Where can you find voice-over work?
I mean, you’ve already…
Learned how to become a voice actor and mastered your voice-over training…
And your recording studio setup is killer…
…you sound amazing!
But…where is the voice-over work? Why aren't you getting more voice over jobs?
Where can you go to get more voice acting jobs?
Here’s the thing…
Voice actors who consistently thrive in the voice-over business do two things extremely well:
First, they discover and test strategies and techniques they can use to find voice-over work and clients.
Second, they put 100% of their effort into executing, scaling and repeating the techniques that bring them the best results.
So whether you're just learning how to become a voice actor or you're stuck with a nice mic and a killer demo but no work to do, no worries.
Here are a bunch of techniques and strategies you can use TODAY to find voice-over work!
Each one only takes a few minutes to get started.
And these aren't just ways to find voice over jobs for beginners, even seasoned voice acting veterans can use this guide to get more voice work.
Let's get started...
FIND VOICE-OVER WORK
USING THE BBS TECHNIQUE
Many years ago when I worked in radio, the sales people would often work out barter deals with local businesses.
So a local business would provide something the station needed (like t shirts or gift cards for giveaways) and the station would trade advertising time on the station.
Local bartering like this works well for 2 reasons:
First, both sides receive value with little out of pocket cost.
And second, local businesses like to help out other local businesses.
Well the BBS technique is kinda like a distant cousin to local bartering.
The BBS technique is simple…
It’s where the buyer becomes the seller.
And working in radio taught me to start looking for voice acting jobs near me, locally.
Basically you’re promoting your voice-over services to the local (or regional) businesses you do business with.
Here’s how to use the BBS Technique to find voice-over work:
STEP 1: HIRE SOMEONE FOR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
The number one rule for the BBS technique is that you’re only contacting businesses you actually need and are seriously considering to purchase a product or service from. Don’t waste anyone’s time!
Think of a service or a product that you need right now or that you’ve recently purchased. It could be tires, a new dentist, lawn mowing service, anything.
Find a company you think you’d want to hire or purchase from and contact them.
STEP 2: BUY THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU NEED
Decide whether you want to purchase from this company. If you decide to purchase from them go ahead and hire them.
Now you have an in at the company.
STEP 3: RESEARCH THE COMPANY’S VOICE-OVER NEEDS
Now check out the company’s website and see if they have online videos or commercials posted. Try to find ways they can use voice-over in their business.
Do they have voice-over already?
If not, contact the person you’ve been dealing with and tell them you do voice-over.
For example, when I finished off my attic and built a new recording studio I had to hire an insulation contractor. After meeting with the salesperson and doing some research, I saw they had a YouTube channel with a few videos but the videos didn’t have voice-over!
So I mentioned it to the salesperson who put me in touch with the right person at the company.
Here’s the email I sent:
Here’s the response I received (almost right away):
And this is just to get your foot in the door.
Once you’re doing voice-over for one part of their business, become the voice of their brand by being the voice of their phone greetings, sales videos and in-house training programs.
Do great work for them and they’ll keep coming back to you.
Repeat the BBS technique for every service, product and purchase you make.
I was able to use this one strategy to quickly find voice acting jobs near me, with zero competition.
FIND VOICE ACTING JOBS BY
CONNECTING WITH CLIENTS ON LINKEDIN
Another great way to find and connect with potential voice-over clients is on LinkedIn, the business social network where you showcase your professional abilities and work experience, linking with potential voice-over clients and other professionals who can help you grow your business!
Here’s how to get voice-over work through LinkedIn:
STEP 1: CREATE A PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
‘Professional’ is the key here, and remember that you’re trying to draw the interest of potential clients, not make new friends!
There are some great resources out there for writing your LinkedIn profile in the best way, here’s one of them, and some general tips include using a professional, friendly picture (no party shots here please!), describe exactly what you do for clients, and complete all the sections with the relevant details.
STEP 2: FIND POTENTIAL CLIENTS
First, you’ll need to identify potential clients, whether that’s in the particular industry or niche you specialize in, or by their job title.
Let’s think about finding video producers, for example.
Simply search for that job role in the search bar, and a list will come up.
Once you’ve found potential clients, all you need to do is send a connection request by selecting ‘connect’ to the right of their name, or on their full profile.
As LinkedIn tells you itself, members are more likely to accept invitations that include a personal note, so I’d recommend doing just that.
YOUR VOICE ON YOUTUBE VIDEOS
Since videos and voice-over go hand in hand, what if there was a way to find the people who create videos and sell them your voice-over services?
Oh wait. There IS!
YouTube has over 400 hours of video uploaded every minute! Sure some are cute cat videos but businesses are uploading marketing videos too.
Use YouTube to look for businesses creating content without voice-over.
Here’s how to use YouTube to find voice-over work:
STEP 1: NARROW IT DOWN
400 hours of video every minute is a lot to search through. So your first step is to search for something you’re interested in.
It can be anything!
VOICE-OVER TIP
When you set out to search for a YouTube video in need of voice-over you may draw a blank on what exactly to search for.
Sometimes it’s best to just know how to do this technique and use it during your normal video watching life. When you find a video that doesn’t have voice-over that would be much better if it did – this is when you can pull out this strategy.
For example, say you were researching gutters and you found this video:
It’s a well produced video.
It has a logo, intro and outro animation, music…
…but no voice-over!
You’ll also see they have over 30,000 subscribers:
That’s a nice sized audience!
Now click the channel name for a list of their videos and you’ll see how often they upload a video:
If they haven’t uploaded a video within the last 4 months or so, move on.
STEP 2: REACH OUT TO THE YOUTUBER
Now it’s time to reach out to the owner of the YouTube channel.
It’s important that you research the business, know what they do, who to contact, where they are located…etc.
Click the “About” tab and you’ll get a load of information. You can use the “Send Message” button to send a message directly through YouTube or they’ll usually have a website listed.
Go to their website and contact them that way.
Whichever way you choose to contact them, keep your message short, don’t include any links or it’ll be considered spam, be honest about how you found them and try to build a relationship.
You’ll have a better chance of getting a voice-over job and possibly ongoing voice-over work.
BUILD YOUR VOICE-OVER CLIENT BASE USING GOOGLE
There isn’t much you can’t find on Google…
…including voice-over work.
In fact, many voice actors have built a strong voice-over business using this technique alone.
You just gotta know how.
Here’s how you can find voice-over work using Google:
STEP 1: SEARCH FOR CLIENTS
First, head to Google and think about a specific type of client based on your voice-over niche (ie. video game company, animation business, explainer video production company, etc.).
The hard part is that some businesses use slightly different keywords to describe similar services.
For example, one prospect may use the description of an “animation company” while another may say they’re a “motion graphics studio”.
Once you’ve got the voice-over niche you want to search, now it’s time to narrow your search down to a nearby location.
One of the great things about working from home as a voice actor is that you can work from anywhere. That said though, there may not be an animation studio or video production company in your area. If this is the case, use the largest city within 2 hours from where you are located.
So your search in Google will look something like this “type of client” + location:
128k results of prospects! Sounds promising.
