Aside from hearing the company is now rated in value at $2-Billion (they’re doing something right), the managers continue to make savvy improvements in the interface and presentation that benefit the user…and many of these elements are available, still, for the free membership.

Here’s the latest: “… allowing you to host an unlimited number of multimedia projects that include still images, video reels, text, and/or audio samples….”

Basically, they’re offering an application resulting from a partnership with the Behance Network, allowing you to create a Professional Creative Portfolio Display including (as you saw in the quote from their site above), AUDIO SAMPLES.

You can read all about this new feature on the LinkedIn Blog HERE.

‘Guess I’ve got a little work ahead of me today.

CourVO

The thread starts with the usual dialogue about zipping files to send, or whether to use DropBox, YouSendIt, DropSend, or some other large-file-transfer utility.  Any of those three are workable solutions for making sure you client receives the typically large audio files that you may be generating in your VO work.  DropBox depends on the client having installed the program on their resident computer, though, and that can be another layer of inconvenience you may not want to impose on your client.

YouSendIt and DropSend are pretty popular, low-cost, subscription services that allow easy automation of your files, scheduling, follow-up, and tiered-pricing.

So what could be easier than that?

Your own website, that’s what.

If you’ve already paid for the domain name, and the hosting, it’s likely you have FTP access, and extra space you’re paying for, but not using.

Create a subdirectory for your client, and store the finished files there.  That way you bypass any sort of email layer of interface, and your client not only gets the name-branding of your website reinforced, but also will likely feel as if they’ve been given a higher level of customer care.

The difference is answering mail sent by YouSendIt, or acccessing a subdirectory like:  http://MyVOwebsite.com/ClientName.

There’s no additional monthly fee, you avoid the irregularities of email, the files stay there as long as you want, accessible from any computer, anywhere, and you customer feels a closer connection to your VO business.  What’s not to like?!

Check on your hosting service plan to see how much storage you originally purchase.  Chances are for not that much more, you can upgrade to a bunch  more space.

To see the original Yahoo VO Forum thread, click HERE and HERE (you have to be a member).  The second link also includes a handy list of other file-send utilities than the ones I mentioned here.

CourVO

This might be a good resource to recommend if you get calls once in a while from eager VO wannabe’s.

‘Looks like the publisher released it in March, but reviews are filtering in just now.

Read a review written by John Herrera HERE.

CourVO

Use only if it helps your VO business! — don’t be like me: an itinerant homeless web-surfer shuffling from one engaging site to another.

Addict-o-matic, like Google’s iGoogle, let’s you create your own buzz page using existing sites.  There’s a social media version of this that I’ve blogged about before:  Flavors.me.

But seriously, folks…here’s a really good tip to a great site.

Visit DuctTapeMarketing often.  The originator of this site — John Jantsch — posts the best tips for all kinds of marketing tools and tips, and he cross-references stuff unbelievably well.

Particularly, you’ll want to read one of his latest blogs: THE ABUSIVE MATH OF COLD-CALLING.  1-3% success rate (cold calling) vs. ~40% success rate if you have a referral (warm calling).

CourVO

You know…your car just quit running, and you’re wildly swinging into imagined foul-ups with your on-board computer, your alternator, a short in the wiring harness, or something to do with the automatic transmission, and then someone comes along and says:  ”Did you check to see if there’s gas in the gas tank?”

OK, so here goes:  Are you Googling yourself every day?

Maybe this is elementary, and you’ve been doing it for years, but if not, you should be.

BE ALERT

Now, there are a couple of ways of doing this.  One is just to type your name in the Google search, and look at the results( see my blog:  Google is Your Resume).  The other way is more automated, and more immediately reflective of daily traffic.

You may be doing this already too:  Google Alerts.  But are you doing an “alert” on yourself?

Click HERE to go to Google Alerts.  The dialog boxes are self-evident.  Choose a term (your name or nickname).  I suggest you tell Google to search “everything” at least once a day, then tell Google where to send it.

It’ll show up in your mailbox as regular as clockwork, and provide a list of links to all the places where your name showed up on the web that day.

Some of it, of course, is superfluous (for instance, “Courvoisier” shows up daily on a Busta Rhymes reference for the song “Pass the Courvoisier”)…and some days, not much appears.

