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When do you need a website? We're gonna talk about it. Hello and welcome to aveo's Journey Podcast. My name is Anthony, and this show is about helping the new and upcoming voiceover artists grow their business and sidestep all of the crazy things that Lord knows I keep stepping in. I am super excited to be coming back for another episode, if you guys can believe it. We are at episode 299. This is episode 299. And I'm really looking forward to talking about websites today. And as a voice actor, when do you need to think about your website? All right, well, let's do it. This is vo's Journey. With your host, the incomparable Anthony Pika. So it's good to be back. And, you know, I'm thinking about websites and why. Why do I want to talk about them today? Well, I had gotten a question earlier from one of our members at VEO Journey Academy about when they thought the appropriate time was to start a website as a voice actor. And, you know, there's a lot of competing information out there. Have a lot of people that say, you know, when you start, you should have a website right away. You know, no matter what, you need a website before you start doing anything. And then there's people that say, you know, you need to wait to have a website. You don't need one right away. There's someone, you know, there's. There's people who are in the middle. So it can be very challenging. And then you have to think, too. It's not just that. It's about the money, right? How much money it takes to build a website. Where do you build a website, what do you get? What do you need, et cetera, et cetera. So there's a lot of stuff that goes into that decision. And that's what we're going to talk about today. So, first and foremost, do you need a website to be a voice actor? And the answer is, yes, I personally believe you need a website. It's like your online store. Not only does it offer a place for people to come and look at what you do, listen to your work, learn more about you, but also, you know, it validates your business. Okay. I do often think that many voice actors, we don't view our businesses as fully legitimate businesses, you know, because it's just us and our house, but the reality is, is we are fully legitimate businesses. And, you know, we need a website. Think about it. Would you be interested in working with a business that doesn't have a website? Now I will say this, okay, and this is the next part of this, which is when do you need a website? So a lot of us start on websites, other people's websites, right? We start on places like ACX, Academy, Voices, Fiverr, Upwork, Voices.com, the Voice Realm, Voice, 1, 2, 3, Budogo, all these different places. We start on other people's websites. And a lot of the people who go to those websites, they aren't actively searching for you, you know, on your, you know, they're not actively searching to see if you have your own website because they're working with you through someone else's website, okay? So because of that, a lot of people don't need a website just to start off. And the reason I say that too is because, you know, when you're just starting, you don't have anything, meaning you typically don't have demos, you don't have headshots, you don't have content, you haven't flushed out your brand yet, you haven't flushed out what your niche is. You haven't put together all that content. You don't have any, you know, you don't have any articles, you don't have just a variety of things. You might be having starter equipment, right? And you don't want to put down what starter equipment you have because perception is real. So I guess what I'm getting at is that when you first start off, it is not necessary, in my humble opinion, to have a website in order to start trying to get work. So this is an important part. It's not because other people will say you have to have a website when you start out? Well, do they mean when you start out, like within the first year or two, do they mean when you start out, like you can't do a thing until you have a website? You know what I mean? And I'm just a firm believer of you can get started. Like, for example, you could join Academy Voices and start auditioning. You don't need a headshot, you don't need a demo. Same thing with like acx. You can get on there and you could start auditioning and you don't need a headshot, you don't need a demo in order to audition. And the thing is, is those auditions can down the road become part of a demo or part of a sample. And also these days, I think it's important to note too that we are in a time where it is very easy to find anything that you possibly want, right? I mean, it's easy to search for it, it's easy to find it. It's easy to find someone who will sell it to you. It is super easy. Okay, so this means, this means a couple things for us, right? It means that, you know, we have to, you know, be a lot of places, right? But it means that we don't have to make it very difficult on ourselves trying to build an entire website to start when, you know it's going to be hard to find a single website. When they can find. When people can find you all these bigger websites, Very easy, okay? Very simple. So I think it's just something to note about that. Okay? And I do think the next part of this is what, when, when is that? First and second year, when is it time for you to get a website? So to me, getting a website is. It's time to get a website when you have started booking work, okay? When you, when you've started booking work through websites, through, you know, maybe even socials, but you started booking work. And the reason why, the reason why is because most voice actors that I talk to, most voice actors that I coach, most of the voice actors in v Journey academy, right, who have websites, I love all of them. But guys, honest truth, most of them do not most, I'd say probably 90, 95% do not put enough work into their websites. And what do I mean by that? I mean they make a nice website, but then after they make the website, they're done, they don't continue to add to it. So remember, when you think about it, if a website is a store, okay? And