VOICE-OVER TIP
NEVER click on an AD in the search results when you’re searching for clients. These advertisers are paying to find clients. If you click the ad you’ll cost them money and that is not how you want to start a relationship.
STEP 2: LEARN ABOUT THE VOICE-OVER PROSPECT
Click on an organic result (avoid the ads), visit the site and read up on the prospect.
This is where you need to take the time to research, check out their portfolio and learn exactly what they do.
Ask yourself: Could my voice-over add value to the work this company is doing?
STEP 3: INTRODUCE YOURSELF
If it’s a good match for you, it’s time to reach out.
There’s a right way and a wrong way to reach out to a potential voice-over client.
Here’s what NOT to do:
Don’t just jump to the contact page, copy the email address and send some long generic email with your demos attached.
People won’t take the time to read a long, unsolicited email with large audio files attached. Never assume a prospect wants to hear your demo.
They didn’t ask for the email or your demo and most likely aren’t going to be impressed with you junking up their inbox.
Your email will come off as spammy.
They’ll be instantly annoyed that you wasted their time trying to sell them something.
And it’s a really selfish thing to do.
That is not the first impression you want to have with a potential client.
You want to build a relationship with them. So before you reach out to them, look them up on social media, follow them, like them, read and make comments on their blog. This will help open the door to a relationship with the company. It shows you know what they’re about.
It makes them feel special.
When the timing is right reach out to the prospect using email or social media. Here’s a formula to keep in mind when contacting a prospect:
Use the person’s name in the message. If the best greeting you can come up with is “To Whom It Concern”, then you need to do more research to find out who is the best person to contact.
Keep your message short. Clients are busy so get to the point quickly in 2-3 sentences at most.
Don’t make it about you, make it about them. The message shouldn’t be about what you want, it should be about what the client wants.
Ask before sending your demo. Don’t attach your demo or a link to a demo until you ask if the client is interested. When you ask someone if you can send them a demo it shows that you value their time.
If you follow that formula when reaching out to prospects you’ll make a great first impression and have your best chance at picking up a new client.
It will take time and effort but it’s a great way to build your client base.
GETTING REPRESENTED BY A VOICE-OVER AGENT CAN HELP YOU GET MORE VOICE-OVER WORK
Having an agent isn’t just for celebrities!
Being represented by an agency is great for adding another way of getting yourself out there. Many years ago, it was the only way.
While you should continue to market your services directly, an agency will usually have valuable connections and have exclusive job opportunities.
So how do you get yourself on their books?
Here’s how you can find voice-over agents using Google:
STEP 1: SEARCH FOR AGENCIES
Before you start looking for representation you should have established yourself enough to have a professionally produced demo to share.
A quick Google search should find a list for you, and your instinct might be to search for agencies near you, which is a great place to start. While you can work from anywhere, some agencies prefer to represent local talent.
You can skip google and just see lists of voice-over agencies here and here.
STEP 2: LEARN ABOUT THE AGENCY
Visit the site and read up on the agency.
Before you even approach them, you need to do your own research to make sure they’re the right fit for you, and vice versa.
Check out what their process is, whether they have openings, and how they like voice-over talent to apply. An agency isn’t going to accept just anyone on their books, so you need to make sure you make the best first impression!
STEP 3: INTRODUCE YOURSELF
Make sure you find out how each individual agent wants you to submit your details, and make sure you actually get in touch in the right way!
They probably get inundated with requests to be represented, so they’ll find it easy to discount the artists who don’t follow instructions.
Don’t let your submission get discounted before they have a chance to consider you!
Keep your introductory message short and get to the point quickly, as long as they have the information they’ve asked for, your demo reel should (literally!) do the talking for you!
Don’t get discouraged if you’re struggling to get signed up with an agency – there could be all sorts of reasons why you’re not the right fit for them at this time. Even if they pass up on the chance this time, keep in touch and try again at a later date!
And keep in mind, agency submissions are usually a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” type of thing.
FIND VOICE-OVER JOBS ON TWITTER USING HASHTAGS
Finding voice-over work on Twitter is easy for two reasons:
One: people love to tweet about what they’re doing, projects their working on and things they are looking for. They even use hashtags which help organize all that data.
And two: Twitter makes it simple to find and connect with those people.
Here’s how to get voice-over work with Twitter:
STEP 1: SEARCH TWITTER
Sure – you can use the toolbar search field for quick searches but by using Twitter’s advanced search page you can get more detailed results. The advanced search page allows you to search by words, phrases, hashtags, dates and even location.
Here’s a few examples of searches to do on Twitter to find voice-over work…
You can search a general hashtag like #voiceoverjob or search a phrase that goes along with your niche of voice-over like “audio book narrator” or use it to find clients with a phrase like “video production company”.
STEP 2: SCAN THE RESULTS
Your search will most likely bring back massive results which you’ll need to sort through.
Then you’ll find something like…
STEP 3: CONNECT
Now you just need to make contact with the user to discuss the job or potential for future voice-over work.
Easy right?
At 500 million tweets per day, things are always changing. So you’ll want to check back often to find the newly posted voice-over opportunities.
GET SCOUTED FOR ENVATO STUDIO
Envato Studio is different from other freelance websites like Upwork because they hand pick the freelancers.
It’s community of designers, developers and creatives (including voice actors).
So if you want to see if you make the cut, there’s just one thing to do:
STEP 1: FILL OUT THE FORM
Since new providers are scouted by the website, so it’s not as easy as registering an account.
The first step is to register an interest by filling in this form – good luck!
LAND BIG NAME VOICE-OVER JOBS USING VOICES.COM
It’s no secret that Voices.com is one of the largest pay-to-play voice casting websites in the world.
They’ve been around since 2003 and have done an excellent job creating a marketplace where voice talents and businesses who are in need of voice-over can come together.
I’ve been able to work with some really big name clients thanks to Voices.com.
If you want access to voice-over jobs, being a member of Voices is a no-brainer.
Once you’re a member you’ll receive so many job invitations it’s easy to get overwhelmed. To prevent audition overload and for details on how to make the most of your membership check out the voice acting auditions on Voices Step-by-Step Guide.
Here’s how to get started on Voices:
STEP 1: SIGN UP FOR A FREE VOICES.COM ACCOUNT
Go to Voices.com and click the “Register Now – Instant Access to Jobs” button. Create your free voice talent profile by completing this sign up form…
…And then click the big “SIGN UP” button.
VOICE-OVER TIP
The username you use will end up being the URL address of your voices.com profile (ie. /jasonmccoy). So avoid cutesy names and keep it professional by using your name or your business name).
STEP 2: COMPLETE YOUR TALENT PROFILE AND UPLOAD DEMOS
If you don’t complete your talent profile and upload your voice demos, you have zero chance of being hired.
In order for clients to discover you in search results you need to complete your profile and upload your demos. Click “Complete Your Profile” and it’ll walk you through setting up your profile.
VOICE-OVER TIP
One common mistake newbies make is saying they can do everything (ie. child voice, senior, characters). If you aren’t excellent at it, don’t list it on your profile. You’ll still get plenty of job invitations and you won’t waste your time trying to do something you’re not that good at.
