It’s the perfect time for anyone looking to start a voice-acting career to act. The transition from traditional media like TV to tech advancements like TikTok and streaming services has allowed everyone to pursue their dream and make money off their voice.
But there’s a catch.
The more popular voice acting gets, the harder the competition. And the more rigid the competition, the more you need to try. You know what a voice actor does, how to start voice acting, or how to do voice-overs. But what about all those famed, great voice actors with consistent cash flow and an engaged clientele?
If you’re seriously looking for ways to become a voice actor and establish a serious voice-acting career, keep reading for some extra tips that separate the doers from the achievers.
Get a leg up on the competition now:
– Experiment a lot — at least when getting started with voice acting
It’s true that when you’re starting out, you need to experiment with different types of voice acting. In fact, this is a strategy that most voice-over artists have followed early in their careers.
As a beginner voice actor, you will try to identify which areas are worth your attention, what other areas suit you best, and what types of voice acting you should avoid or get better at.
Don’t be afraid to experiment since it’s the only way for you to find your strengths and areas for improvement. Don’t wait until you have an assignment.
Voice acting can be easily practiced at home without any special equipment. So, simply do it.
– Use feedback to your advantage
Like it or not, there’s always this time when all professional creatives get feedback from their customers. And we mean a lot of feedback. Yes, sometimes it might feel too much, overwhelming, even annoying, but your customers think “business” when you think “art.”
And even though you have no control over what your customer likes or not, you need to use their comments to your advantage and become better at what you do.
Many of us usually take feedback personally but think of each client as candid reviews that point you in the right direction. Something that a current client might find wrong might be something that a next client will find wrong as well.
So, when someone points out a weakness, ask for more information and details. This will help you understand what you did wrong and how you can improve in the future.
In addition to becoming a better voice actor, you will appear more professional. A voice actor that adapts to their client’s needs and brief is a valuable asset and forms a stronger, more understanding relationship with the company that pays them.
– Be available on the spot
After you’ve become a voice actor, more requests will start coming in. Your clients will set deadlines, and you will definitely need to deliver on time. But is it enough? Short answer: no.
In this competitive landscape, you need to be as much available as you can. Respond to email requests promptly, be on call for any last-minute changes and edits, and solve problems or address concerns in a snap. It’s a gig economy we live in, and people have high expectations when looking to hire new talent. And it’s up to you to meet these expectations.
– Train your voice and take care of it
By now, you know that when getting into your voice acting, your voice instantly becomes your moneymaker. And you need to take that into account when using it in your everyday life because you want to take care of your moneymaker.
Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and other nicotine products to protect your voice’s health. Rest as much as you can, sleep a lot, and do your warm-up exercises first thing in the morning.
Of course, if there’s a demanding project you’re working on, or you have too many assignments that will exhaust you, you need to keep training your voice so it doesn’t crack or even gets wholly destroyed. You don’t want that.
– Develop at least some technical skills
Not all clients book recording studios — especially when it’s for simple, 1-minute-long audio ads, for example.
Today, most voice actors have invested some money in creating a home studio where they can produce high-quality work. And yes, in case you were wondering, this is completely possible if you create a good home-studio setup tailored to your needs.
Getting familiar with how microphones work and what settings you need to play around with in your audio software tool is the very first step towards building an all-inclusive voice acting business.
But why stop there? Your technical skills should also cover another vital part of the voice acting industry: post-production.
Oftentimes, clients might suggest some edits or notice some quality issues in your playback that you might need to clean up or completely redo. This is a valuable skill set because you will be able to respond to their request right on the spot and don’t waste time — which, in turn, means faster payment.
– Market yourself to become a voice actor people respect
There are so many different ways to promote your business online. However, if you’re not familiar with online self-promotion, the first thing you want to do is build a website where you can display your services and how you can solve your potential customers’ problems. In addition to that, you might want to feature clients you’ve worked with in the past, projects that you’re proud of, and a complete portfolio, so people get to know you better.
Get your name out there and show everyone that you’re worth their attention. Hire an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) expert to help you rank higher on Google page results for specific keywords and create social media accounts.
Nowadays, people spend their whole time watching YouTubers, liking posts on Instagram, and checking TikTok sounds, so use them as much as you can. The digital world is the real world today and your social media profile is a billboard.