First Impressions (Revisited) of a Voice Talent

Well, here it is the beginning of a new year and many of us are trying to cast our nets a bit further into the Voice Over World, hoping to snag a few new clients. That means that we have to contact people who do not know us: producers and clients who need VO talents. And that brings us back to those first impressions.

As a professional casting agent I get demos sent to me all the time, and my first impression is always the one that sticks. The most common way to reach out these days is with e-mail.

What would your first impression be if you received the following? (I have copied and pasted several recent e-mails I've received)

I check out the Williamson Evans website. I have a desire to do VO. Especially recorded messages, and announcements, I realize that I need a Demo, can you reccomend a recording studio, that can assist me in this, i.e copy etc...

Here¹s another:

Attached is an 60 second mp3 demo of various commercial reads. Please let me know if I could voice for you and your cleints.

And another:

Diana, Just a quick note. I am a voice actor from the NYC area. Here is the link to my latest voice demo. Also, I can record from my home with same day turnaround time. Hopefully we can get something going.

And one more: I came across your Williamson Evans site, and BOY! Was I impressed.... I'm a professional VO talent -- financial core -- and I have a full - studio (ISDN -- both a zephyr and a prima)...and phone patch. I'd LOVE to be a part of your roster!

Now, let¹s discuss these first contact e-mailed messages.

The first example: makes me wonder if this person passed high school English. Now I know typing mistakes happen, but e-mail has spell check OK! Also, just reading it OUT LOUD to yourself would help you catch the minor misuse of words, etc.. Not a very good first impression.

Second example: Sending an attachment, unsolicited, this person was lucky I opened the e-mail at all. You should first initiate a conversation with the person you are hoping will help you make some money. Don¹t just force yourself upon him or her and wonder why you never got a reply.

Third example: You found my eddress and still misspelled my name. Plus you want me to spend time going to your site without even a pleasant "Hello" or "Hope you have a nice day". In my experience, this VO business has a lot to do with building relationships. I want to work with fun, friendly, talented people who can deliver what the client wants. I will spend time searching everywhere to find the right talent for the job, but I will always start with personable friendly folks, who seem to want to work with Williamson Evans too. A little pleasantry goes a long way.

Now the last example: Can you feel the enthusiasm and excitement? This talent got an instant reply to send a demo, and even though I have not yet had a client looking for this particular voice style, I will keep their demo on hand and recommend this talent in the future. This first of several e-mail notes from this person made me feel like I was able to learn about and believe in this talent¹s abilities. This relationship began on a good note.

I have discussed the actual talent demo in past newsletters and how your demo needs to sell your skills, but do not forget that your first contact, the "cover letter" (or cover e-mail) for that demo needs to make the casting agent want to discover more about your voicing skills and abilities. Otherwise your demo may never even get heard.

Dyana Daniels Talent Coordinator/Engineer Williamson Evans Words, Music & Moving Pictures Greenville, SC USA