How Do You Start Voice Over With No Clients? What I'd Do in the First 90 Days

Someone asked me this on an Open Forum Friday live. If you were starting again from zero today, with no clients, no reputation and no existing network, what would you do in your first 90 days? It's a really good question, and it turned into an overview of how I'd build the whole thing again.

Where do you start if you have no clients at all?

With training, unless you already know what you're doing.

The first thing I asked was whether I'd know everything I know now, or have to learn it all again. That matters. When I started, I had to learn a lot. I had to learn how to record correctly and get better at using my voice. I had to understand editing and mastering my files, and how much treatment a room actually needs.

So if I didn't know what I know now, education would be the first part. It's a must. Think about it. There is nothing else out there where you don't get some sort of training, and voice over isn't the one exception. If you're new, a step-by-step plan for starting with no experience is a good place to begin.

Why does your studio setup come before marketing?

Because you can't do anything without a good setup.

In my mind, everything holds until my recording and my audio can go out flawlessly, or as close to it as I can get. Knowing what I know now, I'd know exactly what to buy and how to set it up, so I could put it together very quickly. If you're still working that out, get it done properly first. It's the base for everything else on this list.

Why join a community before you have any work?

Because going it alone is one of the fastest ways to get discouraged.

I've learned over the years that not being part of a community is one of the fastest ways to get depressed and lose human connection. I need human connection. That's me.

There's a practical reason too. What holds all of this together is your ability to stick with it when it seems like nothing is happening. You're doing all this work, and you don't seem to be getting leads. That's the challenge with this whole thing. Being in a community gives you the support to keep going. If you want to know why so many people stop, I wrote about why most people quit voice acting in the first year.

How many demos should you make, and where do they go?

I'd make 30 to 50, and I'd put them every single place I possibly could.

I know how to make my own demos, so I'd make as many as I could. Then I'd start with websites and put them up everywhere. I don't care whether it's paid or free. I'd put my profile up, and I'd make sure it's the same name every time. I'd blanket it everywhere, so there was no place you could go where you couldn't find me.

Fiverr is still on that list for me. You need to be on it, and remember, you set your own price. It doesn't have to be five dollars. If you've never made a demo before, start with how to make your first voiceover demo.

“All that stuff I just told you, that was building the infrastructure for people to know you exist.”

Anthony Pica, VO Journey Academy Live, 30 Oct 2026

What kind of website do you need with no clients?

A real one with many pages, updated every week, so people searching for a voice actor can find it.

One page does nothing. I'd start building out my website with specific blog posts, so people searching for voice over artists to hire could actually find me. I'd publish to it a couple of times a week. It would have good pictures and look professional. And I'd make sure I had a way to collect people's information.

Should voice actors get listed on Google Business and Bing?

Yes, and most voice actors never do it.

It isn't easy these days. I'd still do my best to get listed on Google Business and on Bing. I'd make sure I had these account profiles set up, so people could actually find me online. I don't think voice actors think this way. We think from the standpoint of acting. We don't think from the standpoint of what it means to run an online business.

Google is where most people search. But plenty of people use Bing and DuckDuckGo too, so you want to show up in all of those places.

What would you do in the first 90 days, step by step?

The setup and the findable stuff first, then getting out in front of people.

Here's the order I'd go in. It's my overview from the live, not a promise that it all fits in 90 days.

Where should you post on social media?

Everywhere, and always for the people who'd hire you.

Once all of that basis is set up, I'd build my social media. Not just the big ones like Instagram and TikTok. I'd be on Substack and Pinterest too, and every other place I need to be.

Think clearly about who you're actually targeting. I see a lot of voice actors on LinkedIn posting things for other voice actors. If other voice actors are the ones interacting with you, you're probably not posting the right stuff. Do it for the people who hire, and that goes for your website too.

How many emails a day should you send?

I'd send probably 30 to 50 emails a day.

Then I'd rinse and repeat. Build and keep adding. Keep updating and growing. Keep building contacts and emailing people. You'll need to set up a couple of different email addresses to do it. I'd be scouring the internet for opportunities too.

Do you still need to audition?

Yes. Auditioning is how most voice actors find work.

These days I want people to come to me, and I mostly audition for jobs that come to me personally. That's because I've been doing this for over ten years. When I first started, I had to audition nonstop, and if I started from zero I'd have to do that again.

Everything before this step builds the infrastructure for people to know you exist. Auditioning is part of how people find you before they know you exist. If you want places to start, here are sites to try for voice over jobs with no experience.

Why would you start a podcast?

Because interviewing local business people gets you known in your own community.

Even though we can work anywhere, don't forget local. Many of us live in or near really big cities, full of people who need voice over. I'd start a podcast interviewing business people in my community. Everybody wants to be on a podcast. Everyone loves to be interviewed.

You become known as the person who interviews people. Then you start putting voice over ads on your own podcast, because now you're getting noticed. For me, it's about building something that lasts a long time, and a business that goes beyond the next couple of years.

Should you run ads or hire help?

I'd seriously think about both.

A lot of people online will tell you that you can do it all for free. You can. But the road to doing it for free is challenging without running ads as well. I run ads for Academy Voices, our alternative to ACX, along with everything else I've described here. That's how the big sites do it too. You don't need their budget to compete for what you need.

I'd also hire people. There's only so much I can do by myself. I get a lot done, but if I ever want to go on vacation, the business still has to continue without me.

And decide how much you want to do yourself. Maybe you want to focus mainly on your performance and audition through the casting sites. Maybe you want to do it all yourself. There's a middle road too. Everybody's different.

Frequently asked questions

What to do next

Pick the step you're on and finish it before you jump ahead. If you're still on step one, sit in on a class and see how we train. You can also watch the whole answer on the live.