Ok…so here is a question that I have had for some time. I mean, I’m studying, learning the ropes, toying with the equipment, finding my voice, and all that good stuff…but when it comes time to actually find clients, how is that done? Do I need an agent? Do I comb through classifieds somewhere? When I’m ready to put my skills to work for some client/company/agency, I recently realized that I didn’t know the first thing about WHERE to find the work!
I had to dig into this!
Of course, I wasn’t completely off in some of my initial thoughts. Just like actors, voice actors can work through agents who get them opportunties, or agencies who can place them on a roster of talent that get occasional shots at auditions. I what I am finding out, however, is that this is sort of a dying scenario. Don’t get me wrong, it still exists. There are many other avenues, however!
First we can just start with the big one Online Marketplaces! We’re talking about websites that are pay-to-play, such as Voice123.com or Voices.com, which charge annual membership dues on varying tiers, or other sites that are commission-based, such as Upwork.com or Fiverr.com, which will usually take a percentage of your earnings on each job to stay afloat. The differing fee structures will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, because what work well for one may not necessarily be the best thing for someone else. These online marketplaces are a huge nesting spot for talent, but the competition is still. With the P2P sites, the higher tier you pay into, the more visibility and lower your competitors. It truly defines “pay-to-play”. The more you can pay, the better your chances of your auditions landing those gigs, simply based on the fact that you get moved up in the line, and are the first to get the auditions, and those who can audition first have increased odds of landing a gig. The lower the tier you pay for, the more you get slid into the shadows, rarely getting a fair shake at competing with the voice talent on the higher tiers. The playing field is more level with the non-P2P sites.
Now we’ll move onto, what is probably the most effective route: Direct Marketing. Some folks do not want to work with agents. Others still would rather not make a living fighting day in and day out, auditioning for 10 hours day, only to find that their win-rate is just 1 out of every 100 auditions. For those folks, Direct Marketing may be what the spend the lion’s share of their time doing. This can be emaling, cold-calling. Whatever the form of contact, it basically means the voice talent is reaching out directly to production companies, agencies, filmmakers, e-learning production houses, and basically any such business that has a need for voice talent. It’s not the most glamourous work here, either. Sometimes, you will make 100 calls, just hoping that 1 of those turns into a fruitful relationship. It can be as daunting as auditioning 100 times just land a single job. They key in both cases, however, is TIME. Nothing will happen overnight. You need to stay consistent and persistent, and in time, these efforts will pan out. I’ve now heard countless stories of people trying their hand at making a living in VO, only to quit 2 or 3 months into it because they didn’t see the results they had hoped for.
The reality I’m seeing is, this game is a slog. It’ll take time. It’ll take effort. It won’t come overnight. The best thing for me is to start this as a side gig, while still keeping the security of my full-time job to ensure the bills stay paid. Eventually, the hope will be to land in a position one day where there will be a choice to make between continuing along in ‘Corporate America’, or making a serious run at chasing my dream and being my own boss again.
Only time will tell. For now, I have a better idea of where the work comes from. I don’t know which avenue(s) I’ll opt for, but when the time comes, I’ll just have to feel it out a bit.
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