponsored events, and more)

Public Service

The Voice Coaches Network is a public service provided by Voices.com to help promote the importance of voice acting education and evangelize the art of voice acting while teaching people how to navigate the new world of voice overs online. Through these extraordinary efforts, Voices.com propels the future of voice acting, proactively engaging the community and shaping the industry for years to come.

Labor of Love

The Voice Coaches Network is a labor of love, both on the part of the instructors and our company.

Giving back to the community is very important. Everyone involved in this project realizes the impact they are having and are proud to be part of this outstanding initiative in educational excellence.

Want to join the Voices.com Voice Coaches Network?

By partnering with Voices.com, you'll enjoy unparalleled publicity through blogs, podcasts, press releases and feature articles, all the goal of helping you attract students as well as support you by giving you access to tools and resources.

Simply Click here to Complete the Form

Do you know a voice over coach who should be part of the Voices.com Voice Coaches Network? Invite them to join by sending them to this article here on VOX Daily.

If you are a voice over coach, thank you for your interest and I look forward to working with you.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Are you a voice actor, radio or television broadcaster, singer, teacher, public speaker, telephone sales rep or someone who uses their voice for more than just day-to-day "talking"?

Ever find that you get a dry throat or hoarse voice and need a quick fix to solve the problem?

We're excited to be conducting a survey of people who use their voices professionally in London, Ontario Canada, partnering with Kathy Thompson of Pure Voice Power, an authorized Canadian Representative of Entertainer's Secret, a throat relief spray that might just be the ticket to drive your hoarseness away with a quick blast of moisturized goodness.

If you want to take part in this survey, please leave a comment on this article and I'll get in touch with you off the blog with additional information.

Last year I was introduced to the Entertainer's Secret product at a conference our team attended.

I was intrigued by the product but chose to hold off on using it until this year during the cold season to see how it would work.

Suffice to say it worked very well.

In light of that discovery, I wanted to connect with the Entertainer's Secret folks and see if they would sponsor a survey of their product to be conducted here in London, ON Canada at Voices.com.

Not only is this a great opportunity to share a wonderful product and gain valuable information for the voice acting community, it also gives us a chance to see more of you in person which is an opportunity I always look forward to.

So, here's the breakdown:

I have a shipment of 48 bottles. 6 of those bottles will be tested by the staff at Voices.com and the remaining 42 are for anyone who meets the criteria above who wants to participate.

One bottle per participant.

As part of the survey, I'll show you how to use the product and record your first impressions of Entertainer's Secret in person. Following that, you'll be receiving a brief follow up survey in your email asking you questions about your overall experience approximately a week after you've received the sample.

If you are interested and are in London or can drive to London, please leave a comment here for me on the blog.

Leaving a comment makes it easier for me to connect with you and will also be a good measuring stick for monitoring the availability of the samples for those interested in receiving one.

Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

UPDATE: If you would prefer to email me to request a sample, email stephanie@voices.com - I will keep this posted updated with the number of remaining samples.

I also wish to thank Gordon Schmitz at KLI CORP in Carmel, IN for connecting with me a couple months ago and for his assistance coordinating our Canadian survey of Entertainer's Secret.

Are you hungry for more links to your voice acting blog?

Get on the Blogroll at Voice Over Times!

It's easy - come on in, I'll show you how.

Voice Over Times is one crazy place.

I mean, there's traffic coming from all ends of the net from people who are discovering voice acting and those who are hunting for news stories to source for their publications.

What does that mean in plain English?

There are thousands of people day in day out, who are highly interested in voice acting, who could be clicking through to read your voice over or voice acting blog... and we want to help them get there.

All you need to do is link to Voice Over Times on your blogroll and we'll return the favor by linking to your voice acting blog from the Voice Over Times website.

The blogroll is featured on every page of the website, so you'll be found... everywhere.

How does that sound to you?

Get linked up fast by sending me an email letting me know you want to be added ( stephanie@voices.com ) and I'll get your blog up on the roll.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Martin McCarthy

It's time to nominate, voice actors!

The 2nd Annual Voicey Awards are now open for nominations. Learn more now.

The time has come to nominate deserving voice actors for the 2nd Annual Voicey Awards!

There are more categories than there were before which means more opportunities to be honored.

The categories are as follows:

Best Male Voice
Best Female Voice
Best New Voice
Best Child Voice ~ New!
Best Teen Voice ~ New!
Best Voice Team ~ New!
Best Foreign Voice ~ New!
Best Personal Branding
Lifetime Achievement

To learn more about the Voicey Awards, rules for entering, read profiles about industry judges, listen to past winners, and nominate voice actors for this year, go to VoiceyAwards.com.

All nominations will take place online this year in effort to go completely green (no faxed in entries)!

Nominations close on February 3rd, 2008 and the awards show will air on the VOX Talk podcast on February 21st, 2008.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/ericsphotography

Earlier in December of 2007, voice over coaches Julie Williams and Marc Cashman designed a contest that called for new year's resolutions from the voice over community with a unique twist - they had to be resolutions directly related to a person's voice over business.

The winning submission has just be announced!

Want to meet the winner?

As mentioned a few short weeks ago, the Voice Over New Year's Resolution contest opened to all voice actors in the online community, giving people the opportunity to submit their resolutions for the new year in exchange for the chance to win some great prizes from Marc Cashman, Julie Williams and Voices.com including an hour of telecoaching each from Marc and Julie as well as a one-year Premium membership to Voices.com among other prizes.

There were more than three dozen wonderfully creative entries submitted to the Voice-Overs.com Forum, but only one could win.

The winning submission was entered by September Day Leach. Check it out!

~~

Dear Judges of the Voice Over New Year's Resolution Contest,

Greetings!

My name is Maybelle and I am a professional Fairy Godmother. I am writing to you on behalf of one of my charges, September Day Leach.

I understand that your contest has some fabulous prizes in store for the winner and according to this wish I just received, my September sure could use them. You see, she is moving from Atlanta, Georgia all the way across the country to Los Angeles next year, all by herself. She is leaving behind all of her friends and family just to chase her star and she's called on me for some help. Now, I've already taken care of transportation (she was out of pumpkins, but managed to dig up some bok choi which I was able to mold into a Honda) and she's been a very good girl by avoiding going to the Mall with her seed money from a few choice gigs I was able to get her. But I still think she needs a little something more and having all of this great coaching and exposure timed with her move could really help launch her career.

September assures me, should her wish come true, that:

* she will never, ever, ever plug her microphone directly into her soundcard again
* she will stand up for every recording
* for 2008, all extra money will go to marketing and equipment
* she will stay in touch with her real and internet voice over family while she's on the West Coast
* she will stay focused on her dreams every day
* she will only stalk Brad Pitt once every two weeks

If you could help, I would be most grateful and would be happy to throw in a few incentives as well. How about making those holiday calories not count? All green lights for one week? We'll talk.

Sincerely,

Maybelle Merriweather, Fairy Godmother

~~

Congratulations to September!

Now, as was mentioned on the Voice-Overs.com Forum, there was some difficulty narrowing down the list, and as a result, an honorable mention for Mary Morgan and her new year's resolutions are in order.

Mary Morgan submitted the following:

For 2008 I will do the following:

Never give up my dream
Entertain audiences
Wow producers, directors, and all listeners alike

Yield to every audition that comes my way
Enjoy what I do
Always thank God for my gifts and talents
Remember to practice vocal techniques
Strive for excellence

Respect my strengths and weaknesses
Embrace every experience
Stop putting myself down
Overcome obstacles
Learn from mistakes
Use what I know
Take criticism
Increase my knowledge
Organize my materials
Network with other voice talent
Stay focused on my career

Fix problem areas
Offer advice to new talent
Read and read some more

Market myself like crazy
Yank out negative thoughts in my head

Volunteer my time
Obtain the latest news in the industry
Inspire people
Continue learning my craft
Explore new horizons
Observe workshops
Value my efforts
Educate myself nonstop
Recognize my faults

Create opportunities for myself
Always keep training
Reach for the stars
Earn my place as a professional voiceover artist
Evolve as an artist
Rejoice in my success so far

Mary Morgan

~~

Marc Cashman asked that I share a special note with you, and I'm happy to do so. Here's Marc's message to all who entered the contest:

An open letter to all contestants:

I'd like to say to everyone who entered this contest that your submissions were very well thought out, extremely creative and quite inspiring. I want to encourage those of you who plan on taking more voice acting classes.

The best actors never stop learning.

I want to suggest that you don't make a V-O demo until you're really ready, and to get help from a pro to make it competitive. I admire you for focusing on your goals and working every day to realize them. And I want remind you that you can email me any questions about the business through Voices.com or call me any time.

I wish you all much success for a great '08!

Marc Cashman
Cashman Commercials/L.A.

~~

If you subscribe to Julie's VoiceOver Insider, you received this news from her early this morning. Julie is on her way to Hawaii to teach a voice over workshop (lucky people!) and wishes to thank everyone for their participation.

If you're curious to learn more about what your peers who entered the contest are hoping to achieve in 2008, visit the forum and take a look.

Some of you may have already seen my new year's resolutions as posted at the CBC on the Spark blog, but I don't think I've heard from some of our readers here at VOX Daily yet about theirs.

If you started off 2008 with some resolutions, be they voice over related or not, you are welcome to leave a comment and share your resolutions with me here on the blog.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Have you started on your New Year's Resolutions yet?

