Voiceover Internet Marketing Tips for the Voiceover Artist

Part 1 of an Interview with Lowell Christensen of Spotworks Creative

Female Voiceover Artist Debbie Grattan interviews Lowell Christensen of SpotWorks Radio Creative and Production about how to market your voiceover artist talents and services on the Internet.

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Voiceover Artist – Debbie Grattan: Can you give us some background as to how you got started in the radio creative and production services business?

Lowell Christensen: I started out in 1989 writing copy for radio stations. Later, I got into production and voicing.

When the Internet came along in the late 1990s, I saw an opportunity to sell my services from a web site. That suited me because I don’t have a sales background and I really don’t have a sales bone in my body to sell face-to-face. I started my web site in 1997, but didn’t go full time at it until I quit my day job in 2004.

Voiceover Artist – Debbie Grattan: Did your day job help you establish connections or did you forge new ground with all new clients?

Lowell Christensen: It really was an Internet marketing venture because I didn’t deal locally with anybody and I actually still don’t. Everybody that came to me was brand new. I had to learn how to get ranked online by search engines, which in 1997 wasn’t even in our vocabulary.

Voiceover Artist – Debbie Grattan: How is working with an online talent production agency different from working with a traditional agency?

Lowell Christensen: The thing that drove people to the Internet was cost savings. Traditional agencies, especially larger agencies, have overhead like wining, dining, and a large number of employees. The other alternative is to go to a radio station, but they often lack the resources to provide what clients are looking for. I’m that middle ground for clients that want creative and production without paying a higher price.

Smaller to mid-level production agencies will outsource their radio production to me because it’s cheaper, as do agencies that need audio for in-house TV spots. On my end, my audio for TV doesn’t look much different. I produce it like a radio spot, keeping in mind subtle nuances. For example, the background music and sound effects on a TV spot can be a lower volume than a spot that airs on radio.

Voiceover Artist – Debbie Grattan: What can a voiceover artist do to take advantage of online trends?

Lowell Christensen: It is tougher for voiceover artists than for full service agencies like mine because that seems to be where there is the biggest competition. If your market is online, put up a web site, do what you need to get ranked, and consider pay-per-click. In terms of trends, Google is still the best source for new clients. Voiceover artists should also get their voiceover demos listed on as many voiceover talent sites as possible, not just pay-to-play sites like Voice123. After that, send your voiceover demo via e-mail to production companies on a regular basis. Keep your name out there.

That said, I find the greatest success is achieved when you take into account that with the Internet everything is instant. You have to be able to respond to an e-mail in minutes. It’s unnerving if I e-mail a voiceover artist about an opportunity and don’t hear back for hours.

In Part 2 of this interview, Lowell Christensen shares how he discovers voiceover artists and what they can do to ensure steady work.

Debbie Grattan is a professional female voiceover artist who has been doing voice work for over 20 years. She’s been a “go to” voice talent for many corporations, production companies and recording studios across the US. Check out her female voice samples, voiceover resume and acting bio and ISDN studio specs for more information.