June 13, 2024 • 20 mins
One of the problems with voice over advice on YouTube and in general is that it often comes from successful people.
Stay with me.
Among the things it takes to be successful is time. So, the people that are successful today started years and often decades ago.
And the problem with that is voice over is a very different business than it was 30, 20, 10, even 5 years ago. And so many of the strategies and paths and techniques that made successful voice actors even in the 20-teens don’t apply today, here, now, in the mid 2020’s and beyond.
If you’re just getting into the business today, that’s a problem.
So today I’m going to tell you exactly what I would do if I were a new voice actor. I’ll give you the timeline and how I would spend my time, money, energy, attention.
I’ll tell you what tools I would use, gear I would buy, and just as importantly, mistakes I would not make that rookies today make often.
Recommended Beginner VO Facebook Groups:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vofreedom
https://www.facebook.com/groups/756101365897795
https://www.facebook.com/groups/533192523873076
https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalvoiceovertalent
https://www.facebook.com/groups/themicrophoneinsider
Training Guide for Beginners: https://youtu.be/dKocFpjubt0?si=m2nVo5Jzcnn1XEi5
Download Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/
Audacity Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=audacity+tutorials+for+beginners+
Mike Russell Audacity Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlzOb4OLj94
Blue Yeti Mic on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aYnPQo
Why NOT to DIY Your Demo: https://youtu.be/uVsjXQYseHM?si=Xub3tnrEFS2MVOJ-
VO Booth Besties: https://www.youtube.com/@VOBoothBesties
and https://www.boothbesties.com/podcast-library
Synco D2 Microphone: https://amzn.to/45kuX8s
Steinberg UR22 Audio Interface: https://amzn.to/4b2JqXP
The VO Freedom Master Plan: https://vofreedommasterplan.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well, one of the problems with voiceoveradvice on YouTube, and I guess in general,
is that it often comes from successfulvoice actors.
Huh?
Well, duh, Paul, why would we take advicefrom idiots?
One reason is, there's a few out there.
Stay with me.
See, among the things it takes to besuccessful is time.
(00:20):
So the people that are successful todaystarted years, often decades ago.
And the problem with that is voiceover isa very different business than it was 30,
20, 10, even five years ago.
And so many of the strategies and tacticsand paths and techniques that made
successful voice actors even way back inthe 20 teens, they don't necessarily apply
(00:45):
today.
Now, here in the mid 2020s and beyond.
And if you're getting into the businessnow, today in the mid 2020s, that's a
problem.
So today, I'm going to tell you exactlywhat I would do if I were a brand new
voice actor.
I'll give you the whole timeline and how Iwould spend my, not just my time, but my
(01:06):
money, my attention, my effort and myenergy.
I'll tell you what tools I would use, whatgear I would buy.
And just as importantly, I would tell yousome of the rookie mistakes that I made
that I wouldn't necessarily make again ifI were a new voice actor today.
So if I were a new voice actor today,right now,
The first thing I would do is spend threeto six months doing research.
(01:31):
Wow, that's so sexy, Paul.
I'm all fired up to become a voice actorand you're telling me to do what again?
Research.
Absolutely.
I stand by this 100%.
Look, before you spend a dime, before youeven figure out whether voice acting is
something you want to do on any level,hobbyist or pro, you need to find out just
(01:52):
what the hell it is you're getting into.
So how do you start to do that?
I recommend joining multiple Facebookgroups for voice actors, specifically for
newer voice actors.
Do that and spend a few weeks, couplemonths listening, lurking and learning.
Okay, so what Facebook groups should youjoin?
(02:12):
I'll put the ones that I recommendspecifically in the description and show
notes with this episode.
Why start this way?
Your job for the first three to six monthsis just to get
oriented.
Start learning who the reputable coachesare and are not.
Just because somebody has a big assYouTube channel doesn't mean they're a
reputable coach.
(02:32):
The reputable coaches will eventuallythrough repetition come up over and over
and over again in the VO groups.
And as you can currently begin to formrelationships in these groups, you can
then start to ask around a little bit inthese groups about the coaches names that
do come up over and over again.
Do your research.
Ask around.
Step two.
(02:53):
coaching.
I would not jump into the deep end of thepool at first when it comes to coaching.
And while your goal, yes, is to find areputable coach that's a good fit with
whom you can get your initial baselinetraining, understand that reputable
coaching is not cheap, nor is it fast.
And so if you're going to enter into arelationship with this person, you better
(03:15):
spend a good amount of time vetting forfit, vetting for budget, so that you can
find one that's not only reputable, but agood fit for you.
Start in the shallow end of the pool,sample around with different coaches and
different coaching companies.
And by the way, understand that you're notlimited to your hometown to find coaches.