the store only works if there's traffic. If there's traffic driving by the store. That's why you don't see stores out in the middle of nowhere, because there's no traffic there, right? The best locations are where there's a lot of traffic. Now for online purposes, in order to get a lot of traffic, you've got to position yourself with the right keywords with the right amount of authority. With time, you've got to build a website that people are going to be able to search keywords, things they're looking for and that you are going to be recommended by Google. And now with AI, right, most of it is going to be taken from their websites, right, and given to the people without even going to the website links. And then those people find whatever that information is and then go to your website. You see what I mean? Now if it's more commercial, it doesn't necessarily do that, but informational wise, it pulls it and allows them to see what website it pulls that information from. So you have to think that if you are creating a one page website, the only way anyone is ever going to find that website is going to be if you send them a link. Think about it. No one will ever be able to find your website unless you send them a link. Because if someone's searching online, your one page website's not going to come up. Now, if they search your name, okay? And you've, you know, you had, you've had a website up for a while and this was the crazy thing. I've seen many websites of people with their names on it who still aren't found when their names are typed in, okay? Because their websites are not looked as a credible source and Google does not post them. And sometimes Google won't even have them on Google. Right? So that is one thing that I will say is an important part of this is that building a website without continuously adding to it, adding blog articles, adding pages, adding tools, adding things that people are going to be looking and searching for, you know, you're not going, you're, you're not gonna, there's no point to it unless you are actively emailing people your website address and you want people to go there. And here's another thing. If someone goes to your website, have you set it up to the point where it's easy for them to understand how it works, like how working with you works. So let's talk about that. So let's say you've been doing this for a couple years, all right, and you know you're ready. Or maybe you've been doing it for a year and you know, you've already started booking work through websites. You say, I'm ready for a website. I need to expand my business and grow. And I'd like to have a website because I would like to reach more people through Google search, through traffic coming to my website, okay? Because again, the purpose of having a website is either A, you're going to send people the link to your website, all right, or b, you are going to. And again, part of that is, and I will admit part of that is driving traffic to your website through socials. So you know, that that is, that is a very important point too, all right? But again, if you are at that place, we need to think about, okay, what is my website going to do? Well, I need my website to be able to accept traffic and turn that traffic into some sort of lead. And how I turn that into a lead is I gotta have some sort of contact form on there. I gotta have some sort of way for them to get ahold of me so they can tell me what they're looking for and I can give them some sort of quote, some sort of idea about what that cost will be to work with me. Also, how do they know how I work? Do you have on your website the process that you use? You know, think about it. Most, most people online, if you, I mean, if you don't tell someone clearly and concisely what your process is, meaning like, you know, you send me this script, I review it, send you a quote, you accept the quote, you pay 50% up front. I, you know, record the work, send it to you for approval, you send it back for revision, I send it to you for final approval, final approval, you pay the remainder of the 50% and we have a great day. Right? Like, do you like that or you know what I'm saying? Like, do you have a three step, four step, five step process? People don't know. They have no idea what to expect. I see so many voice actor websites where it looks great, is great picture of the voice actor, some, you know, some demos on there and a contact form, maybe some information about their studio, and that's it. There's no how to work with me or, you know, how's my process, what am I looking for? Here's things you need to know. You know, what, what is the how, what payment types do I take? I mean, think about that. I mean, if you're going through that, when you go to one of these bigger websites that's all laid out for them, it's very easy for them to purchase and that's done on purpose, you guys. Now, I'm not saying that you have to offer purchasing through your website, meaning like, you know, they click on a button and they can do it without, you know, you know, like, like a, like a Voices or a Fiver and Upwork, you know what I mean? Where it's like the website handles it all. Although that would be fantastic. And I recommend everybody try to do that if you can. But most people, you know, will send like an invoice, you know what I mean? Like a business, like an invoice. And they have to pay the invoice, which is fine as well. People have no problem with that because invoice software these days is so simple. People can pay with anything. You know, you can even set things up with Stripe and PayPal or even, you know, QuickBooks and all this other stuff that just. There's so many things out there that, that does so, so that's not an issue. But I'm just saying, do you have that planned out, June? I'm saying, you know, do you have. And does the people going understand it? That's what I'm saying. I try to do this and be better at it across all the businesses I run. And it's a. It's challenging because sometimes I feel like I'm doing good at it, sometimes I don't. Sometimes people, you know, it's interesting. I have found that the better I do this, I mean, just, I know this sounds