Managing a creative workforce can be incredibly rewarding, but keeping everyone on the same page and supervising the workload can be a challenge. So we’ve created a tool that can help you keep track of the voiceover work your production department is ordering. It’s called the “All Requests” tab. It allows people who work for the same company, or the users you specify, to see each other’s requests!

For example, let’s say Kelly is the production manager at her company, and she oversees two producers, Mark and Rishi. All three of them regularly request voiceovers. But Kelly would really like to see Mark and Rishi’s requests too, not just her own. Now she can, with the All Requests tab.

We can set it up “manager style”, where one person oversees the producers, who can only see their own requests. Or we can set it up “group style”, where everyone may see everyone else’s requests. Or even a mix of the two… the choice is yours.

We’re happy to provide this feature at no cost, but it must be configured manually on our end. So if you’re interested in how you might benefit from this feature, please give us a call and one of our producers would be happy to enable it for you.

-Spencer

On December 5th, 2011, we’re transitioning to a new online Spot Management System™  that will allow us to better serve our clients. It’s very important you upgrade your account to work with this new system in order to continue requesting voiceovers.

• On 12/5/11 you will receive an email with a link to upgrade your account.
• Click on the link, and you’ll be taken to a special page on our website, speedyspots.com.
• You’ll be prompted to pick a password and fill out some basic contact info. Most of your company’s account info will already be supplied.
• You’ll then be prompted to log into our site with your new info (email and password).

Once you’ve done that, your upgrade is complete!

If you receive multiple emails at the same address, it means your email address is currently listed on more than one account. Only click the link for the address you wish to associate with your account. You will need a different email address for each account. We can help you upgrade the other account over the phone.

Here’s a quick video how-to:

Please see our Upgrading Q & A for additional help, and give us a call if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!

-Spencer

You’ve probably noticed the messages about upgrading that we’ve been putting in our emails lately.  Well, here’s what we mean by that.

What is upgrading?

Upgrading is simply tying your existing account into our new online Spot Management System™ (SMS).

Why do I need to upgrade?

December 5^th we are switching to the new Spot Management System™.  We want to make sure that requests you submit in SMS are tied to your existing account, so the spots and billing all go to the right places.

How do I upgrade?

Follow the emailed instructions and video, also available here. 

I currently have multiple accounts that I order for using the same email address. What now?

Our new system uses your email address as your unique login.  That means only one account per email address. So if you order for multiple accounts (e.g. Company, Personal), you’ll need multiple email addresses.

If your email address is currently listed on several accounts, you will receive an email prompting you to “upgrade” that address for each account.  ONLY upgrade the account you wish to use with that address.  Please give us a call and we can assist you with upgrading the other accounts.

Is there a cost to upgrade?

No.

I’m very busy. How long will it take?

One to two minutes.

When do I need to upgrade?

Beginning December 5th you will need to upgrade your account to continue requesting spots.  You only need to upgrade once.

What if I want to upgrade now?

We’re excited too, but the email with the links doesn’t go out until the 5th.

Anything we missed? Call or email and we’d be happy to address your concerns.  Thanks!

-Spencer

We’re feeling confident our revolutionary online ordering system is on track to be released Monday, December 5th, 2011. We hope having a concrete release date will help you better prepare for these changes and learn about the new features. Great things are coming your way!

What To Expect:

• In late October, you’ll receive an email with detailed instructions on how to upgrade your account to use our new service.
• On the 5th, you’ll be emailed a link to upgrade your account.
• Upon upgrading, you’ll see our new Dashboard, an easy to learn interface where you can request voiceovers and review past work.
• At this point, we’ll begin taking voiceover requests exclusively through our website.

At any point before, during, or after this transition, our staff will be on-hand and eager to answer questions and assist you. It may take a little adjusting, but we’ve made this simple and secure and we know you’re going to love the added convenience and features we’ll be able to provide. This is a big step up for us, and we’re excited!

-Spencer

Your Dashboard will already include information as to the “status” of your request.  We’ve added another feature to better answer the perpetual question, “Are we there yet?”