A few minutes of sitting down to distill your goals for the coming year in your voice over business could mean hundreds of dollars in prizes for you!

Want to know more?

Voiceover New Year's Resolutions Contest

2008 not only brings with it the hopes and excitement of a new year, it also announces the dawning of a new chapter in the voice over coaching careers of both Marc Cashman and Julie Williams.

Marc Cashman of Cashman Commercials (Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques) and Julie Williams of Voice-Overs.com are both offering telecoaching services to voice talent starting in January of 2008.

To celebrate this leap into unchartered territory, Marc and Julie have invited the crew at Voices.com to team up with them and sponsor a contest that would award the best set of voice over New Year's resolutions.

What's up for grabs?

Both Marc and Julie have donated 1 (one) hour of telecoaching and Voices.com has donated a 1-year Premium membership as well as a couple of ebooks including the Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors, the Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors and public relations services to spread the word about your win. Julie has also included a copy of her Proven Voice-Over Techniques CD.

When you tally all of the prizes, you're looking at the potential of winning one serious prize pack for jotting down and submitting your New Year's Resolutions for your voice over business and voice acting career.

How do you enter the contest?

Simply go to the voice acting forum at Voice-Overs.com and add your resolutions to the list by December 24th, 2007. Winners will be announced via VOX Daily, VOX Talk, and the VoiceOver Insider.

What to do?

Submit a short paragraph telling the judges about your New Year's Resolutions for your voiceover career. Entries should be 100-200 words. They should be detailed. Creativity is encouraged. Must be a member in good standing of the forum at www.voice-overs.com. (Any VO industry pro is welcome, free to join)
Deadline: Dec 24th. Winner announced on January 1, 2008 on the VOX Daily blog, in the January issue of The VoiceOver Insider, and on the forum at Voice-Overs.Com.

OK, so what are you waiting for?

Go make those resolutions and submit them on the Voice-Overs.com forum to qualify.

Best,

Stephanie

Do you have a blog?

Do you like reviewing products?

We've got a new product about to go to market... in a nutshell, it's about how individual voice actors can become their own Internet marketers and get ahead in the competitive world of online voice overs.

Want to learn more?

Ah, Internet marketing finally made easy for voice actors!

Shortly after we released The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors, we received a lot of wonderful feedback and are grateful for it, including the request that the plan be followed up by a marketing guide specific to voice actors.

One of our comfort zones is Internet marketing, so writing this guide was not only supplying a demand, but also quite enjoyable, too.

I'd like to open this up for review to the voice actors who blog.

The first ten (10) voice acting bloggers to reply to me here on the blog will get the first crack at reading the plan for FREE and are authorized to share their impressions with you on their blogs to paint a picture of what you can expect from a voice actor's point of view.

Everything in the marketing plan is an ingredient that has been instrumental in the success and ongoing successes of the Voices.com website.

As some of you know, I've lectured about many of these elements at conferences with my Voices.com co-founder and company CEO David Ciccarelli to mind-blown audiences who heard the information first-hand. Imagine how much more effective it would be to have all of that information and more in written form documented and ready to go, accessible to be read at your own convenience and without the note taking?

Curious?

If you don't want to wait for the reviews to read more about the Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors, here's a quick synopsis of what the guide will teach you to do.

• How to get traffic to your website without spending money
• How to establish yourself as an authority in the eyes of search engines and your visitors
• How to get leaps and bounds ahead of your competition
• How to maintain your web presence as well as continue to grow

By all means, you could wait to buy the plan, but if you are confident in what I am presenting, you can click here to learn more, and if you are so inspired, order now.

So, if you are a voice actor with an active blog, leave a comment here (complete with the URL of your blog) to secure your promotional copy. The first ten to do so will receive the Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors free of charge for review purposes.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Calling all Republicans and Democrats!

Uncle Sam and advertising agencies across the US are in need of political voice overs to air for the 2008 US Election.

Send us your political demo and we'll feature it on a special page dedicated to getting you political voice work!

Learn more here.

If you bleed red, white and blue, we want to hear from you!

As we're all aware, the United States is holding an election in 2008 to elect a new president to succeed George W. Bush.

As campaign trails are being blazed across America, production of political advertisements is now upon us with voice over being a top priority for many candidates and their representatives.

In order to help facilitate the finding, listening to and hiring of voice actors for political ads, Voices.com is in the midst of creating a web page on our site that features political voice over demos of all stars and stripes specific to elections in the USA.

If you have a political demo that you'd like to feature, send it to media (@) voices.com. Once received, we'll review it for content (family friendly please, folks) and feature it on the website.

Be sure to specify which political party your voice over demo is representing.

Sound good?

Looking forward to receiving your political voice over demos!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. To participate, you must be a member of Voices.com as we will be linking to your Voices.com website. Memberships include Premium, Preferred and Guest.

If you are not a member but would like to participate, sign up for one of our voice talent memberships to qualify.

©iStockphoto.com/Michael McDonald

There is good news about audiobooks and we're here to tell you all about it!

Here's a special message I'm happy to bring to you from Pat Fraley with some neat statistics and facts about the current state of the audiobook recording industry.

Nothing warms the cockles of this old teacher’s heart more than receiving news from my students that they are landing work. I get this weekly, and it’s thrilling.

Many of the reports of work are about audiobook deals. I want more and more reports of work!

My problem is that I teach in workshops and events, which are usually limited to twelve participants.

That’s why I’ve produced a two-hour Audio CD Set and Companion 50 page Workbook, called, The Billion $ Read: How to Make Money Reading and Recording Books. The set covers all the performance business skills you need to work the audio book market.

Now for some very good news. The Audiobook Market is the best opportunity for voice over talents to get work in the industry.

I’ve taught workshops and events on this area for years now, and the probability of work just gets better by the moment.

Why?

Currently 4000 Audiobooks Recorded a Year

According to my friend and president of Blackstone Audio, Craig Black, this figure will balloon to 24,000 over the next four years. Why? Because of the success of downloadable audiobooks on the Internet. What this means for the Audiobook publishers is they have “virtual inventory.” They have no duplication, packaging, or shipping costs, and no returns. This frees up production money for producing titles. “No returns,” by the way, is a big deal. In the publishing business, if a book, magazine, or audiobook doesn’t sell, it can be returned to the publisher for a full refund. This is very ugly for the publisher. For the Voice Over Talent, it means a huge amount of work.

Need for All Kinds of Voices

More good news: Audiobook publishers need all sorts of talents and sounds. If you have struggled because you sound like you’re 16, or 60, guess what? There are audiobook projects out there that need your sound. It is just a matter of finding the door where the welcome mat is ready and waiting.

Union and Non-union Work Available

Audiobook jobs are union, and non-union, and pay very low up to high, depending on how deep the Audiobook Publisher’s pockets are. This means you can start working for a small Audiobook Publisher that doesn’t pay much, but is not expecting Meryl Streep, and build up to bigger projects for more money. What a concept: On the job training. And, if you are a union member, there is a legitimate way taking a non-union gig, and making it union. Still more good news….

Gender Equality for Narrators

40-50% of the jobs are recording by women, which makes it the most equitable area of work in voice over of them all.

No Agents Necessary

There is no need to go through an agent. Audiobook Publisher deal directly with the Talent. Deals are simple and easy to bid. That information is included in, The Billion $ Read.

Easy-to-Maintain Relationships

You only need one relationship with an Audiobook Publisher at a time. Your name and voice comes up, they call or e-mail you, and you start working. And when you work, you are in the studio for an extended period of time, perhaps 15 hours for a project, getting paid for all the sessions.

I could go on, but won’t. Know that there are specific skills and a way of going about getting work, which are unique to the industry.

All you need to know is included in The Billion $ Read: How To Make Money Reading And Recording Books.

You can purchase this set at a discounted price for a limited time at my patfraley.com website store. Just use this link to go directly to The Billion $ Read.

Get the skills you need, get a job, and make me happy!

Pat Fraley
Studio City, CA

~~

P.S. Listen to this week's episode of VOX Talk (Episode 43 coming out soon) to "hear" straight from Pat Fraley with some really neat examples!

©iStockphoto.com/Anna Bryukhanova

Have you voted for your favorite Springfield impressions?

After reviewing an influx of Simpsons sound alike impressions, the team at Voices.com has narrowed the contestants down to 15 voice actors representing five of the most beloved Simpsons characters in history, including Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson and Krusty the Clown.

Prizes of $100 gift certificates to Amazon.com will be awarded in the following categories:

Best Homer Simpson Impression
Best Marge Simpson Impression
Best Bart Simpson Impression
Best Lisa Simpson Impression
Best Krusty the Clown Impression

Finalists for Best Homer Simpson Impression:

David Medford
Brad Venable
Philip Weber

Finalists for Best Marge Simpson Impression:

Amy Taylor
Paul Seidel
Rachel Robinson

Finalists for Best Bart Simpson Impression:

Gelfling
Kristi Stewart
Marcia Bennett

Finalists for Best Lisa Simpson Impression:

Angela Wolcott
Kara Edwards
Lila Atherley

Finalists for Best Krusty the Clown Impression:

Brian Whitaker
Greg Littlefield
Rick Gangi

These fine voice actors have made it to the finals where their peers and The Simpsons cartoon fans everywhere will decide who takes home the honors with total prizes valued at over $500.

Voting started on Monday August 27th and ends on Tuesday September 11th, 2007.