Online coaching is a thing.
(03:35):
And in fact, it's the predominant way thatvoiceover performance coaching is
conducted today.
Take some workshops, take some one -offclasses.
Many coaches offer either a free consultor they'll let you do the first class
without any further commitment.
And this is the best way to sort of samplearound and sample a coach and get a...
get a sense for who they are and whattheir teaching style is and how you vibe
(03:57):
with them and does what they say makessense to you intuitively.
I'd spend a couple, two, three monthssampling around and trying to get that
sense of fit, trying to get that sense of,you know, who gets you best.
And then when you find one, then startthinking about a commitment.
Okay, so what am I committing to?
Good question, glad you asked.
First of all, there are multiple, multiplegenres of voiceover and you need to start
(04:22):
figuring that out.
There's commercials and audio books andvideo games and animation and promo and
medical narration and dubbing anddocumentaries and in show narration and on
and on and on and on.
Start with the basics.
If you know you want to do audio books,then start looking for an audio book
performance coach.
If you're maybe not so sure what you wantto do yet, I might recommend these two
(04:45):
genres, commercial,
and corporate narration.
Commercial will teach you acting andperformance, which will make everything
you do from then on even better.
And corporate narration is plentiful.
There's a lot of it out there and itcounts for a lot of work.
Now, let me be clear on this point.
It takes months, not weeks, not a weekendwebinar to get baseline competent as a
(05:08):
voice actor, period.
You should expect to train consistent,meaning...
at least twice a month for ideally eightto 12 months with a reputable coach.
That's likely to run you $150 to $200 asession.
I would budget overall about $4 ,000.
That should get you 20 to 25 sessions witha good coach.
And if you're training with your coach,let's say twice a month, like our first
(05:32):
example, that gets you 10 to 12 months.
Now, should you commit to a full yearsfull of coaching at once?
No, not necessarily.
Most coaches will let you book session tosession.
Some will give you a discount if you booka certain number of sessions with them.
That can save you money overall.
But don't feel like you should be made tocommit to on one hand several months with
(05:53):
a coach.
But on the other hand, if you find a coachthat you do feel like you've got a pretty
good fit with early on, then stick withthat coach.
Now, you need to pay especially closeattention here.
There are coaches.
and companies that will advertise craplike, you can be a successful voice actor
in 90 days with no experience necessary.
Want to learn voice acting in under 30days?
(06:15):
Look at me.
Look at me.
Do not walk.
Run away from these people.
This is complete unadulterated bullshit.
Again, it takes months, not weeks, notdays to become a competent voice actor.
Do not repeat.
Do not yet think about a demo.
until you're at least baseline competentin your craft.
(06:36):
A demo will do you as much good as abicycle.
Your mission is solely, your focus shouldbe singularly for that first year to get
as good as you possibly can at voiceacting.
Training with your coach, taking actingclasses, taking improv classes, a lot of
which by the way are free or low cost atyour local community college or places
(06:57):
like community centers.
Now, if you're new and you want a completeguide to training for newer voice actors,
click on this video here.
And if you're listening to us on the audiopodcast, I'll put that link in the show
notes.
Now at the same time, as you're learningthe craft of voice acting, you'd also need
to start learning to record and edit.
Assuming you already have a computer,you'll need a mic and some software.
(07:18):
Go and download an app called Audacity.
Again, link in the description and shownotes.
It's free and it's fantastic.
After that, search Audacity tutorials forbeginners.
You'll get a whole playlist on YouTube.
Start with this one here.
by Mike Russell.
And finally, you're going to need astarter microphone.
Go get yourself a Blue Yeti microphone.
It's a USB mic and will plug straight intoyour computer.
(07:40):
It's 99 bucks on Amazon and the link is inthe description and show notes.
Now as an Amazon affiliate, I earn fromqualifying purchases, but you don't have
to get it on Amazon.
You can get it anywhere.
This is not, repeat, not a pro level mic.
So why do I recommend getting the $99cheapie?
Because you're brand new.
You don't even know if you like voiceacting yet.
(08:02):
Why drop hundreds of dollars when all youneed to do right now is to record
yourself, be able to get that audio intoyour computer, edit it with the free
software, and be able to listen back toit.
You can always upgrade if and when youneed to.
Practice recording.
practice editing, practice listening backto yourself every damn day.
Finally, you need a space in your home torecord that doesn't sound like you
(08:25):
recorded in a bathroom on the turnpike.
Ideally, if you have a walk -in closet,record in there and leave the hanging
clothes in there because they will helptreat the space and dampen the sound so
that you don't get any echo reverberation,what we sometimes call slapback.
