The Commercial World

 

Now that I’ve captured your attention, I want to have a conversation about the language I’ve used in the title of this blog.

It was ‘designed’ to capture your attention.

And what follows is designed to hold your attention.

 

This is how commercial advertising works.  It’s also where the bulk of voiceover work is and it’s also where the big money lives. 

 

Commercial voiceover uses the language of seduction and manipulation to sell stuff, create brand loyalty or change your way of thinking.

Capture.  Hold.

It’s clever.

And at the high end of advertising, clever copywriter’s work with advertisers to create stacks of brilliantly written, entertaining scripts.

Then they cast a voiceover artist or voice actor to bring life to that language.

 

And that’s where you come in.  Right? 

Or you’d like to.

This is you.  Either you have a desire to work in voiceover and believe you’d be good at it, or you’ve made some inroads but feel like you need to know more about technique, to refine the work you’re doing.

So, If I’ve managed to hold your attention this far, let’s cut-to-the-chase and talk more about the reason for this blog.

 

Finding Your Way into Voiceover

I know from my work as a premium voiceover artist for 35+ years and a coach for 10+, that some I coach have the expectation that doing a voiceover could be pretty easy for them.

They include those who have a variety of skills and abilities that may make them perfectly suited to voiceover.

Perhaps they’ve been told they have a great voice or are clever at character voices.

And they may be those who want to swap a job or a career that no longer excites them, for one that’s more creative and fun.

Or they may just want a second income, a little side-hustle that satisfies.

And some in that cohort could have thought, ‘I could do voiceover.  I mean, it’s just reading.  How hard can it be?’ 

 

There’s no doubt that voiceover is fabulously creative and great fun…but to get this work, you need to have more than just good reading skills.

You’re always working with a script, or text.  It’s words on a page.

And if you’re good with language, have a great vocabulary and can read ‘off the page’ really well, you already have the most important foundation skill for VO.

 

But you may have guessed by now that despite my ‘catchy title’😏 there’s no easy way into voiceover.

My title is like an advertising slogan.  It needs to get your attention.  That’s all 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

But the thing is, that’s your job as a voiceover artist.

Get the attention with the first line and hold the attention for the rest.  It’s your job to capture the attention of the right listening audience by converting those words on the page, from ‘written word into spoken word’.

So, if you still have a strong feeling that VO is for you, and you’re ready to jump in, then read on.

 

The Journey

Before you embark on this wonderful journey of discovery,  you need to be prepared to:

• Get to know what skills you have and how to use them
• Understand what kind of voice artist you are
• Really understand script technique, so every read delivers meaning
• Know that every script you read needs to connect you to your intended audience
• Research the landscape and how casting and booking jobs works
• Set up an affordable home studio
• Be po-active in your marketing

Simply put, you need to know what you’re doing.

And okay, getting into voiceover isn’t simple…and there’s ‘no easy way in.

 

So Then, It’s Not Easy But Can You Make It Easier?

Yes, you can.

We all know that in any industry, you don’t start at the top.  If you’re someone who’s climbed a ladder to success, you’ll know it all started somewhere near the bottom.

And you grew that success because you were passionate about what you were doing.

Add to that, natural ability, a good serving of smarts and the proficiency you gained over time.

And you’ll know that you became proficient through solid work experiences, regular practice, study, research, and training.

 

It’s the same with the Voiceover Industry.

It takes work.  It takes time.  It also takes commitment, and stick-with-it-ness.

 

And you get this through training.

It’s trying to get into voiceover without training that’s hard.

 

So Here’s How You Can Make it Easier 

It looks like this.

• You start training with a coach, who must be a professional VO actor or an engineer/producer with a high profile, and years of experience.
• With their guidance you begin to understand what kind of voice actor you are.
• You research, read blogs and/or listen to work others are doing to gauge trends and styles. Free training.
• You listen to commercials on radio, TV or online. Free training
• You and your coach work on VO technique, where you learn how to approach different script styles.
• ***Some time has passed. It takes time!  There’s a lot to learn.  Don’t rush it.
• You record and send samples to your coach for feedback.
• You keep refining your work.
• Your proficiency is growing
• Now, you’re getting clearer about where and what kind of work you’d be likely to get work and what’s required to do that.
• Once you and your coach feel confident that you know what you’re doing, it may be time to begin crafting a great voice demo showcasing your best work.
• Your coach will give you guidance on creating an affordable home studio, where to send your demo and how to find work online or direct with studios or clients.

Before you begin any training, you need to understand the preparedness required.

I wrote a blog that gives some guidelines on what that means.  Here’s a link to that one.

 

I hope this helps you get clearer about your potential for voiceover and what you’ll need to do to make that happen.

 

Happy Voiceovering!!!

Abbe Holmes

Voice Actor/VoiceOver Coach/Audiobook Narrator/Writer

abbe@voiceovercoach.com.au