If you’re an actor, singer, teacher, or someone who feels self-expression is a way of life, this is fun field to get into!

That said, it does require an investment in time and money in training, VO recording equipment, and marketing for VO. But it is a super fun and rewarding way to use your natural abilities.

As far as the job is concerned, recording sessions are usually short (an hour or less) so you can fit them into your schedule easily. And you can record audition or do direct marketing on your own time.

This is a great question and it’s an area of great debate in the industry. What I can tell you from experience is that you don’t need a fancy commercial demo to get started. At the start, you should be saving all your valuable dollars for voice acting training. Booking commercials is everything but straightforward!

To get going, you can use auditions from pay to play sites, or use the free script generator. To sound more professional, you can VO Demo Maker to put music in the background if you’d like.

Many aspiring voice actors jump to the conclusion that they need an expensive VO demo to get a VO agent. I highly recommend reading this article on making a professional VO demo without proper voice acting training. Because while true, the fancy demo will do nothing for your audition skills, which is the only way you will be judged past the point of entry.

Without voice acting training, your demo will also be subpar, at least by industry standards. This is why I offer VO demo preps.

But in an ideal world, you get VO training first, then do a demo prep, then get the expensive VO demo.

Commercial VO is a great side hustle for actors! Especially because you’ve done 75% of the work required to be competitive!

Now you have to get that last 25% down, which consists of adapting your craft to the microphone, and to the advertising sector. This does require training because the auditioning and recording processes are a little counter intuitive.

You’ll also need to learn a bit of tech, and to get comfortable with marketing yourself. But aside from that, you’re in the best position to tackle this!

Some book right away, others will have to find other avenues to find clients (which can be very lucrative). It all comes down to training, market appeal, and whether or not this meant to be!

I do generally advise getting commercial voice acting training before going out there, as rejection can take its toll. Ideally, you have more tools in your bag so you can make the most of the opportunities you encounter. 

There are no guarantees, but you’ll generally face less rejection with more training.

You can audition anywhere you get opportunities! The more training you have before you go out there, the better equipped you’ll be to compete and get jobs.

You can, but most of us started VO part time. Being competitive takes time. So does finding repeat clients, which is essential for longevity.

For more about what it takes to be a successful commercial voice actor, read my super affordable VO ebook Becoming An Artist.

Everyone’s story is completely different. Some book work right out of the gate, others take much longer.

At the start, commercial VO is best viewed as a part time gig, especially in the first 2-5 years where you’ll be working on getting trained, getting real life experience, and finding your best recipe for booking work, -usually a combination of having visibility online, reaching out to prospective clients, and auditioning.

Generally, your biggest investment will be in commercial VO training. Ideally you start with affordable online courses and work your way up to working with a private commercial vo coach.

Your gear should not be where most of your dollars go. There are plenty of affordable mics out there that do a great job. Instead, spend most of your money on acoustics, which is not expensive (blankets work great!). As far as making your environment soundproof (no noises coming into your space), that will be challenging in home environments, so you’ll mostly want to make sure your space is quiet when you want to work in it. This short eBook will teach you everything you need to know to record at home, on a budget.

Marketing is another area that will require an investment of time and money, but you can do a lot on a very low budget. To help you, read my super affordable eBook about marketing your VO business.

Agents love recommendations from industry peers or voice actors they represent, and/or an email with a fantastic demo. But please read this article about commercial VO demos before investing in an expensive VO demo.

Also note that while getting a VO agent is wonderful, it’s rarely enough to fully sustain yourself in voice acting (even when you’re very well-trained), so other marketing strategies are paramount. This is above all else, freelance work. 

To get you started on the right foot, and in the most affordable way, I recommend you read my eBook bundle. The books are short, concise, and the perfect off ramp. They give you a lay of the land, put everything in perspective, and tell you everything you need to get started. This is the best $40 you’ll ever spend on your voice acting career. 

Then if you’re still excited to get started, I highly recommend you take my two super affordable self-paced online classes Power Moves 101 and 102. These give you the basics of what I teach, so that you can focus on getting the competitive skills you need right away. For $200, you’re going to learn what takes months to teach in private coaching (at almost $200/session, you do the math!). 

Once you’ve gone through the courses, imperfectly as it may be, come to me for private coaching. You’ll have saved lots of money on the very basics, so we’ll be able to hit the ground running, and get straight to work on making you as competitive as you can be out there.

Once you’ve studied with me, and you’ve learned to be conversational, to develop strong script analysis skills, and you understand how to use directions to your advantage, we’ll talk about recording a professional commercial VO demo. Once that is scheduled, we would do a quick VO demo prep.

Beyond this, you might join one of my monthly Power Groups (small group coaching) to stay in shape in an affordable way, or come to me for a tune up as needed, or for important auditions.

Whatever you do, I’m glad you stopped by, and I wish you all the best!