Dave’s one of those savvy internet voiceovers that’s all over the blogging and twittering and pretty jacked up in general when it comes to working from home as a voiceover.  We asked him a few Q’s, and he gave us a few A’s…

Tell us a bit about yourself

How much time/space do we have here?  That much?  OK then…I was born by a river, in a little ole tent… and just like that’a river, I’ve been runnin’ ever since…  Actually, I was born on a farm in the boring but bountiful state of Illinois.  My life is unremarkable, ‘cept that I’ve always worked for my dreams, and I’ve got a wife of 26 years who stuck by me…giving me 3 lovely daughters.  My college degree is in something hard to pronounce in the science field, and I began my broadcasting career 30 years ago at a country/western radio station in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Our little Piehole websites get thousands of hits each month, and is used by major ad agencies to source voice over talent.  Yet some VOs have less traffic on their profiles than others.   (Bear in mind, lots of traffic is not the be-all and end-all.  You need the right type of traffic.  Your mum can click on your profile and listen to your voiceover demo a thousand times a day - but she’s never going to give you a gig!)



HERE ARE 13 TIPS FOR INCREASING QUALITY TRAFFIC:




1. Do you have a picture on your profile?
People without pictures get waaay less clicks than those with pics.  Also - it’s better to have a slick pic.  Not a pixelated photo or “holiday snap”.   Or even a slightly-cheap looking shot taken with your webcam.  Look at the other VO’s pics, and consider how yours compares.




2. Share your news with the Piehole noticeboard
Are you doing a new gig or a show?  Use the Piehole blog to promote it.  Email us with any noticeboard news and we’ll make sure to link it to your demo.  Many industry folks read the blog, and they might just go and watch your show, or at least click on your demo.  If you don’t have any gigs or shows, write a biog and tell us a bit about yourself or take part in an interview.




3. What is your demo like?
If you are getting your demo listened to a lot, but not getting click-throughs to your personal page and booking details, you have to take an honest listen to your demo.  We estimate that people who are not yet established in the industry, and have a great demo, should get AT LEAST get one job a year - in the first year.   And every year on year after that, the number of gigs should increase.  (Provided they have a nice, friendly photo of themselves and their description is suitable.)  So if you’ve not been booked in more than a year, you might consider refreshing your demo.




4. Do an email marketing campaign
Send your link out to all the sound engineers, copywriters, producers and any contact you have that might throw a gig your way.  Producers are very switched on, as it’s their job to know who’s who in the business - so go on, send them your demo.




5. Put your link everywhere
Make sure you have a link to your demo page (i.e. www.piehole.co.uk/yourname) on your Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and Twitter pages.   This will help increase your Google rating.




6. Upgrade to premium membership on piehole.co.uk
Premium membership works in a similar way to those featured videos on Youtube.  This costs a bit more, but premium members tend to get more traffic and therefor more voiceover work.  If you only get one all-stations radio gig per year, the premium membership will pay for itself.  PLEASE NOTE: the Piehole search results are randomised every day for all standard members, so don’t panic, the listed order is not alphabetical for those voiceovers whose surnames start with a Z…



7. “Favourite” your demo page
This will also help your Google rating.  Go to your own page, (i.e. www.piehole.co.uk/yourname) and click on the “share this” button at the bottom of the page which will let you do this.  You can also create a Del.icio.us or a Digg link there.  Ask ALL your friends and family to do it too!




8. Leave comments on relevant blogs and forums
After you’ve left a comment, make sure you put a signature at the bottom, carrying your link: www.piehole.co.uk/yourname.  Don’t be spammy, (or else your comment will be blocked) and try to leave comments on industry forums.




9. Start a Twitter page
This is a great way to find fellow colleagues in the industry and swap tips, hints or words of encouragement.  Follow as many sound engineers and ad industry people as possible and be sure to include a link to your demo.   Another good idea is to offer a special discount periodically (e.g. 20% off if you use my voice today)

10. Write articles about your experiences as an actor or voiceover
Submit them to article marketing websites online, like Ezine Articles.  They give you a space to put your link/URL in, so that the articles, along with a link to your demo, get distributed all over the net.  Who knows?  The right people might just be reading an article.




11. Take out a Google ad
Get more exposure for your own page by taking out a Google ad.  This is more expensive, but it could pay off for you.




12. Always signature your emails
This isn’t as targeted as some of the other tips - but really, it takes no effort, its free and you never know who might end up clicking on it.  Go to your email “settings” section, and set up your signature to include your VO link and booking number.



13. Direct response campaign
This is very targeted - and your number of clicks won’t be so many, but they will be quality clicks.  Drop off some comps to one of your shows, or some cupcakes, or just about anything really, to make you stand out from the crowd - to agency producers or sound engineers.  Include a card with a link to your voiceover demo on it.



Did I leave out anything?  Voiceovers - email us and give us your tips.  We’ll add them to the list.

Remember voiceovers - always ask where you got your gigs.  Piehole is not an “agent” - we don’t take commission and we don’t take your voice over bookings.  As such, all your voice over work will go directly through yourself or via your agent.  So next time you finish a gig, (and did a terrific job no doubt) ask if they found you on Piehole.

Just gotta mention this amazing ad by Chris Cunningham for Gucci.

1. If you are inexperienced:
If you’re on your first or second demo still, a rule of thumb is to wait until you’ve done a few gigs, say 4 - 10. That extra experience will help, because with voiceovers, there is a very steep learning curve in the beginning. Your next demo will already be much smoother and your skills will be improved even after such a short time. I’ve worked with many voiceovers who are still new to the game, and after a few rounds in studio, it’s like they’re a different voiceover. More confident, better and basically, really starting to find their own style.

2. If you are experienced:
Once you’ve had a certain amount of experience, the learning curve isn’t as steep anymore. Now you just have to make sure your demo is “acting your age”. You don’t need to waste your money re-doing your demo every year. You can refresh your existing demo every 2 years or so (simple editing - adding in new bits of work you’ve done, and taking out some of the older stuff that dates your demo). And then, re-record and make a new demo every 4 years roughly. Too often I’ve heard people sound really young on their demo, and then when you get them in studio, they sound nothing like they do on their demo.

3. When your demo is letting you down
If you did a demo you were never really happy with, plus, you’re not getting booked for gigs - it’s time.

According to the Financial Times, major broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 and Five are suffering a 14% decline in adverstising revenue this year according to GroupM, a media agency. Nonetheless, people are watching more TV. The average UK viewer watched 16.7 hours of commercial broadcast TV a week - this is 10 minutes more than in the first 6 months of 2008. Shameful!

This week we’re featuring two completely different ads from the beautifully creative people at DDB, London for Volkswagen:

This one is for Golf called ‘Like a Golf’:




And then there’s this cinema mockumentary, titled ‘Dudeism’ referencing the Big Lebowsky.

Television is the most memorable form of advertising according to a survey by Deloitte and YouGov. Some 64% of people said TV was the medium that had most impact. Newpapers were favoured by 30% of those polled followed by magazines, radio and outdoor.

Here’s a compilation of AVIVA’s new campaign, created by AMV BBDO, London.

Beautifully shot and technically demanding short film for Johnny Walker by BBH

Well done guys!