The winners as chosen by the public will be announced via the VOX Talk Podcast on September 13th, 2007 in a special Simpsons Tribute Episode. Select impressions sent in of other characters from the show, both individual characters and combination demos, will also be featured on the Simpsons Tribute Podcast.

Be sure to subscribe to VOX Talk to receive the show as soon as it is published!

What are you waiting for? Go listen and vote for your fave voice impressions now!

Best,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Voice Actors now have their very own business plan template made specifically for freelance talent to build their dream voice acting business upon or update their current operations from.

Looking for a ready-made business plan that you can customize and take to the bank?

Check out Voices.com's Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors.

Voice acting is one of the most segmented fields in the audio industry, short on facts, short on statistics, and one could say, short on business procedure. Voice acting was one of those businesses the majority of people found hard to define, pin down and map out a clear vision for financial success as a freelance voice actor, that is, until now.

At Voices.com, we recognized the need for a proven, statistics-filled business plan for voice actors that would prepare them for stepping out on their own as entrepreneurs working from professional-grade home recording studios and a blueprint readily accessible to established veterans moving from radio or television broadcast to voice acting full-time.

The major benefits of The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors are that the business plan is full of concrete facts and statistics about the voice acting business, comprehensive research regarding business operations and procedures, sample recording studio equipment setups, a detailed marketing plan, a voice over rate sheet, and a variety of other bonuses including a sample invoice template, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow chart.

Voice actor John Weeks, said of the business plan and bonuses, “What a great idea and great way to keep track of things. It sure would come in handy at tax time!”

A stereotypical view of voice acting prevalent in society today is that anyone can do it and all that is needed is a great voice. Not so, says voice actor Thom Wilkins. Thom indicates that it takes more than just a great set of pipes and a dream.

Thom offers, “OK so you have the talent, the passion and your Voices.com account. What next? A successful voice-over business requires us to wear many hats, talent, sales, marketing and business management. To help focus on goals and objectives for the crucial early years, an excellent start is "The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors", a clear starting point for creating a custom voice-over business plan. It includes key questions and facts and useful Excel spreadsheets relevant to the VO service industry. After all, how else do you measure success?”

As an industry experiencing significant growth, there has never been a better time to get into the business of voice acting. There are less barriers to entry, most notably the ability to work from anywhere in the world as well as affordable rates for audio recording studio equipment.

“Years ago, it was only a dream to have an all inclusive professional recording studio because of high costs of top equipment alone, much less software and marketing costs. Now it's actually affordable to have it all. Voices.com, you did it again!” exclaimed professional voice talent Tracey Rolfe.

The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors is available at the Voices.com website, cost-effectively priced at the introductory rate of US$49.95 backed up by a no questions asked 30-day money back guarantee.

Learn more about The Ultimate Business Plan for Voice Actors.

Best wishes,

Stephanie, David and the Voices.com Team

Can you do an impression of one or several of the characters from The Simpsons?

Now is the time to let your character voice acting talent shine!

Enter the Voices.com Simpsons Sound Alike Challenge and may the best Springfieldite win!

Dan Castellaneta has provided the voice for Homer Simpson and a host of other characters on "The Simpsons", including Krusty the Clown, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Mayor Quimby, and Groundskeeper Willie.

In fact, Dan has the honor of being the voice of over 100 Simpsons characters over the years. In the early days of the program, the cast was given first dibs on auditioning for roles that were added to the show. If you've ever heard Dan, you know that he's full of voices and the number, while staggering, is not a terrible shock :)

While Dan's voice may be one of the official voices for specific Simpsons characters, we'd love to hear your impressions of Simpsons characters to feature on the VOX Talk podcast!

If you can do a bang on Homer, a killer Bart, Lisa, Marge, Krusty the Clown, or any other Simpsons character, we want to hear it!

Prizes of $100 gift certificates to Amazon.com will be awarded in the following categories:

Best Homer Simpson Impression
Best Marge Simpson Impression
Best Bart Simpson Impression
Best Lisa Simpson Impression
Best Krusty the Clown Impression

The winners will be chosen by YOU!

To celebrate, the winning MP3 Simpsons impressions will be aired on the VOX Talk podcast in a special Simpsons Tribute.

So to recap, here are the contest details:

- Record your best Simpsons character voice impression (between 30 and 60 seconds in length)
- If you're entering for more than one character in the prize categories, please send each character voice as an individual MP3 file
- Anyone can enter this contest whether or not they are registered with Voices.com
- Send the MP3 to stephanie@voices.com
- Contest deadline is Friday August 24th, 2007 at 11:59 PM EST

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Stephanie

Need a place to find excellent royalty-free scripts to practice from and an awesome how-to book for voice overs?

If you're a Premium or Preferred member at Voices.com, you need not look any further than your new library of resources, accessible to you absolutely free!

So, you may have heard that we've started giving away our eBooks and voice over scripts for free... well, if you are a subscriber to the Premium or Preferred memberships at Voices.com, that's absolutely correct!

As a part of some recent improvements to our website, the Voices.com team is giving you 3 Bonus eBooks, valued at $89.95. You can find these in the Help Section and click on User Guides.

The exciting news is that we'll be adding more free resources for our subscribers over time. Being a member of Voices.com just gets better and better!

We hope you enjoy reading them and we'd love to hear your success stories too.

Best wishes,

Stephanie, David, Carol, Laurynda and Erica

Is your voice acting business something to cheer about?

What makes you different and why should people work with you?

Define yourself through a 60 Second Pitch and also qualify to win one of three prizes at Voices.com!

Ever been out with other people and had to explain what it is that you do for a living?

It can be hard to come up with something concise and witty to say about your role in the voice industry when asked at a party, mixer, or BBQ.

As we've come to understand, many of you are quite hesitant to share your profession with others for a variety of reasons, mainly because it isn't a typical profession that people are familiar with much less understand from a technical point of view.

Our goal is to help you define three basic elements that will go a long way when making first impressions with other people, prospective clients or business partners.

Those three elements are:

1. Who you are
2. What you do
3. Why people should be working with you

Although those elements may seem rudimentary we've witnessed a variety of people struggle in various fields of business time and time again with these simple aspects of explaining who they are and how they can serve other people with their gifts.

The 60 Second Pitch contest is a vehicle for you to come up with a brief and exciting way to define your business as a professional voice actor, audio producer, instructor, or agent in the field of voice over.

While there will be prizes for a select number of participants, the real purpose of this activity is to invigorate your image of your business, exercise your mind and stretch your creative juices so that you can present people, regardless of their knowledge of our industry, with a concrete, interesting and valuable definition of your offerings and your business.

I want to encourage all of you to write a pitch if not to enter the contest to simply have on hand at networking events and other social gatherings.

There will be a special webinar on Monday July 9th that you can register for to learn more about how to craft your pitch.

You can also use outtakes of your pitch to market yourself on your website, via email or on YouTube... really, the possibilities are endless, you just need to define your business and services for the world.

At present, there's $4000.00 worth of prizes, and whether you enter the contest or not, you'll still come out a winner if you can define your business through a 60 Second Pitch.

So, here are the details:

Contest start date: Today
Prizes: Cool stuff from Voices.com
Deadline for entries: July 20th, 2007
Where to send your MP3: 60secondpitch@voices.com
Winners Announced: July 27th, 2007 via the VOX Talk Podcast
Register for the Webinar: 60 Second Pitch Webinar on Monday July 9th, 2 p.m. EDT
Learn more: Watch the video below or go to the 60 Second Pitch website at Voices.com

If you'd like to help spread the word, you are more than welcome to blog about this contest and use the imagery with the stop clock.

Also, if you'd like to add anything to sweeten the pot as a sponsor, just send me an email to stephanie@voices.com and we'll talk.

Looking forward to receiving your pitch!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Remember when we talked about Podcasting last week?

There's a contest out now put on by the Create Business Growth gang where they are giving away $335 worth of podcasting gear and books.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Want to learn more?

I received an invitation from Christine at Create Business Growth to spread the word about their contest to win some pretty snazzy getting started gear that would more than get a beginner podcaster or aspiring voice professional on their way to podcasting and audio production success.

Here's what you could win:

MXL 990 Condenser Microphone with Shockmount

Behringer Microphono PP400 Phono Preamp

Sony MDR-V150 Monitor Series Headphones with Reversible Earcups

CAD EPF-15A 6-Inch Flexible Pop Filter

Tricks of the Podcasting Masters

Podcasting: Do It Yourself Guide

To qualify, all you need to do is subscribe to the Create Business Growth RSS feed and email Christine to let her know you have done so. If you are really ambitious, you could choose to write about the contest on your blog and receive more chances to win.

I've already done this (as you can see) and if we win this prize package, we will give it to one of you at Voices.com to help you start podcasting and recording your voice.

Of course, you are more than welcome to enter the contest yourself and increase the likelihood that you will win the contest and the gear!

Learn more about the contest here:

http://createbusinessgrowth.com/what-is-rss/win-podcast-gear

Remember to subscribe to their feed by July 18, 2007 in order to qualify for the draw.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Alex Kalmbach

Do you love reading the VOX Daily blog?

Did you know that you can receive VOX Daily in your email box every morning?

Subscribing to the blog is fun, easy and has many benefits with our good pal FeedBurner - learn how here.

If you've been a fan of VOX Daily for quite some time and haven't yet subscribed (if you're seeing this in your email box, you are subscribed, don't worry!), you can sign up to get a daily dose of VOX in your email every day.

