How to Get Started in Voice Over for Beginners: Complete…

One of the problems with voice over advice on YouTube and in general is that it often comes from successful people. Stay with me …

Bring your message to life—get professional voice-over services today!

✔️Here i show you a top rated service: Click Here.

✔️And Here i show you more voice over artists.

well one of the problems with uh voice over advice on YouTube and I guess in general is that it often comes from successful voice actors huh well duh Paul why would we take advice from idiots now one reason is there’s a few out there mhm stay with me see among the things it takes to be successful is time so the people that are successful today started years often decades ago and the problem with that is voiceover is a very different business than it was 30 20 10 even 5 years ago and so many of the strategies and tactics and paths and techniques that made successful voice actors even way back in the 201s they don’t necessarily apply today now here in the mid 2020s and Beyond and if you’re getting into the business now today in the mid 2020s that’s a problem so today I’m going to tell you exactly what I would do if I were a brand new voice actor I’ll give you the whole timeline and how I would spend my not just my time but my money my attention my effort and my energy I’ll tell you what tools I would use what gear I would buy and just as importantly I would tell you some of the rookie mistakes that I made that I wouldn’t necessarily make again if I were a new voice actor today so if I were a new voice actor today right now the first thing I would do is spend three to six months doing research wow that’s so sexy Paul I’m all fired up to become a voice actor and you’re telling me to do what again research absolutely I stand by this 100% look before you spend a dime before you even figure out whether voice acting is something you want to do on any level hobbyist or Pro you need to find out just what the hell it is you’re getting into so how do you start to do that I recommend joining multiple Facebook groups for voice actors specifically for newer voice actors do that and spend a few weeks couple months listening lurking and learning okay so what Facebook groups should you join I’ll put the ones that I recommend specifically in the description and show notes with this episode why start this way your job for the first 3 to 6 months is just to get oriented start learning who the reputable coaches are and are not just because somebody has a big YouTube channel doesn’t mean they’re a reputable coach the reputable coaches will eventually through repetition come up over and over and over again in the vo groups and as you can currently begin to form relationships in these groups you can then start to ask around a little bit in these groups about the coaches names that do come up over and over again do your research ask around step two coaching I would not jump into the deep end of the pool at first when it comes to coaching and while you’re goal yes is to find a reputable coach that’s a good fit with whom you can get your initial Baseline training understand that reputable coaching is not cheap nor is it fast and so if you’re going to enter into a relationship with this person you sp better spend up good amount of time vetting for fit vetting for budget so that you can find one that’s not only reputable but a good fit for you start in the shallow end of the pool sample around with different coaches and different coaching companies and by the way under understand that you’re not limited to your hometown to find coaches online coaching is a thing and in fact it’s the predominant way that voiceover performance coaching is conducted today take some workshops take some one-off classes many coaches offer either a free consult or they’ll let you do the first class without any further commitment and this is the best way to sort of sample around and Sample a coach and and and get a get a sense for who they are what their teaching style is and how you Vibe with them and does what they say make sense to you intuitively I spend a couple two three months sampling around and trying to get that sense of fit trying to get that sense of you know who gets you best and then when you find one then start thinking about a commitment okay so what am I committing to good question glad you asked first of all there are multiple multiple genres of voice over and you need to start figuring that out there’s commercials and Audi books and video games and animation and promo and medical narration and dubbing and documentaries and inow narration and on and on and on and on start with the basics if you know you want to do audio books then start looking for an audiobook performance coach if you’re maybe not so sure what you want to do yet I might recommend these two genres commercial and corporate narration commercial will teach you acting and performance which will make everything you do from then on even better and corporate narration is plentiful there’s a lot of it out there and it counts for a lot of work now let me be clear on this point it takes months not weeks not a weekend webinar to get Baseline competent as a voice actor period you should expect to train consistent meaning at least twice a month for ideally 8 to 12 months with a reputable coach that’s likely to run you $150 to $200 a session I would budget overall about $4,000 that should get you 20 to 25 sessions with a good coach and if you’re training with your coach let’s say twice a month like our first example that gets you 10 to 12 months now should you commit to a full Year’s full of coaching at once no not necessarily most coaches will let you book session to session some will give you a discount if you book a certain number of sessions with them that can save you money overall but don’t feel like you should be made to commit to on one hand several months with a coach but on the other hand if you find a coach that you do feel like you’ve got a pretty good fit with early on then stick with that coach now you need to pay especially close attention here there are coaches and companies that will advertise crap like you can be a successful voice actor in 90 days with no experience necessary what to learn voice acting in under 30 days look at me look at me do not walk run away from these people this is complete unadulterated again it takes months not weeks not days to become a competent voice actor do not repeat do not yet think about a demo until you’re at least Baseline competent in your craft a demo will do you as much good as a bicycle your mission is solely your focus should be singularly for that first year to get as good as you possibly can at voice acting training with your coach taking acting classes taking improv classes a