STEP 3: GO PREMIUM (OPTIONAL)
The free “guest” account is great because you can view (but not respond to) all of the public job postings, be found in search results, and audition for private job invitations.
But not being able to respond to public job postings is a big downside to the free account, since public job postings are a large part of finding voice-over work. So if you can afford to upgrade to the premium for $499/year, go for it! Or try it out for a month and see if you land any work.
If you’re interested in the Voices premium membership, use promo code VOICEACTINGAFF and you’ll save $50 (this is an affiliate code).
Here’s a list of all the Premium benefits:
Even if you don’t purchase the premium membership and just stick with the free account, at least you’ll be able to view the job postings, practice scripts and possibly be found be a potential client.
RADIO & TV STATIONS WILL ALWAYS HAVE VOICE-OVER WORK
Sadly, many radio and TV stations around the country have been hit hard with budget cut backs.
I’ve been away from radio for years but even back in the day when I worked for a local station everyone had multiple job responsibilities.
The fact is radio and TV station staff are asked to do a lot: be a personality on the air, commercial production, voice tracking, meetings, remote broadcasts…that’s a lot for one person to handle.
You could go to the stations and try to ease the workload of the staff by offering your voice-over services. You’d want to contact the creative director or production manager.
And that does work (see #16).
Sometimes.
But with the budget cuts, stations often can’t afford to pay for outside voice talent to voice commercials.
So here’s a different approach to getting voice-over work that airs on radio and TV stations:
STEP 1: BE ON THE LOOKOUT
Anytime a commercial break happens on radio or TV, turn it up and pay attention. Listen or watch and pay special attention to:
1) the voice. Do you recognize the same voices for different ads running on air?
2) the name of the advertiser.
VOICE-OVER TIP
Check local magazines too! If a business is advertising in a magazine they may be interested in using your voice to advertise their business in some audio capacity too.
STEP 2: REACH OUT TO THE ADVERTISER
Now reach out to the advertiser you heard and do a custom sample showing them how by hiring you as their voice their ads would improve.
This way your client is the advertiser and not the station. Here’s why it’s better to approach the business directly:
Radio and TV stations = Low to no budget for production. Need to keep expenses to a minimum.
Businesses = Medium to large budget to spend on advertising.
So why would an advertiser pay for an outside voice talent (especially when they can often get the ad produced for free when they purchase on-air advertising)?
In order to help their ad stand out from the crowd.
I’ve worked with several clients who hire me strictly because if a local station produced their commercial it would be 1 of the same 3 on-air voices.
They want to sound unique.
Having a voice that isn’t the same voice that was just heard on a competitor’s spot in the last commercial break is a huge selling point for advertisers.
VOICE BUNNY PAYS YOU TO AUDITION FOR VOICE ACTING JOBS
VoiceBunny is related to Voice123 (same founder) but works much differently (see #17). To become a voice actor on VoiceBunny you have to submit an application and be accepted.
Only 2% of applicants make the cut. So make sure your voice acting skills and demos are top notch before applying.
They also test your knowledge and response time and use that to either accept or reject your application.
So if you know what you’re doing, are fast and professional you’ve got a better shot at being accepted.
Why are they so picky about who they accept?
It’s because they don’t make money with application, subscription or commission fees.
WHAT? No fees!?
Yep! VoiceBunny is NOT a pay to play site. They make money by adding margins on top of voice talent rates.
Which is why they only want professional talent who will likely land jobs on their voice talent roster. They make money when you make money.
Because VoiceBunny is unlike many other sites it can be a little complicated.
Here’s the general idea:
If accepted, you can get voice-over work in 2 ways:
(1) clients come to you or
(2) find the voice-over work yourself.
The first way, called a Booking is pretty standard. You upload your demos, set your rates, clients find and book you, you do the voice-over and get paid.
Simple right?
Here’s where VoiceBunny is a bit different…
With a Contest, clients submit projects, you review and pick projects to work on, do the voice-over and get paid.
Notice anything missing there?
You were never actually hired to do the job.
That’s because you’re being paid for the audition (although not much). Then you get a bonus if you’re selected as the winner for the project.
Here’s an example of a small contest on VoiceBunny:
So you’d receive $14.82 to audition (which varies for each talent) and if selected as the winner you’d get an additional $22.79.
Now these rates are nowhere near standard rates, but it’s a start and a way to build up some cash for reinvesting in your business.
One more option for snagging voice-over work on VoiceBunny is called a Speedy. It’s similar to a contest except instead of several voice actors auditioning the website picks one talent to complete the project.
Everything happens very fast on VoiceBunny so you’ve got to be quick to make it work.
Here’s how to get started on VoiceBunny:
STEP 1: CREATE AN ACCOUNT AND APPLY TO BE A VOICE BUNNY PRO
Go to VoiceBunny, read the details and click apply. Fill in your info (name, email, etc) and from here you’ll start the application process.
STEP 2: TAKE THE TESTS
Once you create an account you’ll take a short test and submit a test voice-over. VoiceBunny will check your answers and your work for quality.
STEP 3: CUSTOMIZE YOUR VOICE BUNNY PROFILE
If you pass the knowledge and audition tests – congrats! Now you just need to sign an agreement and customize your VoiceBunny public profile page which includes setting your rates.
Then you’ll begin getting voice over jobs from VoiceBunny clients.
FIND VOICE-OVER JOBS ON TWITTER USING HASHTAGS
Backstage is a one of the largest resources for performing artists (including voice actors). They post over 30,000 audition announcements every year. Most of these are for stage or screen actors but they do have postings for voice actors as well.
Voice-over jobs include tv shows, audiobooks, movies, documentaries, tv, commecials, video games and more.
New voice acting jobs are posted daily!
Here’s how to get started on Backstage:
STEP 1: PREVIEW VOICE-OVER AUDITIONS
Go to the Backstage page that already filters out all the non voice-over jobs. You can narrow the results down by gender and age, but most importantly make sure you check the “Paid Only” check box under “Compensation”:
STEP 2: BROWSE THE RESULTS
Now scroll through the results until you find a project you’re interested in. Pay special attention to the location as some jobs only accept local voice actors or may require you to travel:
Also check the compensation section to make sure you’re good with the payment amount for the project.
STEP 3: JOIN BACKSTAGE
Once you find a voice-over project you’d like to audition for you’ll need to sign up for Backstage. Membership fees vary but run around $20/month or $140/year.
Once you’re a member of Backstage you will create your talent profile and be able to apply for roles you find. There are no limits to the number of jobs you apply for.
SIX FIGURES FROM VOICE-OVER JOBS ON FIVERR?
Before you skip this technique thinking your voice is worth more than $5 (and I have no doubt it is), hear me out.
In case you don’t know about Fiverr, it’s a marketplace that sells digital creative services (graphic design, video editing, voice-over, etc.) starting at just 5 bucks.
People love to hate on Fiverr. I even considered not including this one because of the negativity that surrounds the service. But again, I believe each person has a right to make their own business decisions.
So love ’em or hate ’em – the fact is, Fiverr attracts a lot of people looking for voice-over talent.
This stat shows there have been over 941k voice-over jobs completed on the site:
So when you have a large number of people in search of voice-over talent, that makes it one way to find voice-over work.
