The voiceover industry is an amazing industry but it certainly has its challenges. One of the biggest challenges is where to find work right? Let’s strip it down to its bare minimum, we live in a world where working is a requirement and thus we have to pick a job. So why did we pick voice acting? I would guess that voice acting makes you happy. Isn’t that what it is all about? Being happy and embracing our lives? There is so much value we can add from being a voice actor, be it in the realms of voicing an impactful character that inspires children right through to making massive money and being heard globally like a superstar. Whatever your reason, it all comes back to fulfillment. So in this five-piece voiceover overview, we will look at finding work, where to train, and what fame looks like.
Voiceover Overview of Work
We have done a lot of articles on where to find work which you can read through any of the links in this section. Let us take a quick overview of all of them to help get you started. Before we delve in deeper though, I will first address some of these avenues that are more popular than others and additionally, I will go into biases too. Furthermore, it is essential to give you a full overview of what is out there.
Finding Voice Work With Agents
This is every voice actor’s dream. Enjoying a Mojito on their deck enjoying the California sun as the sound of waves gently glide across the beaches. Whilst there, they patiently wait for their agent and or manager to ring with the next job in sight. Sad news – that’s a fairy tale, sorry! Though an element of this is true with the biggest artists out there, ultimately even the best of us spend a considerable amount of time hustling in some way shape, or form. Be this in the forms of keeping social media fresh, networking events, press, or auditioning.
An Overview of Finding Voiceover Work Yourself
Google is your best friend! Reaching out to potential clients is a great way to grow your contact list. I would recommend not going in too strong though. Let us be honest, the person you are writing to is not short on voice actors. That means the ball is in their court, not yours. Make sure you do your research and make your email about them, not about you. Find parts of their work you like, look at clients they work with, and find something you share in common. Social media is a great way to learn about a company as well. On that note, we should discuss social media but before we do, I have one top tip for you. Do not give up after the first email, it takes a lot sometimes to catch someone’s attention. It is important to spread out your follow-ups as you don’t want to come across too pushy.
Voiceover Social Media
Everyone’s best friend! We all love social media, don’t we? No? That’s ok too – but we all spend a lot of time on it, right? Ok maybe not? It is great for you if you don’t, but maybe it’s time to start using it in a smart way regardless of if you are an avid scroller or not. Social media has so many different pages and groups with a mass amount of content on there. You need to discover these pages and grow them regularly. If you can spend a little bit of time each day on these pages you will be sure not to miss anything. Oh and here is one more great tip whilst we are on this topic; every person you connect and contact, you should add to your contact list, even if they don’t book you. A no today from a potential client could be a yes tomorrow. Think about the long-term possibilities with this and not the short-term – though it would be great if you booked the first time of course.
More to come on where to find work in the second part of this five-piece article.
A Full Voiceover Overview Part 1 by Alan Shires
