VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[yarg28]

I'm about to overhaul my web site. I'm looking for some good examples of web sites by talent that are, guy next door, conversational, hip, etc. I want mine to be simple, clean, and handsome (my picture won't be on th ere..).

If you have seen any nice sites please post them here or pm me.

I'll keep digging through voicebank...honestly...some really bad sites among top talent.

Thanks

Gary

[yarg28]

wow, i'm about to give up. I just cant believe how many "professional" voiceoverists that have agency listings on voicebank have busted and or garbage web sites.

It's incredible.
Sloooooow loading.
Old ass flash player requirements...aka...broken.
Nearly impossible to locate a demo due to stuff being all over the screen.
3-4 clicks to find a demo.
volume too low.
volume too high.
on and on

I'm talking about talent from DPN, WME, Atlas, etc.

Web sites arent even hard any more!!! If you're booking, you pay some kid from the neighborhood 500 bucks and he can make you a nice page in 3 hours.

whats happening...

[Kristin Lennox]

My guess is that the top talent don't really need a website -- they book 100% of their work through their agents, who have their current demos and dole them out as needed.

A website is kind of superfluous...
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Always look on the bright side of life.

Dee doo. Dee doot doot doo dee doo.

my website

[Philip Banks]

MY website is AWESOME AND Superfluous!

[yarg28]

[Bish]

As Voiceoverists, we are often told we need certain things otherwise we will fail. It is purely coincidental that the people telling us what we need are the same people that will try to sell it to us.*

Awesome... websites, demos, marketing plans, branding, voice coaching, business coaching, SEO, & a whole bunch of other stuff.

Make your own business plan and do the cost/benefit analysis on what you actually need, and whether you need to... a) do it yourself, or b) outsource. Do you need a demo that promotes the producer? Do you need a website that looks wonderful and reflects your branding (whatever that is) but is so stylish that a prospective client can't easily find your demos or contact information?

One of the facts-of-life with any solo entrepreneur is that you invest in your own business - you don't just turn up and get paid. Add up your expenses (both monthly and intermittent) and ask, "Did that $20K quantifiably generate a return significantly exceeding the expenditure?" In most cases, the answer would be a resounding, "No!" You have to invest time and resources to achieve most things... the question is, "how much?"

* sarcasm alert
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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.

[Bob Bergen]

Well, speaking as one who has a very outdated website and knows it, Kristin nailed it. Those of us at top agencies do indeed get the bulk of our work from agent auditions. We do market. But we do not cold call, work non union, have to fight to get paid, need to ask what things should pay, etc. Many of us don't have ISDN or Source Connect, and I myself will never have it unless it's negotiated into a longterm contract that requires the buyer pay to have it in my home studio.

There's a big generation gap between those of us who work in the larger markets through our agents and the majority out there doing vo. Many of the top vo actors don't even have demos. Many who do have had their agents put something together just to have something on Voicebank. It's more of a PR posting than marketing.

The only reason my site is not up to speed is I just haven't taken the time to update it. This is not a good excuse, but it is what it is. Those new to the business and just starting out actually have to represent themselves far better than veterans. You need to stand out amongst the veterans and prove you are as good or better. It was like that when I started out. I remember when I started out everything was on reel to reel. Just when I hired my first agent, demos started going to cassette. Veterans refused. New talent knew that if they were going to get their foot in the door, they needed to present current marketing materials. Personally, I loved it when demos went to cassette. I had the ability to package a two sided demo, one commercial and one animation, rather than have two separate reel to reels. And cassettes were cheaper.

But I agree, Gary, if you want to research great examples of websites, don't look at the top talent. Often they are just so busy working they aren't as diligent as they should be with their online presence. And, I've found for me, social media presence is trumping a great website. Buyers are more willing to hire based on followers than a great website. And many veterans have miles of followers on Twitter and the like, which has been huge for their career.

[Bruce]

[Deirdre]

I use my website as an online resume and catalog.

If you're looking for in-house work somewhere, Linked In is the default. Wild. Linked In has one of the least attractive UI's— the home "feed" is a bad copy of Facebook— but corporate wonks will look there first.


(User Interface)
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DBCooperVO.com

[Monk]

For website design inspiration I go to a couple of places first

http://www.beautifullife.info/websites-design/
http://www.commarts.com/gallery/all/websites/microsites/all/all

and finally don't forget Celia
http://celiasiegel.com/branding-gallery/

My present site, www.monksvoice.com is inspired by, (ripped off from)
http://deanwhitevo.com/

I'm more a beer guy, even though I can't drink the stuff, but the image is there. My other site, www.americannarrator.com is more a work in flux based upon a template. I'm not wicked happy with it, but it's a good placeholder for now.
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Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me...

www.monksvoice.com