Ask Terry Anything: 8 Voiceover Questions Answered

Here are some of the most popular questions from Friday’s “Ask Terry Anything About Voiceovers”, along with my answers.

If you’re getting started in voiceover, you probably have questions. A lot of them.

And unfortunately, there is a LOT of voiceover information floating around online—some great, some outdated, and some that sounds like it came from somebody who bought a USB microphone on Tuesday and became a guru by Thursday. 😂

So instead of making this complicated, here are eight questions that came up, along with the same kind of straight answers I’d give you if we were chatting one-on-one.

1. Do you have any voiceover training specials right now?

Yes! Our Big Kahuna Voiceover Training Program is our top course for beginners and is designed to give you a strong, practical foundation for building a real voiceover business.

The Big K includes about a dozen one-on-one coaching sessions, three professionally produced voiceover demos, marketing training, home studio setup sessions and unlimited group classes.

And here’s something important: we don’t rush people into demos just because they paid for a program. We coach first, and when you’re ready, then we produce the demos. I would much rather have you wait a little longer and create something competitive than slap together a demo before you’re ready.

We also offer payment-plan options through Affirm or Klarna. If you’re on my email list, significant discounts are often available, so feel free to get in touch with me for the current details.

Already trained and able to record professionally from home? We also offer stand-alone professional demo production.

2. Once I have a professional demo, who do I send it to?

A good demo is not meant to sit on your hard drive looking pretty. It’s a marketing tool, so use it!

Depending on the type of demo you have, potential contacts can include talent agents, casting directors, production companies, advertising agencies, video producers, eLearning companies, game developers, audio-drama producers, radio and television stations, and businesses that regularly hire voice talent.

But please don’t turn this into one gigantic blind email blast. Do some homework. Find out who actually hires voice actors, what kind of work they produce, and whether your particular demo is a good fit for them.

Ten well-researched contacts can be far more valuable than firing your demo at 500 people and hoping somebody accidentally opens it.

And yes, put your demos on a clean, professional website. Make it ridiculously easy for somebody to hear you and contact you.

A strong demo gives you the ammunition. Consistent marketing is what puts it to work.

3. Where do all your casting calls come from?

Most of the casting opportunities I share come from relationships I’ve built over many years in the business—longtime clients, producers, agencies, radio contacts, production companies, referrals and people I’ve worked with throughout my career.

That’s also why I preach relationship-building so much. Voiceover isn’t only about finding today’s audition. A huge part of this business is becoming somebody clients remember, trust and want to work with again.

Many of the opportunities I pass along come directly through those relationships. Sometimes a client needs a voice that isn’t me—which, believe it or not, happens occasionally. 😂 When that happens, I love being able to connect them with talented people in our voiceover community.

Your long-term goal should be bigger than, “Where can I find today’s audition?” Build relationships, do good work, be easy to work with, and give people a reason to call you again.

4. How much training do I really need before I start auditioning?

There isn’t a magic number of coaching sessions or classes. What matters is whether you can interpret copy, make strong performance choices, take direction, deliver consistently and produce professional-quality audio from home.

I’m a big believer in getting some legitimate training before you start throwing auditions everywhere. You don’t need to spend five years preparing, but you also don’t want your first 100 auditions to basically be practice sessions for somebody else’s casting director.

Get some coaching and honest feedback. Figure out what you’re already doing well and what still needs work. Then start auditioning when you’re competitive enough to have a legitimate shot.

5. Do I need one of those “great voices” to succeed in voiceover?

Nope. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about voiceover. Clients usually aren’t sitting around saying, “Find me the person with the most impressive voice.” They’re looking for someone who fits the project.

That might mean sounding conversational, believable, warm, funny, trustworthy, authoritative, quirky or relatable—whatever best fits the project.

Your natural voice is your starting point, but the real skill is learning how to use it. I’ve heard people with gorgeous voices who couldn’t interpret a script to save their lives. I’ve also heard people with perfectly everyday voices who book consistently because they understand copy, make good choices and know how to connect with the listener.

Voiceover is acting, and the voice itself is only part of the equation.

6. How important is marketing compared to auditioning?

Extremely important. Auditioning is one way to get work. Marketing is how you create more ways to get work. That can mean reaching out to agents, producers, production companies, eLearning companies, advertising agencies, game developers, previous clients, direct buyers and other companies that regularly hire voice talent.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is someone spending thousands of dollars on training, equipment and demos—and then doing almost nothing with any of it.

Your demo is a marketing tool. Your website is a marketing tool. Your relationships are marketing tools. Even your email signature can be a marketing tool, and previous clients can turn into repeat business.

But none of that happens if you disappear after the demo is finished and wait for the universe to discover you. You have to put yourself in front of people.

7. Do I need a talent agent to have success in voiceover?

No. An agent can absolutely be a valuable part of your business, but an agent is not a magical booking machine. Plenty of successful voice actors find work through direct clients, production companies, referrals, repeat customers, marketing, casting platforms and professional relationships.

A good agent can give you access to opportunities you might not see on your own, negotiate on your behalf and help open doors. That’s valuable. But your agent is still one part of your marketing team, and YOU are the head of that team.

Even with representation, you should still be training, marketing, building relationships and developing your own sources of work.

8. Should I make my own demo or hire a professional?

If you’re practicing and want to experiment with putting a few reads together, absolutely. That can actually be a useful exercise. But when you’re ready to create the demo you’re going to send to agents, producers and potential clients, I strongly recommend professional production.

A competitive demo is much more than six reads stuck together with music underneath. The scripts need to fit your voice, the performances need direction, and the pacing and variety need to make sense. The music, sound design, editing, EQ, compression and mastering all need to support the voice instead of screaming:

That’s where I come in. I’m an award-winning voice actor, demo producer and audio engineer with more than 35 years of experience, and I offer stand-alone professional demo production for voice actors who are trained and ready to take that next step. If you need a strong, marketable demo that truly represents your abilities, get in touch and we can talk about what makes the most sense for you.

And once you have it, market the heck out of it. A finished demo isn’t graduation day. It’s the starting gun.

One Last Terry Thought

Voiceover is a real business and a real craft. You don’t have to know everything on day one. You don’t need the most expensive microphone on day one, you don’t need an agent on day one, and you definitely don’t need to have your entire career figured out by next Thursday.

Get good training, practice, ask questions, build your studio intelligently, create professional marketing materials when you’re ready, develop relationships and give yourself some time to grow. That’s a much better plan than chasing shortcuts.

Have a voiceover question you’d like me to answer in a future “Ask Terry Anything About Voiceovers”? Send it my way. Chances are, if you’re wondering about it, somebody else is too.