silly, but the better I do this, the more business I get. And the worse I am at this, the more I'm standing around scratching my head what the problem is. You know what I mean? And why are people signing up? Like, is somebody signing up for the wrong thing? Is someone signing up? Like, you could start to see patterns or in this case, no one's signing up, no one's contacting me. No one's doing, you know, everything that you do, right, has some sort of piece of data attached to it. Like, if no one's contacting you, then clearly what that means, there's a variety of things that are not working. You know, people like, for example, are there. Is your website getting any traffic? Right? So if there's no traffic coming to the website, then why. You know what I mean? That's an issue. We've got to work on the website. But if there's traffic coming to your website and no one's contacting you, well, there's an issue. Then when they come to your website, it's not clear what they're either getting when they come to your website or what they need to do when they come to your website. Or, you know, you're not hooking them when they come to your website, something in the website's turning them off to not contact you, right? Then when they contact you, what are their questions? Are the questions the what you are looking for them to ask? Are they the right type of clients you're trying to reach? There's all of this data that you can gather from, you know, information on. On stats and statistics, you know, and analytics. Excuse me, from your website. And there's a lot of tools out there, free tools even, you know what I mean? Search Console, Google Search Console, you know, that's all free and that gives you great information about the traffic and analytics of your website. Used to be like Google AdWords and stuff like that, but Google Analytics. But now it's Google Search Console and things like that. So the point I'm trying to make to you is, is that a lot of people start a website because someone told them to start a website and, you know, they know they got to get their face on there, probably. Although a lot of people don't put their face on there because they don't want to take a picture. But don't forget, people who are working with you, no matter where you are, whether it's your own website or other websites, they want to see your face, even though the person listening will never know your name or never see your face. The people hiring you do because in their mind, they want to imagine who they're working with. So it's important for them to see your face. It's important for them to listen to your voice. It's important for them to know all these things. But most people just think getting up a website, it's like checking off a list. You know, I got to check off this list, I got to check off that list. And 90% of voice actors tend to get absolutely nothing. Zero. I think it's more, I think it's like 95 or above who get absolutely zero from their websites. Okay. And, you know, and so the point I'm trying to make to you is, early on, I said, why do you need a website up front? Well, that's the point. That's the reason why I say it, because the majority, like I said, 95 plus. And I would be. And again, when you talk, when, when there's a, when you see a couple people. Oh, I mean, I think about this. You never. And you never see anyone saying, oh, I got a job through my website today. It very rarely happens. I'll never forget early on, when I was starting out, I was in a website. I was in a Facebook group. And I remember they, I remember a prominent voice actor at the time was pushing a, a website, you know, like a, a website thing that he was pushing. I mean, I'm sure you all know who it is. He pushes a lot of different products. And, you know, at the time, I mean, you know, great respect for him. So I, I, I got this website, you know, and it was like, it was like 30 bucks a month or something, and they hosted it, you know, and, and it was like one page, right? And there's a bunch of people in a Facebook group, you know, thousands of people. And, you know, you'd go for a while. And I remember asking every, I mean, I did this poll, I think, where I asked. I was just interested. I was like, is anyone, anyone getting any work through Their, through their website and everyone that know no one's getting any work through their website. And it didn't dawn on like it dawned on me. I don't think it dawned on other people, but it dawned on me that, you know, is, is it, is it us? Is it the format? Is a one page website even worth it? Because again, if you're going to, if you're going to be the. Now if you were to come to me and said, Anthony, I am going to post three to five times a day, which again, you know me, I highly recommend you start posting to social media a lot. But if you're going to be like, I'm, but most people don't. I'm going to post three to five times a day. I'm going to be sending out, you know, 25 to 35 emails a day. I'm going to be contacting people, I'm going to be going all these places, I'm going to be getting my, physically getting, pushing my name everywhere. Then I need a website and I'm like, well if you're gonna be doing all of that, then yes, you should get a website. Will one page work in that scenario? It's better than not having a page. That's true. But most, again, Most people, high 90s are not going to do that. So people were not pushing out their name themselves enough. Because being on another member, if you're on other websites to grow your business, which again I highly recommend, when you're starting out, you're not going to be. They don't even allow you to put your website on there, you know what I'm saying? Because they're not trying to send them away, they're sending them to their website, they're keeping them. Right? Because they're not your clients, they're their clients and they're just hiring you as a contractor. So again I asked all these people and they're like, no, no, no, no one's getting any work. And I realized what are we doing? This website or the current form of how we were being told we should do it by some of these, you know, veteran voice actors or whatever