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VOICE OVER MARKETING
It's Smart To Keep Your Smartphone
Handy And Demos Just A Click Away ...
March 10, 2015

By Mike Broderick
Voice Actor

I was out of my studio and away from my computer when my phone pinged to let me know I’d just received a business email.

Opening the email on my phone I found an audition notice from a pay-to-play site seeking auditions in a North American accent from a large European manufacturer for a well-paying job that needed to be done urgently.

After a few moments of hassle requesting a new password (Yes, in an effort to confuse and foil the legion of hackers out there, I have created so many different passwords that I sometimes end up confusing myself…), I was in my audition inbox on the pay-to-play site.

There was no script provided, but I remembered that I had my demos available on my phone through Dropbox. I quickly wrote a professional proposal thanking the client for the opportunity to audition and re-assuring them that I could do the job today. 

I then uploaded one of my pre-existing demos, proofread and revised my proposal as necessary, and hit the send button.

BEAT AUDITION DEADLINE

Will I get the job? I don’t know, but I do know a few things:

The whole process took only took a few minutes and I got my proposal in before the audition deadline closed – and at least a bit more quickly (with no loss of quality) than if I had gone back to my studio.

The technology at our disposal is awesome. For years it has been noted that the processing power of our home computers surpasses that of the NASA computers that put a man on the moon.

There’s no doubt that our smart phones, smart watches, wearable, and future bio-tech computers will be even more powerful in the years to come.

It’s now possible for us to audition, submit proposals, and sometimes even do pickups from any number of places, when necessary, using a smart phone. (How often have you been hearing lately about VO talent fulfilling an urgent request using their phone from an airport, hotel, car, or other more exotic locations?)

KEEP PHONE, DEMOS HANDY

It pays to have your demos handy on all of your tech gadgets and platforms.  When auditioning or submitting proposals, seconds count. In the few minutes that passed from the time I got the email notification until I opened the audition, 17 people had submitted proposals. In the short time it took me to write and submit the proposal a further 8 people had auditioned.

Lastly, keep your phone with you. As noted above, you never know when you might find an opportunity to submit an audition or proposal from just about anywhere.  
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ABOUT MIKE
A native of Holyoke, MA, Mike Broderick is a voice actor living in the south east of England with his wife Suzanne since 2004. A graduate of Tufts University in English and Classical Studies, he also attended graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin, focusing on Public Affairs and Asian Studies. As a U.S. Peace Corp volunteer in Sri Landa he taught English as a second language to prospective teachers, and prior to starting his voice over career, worked for 15 years in economic development in the U.S. and England, assisting businesses in project marketing, management, customer service, employment and skills.


Email: mike@mikebroderickvoiceover.com
Web: www.mikebroderickvoiceover.com


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