VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Deb C]

My demos are done and I have been auditioning on a p2p site. Now what? I know I need a website, but can’t afford a professional graphic designer and/or web designer to create one. What do people here think of the do-it-yourself sites (i.e. Wordpress)? Are they suitable for a simple voice over website? Any suggestions on which ones to use? Again, I realize a professional one would be best, but it’s just not affordable right now. I appreciate any advice. Thanks everyone.

Deb

[Quicksilver]

IMO most VO's hurt their reputations on their websites due to an over abundance of stuff, not due to their lacking anything (except amazing demos). Don't shell out thousands for a custom site, you will change your branding and needs many times as your career grows and you don't want to be stuck with a design that's difficult to modify.

Word Press isn't exactly do it your self unless you are pretty familiar with it and know some basic code but it's learn-able if you're patient and good with computers.

Other do it yourself sites are fine if you find one you are comfortable with. Lots of very successful talent out there with very basic sites.

Keep it simple, demos, prior work (only if it's excellent), contact info. Stop there, despite the temptation to list your GPA and what kind of keyboard you use. Nobody cares about anything other than how you sound.

Just my .02.

Drew

[Bailey]

Deborah... Welcome to the VO-BB. You've got lots of good questions. Some answers & suggestions can be found by perusing the archives with the search function. Before putting up your VO shingle, make sure the demo is top shelf. It might help to run your demo through the Critique area first. That's just a suggestion, but sometimes it helps to get a look-see at your demo by others before you start building on it.
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"Bailey"
a.k.a. Jim Sutton
Retired... Every day is Saturday, except Sunday.
VO-BB Member #00044 .gif" alt="W00T" border="0" />
AOVA Graduate 02/2004 ;
"Be a Voice, not an Echo."

[Bruce]

Websites don't need to be fancy or expensive... in fact simple is best for you right now. There are many sites where you can create them for free or cheap, and WordPress is well known and respected. GoDaddy can do everything for you for a small monthly fee.

All you must have on your site are your name followed by a descriptor such as some version of "voiceover", email address, phone number and your demo in a player.

Important optional items would be:

- a simple marketing slogan for yourself such as, "A lipstick wearing soccer mom with a bite", or "Warm, Sparkling and Down to Earth, all in One".

- a nice quote from a happy client

- a short list of clients you've voiced for, IF those names might be of general interest. If not, skip it.

- an additional audio clip or two of something really interesting or well done that you've recently recorded.

What you DON'T need:

- your life story or even your life paragraph. Almost nobody cares. They just want to know what you sound like.

- a list of your studio equipment. Almost nobody cares. They just want to know what you sound like.

- pictures of you or of a microphone. Almost nobody cares. They just want to know what you sound like.

This is now your portfolio or your sales brochure. Your job is to get it into the "hands" of as many people who might hire you as possible. Send emails, or make phone calls followed up by emails to the right people with a link to your website. Business cards too if you're looking for local clients.

And remember, 9 out of 10 people you contact will probably disregard your approach. That's OK. We don't care about them. It's that every 10th person we want to connect with.

Go get 'em.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Bish]

The most important thing about your website is that it should reflect you. Bruce is spot-on when he says no one cares about your bio or your gear. The only people who might be remotely interested in that stuff are other VOs... and you're not trying to sell yourself to them!

If you keep it simple (rather than a fine example of website design), they are quite easy with sites like Squarespace (which I use for hosting etc. for a grand total of $8 per month). They have wysiwyg editors and useful templates... and they handle all the "mobile-friendly" stuff behind the scenes.

Your front page should have your demos and your contact details. Some say you should have a photo (to give a human face). I'm actually undecided about that. You can add supplementary information on other pages if you like, but make your front page lean and mean. If you have branding, it should be reflected heavily on your website (colour scheme, fonts, logo, etc.)

Try it. Places like Squarespace have a two-week free trial. That should be enough to tell you if you can do it or not. If you can't... bite the bullet and pay someone. If you do that, make sure you can edit the content without having to go back to the web developer. Avoid Wordpress at all costs. It's a fine tool, but doesn't lend itself to casual use and will suck you into a world of idiosyncratic pain. OK... that's my opinion, others may disagree
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Deirdre]

Yep, + 1 for Squarespace.
or Wix if you don't want to employ a designer.

You need to devote a fair amount of time learning how to use it AND you will be paying a monthly fee.

With a pro-designed site, all the costs are front-loaded. You pay for the branding, the design, and the hosting, etc all at once. But then you only have to pay a yearly fee for hosting and domain. Hosting costs about $40 a year if you hold you own account, and a dot-com domain is ~$14.

Part of the value of having a designer is having a sherpa for all the web-stuff.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Deb C]

Hi all --

Thanks very much for all the great advice. Time to get started!

Deb

[Jen Gosnell]

[Bish]

I've not used Stripe. The only web-based payment system I've used is just a plain link to my Paypal account. I took it off as it seemed like a waste of time (I have very few Paypal customers). I've used the Square reader for someone who wanted to pay with a CC in studio, and sometimes when collecting CC money on the phone, but not the Stripe system.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.