coaches was wrong. It was not working. But they were making affiliate money off of it. And I don't have any problem with affiliate money at all. In fact, I think it's a great way to earn. But it was not working is what I'm trying to say. Right? Like it was kind of, you were kind of, I felt like we were being sold, you know, something that wasn't true. So I Went on this journey to understand way more about how you know, or what, What. What could I possibly do? The website. And I kept coming back to the realization or the reality of unless you are getting traffic or you're. Let's say you're. Or running ads or you're doing something that is sending mounds of people to your website, all right, that are. That are actually even looking to buy voiceovers. What is the reason of having a website other than to tell other voice actors that you have a website? Now, again, you could say, well, casting directors want to see that you have a website. I mean, okay, yes, I could see that. That's true. But casting directors aren't going to work with you if you're not getting work anyways. So. Okay, like, you know, tomato, tomahto. And again, casting directors are not going to work with you if you're brand new, no matter how good your website is. Okay? So I push back on a lot of that because it's just not true. There's a reality and then there's the pie in the sky, right? I was talking about this earlier with a student of mine today about the pie. Like, there's a reality of what is actually real, and then what is. I wish it could be real, you know, and there's nothing wrong with dreaming, right? That's why we're all here, is we had a dream to do this, but there's a reality of what actually is happening or is going to happen. And then there's the. I wish it would happen. That never happens. And everybody here knows what I'm talking about. You know, deep down you understand, right? It's like, I know it would happen if I just change everything about myself. Like, I know I could do it if I get up earlier, if I go to bed later, if I eat the right way, if I change my entire life, if I change my schedule, if I fix this and I change that and I. And I build some massive outhouse in the back that's gonna house my studio if I. Okay, yeah, it would change if you did that. But most of us aren't going to change our entire lives. I'm not saying we can't or that we shouldn't. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying there's a reality, but most of us can at least understand that and then take small steps to move forward, which, you know, one small step after another. Small step can make giant leaps, but making one giant leap at one time is very near impossible. Okay? And it's actually not that smart. Okay. So I think that where I'm getting with all of this, again, is the idea of having a website early on is unnecessary unless you are a person who is like, literally going to build that website. And your goal is, is to really build your business through your website. Right. Like, if your goal is to build your business through your website, then you absolutely need a website. Of course. But most voice actors are not building their business through their website. And, you know, that's a really good realization. Right. I think that's a really good way to phrase it. I'm going to use that. I'm going to use that. I'm going to use that in some other stuff in some shorter posts because I think that's the reality. Right. Are you trying to build your business through your website, or are you trying to build your business through other people's websites? I have often recommended voice actors start by building their business through other people's websites because those websites have reach. They're spending hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a month on ads. Right. Like there's traffic coming to them. They've got credibility. And no one knows you or I exist, but on those websites, we're able to be pushed to all kinds of people because of the website's credibility. That's very difficult when you start your own website and your own brand from nothing. Right. You have to. It takes time and a heck of a lot of effort. Well, it does anyways, whether you do it through other websites or your own. But I love that idea. Are you trying to build your business through your website or are you trying to build your business through other means? Whether that's other websites, whether that's social media, whether that's other things. Now, can you have competing or like, can they go together? Sure. But I hope that that makes sense. I think I'm going to shut up now because it's been a while and I think you guys get it. But I think that's the crux of the whole thing. And if your answer is, I just want to get work through my website, well, then clearly you need a website. But do I see that happening with the majority or any voice actors? No. In fact, I don't think I've ever met a voice actor who started their website and said, I'm just going to get worked on my website and just focus on my website and they get work. I've never seen one. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but it is very challenging to do that because you have to think about it. You've got to build something that no one even knows exists. Unless you. Now, if you're posting on socials and you start doing that, then that's help. That's very helpful and we'll talk about that maybe next time. All right, Is, you know, using socials to drive traffic to your website, or should you drive traffic to other people's websites? Because I've done both and I've got some crazy stories about that. All right, guys, thank you so much for listening today. I would give you some food for thought, but the reality is, is that you don't need a website to start off. However, if you have been doing this for a year or two, you know it is. And you don't. You do not have a website, it is probably time to start thinking about that as you do need always to expand your business. All right, so thank you guys so much for listening. I appreciate it. Make sure you, you know, subscribe, share this with another voice actor, and I will talk to you all later. All right, everybody, peace.