It’s a business. Do you know how to run a business? It’s hard. It’s a huge undertaking that consumes a large part of your identity. Make a website, make profiles on VO sites, market, get testimonials, maintain a blog, reach out to experts, market, get into conventions, perhaps start a podcast, MARKET, etc. Do it all, and then some, until you get results. Then keep doing it. But remember, this also means creating a legal entity, keeping books, building an invoice system, marketing your ass off, and paying taxes among many other responsibilities, should you be so lucky.
In Voice Over, You’re Selling You
You’re a salesman first and foremost, particularly if you’re selling yourself as a commercial voice. Your product is, of course, your voice. Learn all the necessary skills to make this product. Go to market with this product. This is your job. Recording a job in a booth is a benefit to this job. You also includes your gear, so also be prepared to get into audio gear, a lifelong obsession.
If your product sucks, it will fail. Your product (voice) should be good, meaning that it solves the casting agent’s/casting director’s/client’s problem. Figure out what that means and then deliver it. There are a million books and blogs on the subject. Read them. Practice. What is it, 40,000 hours before you’re really good at something? Get going on that.
Self-Awareness Brings Focus to Your Efforts
Knowing your limitations is great, but don’t limit your options. I do audiobooks, commercials, cartoons, podcasts, video games, industrials, corporate training videos, museum tours, corporate retreat openers, toys, medical simulations, wearable apps, documentaries, film trailers, and whatever else people start needing voiceover for (in addition to live and on-camera acting, singing, writing and performing music, audio engineering, and modeling).
Learn how to perform, study acting, and you can do any kind of voice over work. It helps to be a musician, perform theatre and improv; to record, edit, and mix audio like a professional is also pretty crucial.
Voice Over is Not a Side Gig
If you’re not full time or close to it in the beginning, you run the risk of progressing too slowly and losing interest or hope. It’s a lifestyle choice, not a job. You need to be able to commit to it.
There’s work out there, I know that much. You just have to find it, convince the client you’re the best one to do it, do the job, and get paid. Do that a ton for a long time for a lot of different people and you’ll be a voice actor.
<3
Rex