Am I Ready To Be A Voiceover Artist - Why Not
Aug 24, 2020Have you ever looked at a man-made marvel of engineering and thought to yourself, what a spectacular piece of machinery?
It could be an iconic military aircraft or the latest Tesla electric supercar or even the latest Thermo mix!
Whatever your ‘whizz-bang’ unit is: I think you’ll agree, all the components of the spectacular unit you're thinking of, have to work together in perfect synergy, each piece of the machinery singing in pitch, all of the components and cogs relying upon the other in perfect wizz bang fashion…
It’s a little like your voiceover business.
Now, to be fair, voiceover businesses usually don’t start out that way, however, in order to really ‘stake your claim’ and stand out in the voiceover market, you need eyeballs, followers, clients, return business, etc and the only way to make that happen is to get all your ‘cogs’ or components whirring consistently and in harmony.
Understand, this will take work and it won’t happen overnight.
Success in voiceover, as in any business, takes regular, consistent effort.
Asking the right questions is everything and we should ask "How" not "Why"
-
Asking the right questions is everything and we should ask "How" not "Why"
How do I make this business happen?
How do I get the training required?
How do I get the equipment I need?
All fair questions and they all have fair answers which are usually different and evolving based on where you currently are in your voiceover journey.
It’s ok to be at the start of your journey, or you may have been in the business for a long time and you’ve realized you need to turn your efforts into a business rather than a hobby… If so, read on as there’s room for everyone in this article irrespective of where you currently are...
-
This is a business
Did you ‘step’ into voice over primarily because you wanted to work really hard for little return in the early years and ‘slog away’ doing unsuccessful audition after unsuccessful audition to run your own business? Probably not…
Someone probably said:
Hey! You’ve got a nice voice… you should be in voiceover! Right?
It’s a common path. However, however you got your start in this is a business, you’ve probably worked out by now, in order to stake your claim, your voiceover journey takes consistent effort as does any business to ‘stand out’ in your chosen field, and set yourself apart from the competition around you. It takes marketing, coaching, and education in the craft of audio and production, learning your interface, etc.
-
Learning the craft
As I’ve already mentioned, marketing, coaching, and education in the craft of audio and production learning your interface, etc are all very important components to running your business and are something you’ll continue to hone as you go… If you’d like help in the learning of your craft... Voice Over Coaching Here.
“Acting is the bedrock of performance, but as a business owner, your business has to be the bedrock.”
If we can’t act, we’re lost as a voiceover talent. There was a time when being an announcer was enough, but that ship has well and truly sailed… In order to survive these days you need to be in tune with current trends, casual and conversational in tone as no one wants to be sold to: it’s all about engagement these days and the quickest way to get your ‘chops’ in this particular area is by getting a Coach that can help you.
Keep in mind though, ‘running the business’ and getting your demo in front of clients is paramount to a successful voice over business, irrespective of how wonderful or confident and conversational your sound.
-
Finances
Building your client base takes time, this is not a get rich quick type of business.
With the right marketing though, and a level of sticking to your plan and being consistent, success will invariably follow good habits! Keep at it and you’ll get there.
Oh, and don’t give up your day job until you are well and truly established and you are making far more than you could work for the man!
-
Equipment
Equipment is always in a state of flux as we all seem to love buying new mics and interfaces as we earn more money and can afford to splurge a little, however, there’s no reason you couldn’t set yourself up with moderate quality gear and use that for the rest of your voiceover journey, hard to do though, as there’s always a new toy or plugin or microphone or interface, etc.
-
Coaching
I believe coaching usually comes pretty close to ‘last on the list’ when talent starts out on their voice over the journey, however, If you got some coaching earlier it would be such a help to know what to disregard and what to focus on. There's never really a voiceover fast track, but good coaching adds to the bedrock of your business we mentioned earlier… Ever been to an uncoached accountant? What about an uneducated doctor?
I think I’ve made my point… Coaching required? Yes, it is!
-
Demos
When it comes to demos, my advice would be to get as high-quality demos as you can afford as soon as you can because you want to be seen in the best possible light.
You can also learn to put a fairly decent demo together yourself pretty easily which is certainly a more economical option initially.
Remember to change or re-record your demos at least once every 6 months when you are learning, as you’re improvements are apparent pretty early once you get to know your system and as your Microphone technique improves, so you don’t want to be misrepresented with a poorer quality demo when you’ve drastically improved!
-
Putting it all together
Once you’ve got all the ‘cogs’ in place, you have all the components that need to be turned into a business plan and worked on a week to week in order to create a business that’s really worth something! It starts and finishes with CONSISTENCY. Remember to be consistent and keep at it, build those good habits and you’ll see returns and successes sooner than you’d think!
To your ongoing voiceover success,
Anthony Pica
