• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Nethervoice

  • Home
  • VOICEOVER
    • VO & Demos
    • Faq
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Career
    • Conferences
    • Dutch
    • Freelancing
    • International
    • Money
    • Media
    • Pay-to-Play
    • Personal
    • Promotion
    • Reviews
    • Studio
  • Contact

The New Nethervoice

Blog, Media, Promotion

the old layout

Surprise!

No more brown, blue and green.

Gone are the windmills in the background.

Good old Double Dutch had to make way for the new Nethervoice. It might take some time to get used to, but believe me: it was inevitable. Let me tell you why.

If you have your own domain, do you know how many visitors come to your website in a day or a week; how they found your site; what they were looking at during their visit and for how long they stayed before going somewhere else?

If you don’t, you are in trouble. It’s like owning a store and having no idea how many customers come in and what they’re interested in. You cannot manage what you don’t measure.

As I was going over the Google Analytics stats for nethervoice.com, I had an epiphany. It turned out that in the last six months over 50% of my visitors had used a mobile device to access my website.

With millions and millions of tablets and smart phones sold, that was not exactly a revelation. My epiphany came when I realized that my site was never designed with mobile devices in mind.

DRIVING BUSINESS AWAY

Nethervoice.com looked okay on a 20″ monitor, but on an iPhone it was dreadful. Important information was cut off, buttons had disappeared and it was very user-unfriendly. No wonder my bounce rate was way too high.

Unknowingly and unintentionally, I was driving most of my visitors (= potential clients) away!

Now, do you know what your site looks like on an iPad or an Android?

Would you like to know?

Why don’t you visit this site right now and type your url into the test field. You can select “width only” or “device sizes” to find out what others see when they look at your website using a mobile device. If you’re on a desktop, make sure you enlarge the screen all the way to the right to reveal the iPad Landscape setting.  

In my case the conclusion was crystal-clear: I would have to build a new site from the ground up. These were my criteria:

  • It had to be mobile responsive to allow my site to automatically change layouts according to the visitor’s screen size, whether on a desktop, smartphone or tablet
  • I wanted to maintain it myself
  • It had to have a sleek, professional look
  • It had to represent who I am and what I stand for
  • I wanted to open an online store and make my demos downloadable

My content management system (CMS) of choice would be WordPress. Because my old Double Dutch blog was WordPress-based, I already knew how easy it was to create pages with little or no knowledge of html code. If you’ve never worked with WordPress, here’s what you should know.

The look and functionality of a WordPress site is determined by a template called a theme. Right now there are thousands of themes available, but not all of them are mobile responsive. Most themes can be customized to your suit your needs and reflect your style.

Some templates are specifically designed for bloggers, photographers, restaurants, bands et cetera. Many themes are free, but premium themes cost anywhere between $35 and $100.

The theme you’re looking at right now is called ProMotion. Try changing the screen size manually and see what happens. You’ll notice that the layout changes but that the content remains visible.

EASY DOES IT

The functionality of a theme can be enhanced by plugins and widgets. For instance, the Subscribe box in the upper right-hand corner of this blog and the list of Popular Posts are both plugins. Once installed, they can simply be dragged and dropped to the sidebar as a widget. No programming experience necessary. Because this is open source software, you can choose from a database of more than 18,000 plugins!

The WordPress platform itself, as well as the themes and plugins, are regularly updated. When an update becomes available, it can usually be installed by clicking a button. It’s that easy. If you’ve ever worked with a more traditional CMS, this is like going from a stick shift to an automatic. And since I’m not a computer geek, I prefer automatic.

ENTER THE EXPERT

I do know my limitations, and to make sure the transition would be smooth, I asked Joe Davis to give me a hand. Joe knows WordPress inside out, and he recently helped Dan Lenard, the Home Studio Master, with his new site. It was particularly important to me that my entire archive of blog posts would migrate seamlessly. 

Before my new site went “live,” Joe uploaded the theme to his server and put the main building blocks in place. That way I could see what the site would look like as we worked on the individual pages. It’s almost like writing a book: you go through several drafts before coming out with a finished product.

I asked Joe about the biggest hurdle he had to overcome in this migration project. This is what he said:

When working with someone like you Paul, who has such a good understanding of what a website can do and brings out that functionality with plugins, it can be a challenge to make sure they all play nice with each other. The more plugins you have, the greater the risk of a conflict between some of them.

