How to Get Voice Talent Work

Editor's Choice Setting up a Voice Over Business

May 2, 2009 Dan McCurdy

To make money as a voice over and to get people to pay for voice talent is a business and the normal rules of business apply. Get to know what rules work best.

Setting up in business as a voice over and expecting the world to come knocking on the door, call or email without knowing anything about it is unrealistic. As a business it needs to be marketed, promoted and managed exactly the same as any other business. Knowing what the rules are and what rules work best will help ensure a better chance of securing voice work.

Decide What Kind of Voice Over to be.

A voice over who tries to be all things to all people can often end up being nothing to everybody. It’s far better for a voice talent to claim a single piece of ground or type of voice as their speciality, and be known for that. Work will always follow when that particular kind of voice is being cast, and other work may follow from it. The types of voice work to consider specialising in for example might be:

  • Cartoon or strange character voices
  • Authoritative or commanding reads
  • Enthusiastic and exciting delivery
  • Warm, reassuring and friendly voices
  • Imitations and celebrity styles
  • Trailer voices

This specialisation chosen will of course largely depend on an individual’s inherent learned or practised voice style.

Build the Business.

Next it’s important to build contacts and sources of voice work. Find out who’s casting the main voice over work for the specialisation in that particular field and ask to be considered. Why not ask? Getting voice over work is the same as securing any business. With the right marketing, to the right people, in the right place at the right time, and at the right price, a voice over business with persistence will have the same chances to secure work in that field, as any business in any other field. Marketing strategies to consider are:

  • Build a website with contacts and voice demos
  • Always have a supply of business cards to distribute
  • Target a particular market and contacts with a considered campaign
  • Use email and direct mail as an opening
  • Always follow up and find an appropriate contact who books the voice work
  • Protect the company image and its perception in the industry
  • Network – attend industry gatherings, visit studios and media companies, and contact by telephone

And of course the aspiring voice over can learn a great deal from any relevant marketing advice applicable to any business, and relate it to their business.

Developing the Voice Over Business.

After securing some voice sessions for themselves and building up a portfolio of voice work, it may be time to look for more opportunities than an individual voice over can get by their own efforts and contacts. There are then three main ways voice actors secure work:

Agents and some directories or sites will obviously demand a percentage of the voice talent’s fees for securing the work, but should offer greater scope than an individual voice can gain alone. With the right targeted marketing and by offering that market the voice they want delivered in the way they want will all help build a successful voice over career.

The copyright of the article How to Get Voice Talent Work in Radio Journalism is owned by Dan McCurdy. Permission to republish How to Get Voice Talent Work in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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