Many of the voiceover directories are over-subscribed and any producer who is trying to find a voice is not very likely to pick you. You are just one of hundreds or thousands of voiceover artists who are listed.
Then have a look at how many of these directories are on the first couple of pages when carrying out a search for voiceover. Apart from the widely-respected voiceovers.co.uk there were none. In fact, just searching today I got to page 5 before one voiceover directory was listed.
When I tentatively started pitching for voiceover work in 2002, I got listed on as many free sites as I could. Then plucked up the courage to spend some actual real money on voiceovers.co.uk; my first voiceover gig followed shortly afterwards.
There are dozens and dozens of directories: Voice123 (voiceover artists bid for the work - how low will you go?); Voices.com; Opuzz; BigTalent; thevoiceoverdirectory.com; the voiceworks; voicefinder.biz and Bodalgo. As far as I know I only secured one client (who spent thousand of pounds) from all of these websites combined. They are free for a reason.
And then there is another site which I discovered recently called voicejockeys.com with a 50 per cent commission rate and terms and conditions from the dark ages.You do wonder how many of these voiceover websites have your interests at heart. Or do they just treat you like a number as fodder for their own potential clients?
From my own experience, it's much better to spend your money on your own decent website and pay for Google Adwords. In the short term, this is the only way to get onto page 1 or 2 of Google.
However, the BigFish Media website is now near the top of page one of Google in the organic (free) listings - thanks to regular blogging, a good reputation (gained through hard work, repeat business and client satisfaction), using social media, (Twitter, Facebook, Linked In etc) and six months of dedicated work by the team behind our Search Engine Optimisation process.
And we don't have to pay for adwords anymore to get clients to book our voiceovers.
I think you're mixing a few different genres of sites into one pot. There are voiceover directories and then there are Voiceover Marketplaces.
ReplyDeleteGetting yourself referenced by either is great for your personal Search Engine Optimization because the more references to yourself there are online the easier it is for people to find you. Except I think you are talking about how clients can find you by going through a database of differet voices and picking the right one.
Directories usually follow a categories based system with tags that distinguish one Voiceover artist from another. You might have ISDN and the ability to edit your own voiceovers while another artist might have Source Connect and not be able to edit their own material. Casting agents look for several different factors in their hunt for the right voice so its not the same as, say, having a hat and just throwing a few names written on pieces of paper in it and then just picking one at random.
I have been a member of voices.com and their directory service has gotten me jobs (compared to their voice casting service which sends out daily casting calls) The same with voice123.com (I was given a free premium membership for 3 months and was included in their directory and casting call roll) so they are somewhat effective in getting you out there. I am a little luckier than most because I cater to a niche. I am a bilingual Arabic/English voiceover so those looking for exactly that will easily find me. As opposed to Deep voice with British accent, friendly guy next door sound upon request.
And you are absolutely right in saying that having a website and marketing yourself effectively will get you better chances of work.
Now where these sites are very beneficial is in their directory service for one who already has a website.
Setting up a new website is one big hassle. Promoting it is another and then continuously optimizing it to get you the best possible search engine ranking that your website can achieve. Except there is something you cannot skip or avoid... and that is the time it takes for your website to propagate and spread (which means) be discovered by the search engine bots (the programs that comb the web finding new sites and listing them).
I also cannot say that I am not biased in this matter since I myself own and operate The Voiceover Pavilion (www.vopavilion.com) which is a voiceover directory. The difference between my site and voices.com is that I don't send out casting calls and I don't take a commission if you get a job through the site(via the escrow service they offer)
I cater to all voiceover professionals from the voiceover artist to the casting agent to the voiceover equipment supplier. This is a community directory that requires payment to be listed (and a site). But I charge 1/4 of what others charge (my highest membership tier costs $52.49 annually) so it's not the $300 of voice123.com or the $299 of voices.com.
The point is that if you have a fledgling site you can promote yourself using online ads and you can list your website in directories like mine and help propagate your site faster. The more links to and from your site ... the more references there are to your site. If you connect to sites that already have excellent SEO ranking then you can piggy back off their existing prominence in search engines. You don't have the budget they do for marketing and promotion but you can still benefit from what they spend on their own SEO services.
I won't lie to you though... there are quite a few sites that will take your money and that's the last you will hear from them until its time to renew your membership. The point is not that all directory websites are bad... it's that you as a consumer should also spend the time that is necessary to research what site best serves your needs. Just like when you shop for a mobile phone service. Who will promote you and will they do a good job of it.
Mahmoud Taji
Administrator
The Voiceover Pavilion
www.vopavilion.com
info@vopavilion.com
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