If you don't have a walk -in closet, butlet's say you have a very small bedroom,
you can use things like
(08:45):
moving blankets and mattress toppers tohelp treat the space, treat the walls,
treat the ceiling, get a cheap rug, treatthe floor.
Step three, it's finally starting tobecome time to think about those first
demos.
If at this point you still love voiceoverand you think it's something that you
might want to do professionally, towardthe end of your initial baseline training,
(09:09):
you're going to start thinking about yourdemos.
Do not in red capital letters produce yourown demos.
for a myriad of reasons why, watch thisvideo right here.
Remember that process that you researchcoaches with?
Well, you're gonna use it again for demoproducers.
You're gonna research them just like youdid coaches.
Now one great tool that has only comeabout fairly recently, I highly recommend
(09:32):
the VoiceOver Demo Producer Series on thepodcast, VO Booth Besties.
They have a podcast and they have aYouTube channel.
I'll put both of those links in thedescription.
This is the best.
demo producer research tool I know ofwhere you can start to get to learn who
some of the reputable producers are, howthey work, learn about the demo production
(09:53):
process overall.
And again, we're using roughly the sameprocess.
Start talking to these, reaching out tothese people, see if you can have an info
session with each one of them, interviewthem, find out a little bit about how they
work and what their process is, what theyexpect from you.
what you should expect from them.
All right Schmidt, what's this gonna costme?
Well, it's a pretty wide range.
Expect reasonably to pay between athousand and $2 ,500 per demo.
(10:16):
So if you trained in commercial andcorporate narration, expect to spend
between two and five grand on your firsttwo demos.
Now, once your demos are done, or even asyou're producing your demos, you're
approaching the time where you're gonnastart to...
look for paid work.
So before you do your demos is a good timeto upgrade to your first basic pro level
(10:41):
XLR connection microphone with a separateaudio interface.
That's a separate box that you plug yourmic into and that box plugs into your
computer.
Now,
There are dozens and dozens and dozens ofchoices here, and there really is no
standard recommended mic or audiointerface for everybody because
everybody's voice and everybody'srecording space is a little bit different.
(11:05):
But assuming you're starting out, assumingyou're in your first year or so, and
assuming you don't have a professionalgrade recording studio in your home, your
space is going to be less than ideal.
And for that reason, I typically recommenda shotgun microphone.
Sounds dangerous.
but it's not.
A shotgun mic, this is a shotgunmicrophone.
(11:25):
It looks like, well, the barrel of ashotgun, right?
This particular shotgun microphone, Ihighly, highly recommend.
It's called the Synco D2, S -N -Y -C -O-D2.
A shotgun mic will help mitigate ambientnoise, such as my office here, which is
not a treated space.
This Synco is a professional mic, has anXLR connection on the back here, one of
(11:49):
these.
It'll run you 200 bucks on Amazon and itsounds really, really good.
And lastly, you'll need what's called anaudio interface.
This is a small box into which you willplug your mic and that box will then get
plugged into a USB port on your computer.
Your audio interface will also send 48volts of what we call phantom power to
your microphone.
(12:09):
That's the current that's actually goingto drive the microphone and it's going to
route the audio signal from the mic intoyour computer.
The one I recommend is the Steinberg UR-24.
Without getting technical, it's got asuper clean sound and you can get yourself
one on Amazon for $200.
Again, link in the description and shownotes.
So all told, so far I recommended about$500 worth of audio hardware and let's
(12:33):
throw in the blankets and mattresstoppers, let's say 650 or so total for a
year.
Step four, marketing.
When your demos are done, when you haveyour recording space settled, when you
have learned to record and edit,
It's getting time to start going out andfinding work.
First thing you'll need a professionalcompetent website.
Why?
(12:53):
Well, you just spent several thousanddollars on your demos.
You need a place to showcase them, a placeto drive buyers to once you've reached out
to them so that they can listen to yourdemos.
And your website will become the hub ofall your marketing.
It's what buyers will look at.
It's what agents will look at.
It is your calling card.
If you can do this on your own.
(13:14):
Great.
Most people can't.
Trust me, I see some awful websites,dreadful websites that look like they were
slapped together by a drunk seven -year-old on a dare.
I highly recommend working with a pro onthis.
This, you get one shot to impress peopleand if you don't do it well, you might not
get them back.
The two companies I recommend most highlyare voice actor websites by Joe Davis and
(13:34):
center stage design by Nadine Charlson.
Again, links in the description and shownotes.
Budget.
I'd recommend an initial budget of
one to $5 ,000 to get a good basic onepage website up and running.
That includes your website, includes thedesign, you're gonna wanna account for
photography and branding.
One to $5 ,000 depending on your needsshould get the job done.
