7 Tips For Getting Voice Voiceover Work

By Author: James Piehole
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Many actors achieve great success in this industry. Its fun, they make great cash, and they keep getting work over and over again. Then there are others who are struggling to even get one gig. After many years as a copywriter working with successful (and a few not-so-successful) voiceovers, and founder of online voiceover directory PIEHOLE - I've been studying what makes certain voiceovers successful. This e-book will give you all the need-to-knows to become successful in this business. We've listed 25 insider tips in an easy-to-digest way. At the end of the book is a section on how to cut a good demo as well as an appendix of ad agencies, sound studios, agents and other important resources you might need in your quest for global voiceover domination.

7 things: improving your odds
There are a number of things for you to do to increase your chances of success in this
game. Here is a list of general things that the successful voiceover artist knows. To give yourself the best chance of success, try to follow as many of these points as possible. Actually - scrap that. Try to follow ALL of these points.
1. ...
... Is your demo good enough?

You can promote yourself as much as you like - but at the end of the
day, it comes down to your demo. You're competing with some very
talented people out there. An "ok" demo is not good enough. See
page 10 for how to cut a great demo.

2. Call back immediately.
If you get a message that someone is trying to book you for a gig, don't
wait a minute. Ad agencies are usually up against very tight deadlines,
and if you take too long getting back to them, they'll simply book
someone who is answering their phone.

3. It takes time.
It can take a while to break into this business. If you're new, you're not
just going to get booked on day 1. It'll only be after you've done a few
gigs (successfully) that people will start booking you again and
again. So don't go beating yourself up if the phone's not hopping.

4. Get some training.
If you are inexperienced, try to go on a training course. It's a small
investment in comparison to the amount of money you can make
doing voiceovers.

5. Pick someone's brain.
If you are inexperienced, go for coffee with a more experienced VO and
pick their brain. Ask them everything about what to expect when you do
a gig - from the minute you walk in to the minute you leave. Sometimes
just knowing what to expect will calm the nerves when you're doing
your first gig. You can also take a few scripts along to this coffee and
ask them to crit you doing a read. See page 10 for more info on
getting material together.

6. Listen to the radio.
Spend half an hour a day listening to existing radio ads, and giving
them a bash yourself (out loud, and preferably to a guinea pig). This is
imperative and the absolute least you can do to get a bit of practice.

7. Get a Dictaphone.
Buy yourself a Dictaphone and recite and record scripts for practice.
(Some mobile phones also have voice recorders.) Sometimes it's
amazing how great something sounds in your own head, but only once
you hear it out loud can you really figure out which bits need improving.
This is fantastic exercise - schedule ten minutes a day to practice.