Cameron Thomas

After all of your voiceover coaching, training, you need a voiceover demo! Demos showcase your voice and talent to clients, agents, and casting directors. They are essentially your business card and is the next most important aspect of the voiceover journey (check out my blog on Getting Started In Voiceovers). And just like updating your wardrobe, remodeling a room in your house, or getting a new car, the same thing should be done for voiceover demos. There is a lot that goes into it whether you are doing your first demo or updating, here are some of the things to consider when planning your next demo or doing your very first one.

WHY YOU NEED A VO DEMO

There’s no way around it – a voiceover demo is a must for any voiceover!  It had been a few years since my last demo was updated, and while we were doing some spring cleaning around the house, I thought it was time to freshen up my demos. Aside from being a voiceover, I am also a project manager for Voice Actor Websites where we build sites for voice talent. Our first criteria before working on a website? Do you have demos? If not, work on those first, then we’ll talk. A pro demo shows that you are serious about your craft and are ready to work.

Even if you have demos, the voiceover industry changes. New genres emerge. New products and services come to market that may need a new style of voiceover, so your demos need to stay current with those trends and styles and show that you can represent those changes to support your clients’ needs.

PLANNING AND PREPARING

Making demos takes planning and preparation – and it’s pricey! Do not be tempted to self-produce your demos! Agents and casting directors know a professionally produced demo when they hear one and can tell the difference if you tried to cut corners. Take some time to browse through demo producer samples and other talent demos so that you know what they’re listening for. Check out social media voiceover group pages and search for previous discussions on demos and producers. Also ask other VO friends for referrals.

Then start reaching out directly to demo producers for more info and pricing. Just like a home project, get a few quotes and see which one is best for you. Those who replied promptly and professionally with helpful background information certainly got my attention. Chuck Duran at Demos That Rock was that guy!

Once you decide on a producer, you won’t record right away. Producers may be booked out weeks or even months, so plan ahead for this! When you decide on scripts that you will use, use this time to practice!!! Work with a coach to ensure that you are ready when it’s time to record. Do your own test recordings to see how you sound with each script.

RECORDING YOUR VOICE DEMO

It’s a BIG day recording your demo! You might also be a little nervous, and that’s fine. Go through your normal motions like you would any other voiceover job. Stay as healthy as possible! Hydrate early on. Have your scripts ready with your notes. Ensure your home studio is ready to go – make sure you are comfortable in your recording space, either your DAW and/or Source Connect is tested, and that your connection to your producer (ie Zoom, phone) is set. Wear clothes that don’t make any noise. Ensure you address any other home studio sound issues. I planned a day when our neighbors’ landscapers would NOT be working!

If you’re going to a studio, scope out your travel route and ensure you arrive early and use all other in-studio etiquette.

You might also be a little nervous, and that’s fine. I remember my first coach played some tunes before recording and we just danced to loosen up and shake off any nerves! She just wanted me to focus on having FUN!

MARKETING YOUR NEW DEMO

You can relax a little after recording, but while you’re waiting for your demo to be produced, there is still work to do preparing to market your new demo! Expect at least a couple of weeks – if not more – for good quality production to happen. I have done audio editing myself and it takes time for music bed/sound effect selection and precision-editing multiple spots.

Get those emails and social media posts drafted so you can just plug in your demo and send! Research new clients and agents to whom you can send your new demo and tailor each of those intro emails accordingly. Have a voiceover resume ready to send if requested. Is your website updated? What about your social media sites to show that you’re active in VO?

Once you have your new demo, blast it out to the world! It’s a big step in your VO career, so don’t be shy or modest. Show clients you are proud and confident of your hard work. This is Marketing 101 and what EVERY business SHOULD be doing, so don’t hold back. Ensure you have your new demo posted on your website, any casting sites that you may be on, and especially update your agents! You can even put your demo to video, like this.

Don’t stop there! Your marketing journey is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s been said voiceover is 80-90% marketing, so plan on marketing just about every day and have some fun with it!

Thanks again to Chuck Duran for his audio expertise and my friend Humberto for his video production talents!