(13:55):
Now, once all that stuff's in place,demos, website, recording space, skills
are baseline competent, then and only thenare you ready to go to market.
That means to start looking for work frompro clients at pro rates.
How do you do that?
Well, if you...
don't know how and chances are just sheerodds you don't have the foggiest.
You'll have to learn to market just likeyou had to learn to be a voice actor.
(14:19):
You had to learn the craft of voiceacting.
You had to learn to record and you had tolearn to edit.
You're gonna have to learn to market.
Learning to do the work is not the same aslearning to find the work.
And this may come as a shock, but if youdon't find any work, there won't be any
work to do.
Once you have your demos and your websiteand your skills are nailed down or as
(14:39):
those things are coming together, I highlyrecommend with obvious bias, the VO
Freedom Master Plan.
This is my signature program which willteach you from soup to nuts how to find
clients, how to reach out to them, what tosay, how to say it, how to follow up and
how to build your business over time.
Or you could spend a few to several yearslearning to do that on your own.
(15:01):
Step five, auditioning.
As you get out into the world of voiceacting, you will need to source auditions.
You won't have an agent and it will takeyou several months for your marketing to
spin up and ramp up to the point whereyou're getting on rosters, getting
auditions sent to you.
In the meantime, what do you do?
This is one of the few times I recommendspending four or $500 on a
(15:24):
basic paid membership with one of the twolarge online casting sites also known as
pay to plays in our business, Voices .comand Voice123 .com with this huge caveat.
Do not believe, do not think for a minutethat you will simply sit on these
websites, audition for work on thesewebsites and grow a successful career.
(15:48):
Ain't gonna happen my friend, that used tobe possible.
That hasn't been possible since the sitesbecame overrun with unqualified and under
qualified voice actors during COVID -19.
When I say the business has changed in thelast few years, that's one big shift that
I'm talking about.
Both of these sites are oversaturated withtalent.
Voices .com's business practices havebeen, let's just call it.
(16:13):
questionable historically and that's beingkind and 123's algorithm the process by
which they send you auditions and vet youfor auditions is Well, I'm just gonna go
ahead and use questionable again You arenot joining a pay -to -play in your first
year as a voice actor to get a ton of workYou're paying for a source of auditions so
(16:34):
that you can get your audition Processdown so that you can get it tuned and
finally tuned look if you are decent
just average.
As a first -year voice actor, you may bookone out of every 100 auditions that you go
out for.
You're not there primarily to get work,you're there primarily in your first year
to learn how to audition.
(16:55):
You're there to learn what kind of jobsyou're right for, to start to get a handle
on what your strengths and weaknesses are.
what you like and what you don't like.
I recommend doing as many auditions as youcan every damn day if you can for several
months.
Get your process down to a science.
Get your recording and editing processdialed in.
Get really, really good.
(17:15):
While you're doing that, let yourmarketing ramp up and you'll start slowly
to begin to attract inquiries, auditions,sometimes even clients.
Then when that first year on the pay toplay is over, you've got that audition
process worked out.
You're rolling now.
You know how to audition.
You're starting to get a handle on whatwork is good for you, what you're good at.
Get off the pay to plays.
(17:36):
Keep marketing.
Keep building your body of work.
Keep developing those relationships.
All right.
So let's step back and start to.
add up all the time and money and effortthat we've laid out here.
So far I've recommended about $500 worthof audio gear, another let's say $150 to
treat your space.
That's $650 or so for gear.
(17:57):
$4 ,000 and about a year initially fortraining.
$2 ,000 to $5 ,000 and maybe about two tothree months to get your demos together.
$1 ,000 to $5 ,000 and probably two tothree or four months to get your website
together.
All told figure 10 to 15 grand in startup
costs to get your voice acting businessoff the ground and about a year and a half
(18:18):
to two years to get to the point whereyou've got all that work done and you're
finally starting to go to market and lookfor work.
10 to 15 grand year and a half to two.
Does that sound like a lot?
This is a business and businesses havestartup costs.
If you think 10 grand in two years is alot and it's not a small insignificant
amount of time or money but compare it tobecoming a plumber.
(18:40):
starting a dentist's office or opening anArby's franchise.
The average initial franchise fee in thiscountry is $25 ,000 to $50 ,000.
And that's just to use the brand name, thebusiness model, and the intellectual
property, by the way, for a set period oftime.
These are my best recommendations if Iwere to start a voice acting business.
(19:00):
from scratch right now, not five or 10 or30 years ago.
And likely these recommendations willchange in the next five years or even
sooner.
Is this the only way to get started?
Hell no.
There are infinite paths to gettingstarted in this business.
Even with this starter path that I justlaid out, you're going to find your own
path that works for you.
(19:20):
Some of my recommendations, maybe all ofmy recommendations won't work for you and
that's okay.
