There’s an old saying in business, “you have to spend money to make money.” This is very true in voiceover, where the tools of your trade and the training to back it up cost a great deal before you’re at a ‘pro’ level. Your voice and the sound put out of your studio is your product, and in order to make it sound the best, you’ve got to polish and fine tune even the best set of pipes.
But what about free stuff? Is there anything you can look at that doesn’t require you to drop bank? Of course, and if you play your cards right, you can find colleagues and networking opportunities aplenty. Voice talents are giving, sharing people, and have spent countless hours over the last few decades creating a great deal of informative content that can help you in your career.
Before we get into that, let’s go over some quick etiquette when approaching these groups and individuals for help and advice.
- Treat the VO as a respected expert.
Unfortunately in recent years, there’s been quite a few articles that label voiceover or audiobook narration an ‘easy career you can do from home’. It’s a career you can do from home but it sure isn’t easy! Anyone who is making a living from doing voiceover jobs has invested time and money into their craft, and is doing far more than “just talking”. Think of whatever type of person you would consider a respected professional, and treat the voice talent the same. The VO doesn’t “have it easy” any more than you do at your current job.
- Remember they don’t OWE you anything.
This blog is about free resources, but if you talk to individuals looking for further advice, sometimes people will need or want compensation for their time. Or they may be unable or uninterested in helping you. Before you get upset, remember that these are industry professionals who are taking time out of their day to help you. Accept that something is out of reach at this point in time if it is, and move on. Also, never forget that voice talents, coaches, post production professionals all talk to each other. If you make a public stink, it can easily brand you in the community forevermore, and you’ll have roundly shot yourself in the foot before you start the race.
- Listen to what you might not want to hear.
This can be a really hard one. Not every voice is well suited to every genre. You also have to be ready to start a business and every challenge that goes with that. Maybe a friend gave you advice, and it turns out they were mistaken so you need to change something in your setup. (Example: Music post production and voiceover post production are not the same thing. Many skills do not cross over, so advice from that direction could be mistaken.) Perhaps you’ve worked really hard on something, and people tear it apart in a critique. Be sure and stay open to more than just praise–voiceover requires talent AND skill, which comes with time, training, and practice.
So let’s get down to business!
1. Facebook– The grand blue monolith of social media has a great many groups related to voiceover. Unfortunately, some of them are not worth your time. If you see groups with little to no activity, or they are dominated by ads, you should probably move on. Here’s a curated list of a few valuable places to start. If you’re interested in audiobooks Indie (ACX And Others) Audiobook Narrators and Producers, and Audiobook Crowd are full of pros and a group history full of useful questions and answers. If you’re already on the path with some booked jobs to your credit, Voiceover Pros will give you a good crowd. Voiceover Mamas is pretty self explanatory. It’s a serious challenge to juggle a career in voiceover and kids! VOPreneur, and Voiceover Camp are both groups aimed towards people starting out in our business, and if you’re looking for basic business information, they’ll get you started.
2. Blogs– Since blogging has been around nearly since the internet began, there is a truly vast amount of information available. People have been writing their thoughts and experiences in voiceover for decades. Before we discuss the blogs themselves, voice actor’s websites contain useful information in other ways as well. First of all, the sites themselves can give you some thoughts on design for your own website. Second, you’ll get a useful idea how it’s most commonly done to present yourself to potential clients. Third, for people who are solid pros you might want to emulate, you’ll be able to hear their standard of work in their demos. There are not a lot of hard no’s in design, but do not fake anything-like who you’ve worked for, or personal details. You will get found out eventually and look very bad.
Here’s a list of informational blogs to start with-
- Nethervoice– Dutch American voice actor Paul Strikwerda who delivers great viewpoints with a sprinkle of snark and sass
- Tom Dheere– VO Business guru and NY based voice actor.
- Karen Commins– Narrator blog, and if you’re interested in audiobooks, her Narrators Roadmap are chock full of good information.
- Kim Handysides– Montreal, Canada based coach and VO talent with tons of useful tips
- Voice Actor Websites– A great bunch of people to get a website built from, and a fantastic blog.
3. Podcasts–
If you’d rather listen and learn than read and learn, podcasts are for you. Just like the blogs there is an amazing amount of information available on every aspect of the business. Many specialize in various areas and genres of the industry, so you can look for information that’s as general or as specific as you want. Plus, the diverse array of guests is a great way to get a ‘taster’ for a coach or demo producer that you might be interested in. You’ll have the opportunity to listen to them and get a feel for them without spending anything. Then there’s the advice and experience of everyone from the up and coming to the decades long veteran. It’s a bonus to get to listen to as many “regular” talent hosts and guests. Hearing people who are not all that far from where you are is very encouraging.
4. Bonus Items! VOBS on youtube has every tech question you could possibly ask and then some. Speechless: Real Life in VO is a behind the scenes look at voiceover life from two lady talents!
One Last Golden Nugget
Remember that there’s no one path to success in voiceover. Every talent I’ve ever met has had a different journey to get where they are, and if yours doesn’t look like theirs, don’t be too hard on yourself. The important thing is to always be open to learning more, and to educate yourself to understand what the professional standard sounds like. Also, do not compare yourself to other people’s work! You don’t know what their life looks like, and the shiny part we see online never shows how much struggle may be in the background. Don’t make yourself unhappy when you could be doing something to better your own career.