On the right hand side of this web page, you'll see an orange box that says "Email Updates". This box gives you the opportunity to subscribe by email.

Simply type in the email address that you would like to receive VOX Daily to and click "Subscribe".

This action will let FeedBurner (our service provider for subscriptions) know that you want to receive VOX Daily via email.

FeedBurner will then send you an email to confirm that you would like to receive VOX Daily.

What's your next step?

Click through the emailed link from FeedBurner to activate your subscription.

It's that easy!

If you don't click through the link or ignore the email from FeedBurner confirming your request to receive the articles to your email box, your subscription attempt will not be successful.

Be sure to read the email that FeedBurner sends and click through the confirmation link in order to get VOX Daily straight to your inbox.

Just to reiterate, subscribing is free and doesn't cost you a penny, but what you get in return is worth it's proverbial weight in gold :)

We'll do a similar article next week on how to subscribe to the VOX Talk podcast.

If you have any other questions about subscribing that I can answer for you here, please let me know and I'll address them through comments.

Have a smashing weekend everybody,

Stephanie and David

P.S. Cool fact: FeedBurner was just purchased by your friendly neighborhood Google guys (they also own Blogger, by the way). Read more about the Google acquisition of FeedBurner.

Image © FeedBurner.com

Live in or around Toronto and want some voice over training from a real pro?

Guess what? We're bringing Debbie all the way from Beautiful British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario!

To register for Mic & Me in Toronto on June 9th and 10th, 2007, simply click the "Register Now" button to get started on the road to learning from and working with top Canadian voice over coach Debbie Munro!

See you there :)

Over the weekend (June 9 - 10, 2007), Debbie will be teaching a two-day Voice Workout workshop catered to all levels.

The Voice Workout gets students behind the microphone using professional equipment, taking direction from one of the top instructors in North America.

Using her knowledge and passion for the industry, Deb Munro will direct participants through their scripts, pushing them more than thought possible, regardless of a students level. Debbie will also share tips on how to help develop strong professionals and introduce practical tools to use over and over.

Staying on top with the current trends is easy when you are in the know with Debbie Munro!

Details:

To sign up on a per day basis, the cost is CDN$212.00 and the fee for both days is CDN$375.00. Prices will go up after June 4th, 2007 to $250 on a per day basis and $424 for the weekend, respectively.

Lunch is provided by Ryerson for $12 per day.

The Mic & Me Workshop will take place at Ryerson University’s International Living Learning Centre in Toronto, ON Canada on Saturday June 9th and Sunday June 10th, 2007. Classes run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Here's a Google Map to Ryerson University for those of you outside of Toronto (Front entrance is on Jarvis and the back entrance is on Gould):

Best,

Stephanie

Just how does the new Voices.com work?

Watch this new video produced by the team at Voices.com, including a thorough explanation of SurePay.

It's on YouTube as well, so you can share it with your friends easily. Check it out!

To your success!

Stephanie

Are you a Canadian voice over talent in Ontario?

Have you been looking for a workshop to attend that you didn't have to travel to the USA for?

Voices.com is bringing top voice over coach Debbie Munro and her Mic & Me Workshop series to Toronto this June! Learn more about this awesome opportunity here at VOX Daily.

We're teaming up with top Canadian voice over coach Debbie Munro to present Debbie’s Mic & Me Workshop, a two-day intensive voice over education that covers vocal technique and the business of voice over itself.

Over the weekend (June 9 - 10, 2007), Debbie will be teaching a two-day Voice Workout catered to all levels.

The Voice Workout gets students behind the microphone using professional equipment, taking direction from one of the top instructors in North America.

Using her knowledge and passion for the industry, Deb Munro will direct participants through their scripts, pushing them more than thought possible, regardless of a students level. Debbie will also share tips on how to help develop strong professionals and introduce practical tools to use over and over.

Staying on top with the current trends is easy when you are in the know with Debbie Munro!

So, when and where is this all happening and how much does it cost?

There are options to either attend on a per day basis or to register for both days of the Mic & Me Workshops in Toronto.

To sign up on a per day basis, the cost is CDN$212.00 and the fee for both days is CDN$375.00. Prices will go up after June 4th, 2007 to $250 on a per day basis and $424 for the weekend, respectively.

The Mic & Me Workshop will take place at Ryerson University’s International Living Learning Centre in Toronto, ON Canada on Saturday June 9th and Sunday June 10th, 2007.

To learn more or register for the workshop(s), contact Voices.com by calling 519-488-5575 or emailing stephanie@voices.com. PayPal payments are accepted (before I had said VISA and Mastercard, but that's just through PayPal - edited May 24).

Register For the Mic & Me Workshop in Toronto

Debbie is taking about 12 students per day, so these spots will fill up soon!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Here's a Google Map to Ryerson University for those of you outside of Toronto (Front entrance is on Jarvis and the back entrance is on Gould):

Best,

Stephanie

Photo © Debbie Munro

The anticipation mounted as the third and final iPod Shuffle winner was being drawn.

A mass of people ran up to the stage to get their business cards in last minute for the drawing...

What follows could only be described as WOW!

Voice actor and baritone Matt Merback assisted with the drawing of the third and final iPod Shuffle on Saturday, selecting the business card of a very excited Debbie Andreen!

I remembered Debbie well because earlier in the week, she had stopped by our booth and had a nice conversation with me.

We both noted that the colour of her business card was green and rhymed with her surname - those things are memorable for those of you with unique names (little branding hint!).

Congratulations to Debbie, Kara and Jeff on your iPod wins. I'm glad that you're all enjoying them!

Stephanie

Have you been following our "What if Life Had A Soundtrack" videos? Good news! We've just released two more for you (that's 6 so far, ladies and gents!).

Check them out here.

Fab news everyone... two new videos are available on YouTube.com for you to enjoy from our "What if Life Had A Soundtrack" series.

The two newest additions are entitled "Dinner" and "Toothpaste". The image directly beside this text is of our couple eating out at a lovely restaurant. It all seems innocent enough until a fight ensues for the last dessert.

"Toothpaste" begins as a documentary voice over with comedic elements stirring the pot on-camera. A superb piece which is entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

If you like the traditional narrator voice, you'll love "Toothpaste".

Last week before we jetted off to VOICE 2007, we released "What Makes a Man a Man" and its counterpart, "What Makes A Woman A Woman". Both are quite humorous and spot on. I'm sure you can relate to one of these videos.

You can comment on the videos and share them with your friends!

So, for your viewing pleasure, I'd like to invite you on this blustery, snowy morning from London, Ontario Canada to take a few minutes out of your day for some fun at the Voices.com Video Podcast Blog.

Just click here to watch the videos and be sure to share them on YouTube.

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. Keep warm fellow Canucks and northern friends to the south of the border!

Who got the second iPod?

A lovely lady with a long flight home!

Check out this post to find out who the winner of the second iPod Shuffle at the VOICE Conference was, sponsored by Voices.com.

With some help from two wonderful volunteers, we drew for the second iPod on Friday afternoon.

Kara Edwards' name was called out!

Here's a picture that was taken of Kara, Carol, and I with the iPod Shuffle.

Good times in Vegas :)

Stephanie

(from left to right: Stephanie Ciccarelli, Kara Edwards, Carol Mroz)

The first iPod Shuffle has been drawn for!

This is the first of three iPod Shuffles, so if you haven't put your business card in our special box yet, be sure to do so before the conference is through.

Find out who won the iPod Shuffle and put a name and face to one of your colleagues.

Jeff Gelder is the first winner of the iPod Shuffle draws that we're holding over the next couple of days.

Jeff chose the blue iPod. I must admit, blue is my favorite colour and I think he picked well indeed.

We took a moment after the draw to have a photo taken. Now you have another face to put to a voice!

Stay tuned to find out who the winners are of the remaining iPod Shuffles...

Best,

Stephanie

Remember that campaign slogan we asked for your feedback on?

Check out our web commercials and share them on YouTube!

We're really excited to release a series of videos to you and the world on YouTube!

As part of our continuing effort to market to people who need voice over services (and those who are just discovering that voice over is a great investment in their company, products and services), we developed a number of videos that demonstrate the importance of voice over in a fun, interesting and versatile way.

The actors and VO talent are just fantastic. I think you'll find them quite entertaining and be able to relate to a lot of these scenarios.

The first two videos that we'll be introducing to you are already on our Voices.com Video Blog. We'd love to hear your feedback and encourage the sharing of these Videos on YouTube with your friends, family, associates, and or clients.

The theme of this campaign is "What If Life Had a Soundtrack?".

Want to watch the videos?

Visit the Voices.com Video Blog by clicking here to watch the new commercials!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Have a story to tell but don't have the words?

We can help you to share your news with the world in a professional and concise manner - let us do the public relations work for you while you do what you do best - voice overs.

Have you ever sent a press release out about your voice over business or achievements as a voice talent?

A part of what we do best is tell stories in a unique and encompassing way that highlight your specialties and strengths while introducing your services in a fresh, captivating manner.

Press releases can also be used as part of your marketing materials.

Here are five ideas that will help to stretch the mileage of your press release:

1. Cite quotations from the press release in the signature of your email, including tags like "As seen in Google news".
2. Send it to your client base via email in a newsletter
3. Post the press release to your blog
4. Submit the press release to trade magazines
5. Share your news with other voice over publications online

If you like the style of the posts you see here at VOX Daily and the press releases that we have created for others, this could very well be the best investment you'll make this year marketing your services to the media in efforts to gain priceless publicity.