It makes good sense for some but it’s not right for all.
Here’s why:
Unlike pay-to-play sites, there is no membership fee. So if you’re just getting started as a voice-over talent and you spent all your cash on equipment, it’s less upfront cost. A 20% commission is charged on jobs you complete. So for a $5 job you’d get $4.
That low price is the main beef people have with Fiverr. So let’s first figure that out…
You’ve gotta remember that $5 is just the starting price. In fact, Fiverr originally had a mandatory base price of $5 (hence the name) but now you can set your base price for $25, $50 and $100.
And you choose what someone gets (how much work on your end is required) for that price point, which means you’re setting your own rates. Plus you can price add-ons to increase your rate even more.
So let’s break this down…
There’s no membership fee…
To join a site with millions of visitors looking for voice-over…
You get to set your own rates and terms…
And you don’t need to audition to be hired!
Test it!
Even if your rates are higher than the competition, someone may be willing to pay more to have YOU voice their project.
And some people are killing it on Fiverr!
Just check out this listing:
She has over 26,000 reviews…
And over 50,000 delivered voice-over projects:
So assuming all 50,000 of those orders didn’t have any add-on costs and she received only $4 each, (even though she’s now charging $10 as her minimum) that’s $200k just on Fiverr.
Still think Fiverr is a joke?
Now don’t get me wrong, 50,000 thirty second scripts is a lot of work! That works out to 25,000 minutes or over 416 hours of finished voice-over…which is $480 per finished hour of audio.
Your decision whether or not to list on Fiverr is easy to figure out just by considering where you are in your voice-over career. If you’re slammed with high paying work, you don’t want or need Fiverr.
But if you have zero voice-over jobs and bills to pay, it may be a strategy to consider.
For me personally, there was one other big factor that helped me make my decision about whether or not to be listed on Fiverr.
If it makes sense for you, here’s how to get started on Fiverr:
STEP 1: JOIN FIVERR
Join Fiverr by going to the site and creating your Fiverr account.
STEP 2: CREATE YOUR VOICE-OVER GIG
Once inside your account, click “Start Selling” and then the “Create a Gig” button:
Fiverr will walk you through your voice-over gig’s description and pricing.
Make sure you’re upfront and honest about pricing and turnaround times.
STEP 3: PUBLISH YOUR GIG
Finally, just publish your gig and your voice-over services will be on the Fiverr marketplace ready for sale!
LBD'S ARE A GOLDMINE FOR FINDING VOICE-OVER WORK
With all the worldwide online search capabilities we have today it’s easy to forget about the voice-over work available locally.
Local business directories are loaded with potential voice-over clients.
Have you ever checked out your local chamber of commerce business directory? You’ll easily find local business listings with websites and contact information.
LBDs have everything you need to find prospects and build relationships.
Here’s how to get voice-over work using your local business directory:
STEP 1: FIND YOUR LOCAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Do a quick Google search to find your local chamber of commerce. You can use “(your city) chamber of commerce”:
STEP 2: CHECK OUT THE DIRECTORY
Click on the link to go to your local chamber of commerce site.
Most chamber of commerce websites have a “Member Directory” section:
This gives a lot of information about local businesses, usually separated into categories.
Go through the list and look for businesses you feel could gain value from your voice-over services.
Visit the website of the business to get more details about what they do.
STEP 3: REACH OUT
Connect with them on social media or reach out by sending them a quick email (the person listed in the directory is a good place to start). Think about where voice-over fits in and could benefit their business.
Could you voice their phone prompts?
Do they have online videos without professional voice-over?
Do they use e-learning as a part of their hiring process?
If you really want to impress them, don’t tell them what you can do, let them hear what you can do.
Use info you find on their website to write a short script and send them a custom voice-over sample.
A custom sample has the ability to instantly WOW a prospect.
It’ll definitely improve your chances of getting a response and more importantly, a new voice-over client.
ACCESS TO VOICE-OVER JOBS AROUND THE WORLD WITH BODALGO
Based in Munich, Germany, Bodalgo is a pay-to play site that brings in voice-over work opportunities from outside the US.
One of the really nice things about Bodalgo is that they don’t actively market to voice actors. Instead they spend their marketing budget finding businesses with jobs to post.
Bodalgo has a clean, easy to use dashboard:
As you can see, everything you need to make changes to your profile or answer castings can be found right there in one place.
As a member of Bodalgo you won’t see as many English speaking job postings as the North American based pay-to-play voice casting sites but the jobs tend to be higher paying. The clients who post voice-over jobs are typically located outside the U.S.
Another plus for Bodalgo is it’s simplicity. There are no commissions, fees or add on costs. Voice talents work with and are paid by clients directly. No middleman.
Bodalgo has done it right for voice actors!
Here’s how to get started on Bodalgo:
STEP 1: REGISTER FOR A VOICE TALENT ACCOUNT
Go to Bodalgo and select “I want to register as a voice talent” under Account type. Then fill in your name, email and create a password.
STEP 2: LOG INTO YOUR BODALGO ACCOUNT AND PICK A MEMBERSHIP PLAN
With the free membership you have a profile and can see the public job postings and their budget but not the script. I recommend upgrading to a paid membership. Bodalgo has 3 paid membership plans you can upgrade to:
A month to month plan called “Bodalgo 30” – it costs 24.90 Euro per month (which is around $30 USD) per month.
A six month plan called “Bodalgo 180” – it costs 119.90 Euro (which is around $130 USD).
and a one-year plan called “Bodalgo 360” – which costs 219.90 Euro (about $250 USD).
If you’re not ready to commit to a year, do what I did and try it out for a month:
I picked up 2 new clients within the first month I tested it. So it really paid off. Those are clients I never would have been exposed to without being a member of Bodalgo.
STEP 3: UPDATE YOUR PROFILE
Now make sure your profile and demos are up to date. Once you upgrade you can instantly audition for any open jobs. Check out the “New Castings” section for currently available jobs or wait for emails that notify you of new opportunities.
VOICE-OVER TIP
Some jobs on Bodalgo are quoted in US Dollars but most are in Euros. So before you quote a voice-over project make sure you do the currency conversion using a calculator.
MARKET YOUR VOICE-OVER WORK DIRECTLY TO RADIO AND TV STATIONS
Radio imaging was one of my first loves. It’s what got me into voice-over in the first place and the first few clients I ever had were radio imaging clients (back in the mid-90’s).
Radio Mall offers a database of radio and tv station contact information, so you can market directly to them for imaging or even commercial work.
With prices ranging from $99 to $389, you can download a database of names and email addresses for Program Directors, Sales Managers, General Managers, Production Directors, and Operations Managers, so you have direct access to the people you need to get in front of.
And most importantly, the contact information is kept up-to-date and current.
USE VOICE123 TO AUDITION DAILY FOR VOICE-OVER JOBS
Voice123 has over 40k clients and over 131k voice over jobs have been posted.
With numbers like that, it’s hard to deny that pay-to-play sites are one of the fastest and easiest ways to land new clients.
Voice123 brings people by the masses that have voice-over work straight to your email on a daily basis.