You work a lot with the WordPress content management system. What are the advantages of WordPress as opposed to the more traditional CMS systems?

This may come as a surprise to some of your readers but although WordPress started out as a blogging system, it has turned into the world’s most popular CMS. WordPress is a very fast, easy to use, robust framework to build a site in. With the enormous list of plugins available you can add almost any functionality you are looking for. The way themes are handled by WordPress also provides lots of flexibility for the creative folks among us.

With WordPress, web design seems to have become a lot simpler. But not everything is as easy as it seems. What are some of the things you recommend people get help with?

It depends on what the goal of the website is, but generally I would say the areas that people need the most help with are theme/layout design if they are creating a new design and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). On site SEO can be the difference between a great website that nobody sees and a great website that needs a new welcome mat because so many people have stopped by.

What basic mistakes do you see when you visit websites?

Everyone wants their website to be attractive but it is also important to remember why people are on your site. They are looking for something and that should be as painless an experience as possible. Many times I see websites that have huge beautiful headers with lots of pretty graphics. The problem is users have to scroll in order to see the content and must do so on every page. To add that extra step in order to get to the meat and potatoes, on a platform like the Internet where people decide if they are going to stay or leave within seconds, is not a gamble I’m willing to take. Other common mistakes include poor usability, content disorganization and lack of SEO.

Your main job has to do with SEO. Any tips for the uninitiated to improve their SEO?

There is so much you can do, but you will be ahead of most if you remember these life basics that apply just as much online.

If you are interesting, people will come talk to you! Content, content, content! If you don’t have good content, the search engines won’t give you much attention and humans won’t either.

Speak their language! What does someone do with a magazine they pick up that is in another language? Usually nothing because they can’t understand it (or maybe just look at the pretty pictures) but either way the text is lost. Often people will put important keywords that they want to rank well for… in an image. This is a big mistake. Be very careful what you put in graphics. Search engines can’t read anything that’s in an image and will ignore it.

You are associated with who you pal around with! Relevant inbound links are critical. Regarding linking up: Pretend you are looking for a date. Make sure that person is from nice folks with similar interests. If you are a voice actor don’t have your buddy with the real estate company link to you unless the page he links from has content directly related to your field. A link from an audio production house will have a much better result.

Where can people best reach you?

Well, let’s practice a little SEO here. Please visit us for more information about Voice Over Websites and Marketing. See what we did there? We created a relevant inbound link with relevant anchor text to a special page I created solely devoted to voice over that opens in a new window. And you linked to a relevant page which is good for your site. Everyone wins!

Meanwhile, why don’t you do some site-seeing and let me know what you think of the New Nethervoice. Your feedback is much anticipated and appreciated!

Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice

We could all use more clients, but where to find them? Next up, I’ll  offers you a counterintuitive strategy: stay under the radar!

Related Posts

  • You’re NOT a Professional Voice Over if…You’re NOT a Professional Voice Over if…
  • Nethervoice WebsiteWhy Your Website Stinks
  • TOP DUTCH VOICE ACTOR SINGS HIS HEART OUTTOP DUTCH VOICE ACTOR SINGS HIS HEART OUT
  • WHAT MAKES A GOOD eLEARNING NARRATOR?WHAT MAKES A GOOD eLEARNING NARRATOR?
  • WELCOME TO THE NEW NETHERVOICE!WELCOME TO THE NEW NETHERVOICE!
  • WHEN NORMAL IS SPECIALWHEN NORMAL IS SPECIAL
  • There’s a new VO show. Watch at your own risk!There’s a new VO show. Watch at your own risk!
  • Mr. Nethervoice is an arrogant HypocriteMr. Nethervoice is an arrogant Hypocrite

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Filed Under: Blog, Media, Promotion Tagged With: Dutch voice over, Joe Davis, making website mobile responsive, MicPort Pro, mobile responsive, Nethervoice, Paul Strikwerda, webstuff.com, WordPress

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elaine Singer says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:19 am

    How timely, as I am just getting ready to revamp my website and was considering using WordPress.

    I’m liking the look of the new site and it’s jam packed with great information. May it bring you much new business!