lot of which by the way are free or low cost at your local community college or places like community centers now if you’re new and you want to complete guide to training for newer voice actors click on this video here and if you’re listening to us on the audio podcast I’ll put that link in the show notes now at the same time as you’re learning the craft of voice acting you also need to start learning to record and edit assuming you already have a computer you’ll need a mic and some software go and download an app called audacity again Link in the description and show notes it’s free and it’s fantastic after that search audacity tutorials for beginners you’ll get a whole playlist on YouTube start with this one here by Mike Russell and finally you’re going to need a starter microphone go get yourself a Blue Yeti microphone it’s a USB mic and will plug straight into your computer it’s 99 bucks on Amazon and the link is into the description and show notes now as an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases but you don’t have to get it on Amazon you can get it anywhere this is not repeat not a pro level mic so why do I recommend getting the $99 cheapy because you’re brand new you don’t even know if you like voice acting yet why drop hundreds of dollars when all you need to do right now is to record yourself be able to get that audio into your computer edit it with the free software and be able to listen back to it you can always upgrade if and when you need to practice recording practice editing practice listening back to yourself every damn day finally you need a space in your home to record that doesn’t sound like you recorded in a bathroom on the turnpike ideally if you have a walk-in closet record in there and leave the hanging clothes in there because they will help treat the space and dampen the sound so that you don’t get any Echo reverberation what we sometimes call slapback if you don’t have a walk-in closet but let’s say you have a very small bedroom you can use things like moving blankets and mattress toppers to help treat the space treat the walls treat the ceiling get a cheap rug treat the floor step three it’s finally starting to become time to think about those first demos if at this point you still love voiceover and you think it’s something that you might want to do professionally toward the end of your initial Baseline training you’re going to start thinking about your demos do not in red capital letters produce your own demos for a myriad of reasons why watch this video right here remember that process that you research coaches with well you’re going to use it again for demo producers you’re going to research them just like you did coaches now one great tool that has only come about fairly recently I highly recommend the voiceover demo producer series on the podcast vo Booth besties they have a podcast and they have a YouTube channel I’ll put both of those links in the description this is the best demo producer research tool I know of where you can start to get to learn who some of the reputable producers are how they work learn about the demo production process overall and again using roughly the same process start talking to these reaching out to these people see if you can have an info session with each one of them interview them find out a little bit about how they work and what their process is what they expect from you what you should expect from them all right Schmidt what’s this going to cost me well it’s a pretty wide range expect reasonably to pay between ,000 and $2500 per demo so if you trained in commercial and corporate narration expect to spend between two and five grand on your first two demos now once your demos are done or even as you’re producing your demos you’re approach in the time where you’re going to start to look for paid work so before you do your demos is a good time to upgrade to your first basic prevel XLR connection microphone with a separate audio interface that’s a separate box that you plug your mic into and that box plugs into your computer now there are dozens and dozens and dozens of choices here and there really is no standard recommended mic or audio interface for everybody because everybody’s voice and everybody’s recording space is a little bit different but assuming you’re starting out assuming you’re in your first year or so and assuming you don’t have a professional grade recording studio in your home your space is going to be less than ideal and for that reason I typically recommend a shotgun microphone sounds dangerous but it’s not a shotgun mic this is a shotgun microphone it looks like well the barrel of a shotgun right this particular shotgun microphone I highly highly recommend it’s called the Cinco D2 SNY D2 a shotgun mic will help mitigate ambient noise such as my office here which is not a treated space this Singo is a professional mic has an XLR connection on the back here one of these it’ll run you 200 bucks on Amazon and it sounds really really good and lastly you’ll need what’s called an audio interface this is a small box into which you will plug your mic and that that box will then get plugged into a USB port on your computer your audio interface will also send 48 volts of what we call phantom power to your microphone that’s the current that’s actually going to drive the microphone and it’s going to Route the audio signal from the mic into your computer the one I recommend is the Steinberg ur22 without getting technical it’s got a super clean sound and you can get yourself one on Amazon for $200 again Link in the description and show notes so all told so far I recommended about $500 worth of audio hardware and let’s throw in the blankets and mattress toppers let’s say 650 or so total for gear step four marketing when your demos are done when you have your recording space settled when you have learned to record and edit it’s getting time to start going out and finding work first thing you’ll need a professional competent website why well you just spent several thousand dollar on your demos you need a place to Showcase them a place to drive buyers to once you’ve reached out to them so that they can listen to your demos and your website will become the Hub of all your marketing it’s what buyers will look at it’s what agents will look at it is your calling card if you can do this on your own great most people can’t trust me I see some awful websites Dreadful websites that look like they were slapped together by a drunk seven-year-old on a dare I highly recommend working with a pro on this this you get one shot to impress people and if you don’t do it well you might not get them back the two companies I recommend most highly are voice actor websites by Joe Davis and center stage design by naen charlson again links in the description