demo reels

As one of the main purposes of a website is for potential clients to be able to hear what you sound like and what types of characters you can play, it doesn’t make much sense to make a site until you have some type of demo reel (even a self-made one) or at least some functional samples of your voice and acting.

Some points to consider in regards to how demos are displayed on your website:

• Demos should be easily accessible, ideally from the main page of your site. A separate page for demos can be acceptable, particularly if you have a lot of them… so long as it doesn’t take visitors more than a click or two to hear your voice.
  
• There should be an option to both stream the demos (aka, you can click Play and hear the demo without having to download or go to a separate site) and download the demos if desired. The reason for this is because sometimes casting directors go through and save demo reels of voice actors they want to keep in mind for future projects so that they can contact them if something comes up.
  
• The more “targeted” demos you have on your site, the better your chances of reaching specific clientele. If you’re just starting out, you might only have your character demo, and that’s OK. But if you’re a singer, for instance, consider including your singing demo as well. Want to do audiobooks? Put together a narration demo. The “core” demos that are the most common/requested are a character demo and a commercial demo, and this is generally sufficient—but as you grow in your career you may choose to have targeted demos for more specific markets, such as games and apps, audiobooks, on-hold messaging, radio imaging, etc. If you are completely bilingual and can act or narrate well in your other native language, this can be a very marketable tool as well. For example, bilingual English and Spanish actors are often requested, so actors who grew up speaking both English and Spanish may include Spanish demos or an option for clients to toggle a Spanish-language version of their website.
  
• If you have visual reels as well (compilations of footage from projects you are in), this is also a bonus to include on your site.
  
• Make sure the demo reels can be played easily on both mobile and desktop. Test different browsers if possible.

Contact info (required!)

• If you want to be considered for auditions and projects by clients who visit your website, it is imperative that they have an easy way to contact you directly.
  
• You may include your agent’s contact info in addition if you are represented, but unless you handle every single inquiry through your agent with zero exceptions, putting your own contact info is strongly encouraged for situations where contacting your agent simply wouldn’t be relevant or appropriate—for instance, if someone wants to interview you for a podcast or send you a piece of art of one of your characters, that’s not something agents would generally deal with. If someone contacts you about a booking via your website that you’d prefer to handle through your agent instead, you can always forward the inquiry to them or CC them in your reply.
  
• Your most important contact method, and the only one you really need to put on your website, is your e-mail address. Make sure this is an e-mail address that you check at least once a day and can respond to in a timely manner.
  
• Listing your phone number is not recommended unless you have a dedicated business line or run your own studio, as there are plenty of scammers, spammers, and creepy people out there. Reputable clients can always contact you by email first, and any further needed info can be exchanged there.

Possibly controversial opinion: DO NOT HAVE A WEB FORM AS YOUR ONLY METHOD OF CONTACT!

It makes sense WHY a form seems like a good option on the surface. Perhaps you’re worried about bots or spammers finding your e-mail address, or you prefer to keep your e-mail address private in general. But if a casting director needs to contact you asap, a contact form is loathsome. Here’s why:

• Many auditions these days are very quick turnaround (24 hours or less). If a casting director wants to quickly CC you on an audition, they don’t have time to fill out a contact form letting you know they’d like to send you sides, wonder if it’s actually going to go through to you, then wait for you to get back to them. They need to be able to e-mail you the sides NOW. If a project is urgent, and there is no way to contact you other than an impersonal web form, chances are they will just not bother.
  
• If you happen to cross a casting director’s mind, they may wish to add you to their talent roster for potential opportunities…but again, if they can’t easily plug your e-mail address into their database, they’re probably not going to go out of their way to use your form to ask.
  
• Sometimes the forms are buggy and do not work properly, meaning the message may be sent to spam or never actually go through! A form not working properly can result in lost income and opportunities for your business!
  
• And finally, forms are simply annoying, the main reason being that many of them require a Captcha which are awful in their own way. We get that you want to prevent spam, but if you make potential clients (or very busy casting directors) jump through a bunch of hoops just to see about hiring you, they may not want to bother.

If you want to have a form, you can do so in addition (like for fan messages/general inquiries), but you are strongly encouraged to include some sort of direct email for project/audition inquiries (you can clearly state on your site that this is for business only, if you so desire). If you don’t want to give out your work e-mail publicly, then at least make a forwarding e-mail from your site that will then forward to the address you actually use, or some other place where you will see it in a timely manner. In terms of spam concerns, displaying your e-mail address as an image rather than text can be a potential option, but it can create an accessibility issue for those who use screen readers.

Additional items you may wish to include

Strongly encouraged: Home studio information

If you want or need to record from home for higher-level projects (or even paid projects in general), then putting your home studio information somewhere on your website is highly encouraged.

The main pieces of information you need to include are your microphone, audio interface, general booth setup/room treatment, and connection options for live sessions (ex: SourceConnect?* Discord? Zoom?) A photo or two of your recording space can be helpful, although it’s not required. If you are truly ADR-capable (big enough monitor, hardwired internet, can control gain in your booth, know how to dub to picture in real-time and can handle multiple programs running including video and audio streams without bad connection lag or computer fan ruining your recording), then you can list this as well.

*Don’t list that you have SourceConnect Standard unless you actually have it, as it can be notoriously difficult to set up and troubleshoot. If a client decides they need you for a SourceConnect session within the next 24 hours, are you able to deliver?

Not sure whether you are truly remote-capable? Check out our guide on remote recording setups.
Listing your setup even at a hobby/indie level can still be beneficial, but it’s important to be honest about what you’re working with.

