Creating Your Voiceover Website

As a voiceover artist, you will wear many hats.  You will have to take on many tasks outside the recording studio.  That includes marketing yourself.  And, in order to do that effectively in this day and age, you will need a website.  Of course, if you are new to the industry, then you likely have many questions related to the creation of a website.

The first question is always, ‘do I really need a website?’  Yes!  You absolutely need a website.  This is how potential clients and agents will learn about you.  This is the face that you present to the virtual world.  While social media is a very powerful tool, ultimately, you need a home base, a place to send the social media traffic when they want to know more about what you do.  That is your website.

You may also wonder, ‘do I have to hire a website designer?’ There is no short answer to this question.  Chances are, initially, you will have a hard time affording a professional website designer, as the price tag can often reach several thousand dollars.  Fortunately, there are many website services that provide very attractive templates to work with, so you can create a professional site without professional help.  You will need to have a degree of comfort with technology, but you’ll need that if you are going to success in this profession anyway.

‘Should I pay for a .com?’ Yes.  Yes, you should.  You should absolutely get your own domain name.  It provides a much more professional image and it makes it easier for potential clients and agents to find you.  If you can’t get your own name as a domain name, then consider your name and the word ‘voiceover’ (i.e. ricklancevoiceover.com) or something similar (i.e. ricklancestudio.com).

As you start to create your site, you will undoubtedly have questions like, ‘what should I put on my website?’ The easiest way to figure this out is to visit other voiceover artists’ websites to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.  It is important to include your demo on the very first page, the homepage, because that is what you most want visitors to see.  Also, you’ll want to include other media – photos, videos, audio clips, etc. – in order to draw the eye and encourage visitors to explore more.  Do include a photo of yourself.  After all, people have an easier time forming a connection, when they can put a face with the name. And, as a final tip, do include a ‘call to action’.  This is an industry term, but its meaning is clear.  Tell your audience what you want them to do.  That may be to contact you, to download your demo, or to visit another page of the site.