At least once a week I get an e-mail or phone call from a total stranger…but someone who is no stranger to a similar feeling I had almost five years ago…the feeling that making oodles of money in Voice-Over work was gonna be a cinch…practically effortless.
‘Been there, done that…however paying it forward has its merits, and many have mentored me along the way, so I believe it’s my responsibility to offer that helping hand, too.
1) A good voice is not good enough. It’s not even a basic criteria anymore.
different dialects?…and PERFORM at the drop of a hat?
3) This is a business. You need a business plan, investment capital, passion, and stick-to-itiveness.
5) You need better-than-passable computer hardware/software/networking skills, and a fast internet connection.
6) Are you willing to accept criticism, swallow reality, and keep coming back?
7) How well do you handle rejection?…even when you know you’re better than your competition?
8) Eventually, you may have to invest $3,000 – $5,000 just for passable start-up equipment and marketing materials.
9) You’ll need to be your own accountant, PR person, web-author, and self-promotions guru.
10) Get ready to go back to school. Voice-Over 101. Coaching and education is an on-going necessity.
11) Accept that growing opportunities are counter-balanced by declining compensations, and increasing competition.
12) How enterprising are you? Work well alone?….for weeks on end?…with no one but yourself for encouragement?
13) Is your spouse/significant other/POSSLQ* on board with this?….we’re in for a long haul!
14) This is a huge, varied industry, what segment do you want to target? AudioBooks? TV Imaging? E-Learning?
Now, far be it from me to discourage anyone’s dreams. However, I have found no quick way to answer the question of what it’ll take to get into voice-overs. Meaning the answer itself is getting fairly involved AND time-consuming.
My latest tack is to just ask for the neophyte’s e-mail address and bury them in resources so deep it takes weeks to get through it all. Then, if they come back, I’ve got at least a qualified candidate to talk to.
Hence, the following list is my preferred set of links to voice-over nirvana for n00bs.
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 7:58 am	and tagged with Artist Management, Booking Agents, Branding, Commericials, Entertainers, management, Media, Music, Music Business, PR, Restaurants, Social Media, The Lowry Agency, Voice Acting, Voice Over, Voice Talent, Voiceover and posted in Voice Over.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Thank you so much for your nice article!
Thanks so much for the article and the links. Great resource for beginners and students!
Very nice article with gobs of resources! I have done some voiceover work locally (in Iowa), but am new to the internet market and I appreciate your willingness to share information.