The saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. And I would venture to say that most of us are failing to plan right now for success in our voice over business. 

Lack of planning is the most evident characteristic I have seen when it comes to my successes and failures. And after working with so many voice actors, I can safely say that we are all struggling in this department. 

So, what is a plan, really? Why should we have a plan for our business? And what should the plan be?

Let's take a look at each of these:

1. What is a plan, really? 

A plan is a series of steps, that when completed in order (the order can vary), will lead you to the destination/goal you are trying to reach. 

What's funny about this definition above is the simplicity of it, yet we all know how difficult it can be to plan. To start, you have a goal. That goal involves moving forward towards something tangible. 

Because goals involve...

I mean, why would you want to jeopardize the quality of your audio if you can afford to make it great? 

Q: I have done voiceover in the past, but I want to get back into it, what do I need to do now?

If you’ve decided to take a fresh look at the voiceover industry before you pull on your togs and flippers and dive in head first, here are some important aspects to consider, to help you navigate the ‘white water rapids’ on your VO Journey...

Agents vs. Online websites

Once upon a time, or 20 years ago, or so... it was ‘virtually impossible’ to find and book work in the voiceover industry without having agent representation, as agents and advertising agencies held the keys to voice rosters and casting calls with major corporates and they also had the ‘last word’ on whether you’d work or not… Let’s take a look at the role of the current day agent and whether you need one to be a voiceover artist...

What are agents and what do they do?

Q: How do I find contacts?

1. Start by Using Google to locate video production, audio production, and other production studios across the country…  and once...

• There’s lots of work available at any given time which is great practice for the new and upcoming VO talent.
• It’s a great way to get some income rolling in right off the bat…
• Unlike the average voiceover project which tends to be a ‘one-off’ job, you have the added bonus of being able to pick up royalty payments on a book that sells well! Imagine if you were to score, say, the next Harry Potter series?

Note: Ensure you read the book you’re narrating before you start to record… or at least skim through to the end, as...

I was ‘slapped in the face’ by an advertisement on social media this week that went something like this:

Never buy another voiceover again! 

Download and subscribe to (insert product name here) For the low, low introductory price of 67 dollars for a lifetime subscription and you’re set for any type of voiceover you require…

Initially, I was a little concerned…

Is it possible? Is it time to sell my Microphone? Have they finally done it? Have I been replaced by an AI voice that is indiscernible as completely synthesized? 

Have they finally caught up with Humanity and made AI sound natural?

In my humble opinion, what we’re dealing with is just another form of competition entering the voiceover market and by my limited research I’d say at this stage there are lots of ‘big hats’ at the rodeo, but not a lot of cattle.

Read on young Jedi, to get ‘the scoop’ on what I’ve discovered...

What is AI for...

Voiceover: Can I REALLY leave my job and go full time?

(Can I really work from home and make money?)

It’s a thought that goes through the minds of all voice talents especially in the early days of our careers, and it can also be seen to ‘revisit’ our thoughts if a voice talent hasn’t established a robust business plan or if you lose momentum in your consistency or business generation habits and strategies...

A trip back in Voiceover History:

If we were to step back a little, we wouldn’t have to go too far back in time to where voice talents relied entirely upon their relationships with sound engineers, production studios, and their talent agents to provide auditions for voice over jobs and projects.

Agents and production studios were the ‘starmakers’, and without them and their support, you couldn’t possibly have a successful voiceover career.

In those days, the ‘select few’ were on the roster of advertising...

New to SEO? 

Wanting to know why it has any bearing on your Voiceover business?

Given SEO is a huge subject, I won’t pretend to know it all or give you all the ‘super tips’ in this one article, but what I will attempt, is to try to ‘lift the veil’ on the mysteries of SEO for voiceover and why it’s an ever-growing important consideration for yours, and any service-related business.

Let’s start at the very beginning with the most obvious question of all:

What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a process by which any digital content you’ve created can be ‘optimized’ or made more visible for particular and specific searches on the web… 

Simply, to make you and your business easier to find and more exposed to website algorithms or formulas, try to place the most popular searches first and directly in the hands of anyone searching for them!  

Here’s a simple but human example of how SEO...