~Cameron

I know – it’s not a groundbreaking revelation. And I’m not trying to say this as a “health nut” or to subscribe to any sort of fitness or diet plan. Let me just say first, I admire those who, with little sleep and no caffeine, that are bursting with energy and creative ideas. I’m not that kind of person. I struggle with energy and inspiration.I am simply saying that after 30 plus years of working in either the military, private-sector jobs, and freelance work, the one thing that has been consistent this whole time has been some degree of exercise.

The Physical Routine To Power You Through

By the way, after purchasing a new Pro-Form treadmill, take advantage of the really unique and helpful built-in video training programs

So you just got your voiceover demos done. Congratulations! If you don’t already have a website, you’re probably thinking of building one. But there are a few things to consider before you start that can impact the site-building process.

As a project manager at Voice Actor Websites, I was on a panel discussion with our team on a recent podcast of Voice Over Body Shop discussing these very things, so I wanted to break them down for you here.

Let’s back up just for a second. There is one item that goes without saying really, and that is your demo(s). There are times when folks want to launch a site without having their demos, so that really is the number one showstopper for a site. If you don’t have a demo to show, you’re probably not ready for a website. Work on that first, then focus on your website.

To Brand Or Not To Brand Your Voice

You have probably seen many other websites with cool branding either with logos, taglines, caricatures, and you’re probably thinking “I gotta have a brand!”

No, you don’t.

If you have already one, great – go with it! But for most folks, especially those just starting out, a brand is not required. I have noticed that some people put the pressure on themselves to develop a brand which can lead to overthinking their site design and frustration.

When I work with talent on their sites, we always have an eye towards branding. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll land on one right off the bat. Knowing what kind of work, genres, and clientele your voice is best suited for is the first thing you need to consider. You can then tailor your site and brand towards those genres either with a logo, or image, a unique font, or a tagline. You may not know what that brand is and that is OK!

For example, you may want to work on animations or video games but end up booking more work for e-learning, corporate, or even audiobooks. All of a sudden that wild and wacky animated caricature that you spent all of that time and money on doesn’t really fit you anymore.

Take your time with it.

Cast a wide net with your site early on and keep things clean, simple, and professional. Over time, you’ll get more feedback from clients about your style and ability and you’ll start to see a common theme emerge. You can always update your site with more branding over time.

A great branding book is the Voiceover Achiever by Celia Seigel. Read that and do the branding exercises that she lays out. Make notes. LOTS of them. I have dozens of pages of branding ideas before I landed on something that suited my voice and work. Do this prior to your website design so that you have a solid idea going into it so that you don’t struggle with rethinking your design during the process.

Website Images and Headshots

Imagery is a big part of website design. It may be a headshot or perhaps a nice photo you took on a vacation. While we work with imagery all the time, there are some limitations that can interfere with a design.

Often times, headshots or imagery that you may have are low resolution images. Low resolution images do not work well on a website – they will looks pixelated when trying to fit into the dimensions of a site. Or perhaps your current photos may be cropped or have background features that interfere with the site layout. So the images that you wanted to use on your site may not work. We can help evaluate what current images might work and provide pointers so that your next photo shoot will result in some really nice photos that will work well with your site design.

How Do I Get My Voice Over Site To Rank High For SEO

I get asked this question a lot. Well, there are 2 types of sites – one that is an extension of your demos on a one-page landing site for direct marketing purposes – or an SEO heavy site that can help drive traffic to your site. They are two totally different animals. While a nicely designed and branded one-page site is great to send to potential clients, a one-page site can only do so much SEO-wise.  There are literally hundreds of factors that goes into site SEO ranking – here is a small batch of factors that affect SEO ranking.

An SEO site has multiple pages and subpages – maybe dozens or hundreds of pages. Each of those pages has relevant content that folks are interested in reading. This helps with viewer engagement but it also provides content for search engines look for when ranking sites. Here is a textbook example of an SEO site. As you can see, all of the text content on these pages and subpages are what drives a site higher in the ranking.

The more content your site has, the better. This takes a LOT of time and money to develop and just about everyone underestimates the significant commitment needed for an SEO site. So it’s important to consider the purpose of your site and prepare yourself for the fact that:

1) a new, single-page site will not rank high, and…

2) there is a lot more work in store for you for an SEO site.

I enjoy the process of working with other voice talent to highlight and showcase their heart and soul to the world and I pride myself on making the process go as smoothly as possible. Hopefully these considerations will prepare you for your next website.