It’s never been easier to get started in Voice Over, but what does it really take to be successful?
Buying recording equipment and getting some coaching is a start to becoming a freelance voice over artist….but those things alone don’t guarantee success.
So what else do you need?
We’ll we’ve come up with 5 important factors that will determine if you’re suited to starting your journey into the voice over industry, based on our experience being surrounded with the top voice artists in Australia.
- Motivation
To become a freelancer in any field, you need to be strictly focused on your goals, and never let a day go to waste.
Freelance voice over relies on you, and you only. You’re responsible for building your skills, marketing yourself, client relations and everything else that comes with running a business. That takes a heck of a lot of daily motivation to keep up.
If you’re the kind of person that already has a detailed calendar, and daily to-do lists (that you actually follow), then you’re off to a great start. - Creativity
Many of the students we coach in voice over come from a creative background, be it film, theatre/stage performing, music, or podcasting. While it’s not essential to have this background, it certainly gives you a good starting point .
No matter what kind of background you come from, when you’re live on the microphone recording voice overs, it’s a performance. Having the ability to set everything else in your life aside before a recording session is a crucial skill, that will not only allow you to read a script fluently, but also assist your creativity and help you land your auditions.
Be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things with your voice. - Confidence
As mentioned earlier, when you’re a freelancer, you’re the one sailing the ship. That means your self-confidence needs to be running at an all-time high. You can’t be afraid to make cold-calls, represent yourself, talk yourself up and mentally move on quickly from one performance to the next. - A Growth mindset.
Carol Dweck, author of ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’ sums it up nicely in this quote:
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”
If a challenge arises, someone with a fixed mindset might accept that they don’t have the ability to overcome the challenge. Someone with a growth mindset, however, will see this as a potential opportunity to improve their skills, so they can overcome the challenge.
There will be plenty of challenges when you take the plunge into voice over work. One of these challenges is being able to handle rejection and take criticism. Every voice over artist will at some stage audition for their roles, and a lot of the time, the role will be given to someone else. Your ability to not take this to heart, and see each rejected audition as the next step to becoming the best voice artist you can be, will become your superpower.
- Passion
You need to love what you do.
Becoming a successful voice over artist, won’t happen overnight. As most of us have discovered, it can take years to start making a regular income and even then, working as an independent voice over artist you’ll need to submit auditions…that you don’t get paid for, so you’ll want to embrace and enjoy that process too.
In the face of rejection or even when you’re getting work, you should always be thirsting for more, exploring and trying new things with voiceover…because you love it.
So does this sound like you? Ready to take the first step?
We’re here to help. Get in touch with us today to organise your voice over coaching session!
Witten by Angus Brennan, Voice Over Coach. Edited by Andy Wells, Voices of Tomorrow.