Yes, I am already talking about 2023! Many advertising publications, including Ad Age and Ad week, predict that 2023 could be a banner year in advertising. This can potentially bode well for voice actors and this news isn't all that surprising given the recovery we're still in from the big Covid year of 2020. In fact, global advertising is expected to grow by over 15% in 2023.
So why should you care? This would be the right time to start if you're considering a voiceover career. As with all creative industries, there is never any guarantee of success, but if you're passionate about getting into voiceovers and you've been thinking about it for a long time, it wouldn't hurt to jump in now!
To start, do some research on the business. It's not as easy as some VO books and social media ads suggest. It will take time, hard work and plenty of perseverance. Don't expect to quit your day job immediately unless you have plenty of capital. This will be a grind for quite a while but the good news? It's fun as hell! You don't have to go door-to-door and we're not talking about hard physical labor here. Marketing yourself to talent agencies and production companies can be a lot of fun! If you go into this knowing you have some work to do; you'll be fine. Those who think this is a quick fix for being unemployed will be disappointed. This is not a "make money immediately" kind of business.
The next step is to find a reputable coach or team of coaches with plenty of industry experience. Vet these coaches carefully—many claim to be gurus because they saw the money one can make from coaching. Social media is loaded with a jungle full of charlatans looking to sell you into their programs when they don't have one ounce of experience doing voiceovers. Work with coaches who still do it! This way, you're learning from the successes and failures of real voice actors. When I was in theater, I took several acting classes from a couple of teachers who were still active in theater and we are still getting cast for many plays!
Should you decide that you want to try voice acting, now would be a great time because of the timing. Coach hard with credible teachers and then it's possible you could be ready to record a professional demo or two by January or February. Given the optimistic market forecasts, it appears the timing is just right! But, again, I want to clarify that there are never any guarantees. If someone out there is making outlandish success or even income guarantees, run the other direction!
As far as students who have worked with us at UVT Coaching, the ones who find success are the ones who put in the work. You can't go through a training program, get a demo produced and just sit around. Nobody is going to discover you. You have to make connections and send your demos out weekly.
If you're interested in training with the UVT Coaches, visit our Coaching Programs page on this website and email us.