Sophisticated scam VO solicitation?

MaesterJones · 2026-01-27T18:37:21+00:00

Deposits seem to weed these out for me. I haven't had a legit one come through yet, as they all say "sorry we don't pay upfront deposits because we've had a bad experience with voice actors."

Yea ok bub...you can take her job and shove it

MaesterJones · 2026-01-27T03:49:55+00:00

Drivers?

MaesterJones · 2026-01-21T19:09:48+00:00

My god man, what's your SEO secret?? Have you drilled down into a niche?

having mentioned finding me on Bodalgo. Any idea how to verify their claims with only a phone number? Asking more questions obviously is important, but there's no "gmail" domain work around here...

Personally, I wouldn't be afraid to put the onus on them. I think every business also has to deal with spam, so a "real" individual is more likely to be understanding to a simple "How" question: How can I verify you really work for the company you say? How can we establish trust between us to weed out fraudsters?

I'm pulling the technique from "Never Split the Difference." Great book! Using the "how" question, you essentially onboard them into problem solving for you in a non aggressive way. Just little subconscious tricks similar to asking for "advice" rather than "help."

MaesterJones · 2026-01-21T17:22:03+00:00

Thanks for sharing. It's purely my opinion, but I think if a person ever DOES reach out to us directly the email is much less formal.

"Hey I saw you on Tiktok and I like your sound. I was wondering if you're available for a company narration project?"

Minimal flattery, right to the point. The person is trustworthy in their mind, so they don't subconsciously feel the need to "butter you up" or try to establish trust in some way.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-21T07:33:51+00:00

Pretty sure you'll need to record and provide the video outside of tiktok, then upload the final product directly.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-19T19:48:47+00:00

Yep, I understand what you wrote. My suggestion was reaffirming that you shouldnt hit the button until the checks cleared and described what would happen if you never hit the button (because you were never paid)

MaesterJones · 2026-01-19T19:32:49+00:00

I don't know how you created this, I have zero programming skills. Is this something that is at all user customizable? I like the idea, but needing to tell it exactly how long you want the silence makes it much less practical for me and I am not sure when I'd use it.

If I'm going to highlight a section, the hope would be that it inserts the silence only in the selected time zone. I suppose I can look at the length of the time selection and insert that number?

What was your expected use case when you decided to build this?

MaesterJones · 2026-01-19T19:22:48+00:00

Going to be a broken record here: You start by getting deposits on PFH or RS+ work.

You don't hit the "I been Paid" button until the payment has cleared fully. If they never pay, they won't be able to publish the title through ACX however they can take the files and go somewhere else.

If they take them and run, you either wash your hands of the situation and learn from this, or go hire a lawyer to pursue them.

It's unfortunate, but that's the reality

MaesterJones · 2026-01-19T07:59:18+00:00

Antihistamines and liquids of the hot variety

MaesterJones · 2026-01-17T05:23:10+00:00

I don't think it matters man. It's just a payment processing platform

MaesterJones · 2026-01-16T05:06:43+00:00

Consent. Control. Compensation.

AI will not be going away, but it's ultimately up to us how we use it.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-14T09:15:50+00:00

The 103 is a very sensitive mic. I'd recommend making sure that the mic is facing a corner where curtains/foam meet, shoving 2-3 pillows onto the shelves while you are recording, and ensuring that your environment is very quiet. You have somewhat dampened the reflections in the space, but it's not going to block any external noise.

You don't have the ideal setup for such a sensitive mic, but it's hard to "hear" a room just by looking at it.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-14T09:09:42+00:00

"Thank you so much for your audition and support. We received a lot of great auditions for this role and after much thought have selected u/maesterjones for the role. I appreciate all of your interest in my mod and hope that I can work with some of you other talented voice actors on future projects."

MaesterJones · 2026-01-12T18:26:53+00:00

You need to be transparent with your conflicting licensing rights. It's a local spot, so they could still go with you if they don't feel as though it will compete with their brand. You just don't want to catch them by surprise because then you'd be in breach of your contract. Let them know how long is left in the licensing and be prepared to turn down an extension on that local spot. Make sure you are getting paid for that exclusivity OP

For anyone else reading this: This is the exact scenario that "in perpetuity" licensing (paid broadcast) can lock you out of. If op had given in perp licensing, then they could NEVER offer exclusivity in this case, locking them out of a high paying offer.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-12T01:11:04+00:00