You will find your own.
you will find your own success if and onlyif you keep at it.
Go to voPro .pro right now to learn moreabout the VO Freedom Master Plan, the VO
Pro Community, and to get my Move, Touch,Inspire newsletter for voice actors that
(19:43):
comes out every single week.
If this guide helped you, if you feel likeit was valuable for you, if you feel like
it might be valuable for someone elsewho's considering getting into voice
acting, then please, by all means,
share it with them, whether it's on socialmedia or email or text or whatever, we'd
really appreciate the opportunity to helpthem out.
If you're new to the channel, we publishvideos every single week about the
(20:06):
business of voiceover.
Make sure you like, subscribe and hit thatnotification button so you'll be the first
to know when we publish a new video everyweek.
Thanks so much for watching, for reading,for joining us on the audio podcast, and
we will see you again next week.
Well, one of the problems with voiceoveradvice on YouTube, and I guess in general,
is that it often comes from successfulvoice actors.
Huh?
Well, duh, Paul, why would we take advicefrom idiots?
One reason is, there's a few out there.
Stay with me.
See, among the things it takes to besuccessful is time.
(00:20):
So the people that are successful todaystarted years, often decades ago.
And the problem with that is voiceover isa very different business than it was 30,
20, 10, even five years ago.
And so many of the strategies and tacticsand paths and techniques that made
successful voice actors even way back inthe 20 teens, they don't necessarily apply
(00:45):
today.
Now, here in the mid 2020s and beyond.
And if you're getting into the businessnow, today in the mid 2020s, that's a
problem.
So today, I'm going to tell you exactlywhat I would do if I were a brand new
voice actor.
I'll give you the whole timeline and how Iwould spend my, not just my time, but my
(01:06):
money, my attention, my effort and myenergy.
I'll tell you what tools I would use, whatgear I would buy.
And just as importantly, I would tell yousome of the rookie mistakes that I made
that I wouldn't necessarily make again ifI were a new voice actor today.
So if I were a new voice actor today,right now,
The first thing I would do is spend threeto six months doing research.
(01:31):
Wow, that's so sexy, Paul.
I'm all fired up to become a voice actorand you're telling me to do what again?
Research.
Absolutely.
I stand by this 100%.
Look, before you spend a dime, before youeven figure out whether voice acting is
something you want to do on any level,hobbyist or pro, you need to find out just
(01:52):
what the hell it is you're getting into.
So how do you start to do that?
I recommend joining multiple Facebookgroups for voice actors, specifically for
newer voice actors.
Do that and spend a few weeks, couplemonths listening, lurking and learning.
Okay, so what Facebook groups should youjoin?
(02:12):
I'll put the ones that I recommendspecifically in the description and show
notes with this episode.
Why start this way?
Your job for the first three to six monthsis just to get
oriented.
Start learning who the reputable coachesare and are not.
Just because somebody has a big assYouTube channel doesn't mean they're a
reputable coach.
(02:32):
The reputable coaches will eventuallythrough repetition come up over and over
and over again in the VO groups.
And as you can currently begin to formrelationships in these groups, you can
then start to ask around a little bit inthese groups about the coaches names that
do come up over and over again.
Do your research.
Ask around.
Step two.
(02:53):
coaching.
I would not jump into the deep end of thepool at first when it comes to coaching.
And while your goal, yes, is to find areputable coach that's a good fit with
whom you can get your initial baselinetraining, understand that reputable
coaching is not cheap, nor is it fast.
And so if you're going to enter into arelationship with this person, you better
(03:15):
spend a good amount of time vetting forfit, vetting for budget, so that you can
find one that's not only reputable, but agood fit for you.
Start in the shallow end of the pool,sample around with different coaches and
different coaching companies.
And by the way, understand that you're notlimited to your hometown to find coaches.
Online coaching is a thing.
(03:35):
And in fact, it's the predominant way thatvoiceover performance coaching is
conducted today.
Take some workshops, take some one -offclasses.
Many coaches offer either a free consultor they'll let you do the first class
without any further commitment.
And this is the best way to sort of samplearound and sample a coach and get a...
get a sense for who they are and whattheir teaching style is and how you vibe
(03:57):
with them and does what they say makessense to you intuitively.
I'd spend a couple, two, three monthssampling around and trying to get that
sense of fit, trying to get that sense of,you know, who gets you best.
And then when you find one, then startthinking about a commitment.
Okay, so what am I committing to?
Good question, glad you asked.
First of all, there are multiple, multiplegenres of voiceover and you need to start
(04:22):
figuring that out.
There's commercials and audio books andvideo games and animation and promo and
medical narration and dubbing anddocumentaries and in show narration and on
and on and on and on.