Wondering how many job opportunities you’ll get?
Here’s a look at my inbox from the other morning:
Those all came in overnight.
Guess how many of those I auditioned for?
ZERO!
Even though I don’t always audition or even read many of my Voice123 invitation emails, I’m still a paying member.
Why?
Two reasons:
First, it’s great exposure. People who are searching for voice talent that use Voice123 will find me. After they hear my demo, they will sometimes privately request that I audition for their job posting.
Like this:
When that happens I make sure to submit an audition and proposal.
Second, if I ever have down time or it’s a slow day I can scroll through the current jobs available, find one that fits me and submit an audition.
Here’s how to get started on Voice123:
STEP 1: CREATE YOUR FREE VOICE123 ACCOUNT
Go to Voice123 and signup for a free account. You can sign in using Linkedin, Facebook or email. I always use my email when I sign up for new things.
Fill out the required info and click “Create Account”.
STEP 2: CREATE YOUR VOICE ACTOR PROFILE
Voice123 makes it simple to create your voice actor profile. The site will walk you through your profile creation.
That’s it! Done!
With the free forever plan you’ll get a profile page, you can upload 10 demos, be found in the Voice123 search and audition for direct invitations.
A lot of times that’s enough but in case you want more action, you can sign up for a premium account.
By signing up for the Premium account ($395/year) you’ll be able to showcase unlimited demos, have better search ranking and get invited to audition for public jobs.
VOICE-OVER TIP
Hopefully you know to do this anytime you audition for voice-over work but be careful to only audition for jobs that you feel you’re a perfect match for.
Voice123 has a crazy intelligent algorithm called SmartCast which will judge you based on the ratings clients give you after listening to your audition. If your auditions continue to have low ratings SmartCast will take note and not send you as many opportunities.
Rumor has it they're doing away with SmartCast, but for now it’s still in place.
USING UPWORK FOR VOICE-OVER WORK
Upwork is the world’s largest online workplace connecting businesses and professional freelancers. You can find all kinds of freelancers on Upwork, including web developers, writers, virtual assistants and most importantly, voice-over talents.
You can become a member for free and audition for a limited number of jobs per month. Upwork takes a 10% fee from your fee. So you’ll want to add that 10% fee to whatever you’d like to make on the job.
Here’s how to get started on Upwork:
STEP 1: BECOME A UPWORK FREELANCER
Visit Upwork and click “Sign Up” to create a free freelancer account:
STEP 2: CREATE YOUR PROFILE
Next start putting your profile together. You can find “Voice Talent” as a service listed under “Design & Creative”:
Once your profile is complete, you need to select your membership level: choose the Freelancer Basic membership. That’ll all you need to get started.
STEP 3: SEARCH FOR VOICE-OVER JOBS
Now click Find Jobs to search for current voice-over jobs available:
If you find a job you’re interested in applying for all you have to do is submit a proposal to audition.
The client can then hire and communicate with you within the Upwork site.
USING AMAZON'S ACX TO FIND VOICE-OVER NARRATION JOBS
ACX is where many authors and publishers go to convert their books into audio books. Audio books produced through ACX are sold via audible, Amazon and iTunes.
It's a great place to find audiobook narrator jobs for beginners.
ACX has some strict requirements when producing audio books. It’s a good idea to read up on the audio submission requirements since they are not only required by ACX but also good practice when producing audio books for other clients.
Here’s how to get voice-over work with ACX:
STEP 1: SIGN UP USING YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT
Go to ACX and sign up using your amazon account. You’ll want to create your narrator profile to get started.
STEP 2: ADD AUDIO SAMPLES
Then click “+Add Your Sample”. That’s where you can upload your audio book samples, describe your expertise and choose your preferred payment method.
STEP 3: ROYALTY SHARE OR PAY PER FINISHED HOUR?
Under “Search” you’ll want to click “Titles accepting auditions” which will bring up a list of books currently looking for narration.
Use the filters section to narrow it down by gender, genre (if you have a specific genre you prefer or if you want to exclude), and the project rate.
Publishers select whether they are willing to pay for narration with a Royalty Share or per finished hour of audio.
Most of the titles are listed as royalty share. This means you receive of portion of the audio book sale proceeds. This is a great option if the book is by a well known author or publisher.
To make sure you don’t waste your time working on a project you’ll never be paid any royalties for be sure to research the author and publisher to see how other books by that author or publisher have sold.
You’ll also want to see how well they promote their audio books. If they don’t do much promotion or sales on other books are lacking, you won’t make as much (if any) money with a royalty deal.
If you choose to narrate a title that pays via royalty share, ACX will provide you with earnings statements on a monthly basis.
There are many factors that determine the success or failure of an audio book. Most are out of the hands of the voice actor who provided narration for the project. For that reason, I prefer to be paid by finished hour for audio books.
STEP 4: AUDITION FOR AN AUDIO BOOK
Once you have a title you’d like to narrate you’ll want to upload an audition by clicking the green button:
Now you can review the audition script and read direction notes from the publisher. Just record your audition and upload the MP3.
The publisher will contact you if they feel you’re a good fit as narrator for their audiobook.
GET MORE VOICE-OVER WORK WITH THE HELP OF F&F
Check out your social feeds and you’ll realize some of your biggest fans are your family and friends.
Have you ever thought about how your family and friends can help you open doors to new voice-over work?
For example, one of my brothers works for an architectural firm.
My other brother works for a large company in Florida.
I’ve been hired by both companies to voice phone prompts and training videos.
That’s voice-over work I wouldn’t have if my brothers didn’t refer me. (Thanks bros!)
Here’s how family and friends can help you:
STEP 1: TELL THEM WHAT YOU DO
People can’t hire you or refer you if they don’t know what you do. Make sure friends and family know exactly what it is that you do.
Some people don’t understand what voice-over is (or that you actually get paid to read stuff), so put it in simple terms and give examples.
STEP 2: SHARE PROJECTS
Now that you’ve actually explained to them what you do, some still won’t grasp it.
So share some projects. Discuss recent voice-over jobs you’ve done. Let them hear your work.
STEP 3: ASK FOR REFERRALS
If a friend or family member works at a company you think could use voice-over in some way – bring it up to them. Ask them who would be the best person to contact.
If your friend or family member owns a business, do a sample phone greeting voice-over to show how you can help them sound more professional.
If nothing else, at least now they understand what you do and you can wait and hope for referrals to come in.
It’s funny how it seems like everyone is a voice actor online, but odds are that you’re the only voice actor your group of family and friends will know.
That’s good.
That means when a project comes up that needs voice-over, you’ll be the first (and only) person they think of.
BUILD YOUR VO BUSINESS WITH MANDY VOICES
Mandy Voices, part of the larger Mandy Network, is a creative community where you can do more than just look for voice-over jobs.
It offers networking opportunities and career tools that will help you build your voice-over business and reputation, as well as job listings.
A monthly subscription to Mandy Voices costs $15.00 per month, or you can save money with annual membership of $120.00.
Here’s how to sign up to Mandy Voices and get started:
STEP 1: BECOME A MANDY FREELANCER
Visit Mandy Voices and click the “Sign Up” to create your account:
STEP 2: CREATE YOUR PROFILE
Create your profile, detailing your specific skills and styles, and add a sample.
