The voice over industry is a competitive field and getting ahead takes more than raw talent alone. To be a successful voice actor who is regularly booking work, you’ll need to master the basics of voice over marketing.
The good news is that with the shift to online casting, including creative marketplaces like Voices, you can skip over traditional marketing tactics and focus your voice over marketing efforts where it counts most: the digital space.
In this article
- Make Your Voice Acting Profile Stand Out
- Write a Strong Proposal to Accompany Your Voice Over Auditions
- Create a Professional Voice Over Website
- Show Off Your Brand and Network with a Professional Social Media Profile
- Set Aside Time Regularly for Outreach
- Let Voices Be an Important Piece of Your Voice Over Marketing Strategy
We’ve asked the pros — the Voices Insiders — for their best tips on how to stand out online and get the most out of your voice over marketing, from creating your voice acting portfolio to writing a proposal that catches clients’ attention to social media marketing, and more. The Voices Insiders are a team of professional voice actors who share their expertise with the Voices community every month to help talent of all levels grow in their careers.
When it comes to finding a marketing strategy that works for your voice over business, there’s no need to stick to a script. Your marketing efforts should be tailored to your personal brand, your values and your authentic self. Read on to find tips to help you market your unique talent and skills — and get heard by more clients.
Make Your Voice Acting Profile Stand Out
More and more clients are turning to online marketplaces like Voices to find and hire creative freelancers, and with that comes an increase in talent willing to meet that demand. In 2020, we saw jobs posted on Voices grow by over 40% year-over-year, while the number of voice talent on our site increased by 220%. That means completing your profile and optimizing it to showcase your talent is more important than ever.
When you add key details and demos to your Voices profile, clients can locate you in the search results and privately invite you to jobs. Premium members who fill out their profile details and add portfolio samples will also benefit from improved JobMatch scoring that helps indicate whether they are a good fit for a project. They then get invited to audition for jobs that they are most qualified for.
Here are more tips on creating a winning creative portfolio.
“Your profile is your business card and portfolio in one. Make sure people know all about YOU. Tell us what experience you have, give descriptions of your voice and work, and why clients would want to work with you. Do you offer a quick turnaround? A really interesting resume? Do you have a unique voice? Think from the client’s perspective about what makes you employable and memorable.”
“Start your profile description with a standout, standalone sentence to really grab people’s attention! Mine is all about how I’m a five-star rated Voices Insider!”
“This was a long process for me. It takes time to figure out where you fit into the market and what your strengths are. I went through many different iterations of profiles and branding. Eventually, I worked out what I am good at and played to those strengths. All of my profiles and branding are now aligned with something that I think makes me stand out, but more importantly, reflects who I really am as a voice artist. Authenticity goes a long way.”
“Make sure you answer each question fully AND truthfully. There’s no better calling card than a great demo!”
“Make sure it is well written and grammatically correct.”
“Personally, I find it helpful to have a single demo with my top spots as well as single demos that reflect a variety of my range and vocal abilities. This gives potential clients lots of options when sourcing the best talent for their project.”
“Have great, authentic demos!”
“Know your voice type and target those markets. I know my voice is well suited to friendly, professional corporate jobs so I have my keywords — approachable, caring and trustworthy — on my profile. The first demos and reels that a client will see on my profile are for corporate work, and the description of my services echoes that professionalism. I want to make it as easy as possible for a potential client to choose me!”
“Authenticity! Your voice is beautifully unique and should be honored with demos that best represent your true gifts.”
Write a Strong Proposal to Accompany Your Voice Over Auditions
When responding to jobs on Voices, talent has the opportunity to provide clients with their audition, proposal, and quote. While a lot of work and preparation goes into the audition and quote, the voice over proposal can often be overlooked.
The majority of clients on Voices read the proposals that accompany auditions, and in many cases, a well-crafted proposal can be the tipping point in who actually books the job in the end.
To help you write a strong proposal that will increase your chances of getting hired, we’ve created a proposal template to get you started. Plus, we’ve identified ten of the most common steps talent take to help their voice over auditions stand out that you can incorporate in your proposals right away.
Tip: Speed up your audition process by creating your own proposal templates on Voices. These templates can save you time responding to jobs by pre-populating your standard greeting and experience and can be customized to fit the requirements of each job.
“Your proposal isn’t the place for your full biography. Clients are busy. If they want all of that information, they’ll visit your profile. Be specific about what you bring to the table for this particular project in a brief way. I suggest a list or bullet points to showcase what you can offer the client such as a quick turnaround time or Source-Connect availability.”
“You must think of yourself as an expert with your own business, as opposed to an actor hungry for work. If you speak/write from this perspective, you’ll be more likely to communicate your policies, rates, and workflow confidently. And you’ll also help the client considerably. So many clients are new at voice casting, and talent can have different methods of working, so a confident talent will be an effective tour guide in the world of voice over.”
“First and foremost, be sure to personalize the message. Even if there isn’t a name listed, I still like to address the company like, ‘Hey [Name of Company] Team.’ Secondly, answer any notes or questions the posting includes i.e. if the job posting says ‘must be delivered in .wav format’ or ‘will want a live directed session’ be sure that your proposal mentions both of these things; it lets the person on the other end know that you are paying attention and care about the details of their project.”
