I need to take payments on my website

Nick Harvey · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 17.31

But he may want to register voluntarily whilst still below the threshold, to give a more professional air to his operation.

I know many people who simply don't deal with people who aren't registered, thinking them to be "amateur one-man-bands".

One example of that is Murdoch. You can't become an official Sky installer unless you're registered.

Jamez · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 18.15

I'm truly inspired by how much money there is available on the Internet for those willing to try and grab some of it.

http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com has utterly amazed me. Even if I only make £1,000, it'll have been worth it.

MillionDollarHomepage is already netted it's creator nearly £200,000!

babyben · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 19.38

Jamez wrote:No, it's a voiceover website with a difference. Voiceovers will be written on the site, paid for and submitted all in one go. Saves both sides a lot of hassle.

Users (not just media companies/production houses) can enter the desired script into the box, the words will be counted and calculate the final amount due.

Ideally, scripts wouldn't be submitted without payment clearing first. Is there such a way to do this?

I'm good at designing and the more creative side of creating websites, but I'm totally crap at all the back-end stuff.

But what about the speech delivery instructions etc - would they be charged for that too though?

tvmercia · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 20.04

i'm not sure if i've understood it correctly, but it sounds like the price will be calculated automatically. do you not think there would be more potential takers for the service if the price was negotiable? especially when you're trying to get off the ground?

i know that, personally, when dealing with services in real life - eg printing (ok, not quite the same, but its an example) i would not consider accepting a quotation without the vendor at least making an effort to reduce the cost. even if it means inflating the price a little initially to be able to afford the reductions - people like to think they are receiving a "special" deal, not just the set rate from the price list

for the sake of £10 or so would you be prepared to lose a sale?

Sput · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 20.20

Also, are you assuming you'd get it right first time? I thought VOs had to be done a few times until the client was happy. Might be wrong on that.

In that case you'd have to devise some way of them hearing what you've done and giving feedback that wasn't a pain in the ass.

Although, a simple and quick way to pay online would be a handy function.

Jamez · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 21.07

Yes, I've re-thought my stragegy here and of course forgotton a very important piece of information.

It was going to be a site purely catering for the average Internet user to have their own personalised mobile phone message, computer welcome messages etc.

But I'm far too professional for that, and my 'talent' would be wasted on non-professional production.

I will need something along the lines of:

A box for users to write their script OR a facility for users to upload word documents etc.

A range of pre-selected usage options of where the voice tracks are going to be used. (e.g. personal website, marketing presentation, local radio, national radio etc.)

Name, email and company fields (so I know who I'm dealing with)

And when the script has been submitted, I would review it and work out the fee depending on length of script (word count) and where it's going to be used (usage). I would then e-mail the quote to the client, and it would be up to them if they still wanted to proceed.

If so, they would be able to click on a URL in the email and be taken to a payment page, and once the payment was received, I would then be able to record and dispatch the voice track (via e-mail / download, or MD/CD).

Jamez · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 21.11

Sput wrote:Also, are you assuming you'd get it right first time? I thought VOs had to be done a few times until the client was happy.

If the project was that big, I would hire a recording studio with ISDN so the client could speak to me in real time over a digital transfer line. Most of my potential clients will be producers for local radio and software developers where the ability to speak with me 'on the job', wouldn't really be necessary.

That said, if anyone wasn't happy with the style or feel of the finished voice track, I would of course re-record it free of charge as soon as possible.

Afterall, I don't want people to think I'm someone who doesn't give a damn.

Sput · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 22.39

If you were to make available a free crappy quality one before they paid, like a preview version, that might be handy.

Jamez · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 23.12

Sput wrote:If you were to make available a free crappy quality one before they paid, like a preview version, that might be handy.

As in send them a low quality MP3?

Hmm, could work, but until payment was recieved I could be wasting my time.

Pete · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 23.20

they might feel they were throwing their money away.

i wouldn't pay for my clothes before trying them on

marksi · Sat 15 Oct, 2005 23.32

Jamez wrote:
Sput wrote:If you were to make available a free crappy quality one before they paid, like a preview version, that might be handy.
As in send them a low quality MP3?

Hmm, could work, but until payment was recieved I could be wasting my time.

It's hardly a *lot* of time though, is it?! I mean really. It's talking out loud. Don't let anyone tell you it's anything more. Cos it isn't.

You do of course have to be naturally gifted, and that deserves being well paid.