VO Pro: The Business of Voice Over and Voice Acting

Today, an eye-opening chat with the best animation coach in the business, Everett Oliver, as we discuss the state of the animation business, Everett's background in the animation industry, the importance of developing relationships, and the difference between voicing a character and creating a character.  We also touch on the impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike and the need for diversity in voiceo...

Just about everything in the voice over business slows down in June, July, and August.  But I also hear a lot of talk about a more macro slowdown in the voice over industry overall. Is that real? Is that just a chicken little reaction to AI? Are there other forces at play? Is this a perfect storm that means existential crisis for our business? Do you want the real answer? Who cares. In my humble o...

One of the problems with voice over advice on YouTube and in general is that it often comes from successful people.  Stay with me.  Among the things it takes to be successful is time. So, the people that are successful today started years and often decades ago. And the problem with that is voice over is a very different business than it was 30, 20, 10, even 5 years ago. And so many of the strategi...

We need to talk. Whenever a conversation starts with that sentence, you know it’s going to be uncomfortable. But you need to hear this and I need to say it. I say it with love and kindness, but it’s going to be real, honest, and direct. Blunt, even. Voice actors, I talk to dozens of you every week. I ask you straight up what’s holding you back in your voice over career. Here are the Top 5 most com...

There are Seven Deadly Sins in voice over. Things you should never do under any circumstances, and things that, if you do try to get away with them, I guarantee you it will bite you in the ass, either in the near or long term. Some of these will seem obvious, some not as obvious, but I can tell you I’ve personally seen multiple examples of ALL of them in the real world, and one of them is not just...

Voice actors are petrified of marketing their services.  Today, we’re going to get into what those fears are, why they exist, and why they’re complete and utter B.S.  We’ll talk about some of the misconceptions around sales and marketing your voice over business, and what sales and marketing really are at their core. And we'll kick it all off with a story.... Takeaways: Voice actors often hav...

The voiceover industry is experiencing significant changes due to the rise of AI and ongoing strikes.  However, there are still opportunities for human voice actors in certain genres.  Audiobooks, e-learning, animation/video games, and commercials are hot genres that continue to rely on human narrators. On the other hand, telephony/IVR, simple narration, and audio description/localization are not...

Carin Gilfry, founder of Voice Actors of New York City and co-founder of the National Association of Voice Actors, discusses the Vocation and eVocation conferences, whether Voices is listening to voice actors, the impact of AI on the voiceover industry, and the work of NAVA in advocating for voice actors.  She points out the need for legislation to protect voice actors' biometric data and rig...

To be a successful business, you have to have great clients. What are great clients? They are ones that understand the value you provide, pay you well, and send you a lot of recurring work. We’re not talking about getting one-off jobs here. Any trained monkey can do that. That means strong relationships with great partners. Obvious, right? But not so obvious is HOW to get great clients, HOW to bui...

Thom Pinto is one of the most accomplished voice actors of the last 30 years. In a rare interview, Thom sits down with me and discusses his experience and success in various genres, including commercials, promos, in-show narration, and movie trailers.  He talks about the importance of versatility and the ability to adapt to different genres and shares insights into the challenges and strategies fo...

Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter N - 9 Networking No-Fail Nuggets for Non-Assertive Narrators and Voice Actors Let’s face it, the vast majority of the marketing you do to grow your business is online. We live in an age where it’s completely normal, NAY natural, to start and frow relationships digitally through social media, LinkedIn, and so on. That’s exactly why networking, yes, li...

I'm so happy today to chat with my friend, Mark RIder, as he shares his journey from radio to voiceover and his experiences in the industry.  Rider stresses the importance of having a diverse skill set and not limiting oneself to one genre and discusses the need for passion, talent, action, associations, and faith in order to achieve success.  He also highlights the significance of evaluating...

Today we welcome voice actor, head of UVT Coaching, and my one-time coach, Terry Daniel. Terry discusses his journey in the voiceover industry and his experience as a coach. He shares how he got into coaching and the importance of training with coaches who are still booking voiceover work.  Terry also talks about the obstacles people face when starting in voiceover, including fear and impatience....