    All the best.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:00 am

      You were the first one to comment, Elaine. Thank you so much!

      I haven’t heard about hosting companies having trouble accommodating WordPress. They’d lose a lot of business if that were true.

      Loading...
      Reply
  2. Elaine Singer says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:23 am

    Oh, I almost forgot. When I spoke to someone about using WordPress, he mentioned that not all hosting sites can easily accommodate WordPress web sites. Have you heard anything about this?

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. Jane Ingalls says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:28 am

    Hi Paul, and welcome Nethervoice! Thanks for posting the link to test my site on different devices. I have some work to do!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:02 am

      The folks at studiopress did us a great service by developing that site. It’s simply staggering how many tablets are sold every day. Did computer stores turn into pharmacies?

      Loading...
      Reply
  4. Andrew Swingler says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:34 am

    Hey Paul. Great looking site! Clean and simple to navigate. Congratulations! He question though – you say there’s a box to subscribe in the top right corner but I don’t see it on my iPad. Did I miss it or does it not show on this device?

    Loading...
    Reply
  5. John Lano says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:44 am

    Hi Paul!

    I love the new site. I’m reading your blog and looking at your site from my iPad as we speak. It works very well. I have a question: I literally Just had mt website designed, http://www.VoiceOverGenie.com. It isn’t 100% mobile ready but also has avoided flash of all kinds to help the mobile experience. Are there any small things I can do to help mobile users without rebuilding my entire site?

    Loading...
    Reply
  6. Bryan Saulsbury says

    May 24, 2012 at 1:29 am

    Thank you for your insights! I am new to the V.O word and soaking up as much information as I can. I really appreciate the ones who have gone before and share their knowledge with those following in their footsteps, what a great industry.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:03 am

      It would be backward not to pay it forward, Bryan. I’m still learning each and every day. Knowledge that is not passed on and put into practice is useless.

      Loading...
      Reply
  7. Rich Owen says

    May 24, 2012 at 2:30 am

    Mic Port Pro is the greatest invention since sliced bread!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 24, 2012 at 6:42 am

      It’s a nifty little thing, isn’t it?

      Loading...
      Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:04 am

      But it doesn’t taste as good with peanut butter.

      Loading...
      Reply
  8. Paul Strikwerda says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:35 am

    Thanks for the feedback, Andrew. Your iPad is probably on Portrait. Try setting it on Landscape and the Subscribe box should show up. Let me know if this works.

    Loading...
    Reply
  9. Andrew Swingler says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:57 am

    You were right Payl. That column shows up in Landscape mode but not in Portrait mode. Yep, it’s an amazing little gadget.
    Someone posted a comment about not all hosting providers supporting WordPress. In fact WP is the most supported of he CMS’s and is included as an option in almost all control panel auto installers (Fantastico etc. ). It can be installed on Windows or Linux environments (the latter being preferred) as long as MySQL and PHP and a web server is present.
    My other comment is that as you alluded to earlier WP doesn’t have to look like a blog any more, rather it can support a sophisticated website that appears to be a custom designed CMS. I’ve designed many such sites, WP is a very powerful framework and I cannot recommend it more highly.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 24, 2012 at 7:00 am

      That’s good to know, Andrew. You had me a bit worried for a while. Thanks to you, I’ve added the instruction to put the iPad on Landscape to this article. According to Wikipedia, WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet’s “top 1 million” websites and as of August 2011 manages 22% of all new websites.

      Loading...
      Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:05 am

      It is true however, that the sidebar disappears on smaller screens. Well, that’s a small price to pay.

      Loading...
      Reply
  10. Andy Boyns says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:06 am

    You’ve done it again – made us think!!!!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:10 am

      Let me think about that for a moment.

      Loading...
      Reply
  11. Dan Lenard says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:14 am

    Joe Davis is the man when it comes to your website. I knew he would give Paul exactly what he wanted! The results speak for themselves!

    Mazel Tov Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 24, 2012 at 7:22 am

      I can’t thank you enough for recommending Joe to me, Dan. One night he even stayed up till 2:30 a.m. to migrate my site. I could not have done this without him. And did I mention he explains programming-related concepts in language even I can understand?

      Loading...
      Reply
  12. Billy James says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:21 am

    The value of Nethervoice has always been the content, not the look. But now the look is as good as the content. Well done, Paul.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:12 am

      Right now, I am very content with the look, Billy.