STEP 3: SEARCH FOR VOICE-OVER JOBS
You’ll find job listings on the job board:
If you find a job you’re interested in, you can apply and communicate with the client through the site.
USE YOUR VOICE-OVER TO CONVERT BLOGS INTO PODCASTS
Blog posts are great right? I mean you can learn valuable information about any subject you’re interested in. You could read a blog and learn to cook an amazing dinner tonight or read about places to visit during an upcoming vacation.
They can be really useful.
The downside to blogs is that you’re usually stuck staring at a screen reading it. It’s hard to multitask when you’re reading.
By converting a blog post into audio, the content can be digested while doing another activity like mowing the lawn or driving.
Here’s how to get started turning blog posts into podcasts:
STEP 1: FIND A BLOG
You first need to find a blog that you could turn into an audio podcast.
Luckily, blogs are everywhere!
If you read a blog about a topic you’re interested in often, that’s a good place to start. Otherwise you can use a site that has a list of popular blogs, like Alltop.
Make sure the blog content is something that listeners will be able to understand without reading or seeing it.
VOICE-OVER TIP
Skip any blog that is written by a branded personality. Fans and followers usually want to hear the voice of the personality behind the blog. If they are expecting to hear the personality’s voice and hear yours instead, they may be disappointed.
STEP 2: CONTACT THE BLOGGER
Now that you found a blog, email the blogger with a short custom voice-over sample using one of their recent blog posts to show how an audio version would sound.
This works really well because writers usually love hearing their words come to life.
If you can’t find an email or contact form on the blog, try connecting with them on Twitter or Facebook.
BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRODUCERS
You know, you don’t always have to work direct with end-clients – working with video producers as well means you get to benefit from their established client relationships.
And it’s not only YOU that benefits, because having a relationship with voice-over talent they know they can rely on makes life (and business) easier for the production company as well.
Here’s how to go about building those relationships with the help of PlanetStream:
STEP 1: BROWSE VIDEO PRODUCERS
Go to PlanetStream, you don’t even have to join the site. Just scroll down to the footer section and click “Directory”.
Or go directly to the page here.
You can see the companies as a list or on a map view, and you can refine your search even further to see the services they offer, their star rating on the site, and their exact location.
STEP 2: CONTACT THE PRODUCER
When you view each profile you’ll see their contact details, so take a look at their website and showreel.
If you’re a good match for the work they do, get in touch and start building a relationship.
Here's What to do Next...
In case you didn’t pick up on it, there’s a simple common theme in finding voice-over work.
It’s this:
Find the people and businesses that already use or need voice-over and offer your voice-over services to them.
No matter which techniques you choose to use, if you follow that path consistently the result will be voice-over work everyday.
Remember, you don’t have to do every item on this list. Try one and see what kind of result you get. When you find a few techniques that provide you steady voice-over work day in and day out, continue to repeat the process in order to build your client base and you’ll end up having more voice-over work than you can handle.
What did I forget?
I covered a lot but there’s a bunch of ways to secure voice-over work.
What’s one of your favorite techniques for finding voice over jobs?
Let me know in the comments below.
Holy smoke, what a magnificent resource! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this list! I was feeling lost about where to find VO work but now I feel more confident going about it. I have bookmarked this page and will becoming back to it over and over again!
Awesome! Glad it helped you Tori!
Thank you for this Jason!! You’ve provided a wealth of places for reaching out, connecting and keeping busy with voiceover jobs – and with helpful links along the way! Nicely done!
You’re getting my mind right for business.I will continue to learn.thanks again.
Great Article!
This is an amazing information for finding voice-over work easily. Everyone should follow these tips to make a successful job. It will help me in future. Thanks for sharing…
Thanks Jon! Glad to hear it’s helping you!
Thank you for this list. It is impossible to find a voice over work list this good! For same day hires, I found out that these companies are excellent. Another good voice over company that hires same day is here http://cookiemodels.com/preview.php?controller=pjLoad&action=pjActionAsk
Very precious and useful tips , as a French native male voice over not all were for me but i have discovered many new ways to find voice over jobs , thanks for that !
Amazing article. After 10 years of experience as a French VO talent, I still find new tips here !!! Thanks a lot !
Thanks Michel. Glad to hear this helped you!
Awesome information, I’m a audiobook narrator but want to fit some VO work in-between projects. Really useful Business contacts. Thank you so much ?
Thank you million times , your blog saves a lot of time and help me a lot to stay optimistic im doing my best with all what you say.
Even though I have been in this voice over caper for over twelve years, there were still some really good points for me to think about in your post. It’s a really good, realistic guide. Nice one.
Thank you so much for this information! I cant wait to try each and every one of these ideas! I learned so much and am very grateful! This was better than any course I could have taken!
Thanks for sharing such an informative post!!!!
You have made a comprehensive lesson that makes anyone want to try voice over.
With passion and good mentoring you make it doable
Thank you
really great ideas. Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together! I will be trying some of these ideas for sure.
Awesome Julia! Let me know how it goes!
Really nice and amazing article!! I like your VO work tips & also you shared amazing freelancing websites for voice over talent. I’m sure this will help voice over actors who want to do freelancing. Once again! Thanks for this.
Thank you so much Jason! This article has given me so much hope! I was a Voiceover artist on Fiverr for 2 years and had over 2000 reviews and they recently banned my account because my husband and I each had our own account but shared the same payment method – well that’s against their Terms of Service and cancelled both of our accounts… Needless to say, now I’m out in the middle of nowhere with all this experience and tons of samples that I need to market.
I will say that besides Fiverr’s crazy and obnoxious Terms of Service, you can really make great money on there without doing much of the marketing leg work – just provide a great service and buyers come to you!
Thanks again! I’m going to be trying out a couple of your options here 😀
Hi Arbel, Glad to hear this was valuable for you. Sorry to hear about your account being closed. I’d highly suggest building your business via direct marketing this time. It’s something you will own yourself and you don’t have to worry about this happening again. I wish you the best!
Thank you for that! And yes, 100% agree. If you have the time, I’d love to get your feedback on my new site- http://www.ArbelVoiceoverArtist.com. I understand if not though, but appreciate your info on this article!
Hi Arbel, your site looks nice. My only suggestion would be move your demos up on the home page so it’s seen right away. Also, something to consider – the photos look great but give more of an on-camera actress vibe. So if you’re just going after voice-over you may want to make your demos more of the focus. Common thinking is it’s best to be judged by your voice only. Where with a photo, you could be excluded from a casting because you don’t look like what the director imagined (even if you sound like it). No real right or wrong way, just something to consider.
Oh wow! Really great, thank you! That’s really helpful feedback, thank you!
I’ll definitely implement that feedback.
Thanks again for everything!
Thank you Jason for this amazing article. Really helpful for voice over actors who have been struggling to start their career as a VO. These techniques will help to earn money as a freelancer for VO. Great suggestions!! I am looking forward to read your upcoming articles like this. So, Keep blogging…
Jason, thank you so much for this content. I’ve done a few vo jobs here and there when I’ve been approached by friends, but have always struggled on knowing where to start looking for work on my own. Very grateful for all these great suggestions!
