Looking to create high-quality voice over samples? Look no further.
At Voquent, we offer a global marketplace for producers, agents and casting directors to identify suitably skilled and experienced voice talent for their productions – so we know the importance of learning how to make audio samples.
Making online voice over casting simple by allowing prospective buyers to quickly explore massive volumes of audio material and immediately identify the exact attributes and qualities they are looking for in a voice.
So, if you’ve created a Voquent Profile but not uploaded any demos, your chances of getting shortlisted for voice-over jobs are reduced drastically. It’s about your audio, not your profile.
Without demos, you can’t be easily located in the search filter.
How to Optimise your Samples
To help maximise your visibility in search, you need as many audio demos as possible. You’ll also maximise the visibility of your profile by uploading material in various tones and styles, including the most popular search criteria.
We recommend uploading demo samples in the following popular tones for each accent or language you perform best in:
- Authoritative Confident, Experienced, Powerful
- Conversational Approachable, Friendly, Sincere
- EloquentPrecise, Refined, Sophisticated
- Enticing Intimate, Seductive, Tempting
- Inspiring Courageous, Encouraging, Passionate
- Nurturing Caring, Compassionate, Sympathetic
There are 12 primary tones on Voquent that you can use to show off your skills. The six above offer the broadest cross-style reach, meaning having them on your profile will increase your chances of getting shortlisted for the most common voice-over jobs (corporate videos, explainers, TV commercials, online promos, eLearning and audiobooks).
Each demo sample you upload should ideally be 15 – 45 seconds in duration. For Narration style demos, we recommend up to 90 seconds.
Longer demo samples are acceptable, but customers rarely listen past 30-40 secs (we can see the play stats). Instead, consider adding reels to your top 6 Featured demo slots. To unlock reels, you’ll need 15 samples minimum or a verified home studio.
So, where should you start?
Here are 8 ways to create demo samples for your Voquent profile:
1. Work with an established voice coach or producer
If you’re still building your voice-over portfolio and you’re not comfortable with writing your material. Working with a professional reel/Showreel producer is a great option to build up a collection of professional demo samples and reels that will be relevant to the styles of work you want.
Professional reel producers will help you deliver a performance that plays to your strengths.
A good reel producer will also keep your experience level in mind, creating material to help you break into the industry with a variety of popular mediums and tones or maximising the strength of expert performances with professional techniques.
Most coaches or reel producers have accumulated extensive libraries of scripts, and they will have an ear for what material will suit your voice best. Of course, before working with a coach, it’s worth checking that you will have the right to publish and promote your recordings of their scripts.
2. Record royalty-free voice-over scripts
There is a selection of online sources to find royalty-free voiceover scripts for reels and demo samples.
These sites may require you to register for full access but should not cost any money. Many offer a wide variety of material, allowing you to decide what works best for your voice and personality. This is also a good starting point for any voice talents that need immediate access to copy or wants to break into a new style that they’ve never performed before.
Alternatively, it’s worth noting that numerous websites and self-proclaimed trainers market and sell access to private collections of voice-over scripts as part of a paid membership plan. Unless you are working with an experienced voice coach that is handpicking specific material for you, this approach offers only minor advantages (if any at all) over the freely available script libraries.
The Voicereels royalty-free script library is a great place to start, as scripts can be filtered by tone, medium and style. This way, you can ensure your range of demos covers a vast selection of Voquent filters for successful profile optimisation.
Remember, you can also edit these scripts to create unique versions that no casting director has heard before.
3. Delve into your own portfolio
If you’re an experienced voice actor, the best way to build your Voquent profile is to go through your work archive. Listen to what you’ve got. Then decide which ones best match the recommended styles and tones.
For example, a radio commercial where you play a whistling window cleaner might work well in the Conversational category. A chocolate dessert advert would be a good fit for the Enticing type. Or a severe appeal to the Red Cross would suit the Nurturing class.
Provided you have a decent catalogue of work, that’s half of the most commonly sought-after tones already covered. But it’s also worth thinking about the age of your material. Fashions change and content dates, so if the audio sounds behind the times – it probably is.
Similarly, if one of your demos talks about a brand that went out of business or was rocked by a scandal, you’ll probably want to avoid using it.
Voice-over casting is highly subjective, so be sure to use audio material that’s fresh, contemporary and relevant – and keep updating your profile with new demos as work comes in so that you always have something new and current to share with the world.