      Loading...
      Reply
  13. James Phillips says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:27 am

    Hartelijk gefeliciteerd, Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 24, 2012 at 7:28 am

      Hartelijk bedankt, James. I appreciate the touch of Dutch!

      Loading...
      Reply
  14. Jerry Reed says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:28 am

    As always I love your way with words and your practical view of the world of voice-over. You must be a master at “time management” to be able to do all that you do.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:14 am

      Time is something all of us have got the same amount of. It’s how we choose to use it that matters. I honestly enjoy writing and connecting with my readers. It’s a continuing conversation. Thanks for being part of it, Jerry!

      Loading...
      Reply
  15. Edwin A. Francis says

    May 24, 2012 at 7:56 am

    hi, Paul! Q.:if i’m subscribed via feedblitz and regularily get your latest, do i have to re-subscribe to The New Nethervoice? Kindest regards from The Eternal City. Edwin.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:15 am

      No need to resubscribe, Edwin. You’re good to go!

      Loading...
      Reply
  16. Jodi Krangle says

    May 24, 2012 at 8:11 am

    I’m really loving the new look, Paul! Nicely done! And I love the picture of you on the front page with the tulips. 😀 It gives the site – which is wonderfully efficient and clean – a bit more personality. I hope the new site brings you much business. 🙂 Oh – recently inherited an iPad2 from my dad, who upgraded to the newest iPad. I’ve been playing around with Twisted Wave and putting all my music on to Goodreader in PDF form. What a time saver! And so much easier to carry around for music performances than a huge binder. 😉 So being able to check that my site works on an iPad was priceless. Thanks for the studiopress link! All the best, — Jodi

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:28 am

      Joe D. was a terrific help, Jodi. He made sure I didn’t lose my entire archive of blog posts (among other things). In a few years from now, we’ll all be carrying our tablets, and a website that isn’t mobile responsive will be ignored. Enjoy your new toy!

      Loading...
      Reply
  17. Mike Rossano says

    May 24, 2012 at 8:16 am

    Great Job Paul !!-Always a Wealth of info…

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:30 am

      Thank you, Mike. If I would make a buck for every time someone clicked on my site, I’d be a wealthy man.

      Loading...
      Reply
  18. Mike McGonegal says

    May 24, 2012 at 8:29 am

    I too Paul, love the new look. Like Elaine, I’ve been mulling a revamp of my site and either using WordPress or doing it myself from scratch in DreamWeaver.

    …I think I’m leaning more towards WordPress now… 🙂 Keep up the great work!
    -Mike

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:33 am

      http://www.woothemes.com gives you the opportunity to try a theme out for free for 14 days. It’s a great way to see if you like it better than DreamWeaver.

      Loading...
      Reply
  19. John LaPiana says

    May 24, 2012 at 9:12 am

    After reading today’s blog, I had to check out your new site on my iPhone. It looks great & is so easy to navigate! I appreciate all the information you’ve shared about website design. It’s given me much to think about as I work on developing my own site. Keep up the great work Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:35 am

      Thanks for checking, John. I’m one of the few people on this planet who does not have a smartphone. I’m so glad to hear that navigation is easy. Are you using WordPress for your new site?

      Loading...
      Reply
  20. Don Griffith says

    May 24, 2012 at 9:13 am

    Well done, Paul! The new site is sleek and I appreciate you for sharing so much valuable info! I am not seeing a “subscribe” field when viewing with my android phone. it doesn’t matter if its in landscape or portrait mode.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 24, 2012 at 9:48 am

      Thanks for the feedback, Don. The sidebar disappears when using a smaller screen. After I read your comment, I added a link to the article itself which will take you to a subscription page.

      Loading...
      Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:36 am

      I’ve added a subscription link to the bulk of the post. That should do it.

      Loading...
      Reply
  21. Faith Coons says

    May 24, 2012 at 9:28 am

    I love the simplicity of your new website. I see how how your creative juices were to put work on getting more subscribers; overall great job! Thanks for always sharing great information to the VO World!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:39 am

      You’re so welcome, Faith. It’s amazing how much time it takes to keep things simple. It’s complicated 🙂 Since most people won’t get passed the landing page, I had to make sure my main message would come across. Right now I am very pleased to see that the average visitor spends 4 minutes and 30 seconds on my site.