Happy to help Jeff. Keep me posted on what works well for you.
I am BRAND new to this in mid -life. Always been told I have a certain distinction
in my voice. This is by FAR the most comprehensive quick list of valuable info I have found! Thank you!
Hi Lisa! Glad you found this guide. Hope it helps you get rolling in voice-over.
really informative for us new comers I am a nepali voice over artist…
really help full,you put lot of effort on it..
tnks
http://bhawaniniroula1.wixsite.com/bhawaniniroula/resume
if any one have any inquiry regarding nepali voice over artist plz…contact me tnks
Thanks.
well come sir
This is SOOOOOOOO helpful!! Thank you so much for sharing all of these resources!!!
You bet Joshua. Glad it’s helping you!
I just stumbled on this article and am going to scan it further tomorrow… or rather Tuesday on my day off. It appears to be incredibly informative. I’ve been told often enough my voice ‘sounds like buttah’ and I love to talk, so I’m goign to make a go of this.
Great – I hope it helps you!
I’ve worked with V123 for almost a decade, and have had multiple 5-figure VO income years. Like Jason, I was getting 10+ audition invites every day. But they recently changed their audition algorithms and my audition invites dropped to a trickle — even whole weeks with less than 5 invites all week! After a month of that, they and I have parted ways. sad.
Im glad I found Jason’s article. I need to step up the marketing efforts and get in gear.
Good luck to all (but not too much good luck. 😉
Hi everyone. I was told I had a good voice and I was asked if I had done any voice over work. I said “What the H**% is voice over ? 🙂 I did a few for this fellow then joined voices.com It has been a great learnilng experiece. I recently retired and have more time. I also have come to realize that there is so much to learn. Thanks for the tips here. My fun web site on my misspent youth is http://www.40countries.com ….so see or should I say hear you on line
Mike
Excellent article Jason, incredibly helpful as always! After reading a bit more on the voices(dot)com scandal I’ll probably be using the other 22 methods instead. 😉
Thanks JS! Yes, they definitely caused an uproar in the VO community. I hope you get a lot of use out of the other 22 ways.
Hi Jason – As I lay the groundwork for setting up my VO business, I’ve been really impressed with the VO community online, particularly with seasoned talent that are incredibly helpful and encouraging to new aspiring talent. Thank you for this article. I echo what another commenter had to say about the thumbs down on Voices.com and their unethical practices. I actually decided against going with a coaching company based on their affiliation with same and chose another studio instead. I’d love to see this article available in a PDF format that I can save. I could print it up but it’s 55 pages long when printing without including comments and the pages look chopped off in the right margin on print preview. I’ve saved it in bookmarks, but it would be great to save to my hard drive as something other than a website link and something I could access offline or know that I could print up in the future. Really great information. Thank you!
Hey T,
Thanks for the feedback. If you click the “Bonus Download” just above the last “What Did I Forget?” section you can get a pdf copy.
THANK YOU! How I missed that in a big yellow highlighted section I have no idea, but I will blame it on not having yet finished my coffee at the time :}
This is an excellent article! It really helped to connect some dots for me in the big scary world of marketing. Thanks for all the great info!
Glad to help!
Thanks for updating this guide, Jason! I thought the first one was terrific. Now I think you’ve actually improved on it!!
Jeff
Please update your review of Voices[dot]com with regards to the recent news last week. Unknowing new talent should be aware of how unethical and terrible that company really is. Taking 80% is ridiculous!
You’ve provided lot of great VO information, mate … thanks for the effort!
You bet! Hope it helps!
Thanks Jason for this invaluable resource ! Great !
I’m glad it’s helped you Giles!
This is a great source of information. I am a “newbie” who got into VO when an Ottawa VO artist with a studio told me that he liked my voice at an acting class. No I am not an actor? I just took it for a bit of fun. I got an e-mail from an agency and joined. Now the learning has begun. My niche seems to be accents and French Canadian auditions.
A few jobs but many likes, I still need a lot of work on technique. This article has given me some great info ;but I see where I need to get my “style” woke on. Thanks so much I retire as a dentist I Nov and I look forward to this new venture Mike
Great work discovering your niche so early on. Many people spread themselves too thin.
I would like to learn more of the “Thin ” stuff though as well 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I feel a lot more knowledgeable about what to do next thanks to you!
You’re welcome Emily!
This really is a terrific article!!!! Keep up the good works!!
Hi Jason,
Thanks for this in-depth info!
I’m a South African voice over artist, with about 4 year experience. However, work has been declining and I’m not sure why. I sometimes feel my voice isn’t good enough and I just need to find those clients that want a bubbly South African voice, you know?
I’m sitting at the beginning of a new year, with not even one new client – existing clients are working on new things. So it’s kinda like: “Be on stand-by Lani”… but when?
It makes me panic. I hate it.
So I’m going to try your Chamber of Commerce idea… as well as Voice Bunny (I tried joining 3 years ago, but wasn’t accepted – I wonder if I can try again?).
Thanks loads. Your other guides are also just as useful. I’m grateful I found you on Google! xx
Hi Alani,
I hope you’re able to use these ideas and make this a great year for you.
Jason,
You totally nailed this! I am a full-time VO talent and coach and I plan on using your advice and sharing your site with all of my students and colleagues.
Keep up the great work and here’s wishing you much success in 2017!
-Bobby Sheldon
Thanks Bobby!
Jason, That was supper. Thanks
I was wondering if you need a home studio to do most of this work? I don’t have the funds to build one at this time and was wondering if just a microphone and using a laptop would be good enough to start out? Also do the clients add music or special effect to the script after it is completed? I don’t have experience in video editing or anything like that.
Thank you,
Gail Rinaldi
Hi Gail,
Yes, you do need a home studio. It’s possible to record with a mic and a laptop. The room acoustics will play a larger role in the quality of your recordings.
Most of the time, clients will add their own music and you’ll just be providing the voice over. From time to time a client may ask you to mix music to your voice, which is easily done with almost any audio recording/editing software. You don’t need to deal with video editing at all.
I hope that helps!
Anyone know anything about The Voice Realm? I see one comment here but I hear iffy things about it wondering if I could get some feedback before joining. This is a GREAT article – really got me thinking on the possibilities. Thank you!
I’ve landed lots of jobs through them. I’ve found them to be the best out of all the sites because they don’t just let anyone join.
Jason,
This is such an incredible and helpful article!
It is helping me to expand my horizons as a professional bilingual voice over artist.
Thanks for all the great tips,
Gerardo.
Hi Gerardo! You bet! I hope you’re able to scale your VO business with these techniques.
Jason,
Thank you for this informative, helpful, and thorough piece.
You’re very welcome Janelle!
Hi Jason,
Many thanks for this article! I am just starting out in voice over work and this information is very useful. One other site that I would recommend, especially for those thinking about getting into audiobook narration is Librivox.org. It is completely volunteer driven (i.e., you won’t make any money from it), but it was a great introduction to the world of audiobook narration. I discovered it was a good way for me to test the waters to see if I even liked narrating books and get my feet wet in the recording, editing and proofing process.