and show notes budget I’d recommend an initial budget of1 to $5,000 to get a good basic 1page website up and running that includes your website includes the design you’re going to want to account for photography and branding 1 to $5,000 depending on your needs should get the job done now once all that stuff’s in place demos website reporting space skills or Baseline competent then and only then are you ready to go to market that means to start looking for work from Pro clients at Pro rates how do you do that well if you don’t know how and chances are just sheer odds you don’t have the foggiest you’ll have to learn to Market just like you had to learn to be a voice actor you had to learn the craft of voice acting you had to learn to record and you had to learn to edit you’re going to have to learn to Market learning to do the work is not the same as learning to find the work and this may come as a shock but if you don’t find any work there won’t be any work to do once you have your demos and your website and your skills are nailed down or as those things are coming together I highly recommend with obvious bias the V Freedom master plan this is my signature program which will teach you from Soup To Nuts how to find clients how to reach out to them what to say how to say it how to follow up and how to build your business over time or you could spend spend a few to several years learning to do that on your own step five auditioning as you get out into the world of voice acting you will need to Source auditions you won’t have an agent and it will take you several months for your marketing to spin up and ramp up to the point where you’re getting on rosters getting auditions sent to you in the meantime what do you do this is one of the few times I recommend spending $ or $500 on a basic paid membership with one of the two large online casting sites also known as payt plays in our business voices.com and voice123.com with this huge caveat do not believe do not think for a minute that you will simply sit on these websites audition for work on these websites and grow a successful career ain’t going to happen my friend that used to be possible that hasn’t been possible since these sites became overrun with unqualified and underqualified voice actors during covid-19 when I say the business has changed in the last few years that’s one big shift that I’m talking about both of these sites are oversaturated with Talent voices.com business practices have been let’s just call it questionable historically and that’s being kind and 123’s algorithm the process by which they send you auditions and vet you for auditions is well I’m just going to go ahead and use questionable again you are not joining a pay to play in your first year is a voice actor to get a ton of work you’re paying for a source of auditions so that you can get your audition process down so that you can get it tuned and finally tuned look if you were decent just average as a firste voice actor you may book one out of every 100 auditions that you go out for you’re not there primarily to get work you’re there primarily in your first year to learn how to audition you’re there to learn what kind of jobs you’re right for to start to get a hand handle on what your strengths and weaknesses are what you like and what you don’t like I recommend doing as many auditions as you can every damn day if you can for several months get your process down to a science get your recording and editing process dialed in get really really good while you’re doing that let your marketing ramp up and you’ll start slowly to begin to attract inquiries auditions sometimes even clients then when that first year on the pay to play is over you’ve got that audition process where out you’re rolling now you know how to audition you’re starting to get a handle on what worked as good for you what you’re good at get off the pay to plays keep marketing keep building your body of work keep developing those relationships all right so let’s step back and start to add up all the time and money and effort that we’ve laid out here so far I’ve recommended about $500 worth of audio gear another let’s say $150 to treat your space that’s 650 bucks or so for gear $4,000 and about a a year initially for training $2,000 to $5,000 and maybe about 2 to 3 months to get your demos together $1,000 to $5,000 and probably two to three or 4 months to get your website together all told figure 10 to 15 grand in startup costs to get your voice acting business off the ground and about a year and a half to two years to get to the point where you got all that work done and you’re finally starting to go to market and look for work 10 to 15 grand year and a half to two does that sound like a lot this is a business and businesses have startup costs if you think 10 grand in 2 years is a lot and it’s not a small insignificant amount of time or money but compare it to becoming a plumber starting a dentist’s office or opening an Arby’s franchise the average initial franchise fee in this country is $25 to $50,000 and that’s just to use the brand name the business model and the intellectual property by the way for a set period of time these are my best recommendations if I were to start a voice acting business from scratch right now not 5 or 10 or 30 years ago and likely these recommendations will change in the next 5 years or even sooner is this the only way to get started hell no there are infinite paths to getting started in this business even with this starter path that I just laid out you’re going to find your own path that works for you some of my recommendations maybe all of my recommendations won’t work for you and that’s okay you will find your own path you will find find your own success if and only if you keep at it go to v. proo right now to learn more about the vo Freedom master plan the vo Pro community and to get my move touch Inspire newsletter for voice actors that comes out every single week if this guide helped you if you feel like it was valuable for you if you feel like it might be valuable for someone else who’s considering getting into voice acting then please by all means share it with them whether it’s on social media or email or text or whatever we’d really appreciate the the the opportunity to help them out if you’re new to the channel we publish videos every single week about the business of VoiceOver make sure you like subscribe and hit that notification button so you be the first to know when we publish a new video every week thanks so much for watching for reading for joining us on the audio podcast and we will see you again next week

Make your content unforgettable with our expert voice-over services—reach out today!

✔️Here i show you a top rated artist: Click Here.

✔️And Here i show you more to choose.