Start with the basics.
If you know you want to do audio books,then start looking for an audio book
performance coach.
If you're maybe not so sure what you wantto do yet, I might recommend these two
(04:45):
genres, commercial,
and corporate narration.
Commercial will teach you acting andperformance, which will make everything
you do from then on even better.
And corporate narration is plentiful.
There's a lot of it out there and itcounts for a lot of work.
Now, let me be clear on this point.
It takes months, not weeks, not a weekendwebinar to get baseline competent as a
(05:08):
voice actor, period.
You should expect to train consistent,meaning...
at least twice a month for ideally eightto 12 months with a reputable coach.
That's likely to run you $150 to $200 asession.
I would budget overall about $4 ,000.
That should get you 20 to 25 sessions witha good coach.
And if you're training with your coach,let's say twice a month, like our first
(05:32):
example, that gets you 10 to 12 months.
Now, should you commit to a full yearsfull of coaching at once?
No, not necessarily.
Most coaches will let you book session tosession.
Some will give you a discount if you booka certain number of sessions with them.
That can save you money overall.
But don't feel like you should be made tocommit to on one hand several months with
(05:53):
a coach.
But on the other hand, if you find a coachthat you do feel like you've got a pretty
good fit with early on, then stick withthat coach.
Now, you need to pay especially closeattention here.
There are coaches.
and companies that will advertise craplike, you can be a successful voice actor
in 90 days with no experience necessary.
Want to learn voice acting in under 30days?
(06:15):
Look at me.
Look at me.
Do not walk.
Run away from these people.
This is complete unadulterated bullshit.
Again, it takes months, not weeks, notdays to become a competent voice actor.
Do not repeat.
Do not yet think about a demo.
until you're at least baseline competentin your craft.
(06:36):
A demo will do you as much good as abicycle.
Your mission is solely, your focus shouldbe singularly for that first year to get
as good as you possibly can at voiceacting.
Training with your coach, taking actingclasses, taking improv classes, a lot of
which by the way are free or low cost atyour local community college or places
(06:57):
like community centers.
Now, if you're new and you want a completeguide to training for newer voice actors,
click on this video here.
And if you're listening to us on the audiopodcast, I'll put that link in the show
notes.
Now at the same time, as you're learningthe craft of voice acting, you'd also need
to start learning to record and edit.
Assuming you already have a computer,you'll need a mic and some software.
(07:18):
Go and download an app called Audacity.
Again, link in the description and shownotes.
It's free and it's fantastic.
After that, search Audacity tutorials forbeginners.
You'll get a whole playlist on YouTube.
Start with this one here.
by Mike Russell.
And finally, you're going to need astarter microphone.
Go get yourself a Blue Yeti microphone.
It's a USB mic and will plug straight intoyour computer.
(07:40):
It's 99 bucks on Amazon and the link is inthe description and show notes.
Now as an Amazon affiliate, I earn fromqualifying purchases, but you don't have
to get it on Amazon.
You can get it anywhere.
This is not, repeat, not a pro level mic.
So why do I recommend getting the $99cheapie?
Because you're brand new.
You don't even know if you like voiceacting yet.
(08:02):
Why drop hundreds of dollars when all youneed to do right now is to record
yourself, be able to get that audio intoyour computer, edit it with the free
software, and be able to listen back toit.
You can always upgrade if and when youneed to.
Practice recording.
practice editing, practice listening backto yourself every damn day.
Finally, you need a space in your home torecord that doesn't sound like you
(08:25):
recorded in a bathroom on the turnpike.
Ideally, if you have a walk -in closet,record in there and leave the hanging
clothes in there because they will helptreat the space and dampen the sound so
that you don't get any echo reverberation,what we sometimes call slapback.
If you don't have a walk -in closet, butlet's say you have a very small bedroom,
you can use things like
(08:45):
moving blankets and mattress toppers tohelp treat the space, treat the walls,
treat the ceiling, get a cheap rug, treatthe floor.
Step three, it's finally starting tobecome time to think about those first
demos.
If at this point you still love voiceoverand you think it's something that you
might want to do professionally, towardthe end of your initial baseline training,
(09:09):
you're going to start thinking about yourdemos.
Do not in red capital letters produce yourown demos.
for a myriad of reasons why, watch thisvideo right here.
Remember that process that you researchcoaches with?
Well, you're gonna use it again for demoproducers.
You're gonna research them just like youdid coaches.
Now one great tool that has only comeabout fairly recently, I highly recommend
(09:32):
the VoiceOver Demo Producer Series on thepodcast, VO Booth Besties.
They have a podcast and they have aYouTube channel.
I'll put both of those links in thedescription.