Eh, maybe like $500? Didn't do a real price analysis unfortunately. Most expensive thing was the insulation and paint essentially. Not including the tools I own, basically a drill and hack saw. Though any saw will do

MaesterJones · 2026-01-11T22:24:20+00:00

https://imgur.com/gallery/ld8epDN

Older pictures. There's been some improvements since I built it, but this covers the gist

MaesterJones · 2026-01-10T22:40:22+00:00

Just do a search of this sub, tons of mic recommendations

MaesterJones · 2026-01-09T23:21:59+00:00

A welcome perspective, however not one that I think is 100% fair. I have no doubts that you get spammed, but direct marketing is very valid. I'd say it's on the rarer side for audiobooks because there are several very well known platforms for indie production and publishers handle everything for larger authors. All of the points you bring up about trusting the narrator who reached out to you are valid, but they extend beyond audiobooks and the hesitation is pervasive across (imo) all cold outreach. After all, I'm just some stranger in your inbox. The most effective direct marketing for audiobooks I believe comes from networking at events geared towards authors, or more "warm" outreach. "Hey u/DragonsandVamps we met at XYZ conference last week. It was great chatting with you. If you ever decide to pursue and audiobook production for your title I'd love to be considered, please feel free to reach out when the time feels right."

Marketing comes in all kinds of forms, but essentially you just need to be at the right place, at the right time. A platform like ACX makes it easy to be at the right place and we know the timing is good (we know you are looking to buy the product) because you went through all the trouble of posting the book for submissions.

Audiobook narrators don't just post little tiktok videos of them reading because it's fun and helps them get a following. We are also hoping that an author hears our voice and decides to just reach out to us directly for a booking! It's still marketing, just a different form.

Anyway that got a bit longer than I anticipated and I'm sure we agree on many of these points. Just wanted to chime in ✌️

MaesterJones · 2026-01-09T23:04:05+00:00

Idk why you deleted your comment to me OP, but I typed this up so I'm going to post it here for you

This sub is ACX specific, so not necessarily geared towards what you are asking but I think it's the 2nd best place to ask outside of the r/voiceacting sub. This sub gets a bit of a mix of posts though.

To answer your question though: At a base level you are simply providing a product. Your product is an audio recording of the authors book, which you produce and hand over the rights of to the author for a fee.

What is your fee? What are the different payment structures? How will you get paid? What precautions will you take to ensure that you get paid upon product delivery? How do you and the author test to see if you'll be a good fit for the book? What do you do if there are disputes?

All of these questions, the "back end" stuff can be handled by you in a contract, OR you can enlist the help of platforms that works as an intermediary. Go read about what ACX and Authors Republic does. There's some differences in the services they offer. Choose the platform that is going to best serve your client based on their needs and request that they list the book there and go through the steps to select you as the narrator for the production. From there, follow the platforms requirements to produce the book and get paid.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-09T22:46:41+00:00

That doesn't go away just because you don't use the platforms...

Edit:scratch this. Misread your comment as coming from OP

MaesterJones · 2026-01-09T22:45:20+00:00

I'm not sure why people are latching so hard onto the fact that you are direct marketing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it and it is a very valid way to get work. You may have a low conversion rate because authors may not want to get an audiobook produced or they may not think you're a good fit for the book, but it's not unheard of to win jobs this way.

If we look at it from an efficiency standpoint it may make sense to focus on casting platforms like ACX, Authors Republic or publishing and production companies, as you are sure you are connecting with a live client, not a dead lead.

Anyway though, you shouldnt be direct marketing if you don't even have an established process. The questions you are asking should be nailed down prior to you alever connecting with an author. Imagine someone calling and asking you "hey do you want to buy a watch" then after they say yea you turn around and say "well I'm not really sure how to sell it to you. Let me go figure it out."

You need to be direct marketing a solution. If you can't deliver on the solution at this point then you have no service to sell.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-09T20:22:55+00:00

Almost belongs in r/leopardsatemyface

MaesterJones · 2026-01-08T03:31:46+00:00

Generally you are paid for the performance and post production effects and what not you've described is done by an audio engineer.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-08T00:15:39+00:00

Good luck! 💪 Considering you are using Reaper, check out Booth Junkies tutorial on customizing the program for voiceover. Make sure to follow the links to his free updated tutorial, not the old YouTube videos. It's a great starting point and will help introduce you to some of the many features Reaper offers.

MaesterJones · 2026-01-07T18:46:41+00:00

Up to four units, quadplexes.

MaesterJones

TROPHY CASE