“Make sure you are available to meet on a variety of platforms and ways. From Zoom to phone to Source-Connect, it’s important to let clients know you can deliver the best product in a way that works for them.”
“I tend to get to the point in proposals. I rarely mention past jobs I’ve done and instead assure the voice seeker I can do their project within deadline, for the quoted price, and what that price includes like edits and live sessions, etc. Keep it simple.”
“Brevity is key. I like to mention a personal connection to the product/service if there is one. The language should also be clear and be free of grammatical or spelling errors.”
“Make it personal! Greet the client by name, thank them for the opportunity and name the project. Connect it to something personal, like if you use the brand or are a mom or a pet lover or you just really enjoyed the script!”
“Keep it short and succinct and write information that the client would need rather than you boasting about what you can do.”
“Be friendly, brief and professional — check your spelling and grammar. I don’t recommend bidding low; value the service you provide.”
Create a Professional Voice Over Website
In today’s world of online casting, having a polished and professional website can be an important tool in your voice over marketing strategy.
A professional voice over website stands alone, giving you the freedom to showcase your skills in the way that you see best fit — including your brand story, testimonials, blogs and rich media content like audio and video.
We asked the Voices Insiders to share their must-haves that should be included on every voice actor’s professional website. Here’s what they said:
“First and foremost, let a client know how to contact you. You want them to easily be able to contact you to hire you and ask questions. Don’t make them search for this information. Showcase your demos, information about your studio, your turnaround time, whether or not you are part of a union, a quick bio and anything else that makes you stand out.”
“Your voice type, your experience, your clients, your equipment, who you are and how it works — what’s the process when a client books you?”
“Demos, policies and contact information. I also include my philosophy, coaching info and a booking form for live sessions.”
“Demos first and foremost. Then contact information, examples of projects you have voiced and testimonials from existing clients. Everything else is pretty much stuff that can help your SEO.”
“A variety of example demos right at the top. A section with videos of past jobs helps as well.”
Show Off Your Brand and Network with a Professional Social Media Profile
Chances are, you have at least one social media profile. But do you have a professional profile? If you don’t already, it’s time to start thinking about creating one.
A professional social media profile adds another layer to your online voice over marketing efforts and allows you to connect and interact with potential clients on yet another platform while showing off your skills and notable projects at the same time.
We polled the Voices Insiders to find out how they’re using social media to market their voice over businesses. Of the respondents, 88% have at least one professional social media profile, with Instagram being the most popular platform, followed by Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
To evaluate which platform best fits your voice over business, consult this chapter of the Professional’s Guide to Voice Acting, which covers everything from building your brand on social media to the do’s and don’ts for voice actors.
When it comes to how frequently you should be updating your social media profiles, that number depends on your goals and the time you can devote to managing the social media marketing side of your business. Half of the Voices Insiders who responded to the survey say they update their professional social media pages weekly, while 37.5% update their pages only when they have something to share (the remaining percentage does not have a professional social media profile).
We asked the Voices Insiders what type of content they regularly share on their social media profiles. Here’s what they said:
“I write a weekly blog and I try to also post a weekly video. I will post some of the projects that I have been involved in. I do like to post video reels of production companies that I have worked with or those I have checked out and really liked.”
“Demos, current projects, or just having fun in my home studio. I also make sure to support other voice over artists!”
“On Instagram, I like to share about what I’m creating either on my blog, podcast, or other platform. On LinkedIn, I like to update my profile with recent work I’ve completed.”
“Social media is a great way to showcase your work, but also to allow potential clients to connect with you on a personal level. I post updates on my work, demos, behind-the-scenes pictures (when the project allows) and sometimes fun personal photos.”
“Very occasionally, I share work I’m proud of that’s already been made public. Usually, I share it because I think its content has value to others, rather than for the promo value for my voice over work. But that can be a nice by-product.”
“I love to market myself through social media! I share behind the scenes of my voice over work, client work samples, testimonials and a series I call ‘Things I learned this week in voice over.'”
Set Aside Time Regularly for Outreach
Creating and maintaining a successful, long-term voice over business is as much about building relationships with new clients as it is staying connected with your existing clients. That’s why it’s important to schedule regular time in your calendar to nurture and build your relationships — whether it’s daily outreach to a new set of prospective clients, a follow-up after a completed project or a quarterly check-in with a regular client.
Find an email template for reaching out to former clients and other helpful tips in this section of the Professional’s Guide to Voice Acting.
“I send emails out to prospects every day. A good friend of mine said you should plan to lose one regular client a month. I am always looking to replace that client and build other new relationships.”
“Most of my marketing efforts are focused on reaching out to clients directly either via their social media channels or by email.”
“I contact former clients periodically with new reels or for a quick check-in. I also contact production companies I haven’t yet worked with. This often leads to new work, either straight away or months (or years!) later.”
Let Voices Be an Important Piece of Your Voice Over Marketing Strategy
Want to be seen and heard by thousands of clients? Give your voice over marketing efforts a boost and establish your online presence by signing up for a Voices talent membership today.
Leave a Reply