To read recent press releases written and distributed by Voices.com for professional voice talents, check these links out:

Robert Jacobs Voice Welcomes New Clients

Adam Fox of Defiant Digital Announces Podcast Production Services

Voiceover Dynamic Duo Jessica Gee-George and Grant George Sweep Listeners Off of Their Feet

Ralph Hass Shoots and Scores as TV Imaging Voice of the Buffalo Sabres

When Bryan Cox Transforms His Voice, Hollywood Listens

Brian Haymond, EA Sports’ “NFL Head Coach” Voice, Renews Contract with Voices.com

Kara Edwards Wins Voicey Award for Best New Voice at Voices.com

Adam Behr Wins Voicey Award for Best Male Voice at Voices.com

Those are just a recent sampling of the dozens of press releases we have written over the years for voice talents and voice actors to help them promote their voice over businesses.

The next story we tell could be about you!

Here's what one of our customers, Adam Fox, said about his experience:

"I was absolutely amazed that the information I gave to Stephanie was so well understood and interpreted. I was absolutely floored by the level of understanding of what I do, and what I am trying to accomplish that was so skillfully woven into a great press release. I HIGHLY recommend this service to anyone. I mean anyone."

A. Fox - President Defiant Digital Productions

If you're interested in learning more about this opportunity, visit this page for more information about the Voices.com Press Release Package.

If you have questions about the process, you can email me directly at stephanie@voices.com and I'll be happy to answer your questions.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

If you've been sitting on the fence, it's time to make a decision before the costs go up! Learn more about the Early Bird extension from the organizers at VOICE 2007.

Recently, AFTRA signed on as a sponsor for the VOICE Conference to be held from March 27 - 31 in Las Vegas, NV. The union has just notified their members of the conference today, so...

As a result, the organizers of the VOICE Conference have extended their early bird pricing for the conference, saving you potentially hundreds of dollars on registration.

If you thought you had missed out on the savings by not registering by the deadline, you have until midnight, March 10th to register at the early-bird tuition of just $497.

Register to take advantage of the savings.

On March 11th, tuition increases to $597.

If you'll be coming to the conference, let us know by leaving a comment!

See you in Las Vegas :)

Cheers,

Stephanie

The Voiceys have their very own website!

As you may know, nominations are open for the 2007 Voicey Awards, the only awards show of its kind to exclusively honor you, voice-over professionals.

We handpicked three judges to represent the voice industry this year, including voice over instructor and former voice talent agent Nancy Wolfson, celebrity voice talent and author Rodney Saulsberry, and Burbank producer Marc Graue, also a voice actor, respectively.

There's still some time to nominate someone for a Voicey Award.

Nominations close on February 14, 2007 at 11:59 EST and the winners of the Voiceys will be announced February 21, 2007.

To nominate a voice talent go to the official website of the Voicey Awards to download the form.

2007 Voicey Awards Judges

About Nancy Wolfson

Based in Los Angeles, CA Nancy Wolfson is a private voice over consultant and freelance casting director for commercials, animation, narration, and audio books. She writes, produces, and directs demos for her clients and has been the leading coach in the top market(s) over a decade. Her coursework has been accredited at the university level in private and group classes throughout North America and Europe. For over 15 years, she has worked with beginners, working pros, and celebrities as a producer and talent agent.

About Rodney Saulsberry

Rodney Saulsberry is one of the top voice-over talents in the United States. For more than a decade the Detroit native and University of Michigan graduate has given voice to many commercial campaigns, including Toyota, Alpo, Colgate, and movie trailers such as, Finding Forrester, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Dumb and Dumberer, The Best Man, and Friday After Next. Saulsberry also lends his character voice to that animated Jazzman in Zatarain’s television spots. As an announcer, he has worked on the NAACP Image Awards, and the Essence Awards television specials. Saulsberry, the voice of Joe Robbie Robertson on the cartoon series Spider-Man, resides in Agoura, California.

About Marc Graue

Marc is the owner of the legendary Marc Graue Voice Over Studios in Burbank, California, a landmark for more than 20 years. This is where hundreds of commercials, cartoons & VO's are recorded daily. Also a voice actor represented by William-Morris in Beverly Hills, Marc can currently be heard on Nickelodeon's " Avatar-The Last Airbender", Cartoon Network's "Code Name: Kids Next Door" and the "Veggie Tales Larry Boy" series as well as the video games "Avatar", "World of Warcraft", "Gun", "007-Golden Eye" and the upcoming "Spiderman 3" and "Spiderman-Super Heroes Unite".

It's about time someone recognized voice actors exclusively! We're excited to announce that nominations for the 1st Annual Voicey Awards are now officially open.

The Voices.com Voicey Awards are now open for nominations!

Who is Voices.com?

Voices.com is the #1 Voice Marketplace, connecting professional voice over talents with people who require the services of voice talent and voice actors to complete their projects, including commercials for radio and television, promos, movie trailers, audio book narration, podcasts, videos, animation, videogames, telephone recordings and more.

What are the Voicey Awards?

The Voicey Awards recognize voice actors and voice talents for their contributions and efforts over the year in the voice over industry.

Categories include Best Male Voice, Best Female Voice, Best New Voice, Best Personal Branding, and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

One simple rule: to be nominated, a voice talent must be registered with Voices.com.

How do I nominate someone?

Nominating a voice talent is easy. Simply print off the PDF nomination form, enter in the necessary information and fax the nomination form to Voices.com for consideration. There is no limit to the number of voice talents you may nominate, however, the nominee must be a member of Voices.com to qualify.

Sounds great, but what do the winners get?

The first of its kind, people who win these awards will be provided with the following: A 1-year Premium Subscription from Voices.com, a press release announcing their award, and a special badge displayed on their Voices.com website letting people know about their Voicey award.

Okay, let’s recap:

To nominate a voice talent for any of these categories, download our PDF nomination form, print it off, fill it out and fax it to our office. The deadline for nominations is St. Valentine's Day - February 14th, 2007.

You can nominate multiple voice talents, just be sure to submit a separate nomination form for each of them so that we can keep track of each individual nomination.

So, what are you waiting for? Nominate your favorite voice talent for a Voicey Award at Voices.com!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Let us know your favorite - vote here on the VOX Daily blog!

We're about to launch a multimedia campaign including audio, video, images and text.

It's very exciting and we want you to be a part of it.

Remember, that the tag line needs to resonate with both voice talents and the clients using Voices.com.

Which one do you like best?







"Be Heard" or "Find Your Voice Today"...

Which one do you like and why?

Looking forward to hearing your comments!

Stephanie

We're pleased to help promote Los Angeles Voice Coach Nancy Wolfson's free teleseminar to take place on January 17th, 2007! Reserve your spot now.

Join Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino on Wednesday January 17th, 2007 at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST) for a free, 30 minute teleseminar entitled:

"The State of Voice Over Today"

Nancy and Anna suggest that you have a pen and notebook handy to jot down aspects of the seminar that interest you.

Topics to be discussed include home studios, agents, regional work, NY / LA, union vs. non-union, demos, casting, branding, voice prints and more.

Space is extremely limited. The call-in number will be emailed to you upon confirmation of your reserved spot.

To secure your spot for this free teleseminar and signup via email, visit:

BreakIntoVoiceOver.com

Cheers,

Stephanie

Did you know that the scripts are now available?

The Voices.com Radio and Television Commercial Scripts package provides you with a library of 50 original, professionally written scripts from a variety of industries including automotive, retail, home and garden, real estate, financial services, education, and more.

Each script in this package comes fully assembled with casting suggestions, direction, music, and sound effect ideas.

You can easily customize these royalty-free scripts for your clients by changing the name of a company or product. It's really that easy!

Best of all, you can download your Radio and Television Scripts (PDF) immediately after purchasing.

Does this sound like something that you could make use of at your studio?

Click here to learn more about the scripts and to view samples from the package.

Best,

Stephanie

Ever had to produce a commercial and didn't know where to start?

We're about to release our new collection of commercial advertising scripts to the public!

For those of you who don't have commercial scripts to work from when producing ads and would like some material on hand, I have a perfect solution and a gift for you.

All it takes is a few minutes of your time, and I assure you, it's time well spent.

Here's the opportunity:

Review our new Commercial scripts package today and keep the royalty-free scripts as our gift to you and your voiceover business!

We'll also include your comments on our website and link to your Voices.com website.

Remember, the majority of people who buy these scripts are ad agencies and corporations. Everyone who buys the scripts will see your name and can click through to learn more about you and your services.

If you'd like a chance to review the script package before it goes on the market, leave a comment on this blog post stating your interest and we'll send you a complimentary script package ASAP.

Looking forward to receiving your feedback and comments.

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. Wow! Thank you for all of the interest and to those who participated :) We'll let you know more in a little while. Requests to review the scripts are now officially closed.

If you haven't sent in your holiday dessert recipe yet, there are only 24 hours left! Have your cake and eat it too at Voices.com this holiday season :)

That's right, it's almost time for me to put on my publishers hat and get these delectable recipes for the holiday season packaged with a ribbon on top for clients who will download their free gift from Voices.com.

So far, we've had a good response, but it could be even greater with your help!

Why participate?

