There are no standards set in stone when it comes to soliciting bids and auditions from voiceover talents through a voice marketplace, but there are some tested guidelines which will mutually benefit both the voice seeker and the voiceover talent.

• Provide the essential details about your project. This is true for any project you need a quote on, whether you post it on a marketplace or request a quote directly from a voice talent:
  • Type of voiceover: voicemail, DVD promo, TV tag, radio imaging, medical narration, audiobook narration, documentary narration, etc.
  • Length of script: in seconds, minutes or pages. Keep in mind that a normal rate of speech is 150 words per minute and a standard page is double spaced with 12pt font which is about 15 words per line and 275 words per page. Movie scripts have larger margins and are closer to 160 words to follow a page per minute format.
  • Your deadline: a rush is a rush. If you need it yesterday, expect to pay more, otherwise there is less incentive for a voice actor to set other clients’ projects aside to push yours through. Either way, be realistic about the time frame. Large IVR jobs and audiobooks can take a few weeks. Short-form projects can be turned around in a day, schedule permitting.
  • Expected market: regional TV viewers in New York, local radio listeners in Tampa, in-store shoppers in Minnesota, a group of investors with a lot of money in Nevada, your Aunt Mae in Atlanta. Let us know who will hear the voiceover and where.
  • Your budget range: let the talent bid between the numbers, but generally it’s best to let talent know the minimum and maximum you are willing to pay.
  • The project rights you want to purchase: whether you’re expecting a perpetual buyout (you use it as long and as many times as you want) or other limited terms for your use of the voiceover (for example, a TV spot which you want to air an unlimited number of times, during a 13-week cycle). You’ll also want to let the talent know whether you’re offering residuals (pay per play) fees.
• Avoid wasting your time and the talent’s.
  • Request only as many auditions as you’re willing to listen to. Generally, a marketplace will send you an email for every submission and those emails will fill your inbox for every project you post. The process can be overwhelming.
    • Consider also that each custom demo you request has to be recorded and sent by a voiceover talent on the other side, which is a time-consuming process usually without compensation. The voice talent has already paid a hefty subscription fee for the privilege of submitting auditions to your job leads. So they have already invested time and money on your project. There is simply no reason to ask someone to submit an audition you don’t intend to listen to.  A good practice is that you CLOSE THE JOB if you select one of the first submissions.
  • Shop for prices first, talent later. Some marketplaces will allow you to post a job with an “open” budget. Well, if you must. But request a custom demo only if you’re willing to post a budget range. If you are merely fishing for low bids, do that first. Provide a detailed description of your project and request a related stock demo from the talent. That’s all you need for the first round. Otherwise you’ll get custom auditions from voiceover talents who are beyond your budget. That happens. But it is never appropriate to request a custom demo you don’t intend to hear.  Consider also that many voice actors, myself included, have a policy of not providing custom demos for projects without a posted budget.
  • Be realistic in determining whether your project even needs a custom audition. There is almost never a good reason to request a custom demo for standard voicemail – for english press 1 – unless of course you have unusual names for your company or staff which will be part of the voicemail script. If that’s the case, consider limiting your demo script to a couple lines with those unique names and provide a pronunciation key:
    • “Thank you for calling Ouachita (WA shituh) Valley Bank’s Natchtitoches (NA ku tosh) branch…”
• Consider whether the project should be directed to a narrower pool of talents. If your project requires a more discernible level of experience and professionalism, you may want to limit the lead to union or accredited voiceover talents. Unlike union status, accreditation requires a voiceover talent to go through a peer review process for assessment of performance and technical proficiency. It is a growing trend and a good resource for voice seekers. Both union status and accreditation suggest a level of commitment to the profession that you may find more reliable.
• Expect some watermarking or script changes on audition demos from time to time. Some talents have had their audition demos effectively taken as a final product without ever receiving payment for them.  As a result, voiceover talents may choose to watermark their clips with an underlying tone,  fade on company names, or purposely  change phone numbers and web addresses on the script to render them unusable as a final product. It’s not a mistake on the demo. This is as common a practice as buying CDs or clothing with security tags on them. Don’t take it personally. It should be an issue for you only if it prevents you from evaluating the overall demo. Although I rarely watermark an audition demo, as a matter of policy, I don’t audition for leads from voice seekers who object to their use unless they have a good reason and an established reputation.
• Consider providing additional information on time-sensitive projects. For example, provide pronunciation keys for unusual words. As a matter of course, always provide that information if you have it. I’m old school. Never reinvent the wheel. If you have the information, why force someone who’s developing a project for you to hunt it down on their own?
• Understand that a phone number is not a single word. Huh? In determining script durations and word counts for projects charged by the word, it’s important to understand that a ten-digit phone number is ten separate words: 9-5-4 – 5-5-5 – 1-2-1-2. If your script has phone numbers and addresses, expect to be charged by the number. You may not be, but expect it anyway. At a minimum, consider the digit=word rule when writing copy for short TV and radio spots since it can seriously affect timing. More on that in another blog.
  • Tip. To get a more accurate word count on long scripts with lots of numbers, open the script in your favorite word processing program. Do ten quick searches, one for each digit 0 through 9, and replace each number with the same number but add spaces before and after the digit. Example: search for “1” and replace it with “ 1 ” so that this: 954-555-1212 turns into this: 9 5 4 – 5 5 5 – 1 2 1 2. Your word processing program will now give you a more accurate word count.
• Expect to provide your contact information. Voiceover is a business that requires financial transactions and accurate records. Each project I do results in an invoice that you will need in order to deduct the cost of the voiceover as a business expense. The invoice provides information regarding my business for tax purposes as well. It’s a necessary and mutual exchange of information. I frankly avoid doing business with prospects who can only provide a gmail address.

Follow at least most of the applicable guidelines – definitely the ones regarding project details – and you’re sure to have a better experience hiring voiceover talents either directly or through a voice marketplace. Good luck with your project!