What Does It Really Take?
There are so many variables involved in the process of becoming a successful voiceover artist that it's impossible to predict success. It can take anywhere from several months to several years, depending on your experience and dedication. It's also unrealistic to think that you'll become successful in a few weeks or months. You need time for your voice and performance to mature and develop its own unique sound. This takes time!
Investing Time, Money, and Effort into Building a Successful Voiceover Career
To be successful, you need to invest time, money, and effort into building a career in voiceover. This can be done by:
Hard work
Due diligence (researching the industry), and
Setting realistic goals that are within your reach
Respect the voiceover industry as a legitimate business, and you will gravitate toward practices that will enable your success.
Finding the Right Training and Coaching
Once you've decided to pursue voiceover, the next step is finding the right training and coaching. Investing in coaching and training will allow you to refine your performance skills and learn how best to market yourself. There are many different programs out there that offer different services at different prices. It's important to do your research before committing yourself to any one program or coach so that you know exactly what you're getting into and whether or not it's worth your time and money. Most reputable coaches will offer a free consult, so take advantage and find one that you resonate with for the most optimal learning experience.
Have a strong work ethic, be relentless, do the work, even the work that you may not want to do.
Gaining Experience
Embarking on the path to voiceover success begins with acquiring valuable experience. You can't expect to be great at something without putting in the time and effort required, so it's important that you practice your craft regularly.
Concentrate on building up your portfolio by taking on as many different voiceover jobs that you can. This will help you gain a better understanding of what genres you excl in, as well as what it takes to succeed in this field, and give you an opportunity to showcase what makes you unique as an artist.
Marketing & Networking
Marketing and networking are two of the most important aspects of being a successful voiceover artist. If you're not marketing yourself, it's unlikely that anyone will find you or your work. You may be able to get by with only one or two clients at first, but as time goes on and your reputation grows, more people will become aware of who you are and what services you offer.
To market yourself effectively:
Develop an online presence (website + online casting profiles)
Reach out to potential clients via email or phone call. VO BOSS has a great product called the BOSS Blast that can help you to do this.
Utilize social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Managing Finances
While you're getting your voiceover career off the ground, it's important to understand the costs of running a business and set up a budget. This will help you avoid unnecessary spending and make smart decisions about how to invest in equipment and software.
When starting out, it's best to keep things simple by using free or low-cost options like Twisted Wave on Mac computers or Audacity on Windows machines. Use a walk-in closet with clothing as a starter studio (Google "Voiceover Home Studio setup" for ideas). As you gain experience, consider upgrading performance skills by investing in additional coaching, or upgrading to a more advanced studio set up, or even looking into a more powerful editing software, such as Adobe Audition or even Pro Tools - these programs offer powerful features that will allow you greater efficiency and flexibility when editing audio files.
Conclusion
Becoming a successful voiceover artist takes dedication and hard work. It's important to invest in coaching and training as well as understanding the business side of voiceover. It can take time before you see a return on your investment, but if you stick with it long enough, the rewards of being your own BOSS and doing hat you LOVE, will be worth it!
Thanks for reading!
Keep on rocking your business like a #VOBOSS
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About Anne Ganguzza
Recipient of multiple Voice Arts Awards for Outstanding Narration Demo - Anne Ganguzza is California-based Voice Over Coach and award-winning Director & Producer specializing in target-marketed voiceover Demo Production. Anne's production team creates SOVAS-nominated demos across several genres, including Commercial, Corporate Narration, and eLearning, and her VO BOSS podcast is the winner of SOVAS Outstanding Podcast in 2022.