We asked full time voice actors to share their insights and expertise into the voice over industry. This year, it’s clear that voice actors are focusing on what they’re good at and sticking to the types of jobs they love in 2023.
Let’s break down the three trends from the survey:
- Top Earners Are Creating Audition Dream Teams
- Top Earners Are Investing 15% Back Into Their Business
- 80% Audition For Roles Which Match Their Skills
Top Earners Often Create Audition Dream Teams
Nearly 62% of the expected top earning full time voice actors on Voices are submitting up to 50 auditions per day.
That’s a steady amount of voice over auditions.
To break it down further: 66% of all full time voice actors submit up to ten auditions daily, and 34% submit up to 50 auditions daily. To jump past that ten-per-day threshold and join that 34%, you will need to get creative.
Remember, our Senior Talent Manager, Evan Wiebe, says voice actors should aim for 5-10 auditions to start. However, as a full time voice actor, you should be aiming to get beyond ten auditions daily.
Some of the top performing full time voice actors on the platform are working in a two-person team to maximize efficiency and cut down on audition times.
Do you struggle with the technical aspects of the audition process? If you do, start planning for how, and who, you can team up with to focus on performing and auditioning.
Many of the top earners on Voices operate in these two-person tandems, and if you find the right person, it can be a huge success.
Gina Scarpa and her sister Mia, work together as a two-person team, where Mia triages, edits and submits all Gina’s auditions. This allows Gina to focus on performing her best, leaving the technical aspect of the job to a trusted partner.
“I audition a lot; typically at least ten times per day, but because of my demanding schedule, I brought my sister, Mia, on board to help me edit and submit my auditions,” Gina explains.
Gina’s Auditioning Tips
- Carefully look over each project before auditioning, taking the time to read the keywords and notes to understand what the client is looking for. This will help you make sure it’s a good fit before you take the time to actually audition and submit.
- Optimize your profile with clips and keywords in order to raise your job match.
- Finally, consistently look at the job site, so that you’re able to audition as early as possible, when an audition comes in.
“This allows me to do more auditions in a day and to focus my energy on other important things that I need to do for my voice over business. Because voice over artists have to focus on both the artistic and administrative sides of their careers, it has been super helpful to have Mia’s help so that I can get as many auditions done as possible.”
Here’s how their 2-person process works:
Voices Tip:
Not every top earning professional talent works in a team, some are putting in the work (auditioning, performing, editing, submitting) all on their own!
Jenna Pinchbeck, and Steven Goard both are able to hit top earner figures as a one-person show.
Here’s Jenna’s strategy:
- She focuses on streamlining her workflow, intimately understanding her Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), and maximizing the DAW’s shortcuts, so she can focus on performance and self direction.
- She spends no more than three to five minutes on each audition from opening the job to sending the proposal.
- Her goal is 20-40 auditions a day (total across all platforms/agents/direct inquiries). But it ebbs and flows.
“Go with your gut and trust your instincts. The client knows within the first ten seconds or less if you are right for the gig,” Pinchbeck explains. “The beauty of this business is that it is what you put into it and I feel very in control of my outcomes.”
Top Earners Are Investing 15% Back Into Their Business
No matter what amount of money you’re bringing in as a professional voice actor, it’s typically not easy to reinvest that income right back into your voice over business.
Naturally, your instinct may be to keep that hard earned money and spend it on other areas of interest outside of work.
But the data we’ve pulled from this year’s Professional Talent Trends Report is glaring: The top earning full time voice actors are investing in career development and their voice over business.
Let these two data points sit with you:
- 92% of expected top earning voice actors in 2023, invest 15% of their annual income in home studios
- 92% of expected top earners in 2023, invest 3% of their annual income in career development
These two percentages are worth keeping in mind, and using, as a guideline for your investment back into your voice over business.
Try to invest 10-15% of your yearly income back into your home studio. And aim to invest 3-5% of your annual income back into coaching, webinars, conferences, education or any other form of career development.
“Focus on getting coaching; training from a reputable voice over coach. Learn the basics for what is needed to be successful in a small setup; that means you have invested in recording software, microphone and your recording space,” top earner Steven Goard says.
“What you make in the first few months, pour back into coaching and studio improvements,” was the voice over career investment strategy he follows.
Continue to Invest in Self-Improvement
61% of full time voice actors on Voices, have been in the industry for five or more years. This means many of you have a strong grasp of the job, all the ups and downs and everything it requires to be successful.
Your strategies at this stage are more likely small tweaks and improvements.
One area that you can always continue to improve and invest in is coaching, webinars, conferences and any self-improvement investments. The best voice actors are always striving to get better, learn new techniques and master new technology to help them get an edge on the competition.
Find the area you’re interested in the most: Maybe it’s a voice coach that will help you specialize in an area you’ve identified for huge opportunities in voice over, or perhaps it’s a conference on a new technology that hasn’t been adopted within voice acting. You could be the trendsetter who masters it and uses it to help build your voice over business.
Whatever area you identify in 2023, we encourage you to continue to invest in yourself and your voice over business.
*Creative Tip: Pinchbeck said getting out of her home studio and travelling with her voice over gear to record on the road, actually helped her to be a more creative and stronger performer.