Each voice talent who submits their favorite holiday recipe for this promotion will receive:

• A link to their Voices.com website
• A 15 word or less description of their voice included with their recipe
• Acknowledgment via a news release
• Be mentioned in a special blog post
• Free publicity and a unique 'in' with clients worldwide

This sounds too good to pass up, doesn't it?

All this publicity just for sharing a recipe and some holiday cheer with the world. Not bad :)

Ladies and gents, you can go about submitting your recipe one of two ways:

1. You can leave a comment on the blog
2. You can email me with your recipe for inclusion (stephanie@voices.com)

The recipes will be available online until January 6th, 2007.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

P.S. I'll be editing this weekend - hope to see you in the eBook!

Now is the time to get in for your early bird affiliate status! Learn more by reading this post.

We're happy to announce that we're ready to start our Affiliate Program.

We've had great success building the program and are now asking for your help be the one of the first people to place links on your website or blog and start generating revenue.

The Pilot Program participants will receive full benefits (commissions for sales) during the testing phase. This phase is scheduled to last for 1 week.

Take a peek at your future Affiliate Control Panel:

Don't be intimidated by the image - It's a lot easier than it looks!

You'll have a variety of text and professionally designed graphics to choose from.

These banners will look awesome on your website or blog!

The Affiliate Control Panel is integrated right in your "Account & Settings", so you'll keep a single login.

Want to know more?

About the Voices.com Affiliate Program

Our program is free to join, it's easy to sign-up and requires no technical knowledge. Affiliate programs are common throughout the Internet and offer website owners a means of profiting from their websites. Affiliates generate sales for commercial websites and in return receive a percentage of the value of those sales.

How Does It Work?

When you join the Voices.com affiliate program, you will be supplied with a range of banners and textual links that you will place within your site. When a user clicks on one of your links to Voices.com, their activity will be tracked by our affiliate software. You will earn a commission based on your commission type.

Enjoy Real-Time Statistics And Reporting!

Login 24 hours a day to check your sales, traffic, account balance and see how your banners are performing. You can even test conversion performance by creating your own custom links!

Affiliate Program Details

• Commission Type - Pay-Per-Sale: 10% of all sales you deliver.
• Payout Threshold - $10.00 USD - Minimum balance required for payout.
• Payout Duration - Payments are made on the 1st of each month, for the previous month.

If you are interested in participating in our Pilot Program, email us here.

Looking forward to working with you,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Check out the video, then share it from YouTube.

Ever wondered what the co-founders of Voices.com do in their spare time?

They work!

Watch the video on VOX Daily or click through to YouTube to watch and rate the movie there.

So, what do you think?

If you like what you see, let us know and we'll make more of these videos.

If the idea sparks some interest, we'll hire professional voice talents (maybe you!) to record the voiceovers for these promo videos to help spread the word about the #1 Voice Marketplace, Voices.com :)

Best,

Stephanie

Have you been thinking about joining Voices.com at the Premium or Preferred level? Find out why the timing is right for you to start fully promoting your voice at the #1 voice marketplace, Voices.com.

Do you want more opportunities to market your voice directly to clients? Well, with Voices.com's new QuickStart offer, you'll get just that!

When you upgrade your account to the Preferred or Premium membership on or before November 30th, 2006, you'll receive 2 bonus Featured Voice Talent categories as well as our royalty-free Voice Over Script Collection, a perfect combination that will get your voice out to more clients and a route to promote your talent in targeted niches for voice over work.

Combined, the value of these add-ons is $50. It's like getting your membership for half price!

Remember, this offer is only available until November 30th...

While we're chatting, there's one very important thing we should note:

If you are interested in ranking higher in the Voices.com search engine and the Featured Voice Talent Categories (voice talent directory listings) you'll want to upgrade for the Premium membership.

Premium members enjoy priority ranking in the search engine and have 5 Featured Voice Talent Categories to start with. If you add 2 more to that number, you'll have 7!

Does this sound like something you've been waiting for?

Our website has brought high profile clients literally to the email boxes of voice talent, including blue chip companies, Fortune 500s, and broadcast giants.

Your colleagues already know that our website works for them, and, it could also work for you.

Just think of what we could do for you if you let us promote your voice.

Securing work for you is our passion and it's the only thing we do. All of our efforts are aligned with a single, focused vision: to get voice work for you and to help others find the perfect voice for their projects.

It's really that simple.

Now, can we take this next step together?

To start your Voices.com experience, upgrade online here or give us a call toll-free at 1-888-359-3472.

To your success,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Getting into major online news wires like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN is easy when you work with Voices.com to promote your story.

Have you heard about our press release service?

Getting your name out there is what we do best, and we're pleased to announce our new press release service, an essential product for any voice talent who wants to:

• Make headlines overnight
• Gain more visibility online
• Share their story with the world
• Reach a larger audience
• Dominate the search engines
• Introduce new services
• Announce a big contract
• Be affiliated with The Official Voice Marketplace, Voices.com

We know this industry inside out and we're adamantly dedicated to attracting clients who need voice-over recordings.

We perform this role as the voice industry leader every day.

Now, let us do this for you on a personal scale, and watch as windows of opportunity present themselves via the press, voice over work, and much more!

Interested?

Learn more about how we'll help you to meet the press here.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Want your website to rank higher in the search engines? Find out everything you need to know to get indexed in Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others with Voices.com's "Secrets of Search Engine Optimization".

Ever wondered how to get your website ranked higher in the search engines?

Looking for a guide to help boost your position in Google, Yahoo!, and MSN?

When you upgrade your service at Voices.com, you will receive our exclusive 15 page guide on search engine optimization, chock full of helpful hints, detailed examples, and online directories for you to submit your website to.

The ebook is easy to read and there's something for everyone. Here's a glimpse of the SEO guide!

We want to share some of our secrets with you as Google's #1 ranked site for voice overs.

This SEO (search engine optimization) guide is not for sale and is only available in conjunction with this special offer at Voices.com.

The SEO offer ends on September 30th, 2006, so act now!

Are you ready to to increase your position in the search engines?

Best,

Stephanie & The Voices.com Team

In an effort to help build community and awareness on a large scale, we thought we'd seek out your help and ask that you consider placing an "I Recommend Voices.com" badge on your personal website or blog. Choose from 3 great designs!

Want to show your appreciation for Voices.com?

Simply place a badge on your website or blog by doing a copy and paste of a snippet of code. Here are three badges for you to choose from. We hope you like them :)

Copy and paste this HTML code into your website.
<a href="http://www.voices.com/"><img src="http://www.voices.com/images/badges/irecommend_thumbsup_150.gif" alt="I Recommend Voices.com" width="150" height="36" border="0" /></a>

Copy and paste this HTML code into your website.
<a href="http://www.voices.com/"><img src="http://www.voices.com/images/badges/irecommend_heart_150.gif" alt="I Recommend Voices.com" width="150" height="36" border="0" /></a>

Copy and paste this HTML code into your website.
<a href="http://www.voices.com/"><img src="http://www.voices.com/images/badges/irecommend_star_150.gif" alt="I Recommend Voices.com" width="150" height="36" border="0" /></a>

Thank you for helping to spread the word.

Have a great day!

Stephanie and The Voices.com Team

P.S. If you'd like to help but don't know how to insert the code into your website, forward this page to your webmaster.

Did you know that you can receive VOX Daily every day via email? It only takes a jiffy :)

Subscribing to the VOX Daily Voice Actors Blog is very easy.

If you want to receive daily updates with the story headlines via email, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog by typing in your email address.

What are the perks of subscribing for free by email to VOX Daily?

1. You receive daily updates about what's going on in the voice industry.

2. You can read summaries of the articles and click through to read more.

3. You can forward interesting posts to your friends easily with the click of a button.

Reading VOX Daily, served fresh at breakfast time courtesy of Feedburner, does wonders for your voice-over morale and gives you the spring in your step needed to get through the working day.

Another perk is that your VOX Daily email notifications, or blog post summaries, can also connect you with other voice actors. When you click through to read an article that interests you, you're invited to join the conversation and meet a variety of your voice-over colleagues from around the world.

A source of entertainment, encouragement, enlightenment, and education... VOX Daily is also a place where you can express your views and band together as an online voice-over community.

Subscribing is free and is as easy as typing in your email address and clicking on "subscribe" to receive your daily dose of voice industry news. You can also click on the subscribe text link at the bottom of each post. It has an orange icon beside it :)

Think of it like a newspaper, delivered each day to your home... but highly tailored to your interests and for free!

Get your VOX Daily everyday. Subscribe by email by filling out the form, the orange menu on the far right of your computer screen.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Ciccarelli
Editor, VOX Daily

If you upgrade your membership on or before July 31st, 2006, we'll get you in Google News! Want to know more?

When you upgrade on or before July 31st, 2006, you'll receive a world-class press release written about you and distributed to the media, getting your name and the news about your services out to the public.

If you've been waiting for an opportunity to be written about, this promotion is for you!

Learn more about this offer by clicking on this link.

Each member who upgrades their membership, whether to Preferred (USD$99 per year) or Premium (USD$199 per year) qualifies for this offer. If you've been thinking about upgrading your membership from Preferred to Premium, you qualify as well.

Looking forward to serving you!

Best regards,

Stephanie and the Team

P.S. If you are curious to see samples of talent press releases from past campaigns, you'll find some here.

Voiceover cruise set for 2007 has been canceled.