There are metric tons of bad mistakes you can make in voice over. You can have no training or be undertrained. You can have a bad recording space or bad equipment. You can do your own demos. You can have a bad website. All of those are fixable. No training? Start training. Bad recording space, bad equipment, bad audio? Totally fixable. Call Uncle Roy, George The Tech, Jordan Reynolds, or Tim Tippe...

Stop doing this dumb shit on your voice actor websites!  Today we’re going to talk about the nine engagement killers that after you watch this video you should be tripping over yourself to get the hell off your website. They’re like people repellent and you either need to remove them or I will hunt you down with a giant butterfly net and send you off to a special padded room with no microphone. Th...

Today we chat with Amazon Best Selling Author and Accountability Coach, Amanda McKinney about the importance of accountability and goal-setting for entrepreneurs.  She defines accountability as taking ownership of one's actions, regardless of the outcome, and emphasizes the need to let go of what cannot be controlled. She also addresses the issue of guilt and how to manage it when holding one...

The decision to go full time in voice over or not may be the biggest decision you make in your career, and often one not easily made. There are so many things to think about and consider. It can be super confusing, overwhelming, and deflating – if you let it. When I had this decision to make, I didn’t ask myself all these questions and it almost put me out of business. Today, I’m going to give you...

In our chat today, Emma and I talk about her journey into voiceover, from discovering the industry to joining an agency and building her business.  She also discusses her experience of being homeless and living in different countries, which has influenced her acting. Emma emphasizes the importance of marketing services directly to clients and the limitations of pay to play platforms.  She highligh...

You’re brand new to voice over and you think you want to become a voice actor. So how do you get started?  Your first real step will be to start training, but in order to do that, you need to understand the various types of voice over training available and that’s what I’m going to guide you through today, so that you can choose the kind of training that’s right for you and your level of interest...

In the world of voice over, if you want to stand out like a sore thumb and look like a beginner there are a multitude of ways to do that.  In today’s video, I’m going to give you 4 ways to look like a voice over newbie so that you can understand how to avoid them.  And hang with me until the end, because I’m going to answer the most common question I get, “So how do I get into voice over?” Takeawa...

In this conversation, we chat with voice actor, Troy Holden. We talk about Troy's background, growing up in Nashville, and the influence of transplants on the Southern accent.  Troy shares how he got into voiceover and his journey to becoming a full-time voice actor. He talks about the wrong path he initially took and how he course-corrected with the help of mentors. We also discuss the minds...

There was a surprise, stealthy, mystery guest this year at VO Atlanta, and fireworks ensued!  There I was, on stage in the main ballroom at VO Atlanta, getting ready to take my seat on The Famous Online Casting Panel. J. Michael Collins, the moderator, walks by and announces to the panel, “65 seconds!” I turn and a man in a blue plaid sportcoat holds out his hand and says, “Hi, Paul. I’m Jay O’Con...

Not all voice actors know how to set proper rates. Fewer still know what proper rates are. Even fewer quote them consistently. Very few voice actors not only know and quote proper rates consistently, but they also know their worth. Today, we’re going to delve into knowing your voice over rates, knowing and getting grounded in your worth, and the relationship between the two. Chapters 00:00 Underst...

Voice actors and photographers have more in common as freelancers than you think, especially regarding marketing. Jeanine McLeod, a successful children's photographer and host of the Fully Booked Photographer podcast, shares insights on marketing strategies and the mindset shift needed to succeed.  She emphasizes the importance of focusing on the business side of photography and understanding...

The following post appeared December 21st, 2023 on the VOcation Facebook Group: “Hey everyone. I didn’t want to have to make this post, but I’m trying to look out for others. There is a demo producer and coach who specializes in Children’s Media who has taken money from actors promising to make demos, and then just never made the demos. Some of these demos came in a “2 for 1 package” where one dem...