(click the image to enlarge)

When you open up a request you’ve submitted from your dashboard, you’ll be taken to the details page.  Here you’ll find the new Status Bar, along with a few other details regarding your order.  It tracks the progress of your request through the different stages of completion.  No more wondering.  Only knowing.  Neat, huh?

-Spencer

Hi there!  Back again with some more previews of what we’ve all been working on.  When you log in to our redesigned website, you’ll now see this in the upper right hand corner of each page:

Simple, right?  And if you click on the Feedback button, a feedback form will pop up allowing you to give us “Feedback” on that page or the overall approval or disapproval of the web site.

(click the image to enlarge)

This is where you can help us to make the new SpeedySpots website a better experience.  What do you love about the site? What isn’t working out for you?  Do you have an idea of how to improve it?  Let us know, we can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

-Spencer

No longer will you have to rely on outdated, unreliable email to place a request for voiceover work.  Everything on the new website is based around our new online order page!  Instead of composing an email, you’ll simply create a request on our website, using this page.  And today, I have some previews to show you what it will look like.

To start, here’s a very short video as I scroll through the order page:

Now lets look at the order page in detail.  Click on the images below to view the full shots, complete with tips and explanations!

You’ll notice it’s really a lot like composing an email to request a spot, as you’ve done in the past.  We designed it that way on purpose, so it would be very easy to use.  But this way we can automatically pull that information into our web system, and be sure not to miss a thing.  The order page also has links to talent schedules, phonetics help, and our music library, so everything you need is at your fingertips. 

-Spencer

Spencer here! …And snow. So much snow. Is it Spring yet? Anyway, here’s a cure for the winter blues: a new site feature, coming soon!

For years we’ve had samples of music from our production library up on our website, but it wasn’t as user friendly or inspiring as it could be.

You spoke. We listened. Introducing our new interactive music library:

(click the image to enlarge)

You can filter thousands of tracks by genre, tempo, length, or any combination of the three to help you find the perfect one. Then preview the tracks by listening to them with our built in music player- no annoying downloads to crowd up your desktop. And the coolest part? You can rate the tracks! This way you can mark tracks you like and come back to them later, making it easy to compare them.

This will all be part of the site redesign we’ve been hyping here. Keep reading for more news and previews.

-Spencer

We’ve begun our in-house testing on the pre-release version of our Speedy Spot’s, Spot Management System (SMS) and things are looking great!  Testing has proven to be a long and arduous process.  When it comes time to release it to you (our customer) we want it to be as close to perfect as possible.  We realize this isn’t a shuttle mission, but we also know how important your time is to you.  We want the ordering and delivery processes to be the best they can be.   

And what does that mean?  No longer will you need to rely on e-mail for placing your requests. Instead, you’ll be able to request voiceovers directly through our site.  All your contact info and delivery preferences will be automatically saved, so you won’t have to enter it in each time.  And of course that will cut down delays.  We’ll also be able to provide detailed invoices, faster.  It’s a whole new Speedy Spot’s experience, but with the same personal service, fast turnaround, and bargain rates.

I’d like to take a quick moment to thank Jason, Mac, Don, Justin, and the rest of the Inet Solution team for their hard work.  We’ve been working with them for over a year now in designing and building our new online experience, and we couldn’t have asked for a better team.  I’m continually impressed with how they manage to take our ideas for an interactive customer-driven website and turn them into reality.  We know they’re in tune with our goals, and it will show in the final product.

-Spencer

The numbers are in… thanks for making November a very successful month here at Speedy Spots!

We’ve been reinvesting by developing our new online ordering system, and I’m proud to unveil a quick glimpse of the “dashboard”.  That will be your new home base on Speedy Spots.  You can track the status of pending spots, order new spots, and review past spots.

(click the image to enlarge)

Did they receive my order?  Are there any questions?  When can I expect that estimate?  Where is my spot?  Questions like these will cease to exist, because your dashboard (and the rich tools we’ve placed inside) will be your gateway to all the info you could want.  Set your RSS feed to “stun”… we’ll keep the previews coming, and dive into this a little more in the later posts.  Thanks!

-Spencer