This is the best.
demo producer research tool I know ofwhere you can start to get to learn who
some of the reputable producers are, howthey work, learn about the demo production
(09:53):
process overall.
And again, we're using roughly the sameprocess.
Start talking to these, reaching out tothese people, see if you can have an info
session with each one of them, interviewthem, find out a little bit about how they
work and what their process is, what theyexpect from you.
what you should expect from them.
All right Schmidt, what's this gonna costme?
Well, it's a pretty wide range.
Expect reasonably to pay between athousand and $2 ,500 per demo.
(10:16):
So if you trained in commercial andcorporate narration, expect to spend
between two and five grand on your firsttwo demos.
Now, once your demos are done, or even asyou're producing your demos, you're
approaching the time where you're gonnastart to...
look for paid work.
So before you do your demos is a good timeto upgrade to your first basic pro level
(10:41):
XLR connection microphone with a separateaudio interface.
That's a separate box that you plug yourmic into and that box plugs into your
computer.
Now,
There are dozens and dozens and dozens ofchoices here, and there really is no
standard recommended mic or audiointerface for everybody because
everybody's voice and everybody'srecording space is a little bit different.
(11:05):
But assuming you're starting out, assumingyou're in your first year or so, and
assuming you don't have a professionalgrade recording studio in your home, your
space is going to be less than ideal.
And for that reason, I typically recommenda shotgun microphone.
Sounds dangerous.
but it's not.
A shotgun mic, this is a shotgunmicrophone.
(11:25):
It looks like, well, the barrel of ashotgun, right?
This particular shotgun microphone, Ihighly, highly recommend.
It's called the Synco D2, S -N -Y -C -O-D2.
A shotgun mic will help mitigate ambientnoise, such as my office here, which is
not a treated space.
This Synco is a professional mic, has anXLR connection on the back here, one of
(11:49):
these.
It'll run you 200 bucks on Amazon and itsounds really, really good.
And lastly, you'll need what's called anaudio interface.
This is a small box into which you willplug your mic and that box will then get
plugged into a USB port on your computer.
Your audio interface will also send 48volts of what we call phantom power to
your microphone.
(12:09):
That's the current that's actually goingto drive the microphone and it's going to
route the audio signal from the mic intoyour computer.
The one I recommend is the Steinberg UR-24.
Without getting technical, it's got asuper clean sound and you can get yourself
one on Amazon for $200.
Again, link in the description and shownotes.
So all told, so far I recommended about$500 worth of audio hardware and let's
(12:33):
throw in the blankets and mattresstoppers, let's say 650 or so total for a
year.
Step four, marketing.
When your demos are done, when you haveyour recording space settled, when you
have learned to record and edit,
It's getting time to start going out andfinding work.
First thing you'll need a professionalcompetent website.
Why?
(12:53):
Well, you just spent several thousanddollars on your demos.
You need a place to showcase them, a placeto drive buyers to once you've reached out
to them so that they can listen to yourdemos.
And your website will become the hub ofall your marketing.
It's what buyers will look at.
It's what agents will look at.
It is your calling card.
If you can do this on your own.
(13:14):
Great.
Most people can't.
Trust me, I see some awful websites,dreadful websites that look like they were
slapped together by a drunk seven -year-old on a dare.
I highly recommend working with a pro onthis.
This, you get one shot to impress peopleand if you don't do it well, you might not
get them back.
The two companies I recommend most highlyare voice actor websites by Joe Davis and
(13:34):
center stage design by Nadine Charlson.
Again, links in the description and shownotes.
Budget.
I'd recommend an initial budget of
one to $5 ,000 to get a good basic onepage website up and running.
That includes your website, includes thedesign, you're gonna wanna account for
photography and branding.
One to $5 ,000 depending on your needsshould get the job done.
(13:55):
Now, once all that stuff's in place,demos, website, recording space, skills
are baseline competent, then and only thenare you ready to go to market.
That means to start looking for work frompro clients at pro rates.
How do you do that?
Well, if you...
don't know how and chances are just sheerodds you don't have the foggiest.
You'll have to learn to market just likeyou had to learn to be a voice actor.
(14:19):
You had to learn the craft of voiceacting.
You had to learn to record and you had tolearn to edit.
You're gonna have to learn to market.
Learning to do the work is not the same aslearning to find the work.
And this may come as a shock, but if youdon't find any work, there won't be any
work to do.
Once you have your demos and your websiteand your skills are nailed down or as
(14:39):
those things are coming together, I highlyrecommend with obvious bias, the VO
Freedom Master Plan.
This is my signature program which willteach you from soup to nuts how to find
clients, how to reach out to them, what tosay, how to say it, how to follow up and
how to build your business over time.