"Due to my work schedule I'm sad to report the 2007 voice-over workshop/cruise has been canceled. However, it will be rescheduled so please check back for updates. For those who expressed interest please email me at bob@bobbergen.com and I'll make sure to get in touch with you directly as soon as the next excursion is planned. Thanks!"

- Bob Bergen

*** To learn more about Bob's voiceover cruise, read the original entry below ***

I've been chatting back and forth with Bob Bergen recently and I have more details to share with you about his 2007 Pacific Coast Voiceover Cruise, due to set sail next spring, departing from Los Angeles, USA on April 29th and arriving in Vancouver, Canada on May 4th, 2007.

Bob's cruise was a hit last year, and this coming cruise promises to be just as good.

FYI: There are some extremely important housekeeping items that need to be addressed to ensure that you're good to go.

Most important: Deadlines! If you commit to going on the cruise now, you'll save money. Your deposit needs to be paid by August 16th.

If necessary, you can cancel up until January, and the balance isn't due til then. The ship will hold your cabin for the current prices if you put your deposit down by August 16th.

Please keep in mind that the ship has the right to raise the prices after August 16th, and Bob has no control over that.

Some very important details:

1. Book the cruise through the travel agent.

2. Book the workshops through Bob Bergen.

3. Mention that you heard about the VO cruise from Voices.com and Bob will give you 10% off the workshop fees (that includes just the workshops, not your cabin). That's a great deal!

Here's what some of Bob's 2006 VO Cruise participants had to say:

"I had a wonderful time on the 2006 animation voice-over cruise! Bob is generous and supportive. Fun, and funny, too!! I ’d love to do this again!"

"Very motivating and entertaining! I’d do it all again!!"

"What a great way to spend a "working" vacation! I felt a true rush of energy after the Sunday seminar."

"Thank you sooooooo much for putting together this cruise. I can only imagine how much work went into all of it. I had a great time and learned a lot. I really wanted you to know how much I appreciate your willingness to be so open with your time, feedback and talent . You are so good at challenging people to push themselves while at the same time keeping their self confidence up! That is not an easy thing to do (especially dealing with insecure actors!) but you were amazing at that. So thank you very very much."

For more information about contacting the travel agent and booking with Bob, click here to visit Bob's website.

Anchors away!

Stephanie

What can I do as a Guest? Get the answers here!

Greetings,

At Voices.com, we have a membership level called "Guest".

While it's true that our Guest membership is a wonderful service, receiving the Guest service is just the tip of the iceberg!

As a Guest, you have limitations, namely less marketing opportunities (for example, Guests cannot apply to job postings), less room for your demos (only 5MB of audio), less visibility on the website (no Featured Talent categories), and lower rankings in the Voices.com search engine.

Who is the Guest membership designed for?

The Guest membership is ideal for amateur talent who are developing their craft and for professionals who would like to explore our website and get to know us better before making a commitment to our paid service.

That being said, Guests are being offered an incredible deal, and the Last Day of the Promotion Is Today!

If you are a professional voice actor, there is no reason to hesitate. Upgrading your service will only give you more of the opportunities that you are looking for!

Have you heard what your peers are saying?

Testimonials from others in your field, also known as satisfied customers, are available for you on our VOX Buzz blog.

See what your colleagues are saying about Voices.com (InteractiveVoices) here.
Click on "Read more" for the entire testimonial.

Looking forward to serving you!

Best regards,

The Voices.com Team

Rank higher in the search results and save the voice industry at the same time!

Greetings,

We are inviting you to trade links with us!

Why should you trade links with Voices.com?

1. Your website will rank higher (link popularity)
2. You'll be linked from the most trafficked voice industry website
3. You'll save the voice industry, one link at a time

Firstly, linking to us will recognize Voices.com as the undisputed authority in the voice industry, enabling us to educate more clients for you, leading to more job opportunities as a direct result!

The second half to this equation is: the more links there are to Voices.com, the higher our website will rank in the search engine results, bringing more clients to post jobs and contact you directly for work. These clients will also be educated and eager to work with you on professional terms.

Increased visibility and relevancy is key to educating clients, and with your help, there will be no question about where they will go to get their voice work recorded.

To exchange links with Voices.com, click here.

With your support, the possibilities for the voice industry are endless.

To mutual success!

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Special Summer Upgrade Offer Good until June 30th, 2006. Click to read more!

Greetings,

It's the middle of June... It's hotter outside, the days are getting longer, and voice-over jobs are abundantly flowing at InteractiveVoices!

Need something to Spice Up your Summer?

We'd like to extend this special offer to you - it's good until the end of June (that's Friday June 30th, 2006).

Here's the offer:

Upgrade as a Premium or Preferred member by June 30, 2006 and receive:

* A three (3) month extension on your membership
* Two (2) additional Featured Talent Categories
* The recently updated 150 page “Definitive Guide to Voice-Over Success”

How does that sound to you?

If you have any questions or prefer to speak in person, you can give us a call toll-free at 1-888-359-3472.

If it's easier for you, login to your account and upgrade your InteractiveVoices membership online.

To be absolutely clear... There are NO HIDDEN FEES!

There's no better time to join the winning team of professional voice actors at InteractiveVoices!

We're looking forward to serving you.

Best wishes,

Stephanie, David, Carol and Laurynda :)

Be sure to tell us first - then, we'll tell the world!

Greetings,

It has been our great pleasure and honor to help break news for voice actors and share success stories on the InteractiveVoices blog.

You may have noticed several articles about your colleagues throughout these pages and wondered how you could be featured.

Just follow these easy steps:

1. Let us know about your news event or story by sending us an email
2. Include a few paragraphs about your story for our editorial team to work with
3. If applicable, include a photograph to be sent via email (i.e. promotional images, etc.)
4. Click 'Send' on your email program, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!

Right now, you are reading a blog, kind of like an online newspaper but for communities online, helping to spread news to other communities outside of the Internet, including major news outlets and magazines.

Did you know that there is a Google search engine dedicated to blogs? It's called the Google Blog Search. Some blogs are so trusted that the traditional news media uses them as sources for their stories.

If you want your news to reach the blogosphere (the name lovingly giving to the blogging world) and journalists around the globe, there's no better way than to share your story with InteractiveVoices first!

Best of all, there are no editorial or distribution fees if you come to us with your news.

We're fanatical about spreading your voice acting success and truly want to help you reach a greater audience!

If you need to get the word out, send me a quick email to get massive PR, fast :)

Cheers,

Stephanie

Let your friends know!

Greetings,

Just a short blog post today with an emphasis on spreading the word!

If you like what you read on the Voices.com blog, let other people know.

All it takes is a short email with a link to us and your friends, family, co-workers, and voice-over colleagues will all be in the loop.

Voice-over is just as much a community as it is an industry; let's keep it that way by sharing our knowledge, insight, adventures, and memories of this glorious line of work here on the Voices.com blogs.

Take care,

Stephanie

Ready to join the team? Now's a great time!

Greetings!

This post is directed to our Guest talent members and those of you who haven't yet joined the InteractiveVoices family of voiceover talents.

In a previous post, I talked about the importance of spring cleaning your web page, making sure your demos are loaded properly, updating profile information, and marketing your talents. That may sound a bit daunting, so we came up with this offer for you to consider.

Here's the pitch:

If you upgrade your account to either Premium or Preferred by May 5th, 2006, we'll do all of your Spring Cleaning for you!

You just put your feet up and let us take care of everything.

This promotional offer includes:

• An overview of your web page for any grammatical and spelling mistakes
• A polished description of your voice for the search engines
• Demo reviews and placement in the Featured Voice Talent categories linked off our home page

Read Success Stories
Purchase Securely Online
Fax in the Order Form
Call Us Toll-Free at 1-888-359-3472

Looking forward to serving you!

Cheers,

Stephanie

FastTrack Promotion ends today

Greetings,

Today is the last day to take advantage of our FastTrack promotion.

Have a great weekend, and we look forward to serving you.

Best regards,

Stephanie

Refer a friend (or many) to Voices.com, and you could win an iPod Nano!

Salutations!

Has chatting at the water cooler been pretty dull at your place of work lately?

If all is calm on the office front, why not spice it up and refer InteractiveVoices to one of your friends?

Until April 30th, 2006, you could win an Apple iPod Nano just for referring a colleague to InteractiveVoices! This contest is open to both business clients and voice actors to participate in and no purchase is necessary.

There's nothing to hesitate about!

To refer a friend to InteractiveVoices and be entered in to win an Apple iPod Nano, all you need to do is be a member of InteractiveVoices (Premium, Preferred, Guest, or Client member).

To get started right now, click here.

Good luck, and we hope you win!

Best regards,

Stephanie and the InteractiveVoices Team

FastTrack your voice-over career with Voices.com

Greetings,

You've landed here because I invited you, or because you happen to be reading this on our blog - either way, I'm pleased to be able to offer you this limited time package!

There's no better way to swing into Spring than getting your career off on the right foot at InteractiveVoices.

As mentioned above, we're including The Definitive Guide to Voice-Over Success and The Voice Over Script Collection in our spring FastTrack promotion! Two excellent resources for the professional voice talent, thrown in with our usual goodies, amazing voiceover job opportunities, and extraordinary customer support - we'll even take you personally on an inside tour of our services and show you the ropes!

This offer is good until March 31st, 2006 (that's the last Friday of this month).

If this sounds appealing to you, click here for your next steps.

Cheers!

Stephanie

Articles and Insights you won't find anywhere else!