“It’s very important to get out of the booth and experience life. It makes you a better performer, friend, partner, and human,” she said. “Finding that balance between adventure and work is what keeps me motivated.”
Voices Tip:
You Are The CEO
Top earner Jenna Pinchbeck said reinvesting back into your voice over business is crucial to a full time voice actor’s success.
“We are all the CEOs of our own businesses. Especially in the beginning, once bills are paid and groceries are bought, whatever else is left goes right back into the business,” she says.
Invest in coaching, classes, new gear, updating your booth, fine tuning new demos and trying new software.
Invest in yourself, your business and your education.
“I always think it’s important to focus on studio improvements, upgrading equipment, and continuing to do consistent coaching and workshops, but all of that can be done over time. I don’t think it has to be all or nothing,” Gina Scarpa explains.
“Start with equipment and resources that you can afford, and build and improve upon them over time,” she continued.
“My best advice is that when you’re just getting started or when you’re fairly early on in your career, set money aside each time you book something and invest some of it back into yourself, your studio, and your business.”
80% Audition For Roles That Match Their Skills
Audiences want real voices for the voices behind their favorite brands, audiobooks and content.
In our 2023 Client Trends Report, we noted that authenticity and engaging, emotionally-resonating voices play an important role with perceived quality in audio content.
This is what clients and companies are looking for in voice over performances in 2023.
To build off of that, the most hired for voice acting roles continue to be ‘real person’ and ‘narrator’.
35% of professional voice actors said they were hired most for the role of ‘real person’. While 32% said they were hired most to fill the role of ‘narrator’.
These ‘real person’, ‘girl-or-guy-next-door’ and ‘authentic’ roles have dominated the voice over landscape for the past five years and have become the default voice that companies are looking for.
If you are a full time voice actor, chances are you have performed this role many times. At this stage, you need to perfect and hone in on your unique take on this most hired for role, ensuring that you will continue to land work.
Consider your vocal strengths and limitations, study the voices that you most admire and spend some time brainstorming and creating believable characters that you can become in your performances. There are many ways to deliver a ‘real person’ read, find out your variations and own them.
Making a Match
80% of professional voice actors are auditioning for jobs that somewhat or fully match their skills.
This is an encouraging sign, as it shows full time talent know what they’re good at and are sticking to what they love when auditioning.
This strategy of auditioning for jobs that match or fully match your skills is what we recommend at Voices.
Make sure to track your auditions, and your progress using Voices statistics, as most top earning voice actors do.
“Keeping track of the volume of my auditions in real time is when everything shifted for me. Voice acting is a numbers game,” Pinchbeck explains.
In our ‘Beginner’s Guide to Voice Acting’, we suggest you only audition for jobs you’re truly qualified for, that you truly want to do, and that you think you have a good shot at getting hired for.
In 2023, we encourage you to continue discovering the jobs you love most and keep auditioning for them. We want you performing in the roles you love and we know you can do it!
Voices Tip:
Audition for the Roles You Love
You’re a full time, professional voice actor that has the right gear, years of experience and hours of coaching to help you refine your voice.
You’ve trimmed seconds and minutes off your audition times and you’re maximizing your output with as many auditions as you can possibly deliver.
So what else is there left to do?
Do the jobs you love and stay regular with auditions.
“Stay consistent with auditioning everyday by committing to a number of auditions and not letting anything get in the way,” top earner Steven Goard says.
After surveying hundreds of professional (full time) voice actors for our 2023 Professional Voice Talent Trends Report, it’s clear that many of you are checking off every best practice box, and just need to be encouraged to focus on auditioning for the most life-giving roles and jobs.
This area is what separates the professionals from the part time voice actors, as in our 2023 Aspiring Trends Report, only 30% are auditioning for jobs that fully match their skillset.
You’ve earned it, and as we’ll show in this report, you’ll actually be rewarded by sticking to what you love, know and do best!
Start Planning 2023 With These Resources
- The Ultimate Gift Guide for Voice Actors in 2023
- How To Measure Your Success in 2023
- What Are the Best Voice Over Microphones? [2023]
- The Best Professional Video Editing Software Programs for 2023
- Best Headphones for Voice Actors in 2023
- What Is the Best Voice Recording Software in 2023?
- Best Mobile Apps for Voice Actors in 2023
The top earning professionals on Voices are investing in their studios and high-quality coaches. These full time voice over pros are also mastering an effective and efficient workflow to consistently hit their target audition numbers. And finally, successful full time voice actors are auditioning for the roles that best suit their skillset.
Methodology
Voices deployed a qualitative survey targeting full time voice actors. The survey looked to understand current voice acting industry trends and how the landscape of professional voice actors has changed over the last year.
301 survey respondents answered the survey which consisted of 25 questions. There was an incentive of the chance to win one $100 Amazon gift card for the completion of the survey.
About Voices
With over two million members, Voices is the largest audio marketplace connecting talent and clients in the world. Since 2005, the biggest and most beloved brands have entrusted Voices to help them find their voice. Headquartered in London, Canada, Voices helps service clients and voice talent in over 160 countries.