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.

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.

Congrats to Kevin Stark and Nick Kidney from BBH London for their Ginsters Pies : Cannibals radio ad.

Here’s the latest from the ‘Start Thinking Soldier’ campaign from COI/Publicis UK.

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Dallas McKennon, the American voice over artist died Tuesday morning at the age of 89.  McKennon was best known as the voice of Gumby.  He was also Archie in the Filmation animated TV series and Buzz Buzzard in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons.

A Dublin ad agency just asked us to source a male Jamaican voice actor for a TV ad.  Anyone out there?  Please ask your VO friends.  Nice gig.

Dear voiceover, try not to do the job with a hangover.

Don’t get boozed up the night before a gig.  Or at least not if the gig is in the morning.  Your voice will thank you for it.

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Drop your business card.

Give it to the copywriter or agency producer, and simply say “thanks for the gig, here’s my card if you need anything”.   At Piehole we offer to design cards for free for our voiceovers, as it leaves such a good impression when they leave their cards behind in studios.

Cheers Big Ears!

Make your escape! When you’ve done your gig, say your goodbyes and thank you’s. No need to stick around as a voiceover.

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It’s not your ad…

Again, copywriters can be quite anal.  They probably have a specific idea about what they’re looking for.  All you can do, as a voiceover, is try to figure out what on earth they mean when they say ‘warm yet corporate’ or ‘more energy  - but slow it down a bit’ or something else vague.  Try to be patient and not have too many “creative differences”.

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