Greetings,

Are you getting your daily dose of voice-over buzz?

The InteractiveVoices Blog is both entertaining and relevant to the working voice-over professional. We cover all aspects of the industry and feature how voice-overs relate to voice actors, clients who need voices, and the general public at large.

You'll discover exclusive secrets, promotions, and tips that we only post on our blog, and even have the opportunity to comment on topics that interest you.

Since you're already here and are currently reading this post, you are either a faithful reader of our blog or a new reader - either way, we're glad that you've picked the InteractiveVoices Blog to satisfy your cravings for all things voice-over.

As we have mentioned before, please feel free to comment on postings that are published at InteractiveVoices. We've had some excellent comments on our Kiefer Sutherland post, animated mascot post, and political voice-overs article. Also, in spirit of the Torino Olympic Games, find out what makes voice talents Olympic athletes!

If you enjoy this blog, you likely know someone else that would too. Did you know that you can email them a link to the blog straight from this page?

All you need to do is click on the little envelope icon at the bottom of each post to send your friends and colleagues the articles that you find at our voice-overs blog.

Best wishes and Happy Reading,

The InteractiveVoices Team

P.S. This blog is open to relatives and supporters of voice talents too!

Let your voice talent friend or family member in on the best toolkit for voice-over success - The InteractiveVoices Blog and the InteractiveVoices web service.

P.P.S. Add our blog to MY Google or My Yahoo! ~ subscribe to our XML feed (blog site) to be notified immediately of any new postings.

Looking for a voice talent to record?

Greetings,

If you're under the wire trying to find a voice-over talent for Valentines Day, you're not the only one.

Voice talents at InteractiveVoices are prepared to record your script and can do so within a matter of hours. Looming deadlines, loom no more! All you need is a plan and the right voice talent to bring your copy to life.

You might be interested in commercial voice-overs, but, have you thought about presenting a recording to a loved one as a gift on St. Valentine's Day? Perhaps, a heart fluttering rendition of "She Walks in Beauty, Like the Night" by Lord Byron (penned in 1814) - it's a public domain work, meaning that you can use it without having to pay royalties or a licensing fee.

Here's another idea... if you have a great voice (or a splendid way with words), why don't you record it yourself for your sweetheart? Most computers come with recording software and a modest internal microphone. Other recording methods might include a portable recording device, your stereo, or even by leaving a voicemail.

Since Valentines Day is only a week away, I thought it would be clever and helpful if this gem of a poem was published for you to discover, just in time.

Stephanie

~~~~

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face,
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,—
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.

P.S. If you would like to find additional poetry to record that is also in the public domain, just Google poets like John Keats, Lord Byron, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Percy B. Shelley, and Robert (Robbie) Burns. I'm sure you'll find the right candidate for the job.

Or... you could write your own!

It's longer, it's been updated, and it's available for purchase!

Greetings,

Did you know that the 2nd Edition of the Definitive Guide to Voice-Over Success is hot off the IV press?

You’ll learn industry secrets, how to run a business from the ground up, and everything you need to know about how to compete and thrive using your voice-over skills.

Now, let me ask you a personal question. Are you running a voice-over business already? If so, have you ever wondered:

- what the “must-have” voice-over demos are and how to get listened to?
- what the best recording software packages are how you can record at home?
- how you can quickly build a web page to showcase your skills?
- which search engines and directories bring voice talent the most traffic?
- the hottest places on the web to market yourself?
- what it takes to get consistent work performing voice-overs?
- how to avoid common pitfalls regarding billing and payment?

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced voice-over professional, you’ve probably found yourself asking these questions or have contemplated how you can improve your current operations.

Find the answers to these questions and more and in the Definitive Guide To Voice-Over Success.

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. You can also order your copy by telephone toll-free at 1-888-359-3472 (9 AM - 5 PM EST). We'll send you your eBook and bonuses via email to get you started immediately.

Many talents that use the InteractiveVoices website to host their audio files and resumes are finding that they don't need to have their own business website, i.e. www.your-name.com

Because of the amount of storage for voice-over demos, easy-to-use profile editing tools, and superior search engine rankings in Google, talents are recognizing that they don't need to spend thousands of dollars a year on other websites and web services to promote themselves.

Another benefit of having an InteractiveVoices web presence is that you don't have to learn HTML (a complicated web design language) or have any prior experience with graphic design or computer programming. All you need is your voice, ambition, and a completed profile.

Here are 5 benefits of having an InteractiveVoices web page:

1) Easy to use
2) No computer programming / design skills required
3) Cost-effective
4) High search engine rankings
5) Affiliation with the #1 Voice-over Marketplace

Those are just some of the reasons to signup at InteractiveVoices.com. We also have resources, jobs, and a means for you to accept payment online using PayPal.

Have a great day,

Stephanie

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Season's Greetings!

It's almost the end of the work week (and only a few days before Christmas!), so I thought I would send our warmest wishes to all of you before the office takes a well deserved break during this most sacred and wondrous time of year.

A couple of days ago, we sent out our holiday wishes via email to all of our members. We took time to reflect on the past year, new innovations, getting to know you, and all of the blessings bestowed upon our company and families in 2005. There are more perks, features, and enhancements just around the corner for both our clients and voice-over talents. Keeping with the old adage that 'Good things come to those who wait', we'll keep the New Years surprises under wraps for now!

I would like to direct your attention to a special page on our site that is dedicated to Christmas voice-overs. This is great fun for anyone who is interested in hearing some holiday cheer, but is also a good resource for talents looking to record a Christmas / Seasonal voice-over demo for next year.

Take a minute or two to listen to some Christmas Voice-Over Demos at Voices.com

The entire team at Voices wishes you a heartwarming, restful and blessed Christmas followed by a Joyous 2006.

Stephanie & the Voices.com Team

One of the most exciting aspects of this blog is that we can introduce topics and write about them exclusively in a new medium! Today, I'd like to chat with you about recording a voice-over demo.

This may seem like old hat to some of you, but for aspiring talent, it's one of the most significant hurdles to getting started as a voice-over talent. Questions arise such as "how do I record a demo", "where can I record a demo", "do I need any special equipment?", "where can I find scripts to record from?", and "how much money does it cost to record at a studio?"... the list can be endless when an inquiring mind wants to know!

I'm going to try my best to elaborate on the questions above. Firstly, we have a How to Make a Voice-Over Demo Guide at Voices.com. This will explain all of the nitty gritty when it comes to taking a crack at recording your first voice-over demo. Not only is there technical advice, but also a section that provides the most common demos that clients want to listen to. Primarily, these include the Commercial, Narration, and Telephone demos.

Suitably answering the "where" and "how" questions heavily depends on the resources that you have available, particularly financially and technologically. If you have a modest home studio setup and can record quality audio on your PC, the option to do so from home or at a friend's house is easily realized.

However, if you have a budget set aside for voice-over demo recording and want to make sure that a professional recording engineer is at the reins, I would strongly suggest that a visit to your local recording studio is a high priority on your list. In exchange for loyalty (as in using their studio to record every time you land a voice-over job), the studio may be willing to embark in a new relationship with you that may include discounts - if you are fortunate enough to go down this path, be sure to get the agreement in writing.

* Always make sure that you approach at least 3 studios when looking for quotes. That way you can compare prices and move ahead with the best studio for you.

Okay, so you've got the setup in mind, but you are missing.... egad, SCRIPTS! Don't panic, we can help you out with this. As you may know (and you probably do know if you know me :) ), I'm the copy writer at InteractiveVoices. One of the benefits to you at InteractiveVoices is access to a variety of royalty-free scripts penned by yours truly, either by using the sample scripts in the Resources section, or, if you want some extra mileage, "The Voice-Over Script Collection" (over 50 original scripts and an assortment of public domain works - over 70 scripts all together) can be easily purchased at our website or over the telephone. It's a really good investment if you are looking for Commercial, Imaging, Telephone and Narration scripts.

One of the ideas that I had recently, kind of a eureka moment (don't you just love those?), was to release a new script here and there on this blog for you to try out. A couple of months ago, we re-released the script collection which was revamped, rebranded and stocked with 25 new commercial voice-overs including scripts pertaining to Real Estate, Finance, Travel, Christian (religious), Events, and more. The overhaul was well worth the time and brain power :)

While we're on the topic, I'd like to get the ball rolling with one of the new scripts from the collection. This is from the Commercials section (Travel):

Looking for a reason to go to Holland in 2006? What better reason to go than to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth? As Holland's greatest 17th-century painter, it is only fitting to dedicate the entire year to the Dutch Master of shadows and light. Throughout 2006, spectacular exhibitions and events will be staged in various cities in Holland. Experience Rembrandt's Leiden, The Hague and Amsterdam... Join Holland in a toast to Rembrandt's 400th birthday! Book your flight at a discounted rate ahead of time for 2006. See you soon / Gelukkige verjaardag (Happy Birthday - optional)

Gender: Male or Female
Length: 30
Target Demographic: Rembrandt lovers, Dutch émigrés, art lovers
Character / Narrator Description: Cultured Ambassador
Vocal Direction: Slight Dutch accent (optional), happy, proud, knowledge of Dutch language an asset
Suggested Music: Dutch, polka, folk
Suggestion Sound Effects: canal sounds (water), clog dancing (wooden shoes)

If you have any ideas about what you would like to see discussed on this blog or if you have any feedback, please let me know ~ I'm all ears!

Stephanie