By Kate McClanaghan www.voiceoverinfo.com

As SOUND ADVICE we field an awful lot of questions regarding your career and how and when to adapt your promo, namely your headshots, reels, voiceover demos, and web sites, to include material you may have recently booked.

For instance, here’s a very good question from one of our SA clients recent experiences you may relate to:

Hi Kate!
My voiceover career is still going pretty well. I have been the voice of (a Midwest retailer) for several months now. I have had repeat business with (another steady client) in the Northwest and a University (for website work). I feel like I’m the C. Thomas Howell of voiceover work - nothing really big but continually on the “B” list. Honestly, that is okay with me - my first priority are my two boys who can be a handful - so anything extra with the voiceover career is great.

I wanted to get your advice about my website. I was thinking about adding a few of my recent spots in addition to my two demos. I have a (retailer) spot and Wal-Mart in-store (point of purchase) TV spot. Also, I have a Resort (spot) that has me as the “hurried mom on the cell phone” as well as me as announcer.

Would it be appropriate to have “recent spots” bullet pointed (and featured) on my website or should I just stick (with) the two demos I have? Is it worth it to have on-camera (again, it’s voiceover) spots on my site?

Hey, Kath!
First off, I have a couple questions for you before I reply: did you get booked off auditions for these gigs or directly from your demo? Additionally, did the demo draw in the auditions?

Chances are that’s the case. If so… DON’T change a thing on your site or your demos. You landed these gigs due to the fact your tracks sound like national (not regional) spots and offer a professional, polished package.

Your site, like your demos (as ALL your promo) should offer potential clients what you do best… and what you want more of. (In fact, I consider this to be the definition of a truly effective voiceover demo.)
Sounds like these regional clients are already very happy. Wonderful! You did your job well! But don’t confuse how you won these jobs in the first place!

If you include these spots on your demo or your site, it will become very clear that they don’t meet or match the production values of your demos and the site itself and they will ultimately lower the appeal and confidence your promo currently conveys–to even regional clients! (Especially to regional clients.)
Best rule of thumb: if it ain’t broke–don’t fix it! In fact, you want to FORTIFY what won you the jobs in the first place! Was it an agent? A mailing you may have done directly to producers or directly to production houses (where you may have recorded these spots) in? Or maybe it was voice123 or one of the various voiceover sites that promote gigs…

Best wishes and so happy to hear of your steady (albeit modest) success!! love ya, Kate

Kate, thanks! Now that I think about it, all of these jobs were ultimately booked from my demo. Some were from my agent (with no audition) and some were from voice123. The voice123 gigs, I auditioned for but they initially contacted me because they heard my demo and liked it. Sounds like I’m not changing anything!

Virtually all of my work has come from my demo. I never land auditions my agent gives me. But, when I get a job booked right from my demo, I almost always get repeat business. So, am I bad at auditioning? Many times I look at the script my agents sends me for an audition and I think, “why did they send this to me? I am in no way like this person!” But the bookings I get from my agent right off my demo are totally me. Is it me? Is it my agent? Both? – Kathy

It’s BOTH! Man, a good agent is vital to your livelihood! And they certainly want to help when it comes to offering advice on your demo, your reel and general promotion, but to be honest promotion is YOUR job, until you’re doing so well as to enlist the services of a Publicist. But being a good SOUND ADVICER you already know that.

So, if you’re booking directly off your demo or headshot or what-have-you with any regularity and on work that can sustain you for an extended period of time–then please don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Maintain a steady promotional diet with what represents you best. Certainly give your agent what they need if they ask you for something specific–but don’t take them so literally you can’t think for yourself.

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