You don’t have to have extensive education in Voice-Overs in order to make a living in this industry.

MYTHS

There are several myths about starting in the Voice-Over industry that are entirely untrue.

1. You have to have a certain type of voice in order to make it.

a. This is entirely untrue at least that is what I was told in the beginning. You do have to find the right niche for your particular voice and you do need to practice your craft just as though you would practice the piano or exercise your voice to sing.

2. You have to go to school or take a bunch of classes to learn how to be a Voice-Over talent.

a. No, going to school really does not teach you good voice-over techniques, however, taking a class from a noted voice-over talent would be of benefit if the class is teaching you how to work your voice for the benefit of the craft.

3. I’m too old or to young to do this, well I thought this too, I was in my 50’s when I started.

a. That is not correct, anyone can do this as long as you have the drive, ambition and educate yourself on the business and be prepared for a very large industry.

4. The established Voice-Over talent have the market.

a. This is just not true, there is so much work out there that once you find your niche and where your talent lies you can also make a good living while you are enjoying something fun and exciting,

5. I can’t do this because I have a day job.

a. Voice-Over’s can be done in a limited amount of time and in the privacy of your own home or studio.

6. This won’t work for me or everyone tells me this is a lost cause. I have heard that time and again.

a. People will always tell you this, it may be because they are jealous of your voice or ability or just to discourage you from trying something different. You probably tell yourself this just to keep yourself from really trying to attempt your dream.

7. I do not live in the right area or market for Voice-Overs.

a. In today’s market you can live anywhere and work from your home, office or a nearby studio. You do not have to go to auditions in person these days.

8. My voice isn’t good enough.

a. There you go again, stopping yourself before you even get started. Give yourself a chance to success and have loads of fun doing it.

Practice - Practice - Practice

I always thought that anyone could do voice-overs! Or, I can do a better job than that! Well, that is not always the case. You cannot just jump into voice-overs without some sort of training. It is like anything else you attempt to accomplish, it takes practice, effort and work.

Anyone can do voice-overs, however, you have to practice several hours a day, just as if you were going to continue to train your voice for singing, your ability to play the piano or any other instrument. The saying is true, “Practice Makes Perfect”, still holds in voice-overs.

First of all having access to a studio or the proper home equipment does wonders in your effort to train for your voice-over career. Having a quality computer, condenser microphone and a adequate mic/midi converter with a good audio program and a quite area is a great start.

Voice-Over Artist - Making a Living

Knowing how to market yourself is the biggest obstacle that any Voice-Over talent may come across. That is the thing that I spent the most time at. I researched every avenue of internet marketing, spent hours looking up every course, free or online to teach me everything that I could learn. It is important to know that you do not really need expensive acting, speech education or a real expensive studio to your disposal but learning about marketing yourself is a must.

It is also important to know that the kind of classes that may be benefit to any one who wants a career in this field would be marketing. If you plan on taking any Voice-Over classes make sure that you take them from a professional in the business who has made a lucrative income as a talent in any of the thousands of market areas of the business. Another possible avenue would be to check with some of these same career individuals if they have any online learning tools of both audio and video. You may be able to get discounted rates by downloading material for review. Another thing is looking for practice demo reading material. Researching this I found that there are plenty of places that you can get material from but most want to charge for them. There are a few places that offer free downloads of demo scripts.