      Loading...
      Reply
  22. Matt Forrest says

    May 24, 2012 at 9:28 am

    Looks great, Paul! I admit I Miss the old header – but the new site definitely looks cleaner and sharper.

    Once I complete my studio renovation (hopefully next month), I plan to begin a blog and have been considering using WordPress – not only because of its flexibility, but because I’ve heard from SEO experts that it does a better job of getting noticed by search engines (something to do with the way the text and content is structred).

    Thanks as always for the insight – and best wishes for continued success, my friend!

    Loading...
    Reply
  23. Jim Edgar says

    May 24, 2012 at 10:18 am

    Hey there Paul –
    very nice and clean presentation. And THANK YOU for the reminder to update the way my site deals with mobile visitors! That’s been on my to-do list for too-darn long.
    Always appreciate your sense of presentation and high quality presentation, whether in the studio or on the web. Thanks again!

    Loading...
    Reply
  24. Rowell Gormon says

    May 24, 2012 at 10:39 am

    nicely done, paul & joe. mobile compatibility is the next big challenge i face on my own website. seeing what you’ve done may help my own site builder meet that goal this summer. have been a regular reader, but consider me subscribed. thank you.

    Loading...
    Reply
  25. Helene Jaubert says

    May 24, 2012 at 10:42 am

    “LUV” your new look, feels like you just changed the sheets to your bed, now waiting for the “fresh linen” scented spray mist! (sniff, sniff!) Congrats!
    You are my inspiration Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
  26. Doug Jeffery says

    May 24, 2012 at 10:56 am

    Great post, Paul. Getting people to the site is only part of the battle. Good advice! The new site is great: clean and simple. And the Micport Pro is on my list, too!

    Doug

    Loading...
    Reply
  27. Herb Merriweather says

    May 24, 2012 at 11:22 am

    …insight, innovation and a fresh, new look! Another grand slam,Paul…

    Loading...
    Reply
  28. Randye Kaye says

    May 24, 2012 at 11:24 am

    love it – great clean look, indeed!

    I learned WordPress from a great place – wpacademy.tv – and while my VO website was done by the fab Artists Upgrade folks, the website for my book was designed in WordPress by me – benbehindhisvoices.com if you want to check it out. Always tweaking. congrats, Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
  29. Bob Bavnani says

    May 24, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Thanks, Paul for your generosity in sharing your views and opinions about this unique industry we are involved in.

    Since joining the Taji’s Voice Over Casting group on Linkedin, I have enjoyed your comments, but this is even better; keep ‘em coming, Paul. _ Bob _

    Technology surely has revolutionized how we do business in the 21st century. It’s all about the winds of change, just like your new website ( minus the wind mills).
    All the best
    Bob

    Loading...
    Reply
  30. Joanne says

    May 24, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    Thank you so much for all your posts/blogs. I have so much to learn and you really are helping! Thank you!

    Loading...
    Reply
  31. Marc Scott says

    May 24, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    I recently redid my site for similar reasons. Less clutter. More mobile friendly.

    Good job. The new site looks great!

    Loading...
    Reply
  32. Sam A. Mowry says

    May 24, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    Nice redesign. I especially liked the “See your website on different displays” link. I hope things continue to go well for you.

    Loading...
    Reply
  33. Steve Webb says

    May 24, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    Clean, sleek, contemporary, functional. I give the new site five stars. Congrats on a beautiful design, Paul!

    Loading...
    Reply
  34. Helen Lloyd says

    May 24, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Congratulations on the new site Paul – looking wonderful Paul – professional, sleek and unique – and still with your own personal stamp on it.

    Hope it is a huge success.

    H

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:43 am

      That’s the thing, Helen: we both know that having a nice window is not enough to run a profitable shop.

      People need to come in, stay a while, buy a few items, tell their friends about it and come back for more. If that’s not happening, a pretty facade is not going to make a career. At the end of the day, a sleek site is just a means to an end.

      Most solopreneurs realize that it does take time for a business to take off. Like a sapling, it needs constant attention. Success is hardly ever an overnight thing.