Thanks again,
Stephen
Hey Stephen,
Glad you found this guide useful. Thanks for the link to Librivox.org. That’s good to know.
Jason,
Thanks for such a great resource of practical things to do in one article!
I have actually been doing about 25% of these on a regular basis and plan on doing more now.
Upwork for me is the most profitable of the online resources. My fiverr business is starting to pickup as well and the key to building it is consistency in submitting buyer requests, contacting buyers who need VO, great customer service and adding in the right “extras” to your gig.
Voices dot com has been a sore spot for me having submitted almost 500 auditions in 4 months and garnering 4 low-mid level paying jobs, probably going to cancel that and try Bodalgo and Backstage with that $50/month.
You did not mention Craigslist which has a large number of places to search “voice over” and “voice acting” and you’d be surprised what comes up – I’ve made a number of good contacts.
Another resource is Guru.com – not as many VO jobs but enough that I get a couple of projects a month and it’s free for my membership level.
I forgot one more site – freelancer.com is another revenue source for VO and for as little as $5/month.
Thanks for the additional resources Troy!
What an amazing collection of advice all in one place. It’s like being a fly on the wall of the ultimate Voice Over Mastermind Group! Thanks for compiling these Jason. A lot of people are going to be blessed!
I’m really glad you found it helpful Andrew!
Jason, you have given me plenty of new avenues to go down to find VO work, and I am very grateful! Some on your list have not worked for me, but there are many other ideas I hadn’t even known about, so this is excellent, and I am attacking this list today! Thank you!
That’s great to hear Lucy! I’m curious which ones you tried in the past but didn’t have any luck with.
Hi Jason,
Lots of great tips here, nice one! I shall certainly try a few of them. I’ve been doing VO work for a few years now, often through pay-to-play sites (first voice123, and more recently voices.com) but like all freelance professions (I work mostly in theatre) the only way to make a living out of it is by having a few clients that keep coming back to you offering you new work. The P2P sites are a good way of finding these clients and establishing on going relationships with them.
I was invited to join Voice Bunny when they started up, as I was a member of Voice123 at the time. I am still registered with them but NEVER do the contests. From time to time a client will contact me through Voice Bunny and ask me specifically to do a read for them. However, I absolutely DETEST Voice Bunny. Partly because of the ridiculously low fees for the work, but mostly because of the system which makes it impossible for you to have any direct contact with the client. This is a major impediment to delivering a read which the client actually likes. As a VO actor, I very often have some questions about the text and the style the client wants – sometimes uncertainty about pronunciation, or perhaps you spot an error in the text and want to check if the client wants it like that or wants you to change it. With this normal exchange of emails/messages, I normally develop a relationship with the client, and better understand their tastes and preferences. It also makes the job more satisfying, having actual human contact. Voice Bunny makes it absolutely impossible to connect with the client. They also have this system where they first have to “approve” your read before it even gets sent to the client. If the client does want a revision, you can charge for that, although Voice Bunny tries to make you feel bad if you do. In all other VO work I have done, I will do as many revisions as the client wants at no extra cost. But all other VO work I have done pays much more than Voice Bunny, and revisions is just part of the job.
So when I do have a revision request – even for a single word – I will charge the same amount as the original fee. So if I am being paid an pathetic $57.93 for three paragraphs of text, I will charge $57.93 for every subsequent revision. If I do get 2 or 3 revisions, the fee starts to approach a professional level.
This system is inherently bad, and encourages the talent to provide a read which makes it past the Nazi Bunny approval, but which the client will not be happy with. (Not that I would do that, of course, as it is hard-wired into me to always try and deliver the highest possible quality of work.)
The other thing which is rather depressing is listening to the auditions other people have submitted for a job. These are invariably of a very low standard, and makes me realize that the only reason these people are working for such tiny rates is that they are not good enough to get properly paid work. Which leaves me thinking – why am I wasting my time on this amateur site? This is also why I never do the contests.
Apologies for the rant, Jason (there’s actually a bunch more stuff that irks me that I spared you from!) but I consider Voice Bunny to be the lowest form of VO work. I would only recommend it to someone just starting out as a means of sharpening your skills.
I find voices.com to be mostly very good, although I do wonder sometimes when a client requires the whole script as an audition, and then you notice that the job was never awarded to anyone… So my Top Tip for the day is – never submit the whole script as an audition!
All the best,
james
Thanks for the great insight James! As you mentioned, being able to have a relationship with a client is a necessity of building a voice over business. It can also depend how a voice talent wants to operate: take the time to build client relationships that last and that provide work over years or land quick (somewhat easy) lower paying jobs with little chance of them being a repeat client.
Thanks for this article, it’s great, a lot of new marketing ideas. I have been working through VB for the last 3 years. I agree they have been a bit of a hassle to deal with sometimes, but a good place to learn the ropes as a freelancer and to hone your skills. As far as clients, you’re able sometimes to find the client by searching for the project on Google or You Tube. As I move forward in my career and search for representation I am concerned about a certain stigma that working with VB may have created on my reputation. Do agents have something against voice actors who work on VB?
HI Adam,
I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve heard that fear before but believe it to only be a rumor. If someone judges you based on how you get work they probably aren’t worth your time anyway.
I’ve picked up lots of jobs at The Voice Realm. I’ve been on Bodalgo for 5 years with nothing. Voices website has too many people. My auditions never even get listened to.
I don’t have any personal experience with The Voice Realm so that’s good to know Kylie! Thanks for the input!
There’s another site that wants to be the top runner. They provide the voice talent to their clients – but also sell equipment to VO artists from a simple mic to a full booth installation. They are “picky” about their reputation so don’t expect to rock up with any old clip and get a membership – they vet you before accepting your membership.
Look them up voxxpress.com / @VoxXpress
Thanks for that info Dave!
Great article and suggestions. I keep scratching my head and wondering how to gain clients. This article has it all and I will be implementing many of your recommendations in my daily marketing. Thanks for the insight and into. I’m really grateful for this. Looking forward to seeing the results.
Great Paul! Keep me posted on your progress!
Jason,
Thank you for a very informative article. I’ll definitely check into some of those sites. I had also passed on Fiverr before, but will give it a second look.
I can also attest to finding work on ACX for those who are looking for audio book work. Not only have I been able to secure steady work there, I also made contact with a publisher who helps keep my audio book jobs jumping.
Unless you’re one of the rare few who don’t need to search for work, your article is invaluable.
Thanks for checking it out Greg! Very true – audio books can be a great source of on-going income.
Wow! Jason thank you so much for that article. It was extremely thorough – just what I needed!
As someone re-entering the business who previously relied on word of mouth in a small market, that article was extremely helpful! I’m going to try the avenues which suit my current experience level and time constraints and run hard.
I followed the advice you gave me a few weeks ago considering my website and I also joined voices.com. It’s been a blast auditioning and finding my voice as I go. I am also fitting a large walk-in closet with a studio. Right now I know enough to be dangerous but I’m relying on audio engineering peeps in Nashville and a great deal of studying to light the way.
Thank you again. It was very generous.
I’m glad you found it useful Jeff!