Or you could spend a few to several yearslearning to do that on your own.
(15:01):
Step five, auditioning.
As you get out into the world of voiceacting, you will need to source auditions.
You won't have an agent and it will takeyou several months for your marketing to
spin up and ramp up to the point whereyou're getting on rosters, getting
auditions sent to you.
In the meantime, what do you do?
This is one of the few times I recommendspending four or $500 on a
(15:24):
basic paid membership with one of the twolarge online casting sites also known as
pay to plays in our business, Voices .comand Voice123 .com with this huge caveat.
Do not believe, do not think for a minutethat you will simply sit on these
websites, audition for work on thesewebsites and grow a successful career.
(15:48):
Ain't gonna happen my friend, that used tobe possible.
That hasn't been possible since the sitesbecame overrun with unqualified and under
qualified voice actors during COVID -19.
When I say the business has changed in thelast few years, that's one big shift that
I'm talking about.
Both of these sites are oversaturated withtalent.
Voices .com's business practices havebeen, let's just call it.
(16:13):
questionable historically and that's beingkind and 123's algorithm the process by
which they send you auditions and vet youfor auditions is Well, I'm just gonna go
ahead and use questionable again You arenot joining a pay -to -play in your first
year as a voice actor to get a ton of workYou're paying for a source of auditions so
(16:34):
that you can get your audition Processdown so that you can get it tuned and
finally tuned look if you are decent
just average.
As a first -year voice actor, you may bookone out of every 100 auditions that you go
out for.
You're not there primarily to get work,you're there primarily in your first year
to learn how to audition.
(16:55):
You're there to learn what kind of jobsyou're right for, to start to get a handle
on what your strengths and weaknesses are.
what you like and what you don't like.
I recommend doing as many auditions as youcan every damn day if you can for several
months.
Get your process down to a science.
Get your recording and editing processdialed in.
Get really, really good.
(17:15):
While you're doing that, let yourmarketing ramp up and you'll start slowly
to begin to attract inquiries, auditions,sometimes even clients.
Then when that first year on the pay toplay is over, you've got that audition
process worked out.
You're rolling now.
You know how to audition.
You're starting to get a handle on whatwork is good for you, what you're good at.
Get off the pay to plays.
(17:36):
Keep marketing.
Keep building your body of work.
Keep developing those relationships.
All right.
So let's step back and start to.
add up all the time and money and effortthat we've laid out here.
So far I've recommended about $500 worthof audio gear, another let's say $150 to
treat your space.
That's $650 or so for gear.
(17:57):
$4 ,000 and about a year initially fortraining.
$2 ,000 to $5 ,000 and maybe about two tothree months to get your demos together.
$1 ,000 to $5 ,000 and probably two tothree or four months to get your website
together.
All told figure 10 to 15 grand in startup
costs to get your voice acting businessoff the ground and about a year and a half
(18:18):
to two years to get to the point whereyou've got all that work done and you're
finally starting to go to market and lookfor work.
10 to 15 grand year and a half to two.
Does that sound like a lot?
This is a business and businesses havestartup costs.
If you think 10 grand in two years is alot and it's not a small insignificant
amount of time or money but compare it tobecoming a plumber.
(18:40):
starting a dentist's office or opening anArby's franchise.
The average initial franchise fee in thiscountry is $25 ,000 to $50 ,000.
And that's just to use the brand name, thebusiness model, and the intellectual
property, by the way, for a set period oftime.
These are my best recommendations if Iwere to start a voice acting business.
(19:00):
from scratch right now, not five or 10 or30 years ago.
And likely these recommendations willchange in the next five years or even
sooner.
Is this the only way to get started?
Hell no.
There are infinite paths to gettingstarted in this business.
Even with this starter path that I justlaid out, you're going to find your own
path that works for you.
(19:20):
Some of my recommendations, maybe all ofmy recommendations won't work for you and
that's okay.
You will find your own.
you will find your own success if and onlyif you keep at it.
Go to voPro .pro right now to learn moreabout the VO Freedom Master Plan, the VO
Pro Community, and to get my Move, Touch,Inspire newsletter for voice actors that
(19:43):
comes out every single week.
If this guide helped you, if you feel likeit was valuable for you, if you feel like
it might be valuable for someone elsewho's considering getting into voice
acting, then please, by all means,
share it with them, whether it's on socialmedia or email or text or whatever, we'd
really appreciate the opportunity to helpthem out.
If you're new to the channel, we publishvideos every single week about the
(20:06):
business of voiceover.
Make sure you like, subscribe and hit thatnotification button so you'll be the first
to know when we publish a new video everyweek.
Thanks so much for watching, for reading,for joining us on the audio podcast, and
we will see you again next week.
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