      Loading...
      Reply
  35. Scott Lyle says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    While I’ll miss the windmills too, the content will continue to be A+. Congratulations on the new design. I look forward to being able to read while out and about!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:44 am

      The windmills are in my mind, Scott, and they keep on spinning. Let’s see which way the wind will blow next Thursday…

      Loading...
      Reply
  36. Paul Cohen says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    Excellent website, and a great source of information !!!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:45 am

      Hi Paul, thanks for your kind comments. Form follows function, and I hope this site is as functional as it can get.

      Loading...
      Reply
  37. Peter K. O'Connell says

    May 24, 2012 at 9:10 pm

    Howdy pal!

    You done did spiff up the place real purdy like.

    I know the stress of that kind of refresh so congrats on the successful execution.

    Best always,
    — Peter

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:47 am

      As the guy who invented the guillotine said: “It’s all about the execution.”

      Thanks, Peter. Have fun at voice 2012!

      Loading...
      Reply
  38. Debbie Irwin says

    May 24, 2012 at 10:59 pm

    Mazel Tov!!!
    You always rock the house, Paul!

    Debbie

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 9:53 am

      My wife’s my rock and my soft place. I’m sure she’s glad I will have something else to talk about, other than the progress I was making on the site.

      But seriously, this process was exciting because it forced me to rethink what was essential and what wasn’t. I let go of a lot of info that was posted on my old site. Now I am studying the stats on Google Analytics to see if this new strategy is working.

      Loading...
      Reply
  39. Lee Pinney says

    May 25, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Hi Paul!

    I love the new site. Your timing is impeccable. I am starting to put together a new site for VO, and Video Production. I have been reading as many blogs as possible on the subject, and as I’m sure you can attest to, it’s not always easy to find quality content.

    Thank you once again for throwing out some great info, and saving us some valuable time on research.

    Best,
    Lee

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 10:09 am

      Glad I could help, Lee. I’m so glad I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel because Joe Davis already knew how to put things in place. He saved me so much time and frustration.

      Good luck with your news site. Will you be using WordPress?

      Loading...
      Reply
  40. Tami Romani says

    May 25, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    Good stuff, Paul – but now the secret is out! haha! I have a web designer for our construction biz (romaniconstruction.com) and when I talked to him about my VO site and sent him links to sites I like, he informed me that they were all using outdated flash technology and could not be seen on a mobile device! So I’ve been aware of this for a while. Still working on all the components, but hope to have tamiromani.com live sometime this summer.

    Have a great weekend!
    ~ Tami ~

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 3:56 pm

      The outdated flash technology seems to be a problem for free site-building sites like WIX too. All flash-based websites are practically dead to Google, Apple devices and screen readers. Flash doesn’t scale to screen size!

      Loading...
      Reply
  41. Lee Pinney says

    May 25, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    Without a doubt! I have been fiddling around with DreamWeaver CS6 far too long. I was first tempted to use WordPress after reading a friends blog (Marko Saric), but you just clinched the deal with this post.

    Thanks again,
    Lee

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 4:23 pm

      My pleasure, Lee. As Randye Kaye pointed out, http://www.wpacademy.tv offers courses and tutorials. You’ll find a lot of good stuff on YouTube too. Of course I highly recommend the service of Joe Davis. He has been invaluable to me.

      Loading...
      Reply
  42. Matt Forrest says

    May 25, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    I’ve never been a fan of Flash animation, anyway, only because I feel it gets in the way of what I’m trying to do – showcase my voice. Bells & whistles are nice, but I feel that by using Flash on my webside, I’m padding my resume. As I mention on my own website: “fancy Flash animation won’t help you hear my voice, and expensive graphics don’t make me sound any better.” I prefer to keep things clean & straightforward!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 5:32 pm

      It was on my mind when I thought of what I wanted the top of my landing page to look like. It’s not flash but there’s movement and it takes up premium space. So far nobody has voiced any objections and I like making a big statement right off the bat. Besides, it disappears on smaller screens.

      Loading...
      Reply
  43. Linda says

    May 25, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    Hey Paul,

    congrats on your new website 🙂 It looks just great!
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us… and now this beautiful MIC PORT PRO! I’m so excited until wednesday!

    Lots of suce$$ in your new phase 🙂
    Best,
    Linda

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 5:39 pm

      Thank you very much, Linda. I am so glad you like the new look.