Encouraged: Resume / list of past work

People generally want to know at least a little bit about your experience. If you don’t have a lot of roles yet, you can supplement it as best as possible with lists of student projects, classes you’ve taken, etc. On the flip side, if you have a lot of roles, you may want to mention your most prominent ones first (with a link to view your full resume on a PDF or separate page.) This can be as simple as “Project Name – Character” separated into categories (animation/video game/commercial/narration).

If your work is generally known enough that you don’t need a full resume, or you don’t have time to make one at the moment, then at least putting a list of some of your most prestigious roles/clients somewhere on your site is better than nothing. You can also link to your IMDB page if you have one.

Optional: Biography/about page

A biography or “about me” section can add a more personal touch to your website and let potential clients and fans learn a little more about the human behind the voice.

Optional: FAQ

This is mainly for people with established followings of some sort who tend to get emailed the same questions over and over. Unfortunately, not everyone’s going to read your FAQ and will continue to email you the same questions anyway, but you can include it if you feel it has helpful or relevant information. *If you don’t want to deal with the dreaded “how do you get into voiceover” question, feel free to link the Voice Acting Club website which has tons of free resources!

Optional: Social media links

If you have an active presence on social media and/or a fanbase looking to engage with you, posting links to your social media pages can be helpful in branding and also getting you more followers. Be sure these are accounts that are open to the public to view and follow. Whether or not it’s “fair”, a social media presence is important to certain clients for marketing reasons, so it makes sense to give people easy links to connect with you on various platforms.

voice actor website FAQ

I have a side business / other creative endeavor in addition to VO. Should I make separate websites, or keep them all on the same one?

This is mostly up to you. If your other business endeavors are related to the entertainment field – such as if you’re also an artist, musician or writer – this can be incorporated into sections of your website if that makes sense to you. If you’re also an on-camera or stage actor, those things can be good to include as part of a general website featuring you as an actor.

Of course, your clients may be turned off or confused if they see half your site is being used to promote your multi-level marketing scheme selling crystals or wellness shakes. If you have another business that’s not related to the entertainment industry and you want to link it, keep it non-intrusive; perhaps as a link on your bio page (“When Anne isn’t voice acting, she’s also a chef! You can view her cooking blog here.”)

Are there any restrictions on the general look of the site? Should I keep it “strictly professional”?

Practically speaking, it doesn’t matter too much what the actual site looks like so long as people can find the needed information. The general rules apply that it should be clearly readable as well as at least somewhat aesthetically pleasing, but unless you’re exclusively working for stuffy corporate clients, don’t feel you need to stick with “safe” colors and plain text. Your website is an extension of your brand, and should reflect your personal branding and who you are as an actor. You can have a site that looks “professional” (well-designed, easy to navigate, and visually appealing) without being boring. If you have a logo, it should fit into the general theme of the site (or vice-versa) so that everything looks cohesive.

What should I call my site/what should the URL be?

Generally, the title of your site should include your name and what you do. For example, “John Smith, Voice Actor”, “John Smith Voiceovers”, or “John Smith | Voice Talent”. The best choice for your domain name is usually something like YourName.com, but if that’s taken (which may be the unfortunate case especially if you have a common name), you can try something like JohnSmithVO.com or johnsmithvoice.com.

If you are marketing yourself as an amateur/online voice actor or content creator, you can use your username, but if you plan to submit to agencies or studios it’s best to avoid anything too cutesy or unrelated, unless it’s the name of your actual business or company.

What if I can’t afford a domain name or web hosting?

In the meantime, you can look into free web-hosting sites. As the tradeoff for having a free website is usually ads, try to choose an option with minimal or unintrusive advertising.

Voice actor Dom Dinh has also created templates for voice actor websites using the popular website builder Carrd!

What if I don’t know how to design websites or graphics?

The best option, if you’re willing to spend money, is to hire someone to design a website for you or at least commission someone to make a graphic/logo unique to you. However, there are plenty of free online templates and resources (many simply ask that you link back to the original designer). If you don’t have the money to commission someone for a logo, see if you can do a services trade (for instance, you provide voice acting for someone’s project in exchange for them making you a logo), or make use of websites such as Canva where you can design your own using a template.

I’m an amateur/aspiring voice actor. Can I/should I create a website?

As long as you have at least one demo reel, creating a website can only really help you rather than hurt you. Once you have a demo made and at least a few different roles under your belt, you can start looking into making one (free web hosting sites are generally fine for amateur talent.)

You can brand it in a consistent way with whatever online persona you use for voice acting, but if you transition into being a professional voice talent later, you’ll want to update your website and branding (or create a new one) to reflect that. Linking to or referencing fan projects is OK for amateur voice actor websites but (aside from indie games or completely original content) discouraged for professional voice actor websites.

I have a Twitter account with my information on it, a YouTube channel where I post video demos, etc. Do I still need a website?

While those sites can be great supplemental tools for promotion, a website – even a relatively bare-bones one – is still a good idea. Not everyone uses social media or wants to navigate through YouTube pages to try to see your demo or figure out how to contact you, and if you get to the point in your career where you start networking with studios, agencies, or casting directors, they will generally expect to see your website rather than just your online accounts.

Should I write my text/bio in first-person or third-person?

That is up to you. A third-person bio gives off a more “business” vibe, while a first-person bio gives off a more personal/intimate vibe. Either can work, but whichever you choose, try to keep it consistent across the board.

How often should I update my site?

There’s no definitive answer other than “keep it current and relevant.” If your site mostly consists of just your demos and contact info and they’ve stayed the same, you’re good for a while…but if you get a new demo made, book a major role, or change agencies, you’ll want to update your site as soon as possible to reflect that. It’s better to avoid listing the current year on your website—if a client sees “(c) 2018 John Smith”, they may wonder if your info is still relevant or if you are even active anymore.