4. Work with a copywriter to build custom scripts
As with any professional, you’ll generally get what you pay for when commissioning a skilled copywriter. It makes a big difference to reach out to scriptwriters that already have experience writing for media producers and, ideally, those who’ve specialised in a specific style. Voquent tracks twelve different key styles for voice-over audio:
- Announcer
- Business-2-Business (B2B)
- Characters
- Documentary
- Education
- Explainer
- IVR
- Narration
- News
- Promotional/Commercial
- Comedy
- Singing
If you don’t have any previous acting experience and you’re just starting in the world of voice-overs. We suggest focusing on someone who can offer unique scripts for business-related styles – leave the challenging types like Characters until you have more experience behind you.
You want a copywriter that provides good value for money and a reliable service. Ideally, you’ll get your best results if you can speak with someone who’s willing to listen to your voice and write the kind of material that suits the pitch, pace, and tone you feel most adept at. They should also write scripts for the mediums you hope to find more work in and keep your portfolio requirements in mind.
5. Write and record copy yourself
If you can write as well as you can voice, and you have access to a professional studio, then writing demo scripts yourself could be a great way to add to your Voquent profile. However, you will need to know your own skills and have an inside knowledge of the industry to do this. Playing with words is fine, but you also need to play to your vocal strengths and make sure that the copy suits your projects’ style(s) and tone(s).
The overall message should also sound professional and credible. So, it might be best to stay away from name-dropping big brands (so as not to create a false impression that you’ve worked for them) or to invent company names that don’t sound right for their industry sector.
Credibility and relevant experience can play an essential role in the selection of a voice. Unless you have real-world experience of writing good copy for a target audience and you can make a mock-up sound like the real deal – it might be a good idea to seek guidance from a professional scriptwriter or an established online script library.
6. Read an excerpt from existing videos or literature
Video hosting and streaming sites (such as YouTube) offer access to a vast array of material that you can modify. Everything from adverts and promos to tutorials, explainers and animation can all be easily transcribed and adapted for your needs.
When it comes to literature, both classic and modern books can offer deeply evocative and memorable reference material that will engage with the audiences you are most eager to work with, from meaningful self-reflection to compelling narratives and dialogues.
If you’ve developed a profound psychological connection with the written work of any author, this will inherently support and enhance the conviction and delivery of your performance. Remember that novels and fiction are best suited to Narrative and Character demo samples.
If you’re looking to record demo samples for Guides and Explainers, think about how many Instruction manuals and QuickStart references you have laying around the house or even online via access to software applications and portals.
Non-fictional material on a subject of personal interest offers an outstanding resource for you to start offering Informational style demo samples such as documentaries and news.
Keep in mind that promotional material is the one area where existing literature won’t help. You’ll need to consider other sources here if you want commercially orientated material for businesses or consumers.
7. Adapt audition material
If you’re still short of demo sample material, another alternative is to tweak and rewrite audition copy.
Not every voice will feel comfortable writing and editing copy and it’s up to you to decide how much the material needs to be altered, where and how. One reason that might put you off is that the owner of the script may complain that you appear to be imitating or passing off their work as your own. The merits of such a concern are justified to the extent that if we (Voquent) receive complaints about this, we are likely to deactivate or remove the demo sample whilst the ownership of any copy is disputed and consequently resolved.
To minimise the chances of a complaint (and of Voquent being asked to remove your demo sample), it may be best (and less distracting for the listener) to drop any brand names from the read and to alter the copy in places. You could use the essence of the manuscript as inspiration for a message about another product or service entirely, which will also help distance you and your performance from the original work.
Please remember, brands don’t sell a voice-over performance. A good voice-over performance sells the brand. So, if you’re planning to go down this route, the most important thing is to focus on generating some compelling copy and reading it well.
8. Borrow old scripts from a colleague or friend
Perhaps a safer way to demonstrate your skills as a voice actor and fill your Voquent profile is to borrow actual scripts from a trusted mentor, colleague or friend.
Again, if it’s full of brand names and well-known slogans, it’s probably best to lose them for the reasons outlined previously. Name-dropping prestigious companies that did not commission you can harm your credibility. Always be mindful that if your demo sample doesn’t sound genuinely believable or relevant to the script, neither will you.
In most cases, buyers want to hear clear, honest reads that match the accent and tone they require. Credible copy, coupled with a convincing, authentic performance, will help sell your demo to the listener. And if you’re the right voice for the client, you’ll also be the right voice for the job!
Conclusion
High-quality scripts and professional sounding demos are of utmost importance for voice actors looking to create successful audio samples on Voquent.
Creating and uploading demos that showcase a range of specific styles and tones will increase your visibility in search, which helps you get shortlisted for more work on our platform.
Whether you decide to work with established voice coaches and producers, record royalty-free scripts or delve into your own portfolio, creating demos that accurately represent your broad range of skills and experience can significantly improve your chances of success in this competitive industry.
Learn More About Voice-Over Jobs with Voquent
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