      Loading...
      Reply
  44. Chris Camilleri says

    May 25, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Great site, Paul! Looking forward to the updates…

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 8:30 pm

      Hi Chris, thanks for stopping by. Have a great holiday weekend.

      Loading...
      Reply
  45. Rick says

    May 25, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    Paul,

    The site looks great! Congrats on the update. One might miss the color, but if it updates faster and works across the various platforms, that’s the tradeoff. That goes right along with the shortening “gnat like” attention spans of some readers who won’t wait for the flash to load.

    The allure of the Mic Port Pro is a good “here kitty kitty” drawing card as well.

    All my best,
    Rick

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 25, 2012 at 8:33 pm

      Hello Rick! Surprisingly, the interest in the MicPort Pro is underwhelming. Next time I’ll have to give away a Neumann U87 to get a few more subscribers…

      Loading...
      Reply
  46. Nancy German says

    May 28, 2012 at 6:34 am

    Hi Paul:

    Your site really highlights your experience and knowledge in a cutting edge way. Well done.
    Question, since I am trying to follow directions to win…: )
    What are the steps I can do to get into more markets? I am a seasoned pro, but stink at marketing!
    Thanks,
    Nancy

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 28, 2012 at 7:27 am

      That’s a short question requiring a long answer, Nancy. The good news is that I believe that voiceover marketing is not much different from any other form of small business marketing. It’s just a different niche. The bad news is that not everyone approaches voiceovers as a business. That’s a shame because there are tons of business books and trainings out there to help entrepreneurs market their services.

      I strongly believe that learning from the best in our business and other businesses prevents us from having to reinvent the wheel. Find a few role models and start by looking at what they do to market what they have to offer. If it works for them, it might work for you!

      Loading...
      Reply
  47. Jack says

    May 29, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    Nice redesign Paul. I’ve been using WordPress for years. great plugins for mobile, and so simple. Plus, you’re offering prizes! Count me in!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 29, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      Connsider yourself counted, Jack! Thank you so much for subscribing to my blog.

      Loading...
      Reply
  48. Reuven Miller says

    May 31, 2012 at 3:56 am

    Hi Paul,
    You’re looking quite dapper in this new suit. May it continue to “suit” your needs for a long time to come.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      May 31, 2012 at 6:17 am

      Glad to be a dapper Dutchman, Reuven. Thanks for your good wishes!

      Loading...
      Reply
  49. Lisa says

    June 2, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    Thanks Paul, for another exceptional post. I am just starting with wordpress for my voice over website and new blog, and am thrilled with the results. Some tweaking left to be done, but I am happy to see you have had so much success with it.
    Keep up the great posts my friend!
    ~Lisa

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      June 2, 2012 at 11:20 pm

      I will, Lisa. Please let me know when your site is up and running!

      Loading...
      Reply
  50. Bruce says

    June 3, 2012 at 3:40 pm

    Hi Paul,

    I’m casting my vote for NetherVoice 2.0, though I do wish that my computer would not lag so much when navigating the site.

    Also, I appreciate your articles regarding the Voice-Over/Voice-Acting industry. It’s good reading and good knowledge to have and build a base upon. Thanks!

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Paul Strikwerda says

      June 3, 2012 at 5:57 pm

      I’m glad you like the new look of the Nethervoice site, Bruce. Most people have told me it loads faster than the old one. I have a DSL-connection and it seems to be fine. Could it have to do with your computer, or do you think it has to do with WordPress?

      Loading...
      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blog Stats

  • 827,156 hits

Categories

Archives

Disclosure

In this blog I may discuss/review products or books that I believe are relevant to my readers. As a service to them, I often provide links to those products or publications.Instead of having a tip jar, Nethervoice is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In other words, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • HOME
  • VOICEOVER
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

Privacy Policy

©2021 Nethervoice // Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites

MENU
  • Home
  • VOICEOVER
    • VO & Demos
    • Faq
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • COACH
  • AUTHOR
  • Blog
    • Blog
    • Career
    • Conferences
    • Dutch
    • Freelancing
    • International
    • Money
    • Media
    • Pay-to-Play
    • Personal
    • Promotion
    • Reviews
    • Studio
  • Contact
%d bloggers like this: