How Many Voiceover Demos Do You Need?

One of the biggest things on the minds of new voiceover talents is the creation of a demo tape.  This is a big part of building a business in this industry, and you should place a lot of focus on getting it right, but it may be that you are limiting yourself by putting so much emphasis on one demo tape.  The truth is that you will likely find that that demo is only one of a collection that you will ultimately create.

Consider this, when shopping for a computer, you may walk into a box store that sells them, but you will do no more than glance at the headphones, televisions, and video games sold in that same store.  When casting directors are on the hunt for the perfect voiceover talent for the job to be filled, they will not pay much heed to your demo if it doesn’t fit the niche they are operating within.

That is to say that there are different industries that seek voiceover talents.  If your demo is only catering to one of those, and your intent is to get work across multiple industries, then you are likely going to need to record multiple demos. If you are just getting started in the business, then chances are that you don’t really know where your voice best fits, so trying to narrow to a specific niche is going to be a challenge.  Consider recording three demos for the following three types of voiceover until you decide which fits you best:

Commercial This is a much smaller subsection of the voiceover industry than many would think, but it can be a lot of fun, and if you have the right voice for it, the casting directors may just want to hear more.  Focus on showing a wide range of tone in this demo – soft sell, hard sell, conversational voice, and public service announcement.

Narration This demo will be an important one and may ultimately be the one that you garner the most work from.  Narration is a big part of the voiceover business, though it comes in many forms.  Show a lot of diversity on this demo, considering that you may be hired to narrate documentaries, audio books, educational materials, and web content.

Corporate This is very similar to- and could even fall under the narration category, but corporate work does tend to differ quite substantially from other narration-style voiceover.  You can also really focus on a specialty, particularly if you have a lot of work experience in a particular field.  It will be essential to showcase a strong, authoritative, and attention-grabbing voice in this demo.

In truth, the number of demos that you record will depend on your goals as a voiceover artist.  However, if you are brand new to the industry, then it would be recommended that you record demos that will appeal to at least two of the above categories. I've utilized many demos on my website or have sent out to clients/potential clients. These are specific to the industries I work in. I.E my Agriculture Demo, Financial Demo, Health Care Demo and several more.