Every once in a while, though, you’ll get an unexpected mention, kudo, reference, or link to your site for which a follow-up, or even a “thank you” is appropriate.  Building a business, is all about building a relationship, right?

In the alternative, you may also find the stray complaint about your site, your service, or a comment you made.  Such references — if unfounded — certainly deserve a response, no?

I’ve found some very interesting stuff with this method.  More often than not, it leads to thanking someone for a mention.  But your name is certainly a part of your brand, and as such, your business model should probably include a regular assessment of your profile on the web.

It’s better than running out of gas.

CourVO

Maybe it’s because I didn’t write a memo to myself in Evernote to write this blog…until earlier this week.

Evernote is my memory.  It’s software in the cloud.  It’s software on my computer.  It’s software on my iPhone.

I write notes, I type notes, I voice notes, I send notes to Evernote through Twitter, through my phone, on email.  When I voice notes, they get transcribed to printed memos.

I save great articles I find on the internet, sound files, pictures, thoughts, ideas, to-do’s.

I save log-ins, passwords, addresses, business cards, all manner of minutiae because my mind is not perfect, but Evernote is darn close, and it’s all accessible from anywhere, ’cause no matter where or how I input the data…it automatically syncs and saves. It interfaces with my Eye-Fi card, and my Jott account.

I can categorize and search.  It even searches scanned pictures for words…and it’s dead-on accurate.

Evernote has 3-million users and it’s growing fast.  It’s a community.  It’s a force of culture…and users keep coming up with new ways of using it the developers never imagined. (See Evernote Blog).

Talk about your ultimate productivity tool!

CourVO

We’re creatures of habit, tending to keep the same schedules.  Mine is a late one.

But…every once in a while…do you change it up?

When do you typically make phone calls?  Are you getting through to prospects and agents?

What time of day do people see your tweets?

When are you answering auditions?  When V123 or Voices or your agents sends them out…or many hours later?

When are you actually recording your sound?  At the end of the day when the voice is tired?

The point is that even something as simple as occasionally changing this one variable may be the tweak that brought the new client, the better read, the closer relationship.  Did you consider that?

Maybe it’s…..time.

CourVO

One glaring exception is the CBS Sunday Morning News.  In my mind, it’s TV’s best regular programming, probably ’cause I started with Charles Kuralt, whom I considered a news God… and now with another “Charlie” — Charles Osgood…also a CBS stalwart.

A recent program had a brief story about Voiceovers by Nancy Giles.

Here’s the YouTube version for your enjoyment:

(props to my VO-BB chums for clueing me into this, ’cause once again…I wasn’t watching)

CourVO

Maybe it would actually be good to see some of the people you know virtually…captured in the lens of a camera…some in pose, some candid.

And if you WERE there, then you’ll enjoy living more memories of the event, ’cause James Alburger found a bunch more pics he forgot all about!  Here was his email to me:

“I recently found 60+ photographs from VOICE 2010 on a hard disk I did not know I had!! There are photos of several sessions (like Deb Munro’s SKYPE session) and lots of photos from the green room with presenters and panelists.

They are now in the Gallery under VOICE 2010 Thursday, the Lost Photographs. You can view them there and download any you would like. That link again is www.voiceacting.com/gallery/VOICE2010.”

Check it out!

CourVO

The site promises: “We spent years gathering recommendations from the people breathing life and culture into their cities around the world, and filming video features on the very best local spots. With this information we have created the first worldwide city guide that learns what you like.”

And it IS a very easy interface with lots of video, links to hot-spots, plus (of course) the ability to use various Social Media platforms to spread the word.

Some months ago, I got the call out of nowhere to be profiled for this site’s showcasing of Las Vegas.  I said I’d participate, not really knowing exactly what it was all about.  I did the interview about “my Vegas”…you know — how I perceive my town, what’s to do here…etc.  Then I waited several more months, and now here it is…a fully launched site with obviously TONS of work and thousands of man-hours put into it.

You have to register (for free) to gain access to everything (quite extensive)…but then you can click HERE to get to my video….or just browse around and choose LAS VEGAS, then see my listing among the others interviewed for this project.  The home page is:  http://www.inthemo.com….or click on the logo above.

Let me know what you think.

CourVO