How To Become A Successful Voice Actor

Home Studio Setup Needs to Meet Your Needs and Standards

Building a home studio can feel like one of the more complex and expensive aspects of launching and running a voice over business. What gear to purchase, which software to use and how to set up one’s studio are among the most widely-discussed topics in the voice over industry.

While the investment doesn’t need to be substantial to yield excellent results, understanding what gear other professional voice actors are using can act as a guidepost for those who hope to acquire gear that meets or exceeds an acceptable standard.

Voices research looked at what pro actors used in each of these areas:

• Microphone types and brands

• Voice over recording software

• Headphones

Microphones for Voice Actors

Most Popular Types of Vocal Microphones

The type of mic and the brand that voice actors prefer varies widely. It’s important to understand which mic works best for one’s specific vocal qualities.

Recording Software for Voice Overs

There is a wide variety of audio recording software options that range in price range from free to hundreds of dollars.

Preference of recording software is personal, and low cost to free options can be just as effective and competitive as more expensive packages. However, sometimes voice actors may find that an investment in software is worth making for various reasons, from the program’s capabilities, to personal opinion over sound quality.

Headphones for Voice Actors

Compared to microphones and audio recording software, headphones don’t get nearly as much discussion or attention, but, they are arguably one of the most important pieces of equipment in a voice actor’s toolkit.

How Voice Actors Use Headphones in the Studio

• 95% wear headphones while recording voice over and for playback/editing

• 5% only wear headphones for playback/editing

Other Home Recording Studio Equipment and Setup

Home studio setup often involves creative and budget-friendly solutions.

Read more about Voice Over Recording Equipment and How to Soundproof a Room.

How Much Time Should Be Spent on Voice Over Auditions

There’s no two ways about it – voice actors need to audition often in order to become successful. But what is ‘often,’ exactly? And how much time should you dedicate to auditioning?

 

A Voices survey revealed that professional voice actors divide their time equally between auditioning and completing voice over jobs (spending approximately a 1:1 ratio recording auditions vs. recording jobs).

 

However, in order to build a business, beginner voice actors have to spend twice as much time recording auditions. This group’s ratio is closer to a 2:1 division of time between auditioning and working on jobs they’ve won.

87% of beginner voice over artists spend just under 10 hours a week auditioning and less than 5 hours a week recording jobs.

Number of Daily Auditions

Voices internal data shows that voice actors who audition 7 or more times a day make approximately $20,000 more per year than voice talent who audition less than 7 times a day.

Here is what successful talent on Voices have to say about the frequency of auditions:

 

Successful Voice Actors Market Themselves Differently

Successful voice actors have a number of marketing strategies in their back pocket. Some of the most effective tools that they leverage include:

• Online Branding and Presence

• Voice Over Demos

• Client and Voice Actor Referrals

• Expanded Service Offerings

Here’s how voice actors rated the importance of various marketing tactics:

Voice Actor Online Branding

There are many elements to online branding. For voice actors, some basic elements include:

• Voices Voice Actor Profile

• Personal Website

• Social Media

Voices Voice Actor Profile

With hundreds of thousands of jobs posted by the world’s most reputable and loved brands, it’s no surprise that Voices is the world’s largest marketplace for voice actors.

It sounds simple, but when it comes to creating a great Voices profile, voice actors increase their chances of successfully landing work by having completely filled out all the fields. A complete profile (each field filled in) is essential in calculating an actor’s VoiceMatch™ score.

Voice Actor Websites and Social Media

When it comes to the online channels that voice actors use to promote themselves, professional voice actors behave quite differently than beginners.

Online Channel	Professionals	Beginners
I use a professional website to promote myself	78%	45%
I use Facebook for self-promotion	75%	48%
I use LinkedIn for self-promotion	71%	36%

Leveraging promotional channels online may also lead to an increase in the number of voice over jobs talent book, as an established, consistent, online presence is a signal to prospective clients that they are working with a professional.

A voice actor’s online presence helps a producer feel great about their decision to hire that specific talent, and can inspire even more clients to seek them out.

Voice Over Demos: the Best ‘Business Card’ for Voice Actors

Voice over demos have been referred to as a voice actor’s calling card.

When it comes to adding voice over demos, more is more. In 2017, those voice actors who had 7 or more different demos uploaded to their Voices profile experienced:

• 290% increase in hire rate

• 312% increase in earnings

• 300% increase in being ‘favorited’ by listeners (Clients use the ‘favoriting’ feature when they want to shortlist demos as a way to stay organized and connected to voice actors whose voices they like)

Why is this the case?

One explanation may be that by creating a demo for each of their specific skill sets (e.g. a French demo, commercial demo, narration demo, etc.) – and properly tagging each – these voice actors are helping Voices’s search engine find them. The tags that voice actors select on their demos, are the same tags that clients select from to search for voice actors. The more properly and thoroughly tagged demos a voice actor has, the more opportunities they have to show up when a client is looking for that skill.

Additionally, voice actors typically only have a window of seconds to win over potential clients. If the listener doesn’t hear what they’re looking for right away, they’ll move on. By serving up clearly labelled and focused demos, these voice actors are hitting two birds with one stone: getting the most from the listener’s attention span while also meeting their expectations.

One easy way to build up your bank of demos, is by asking clients for permission to use audio samples from completed projects.

Client and Voice Actor Referrals are Key to More Voice Acting Auditions and Jobs

Building a referral network among both clients and other voice actors can be a powerful marketing tool – helping voice actors land even more jobs and auditions.

Networking a Crucial Element in Voice Over Business Plan

The bigger your network is, and the better your relationship is with peers, the more you stand to gain as a voice actor.

Cold Calling isn’t Likely to Win New Connections

If you’re thinking of growing your network with old fashioned cold calling, you may want to think again.

60% of voice actors stated they never make cold calls to potential clients in an attempt to sell them on voice acting services.

Client Testimonials the Key to New Business

Leveraging goodwill from your previous clients can be incredibly beneficial towards building your voice over business.

 

A Voices survey revealed that the most common additional service offered is post production services (60%), such as splicing a recording into several files. However, 52% of the time, this service was actually coordinated with a third party. This is good news if you’re a voice actor without the time or skill set to offer the service, but are willing to outsource the tasks.

60% of Voice Actors provide post production services. Of that 60%, 52% use a 3rd party service.