WHY SHOULD I SIGN UP? WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

Designed by copywriters for copywriters, we market to copywriters and producers in advertising agencies – our focus is therefore on commercial work.

DO YOU CHARGE COMMISSION?

No. We work on a subscription basis & our rate is affordable (one gig per year will more than cover your subscription costs).

ARE YOU AN AGENT?

Do we wear cheap suits and bad cologne? The answer is no.

BUT WHAT IF I HAVE AN AGENT?

No problem. Just put down their telephone number instead of your own if you wish to work through your agent.

DO PEOPLE LOOKING FOR VOs CONTACT ME DIRECTLY?

Yes. They contact you via the telephone number that you provide.

CAN I CANCEL AT ANY TIME?

Yes.

IF I DECIDE TO JOIN YOU, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED FROM ME?

Three things:

1. A highly professional voice demo. Remember – copywriter attention span is zero, so no long poetic reads from Shakespeare.

2. A black and white photo (we know you’re in radio for a reason, but try make it a good one)

3. Your credit card details. We have to pay for our yacht somehow, you know.

CALL BACK IMMEDIATELY!!

If you get a message that someone is trying to book you for a
gig, don’t wait a minute. Ad agencies are usually up against
very tight deadlines, and if you take too long getting back to
them, they’ll simply book someone who is answering their
phone.

Is your demo good enough? You can promote yourself as much as you like, but if your demo ain’t great, you’re only ever going to get so far.

If it can be improved, or its a bit too short/too date/just plain not good enough… do something about it.

Try to get a good professional sound studio to do your demo - Mutiny, Windmill Lane, Beacon/The Base, Avondale…. there are many good studios, but use one that ad agencies use, to make sure they cut a good demo that is “commercial-friendly”.

Finding material to record a demo is always a pain in the hiney. I’m not sure how to spell hiney. But the best place to look is still the internet.  Go to www.tvads.ie or bestadsontv.com for a collection of ads.

The other thing you can do is go to ad agencies’ websites and look at the “work” section of their website.  Look under the radio and TV categories.

You can sometimes buy a collection of scripts on the internet, but every collection I’ve come across so far is a steaming pile o’poo.

Today’s tip is about improving your skill as a voiceover.  An easy way to do it, is to get yourself a dictaphone.  You can buy one at Argos for cheap as chips - or you can just use the voice recorder on your phone if it has one.

The idea is to practice a script, record it, and play it back. Repeat x 100.

You’ll be surprised at how enchanting/amazing/inspirational something sounds in your head versus the reality. The Dictaphone will give you a definite sense of reality - and you’ll know where you stand, and where to improve.

To find material, visit www.bestadsontv.com - there’s a radio and tv section. Try adding your own personality to some of the scripts you hear on the site.

To sign up click here

Piehole FAQ

Read our testimonials

The big loud voiceover-y voiceover guy is like a white rhino. He’s not extinct yet. But he’s a couple of bullets away.

Having started Piehole almost 3 years ago we’ve definitely noticed a trend developing that is moving away from that smooth-as-honey, slightly-fake-sounding, too-polished, style of VO. A fondness is developing for the more natural-sounding VO, specifically when it comes to commercial voiceovers. Even if natural sounds a bit unpolished and even slightly awkward - that’s more “real”.

Doesn’t mean to say that the super-polished VO is a complete thing of the past. There’s still plenty of work to go around for all styles. For now.

To sign up click here

Piehole FAQ

Read our testimonials