How a Voice Over Artist Works from Home

How to Become a Voice Over Artist

Have you ever been complimented by the sound of your voice? Have you ever thought about using your voice to make money? Well, why not learn how to become a work from home voice over artist.

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Today I’m going to share with you how you can earn using your voice and what companies are looking for voice actors but before I do that let’s find out exactly what Voice over is.

>>>Why not check out the first interview of the series – How Does This Blogger Grow & Make Money

What is Voice Over?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of Voice over is – A piece of narration in a film or broadcast, not accompanied by an image of the speaker.

Voiceover is someone who narrates using audio and you usually do not know what they look like.

Where Can You Hear a Voiceover Artist?

You may not even be conscious about the amount of voice over that you’ve heard or the amount of talent that is needed out there but let me give you a few examples.

Have you purchased an audible book lately? How about listening to your favorite podcast? You heard that great sounding intro jingle with that great sounding voice introducing the show and the speakers every week over a smooth soundtrack, right?

Have you been put on hold lately on a customer call and you had to listen to a recorded message?

You see! Voice over artists are required nearly everywhere in our everyday life. The recorded announcement at the train station, the cartoons you were sitting watching with the kids, the computer games your teen loves to play, those ads you were listening to on the car radio, TV commercials, even some of the online training courses that you may have taken.

Do You Need Special Voice Over Skills to Work from Home?

As you will find out a bit later in the video interview below the answer to that is no not really.

All you need is a clear voice, a quiet place to work and the ability to use certain hardware and software plus, of course, the usual hard work and you can become a voice over artist.

There are few things to take into consideration though such as the type of voice work that you want to do.

>>>Free course on Introduction to Becoming an Audiobook Narrator

Where Can You Find Out About Voice Actor Training?

There are many places to go to find voice actor training but you can, in fact, check out a number of videos on YouTube to get a basic understanding.

Don’t forget you can always find out about more in-depth and practical courses at your local college that has media studies, journalism and drama. You can also check out sites like Udemy for voice over training courses.

One quick tip for you, Udemy regularly has large discounts on their courses so check them out regularly to see if you can get a great deal on voice over training courses. Just put voice over in the search box and a whole range of courses will come up.

Another excellent resource is from the Work from Home Doing Voice Overs website. A free introductory course is available for you to do and you can check it out here.

Are There Any Special Voice Over Equipment or Tools Needed?

If you’re newly starting out in the voice over business you’re very likely to be on a budget. You can actually start your business quite cheaply, the key thing is to work from a quiet place, have a laptop or a pc, an audio recording and editing software, a mic and a good set of headphones.

There is a very popular open source software, meaning FREE that is available to use and can produce good quality recordings for your voiceover work and voice over samples to place on your website, social media and other platforms.

It’s called Audacity and is a great free software to promote your voice acting career. Just download it to your pc or laptop. There are lots of YouTube tutorials on how to use it.

In regards to what mic to use they come in a range of prices but try to get one with as good quality as possible and one that connects easily to your pc or laptop via USB.

Here a few popular ones that are all under $100 that you might be interested in but for and even better deal make sure to sign up for the 30-day Amazon Prime free trial for free shipping and fast delivery.

Blue Snowball iCE Condenser Microphone This is a very popular and reasonably priced mic perfect for the beginner, great for podcasters, vloggers and gamers.
Samson C01U Pro Microphone An excellent and highly recommended professional USB studio mic that you can connect directly to your headphones with jack connector. Can also be used with your iPad. Great for recording music, YouTube videos, voiceovers and podcasts. I think I really need to get myself one of these
Blue Yeti USB Condenser Microphone A very easy to use and simple to connect professional USB microphone that provides crisp and clear sound recordings.

If you also want to start using some of the best headphones for your voice over work here is a list of some of the best out there. Designed for comfort and long use plus great sound.

Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone If you want a budget-friendly, high-quality pair of headphones. It has great noise reduction.
Sennheiser HD280PRO Headphone This is a great priced mid-priced good quality sounding set of headphones. If you want a comfortable set of headphones without the heavy price tag then this is the one to go for. Make sure to choose the new model when selecting.
Shure SRH1540 Premium Closed-Back Headphones A super set of lightweight professional headphones with excellent sound quality.

If you have a spare room or decide to make a space for a sound room you might also be interested to get some acoustic sound panels like Timothy. You can find a good range of them on Amazon in a variety of colors.

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Where to Find Voice Over Jobs from Home

There are a number of places that you can find voice over jobs. You can use the basic platforms like Fiverr and Upwork but if you really want to start making a real income it’s best to use specialized voice over websites to get genuine and well-paid jobs. Here are a few voice acting websites that you can sign up to.

1. Voices.com

This is a well-known voice over website that offers a wide-range of voice related jobs. Jobs for voice actors, producers, editors and narrators. All you have to do is set up a profile and audition online for the voiceover jobs that are posted daily.

2. Voices 123

Once you sign up with Voices 123 you have the opportunity to get in touch directly with the client. No middle man involved making it easier for you to organize and arrange your rates and set out a voice acting contract.

3. Filmless

Another popular media site offering a range of freelance jobs. If you want to promote your voice over services just sign up but make sure to have a quiet place to work from. The great thing about Filmless is that you can be located anywhere in the world and still provide a voice over service.

4. Voice Bunny

Is another great site to register your freelance voice over skills. Send in an application and if you are one of the 2% lucky enough to qualify then you will start to receive offers of lucrative voice over work.

5. ACX

If like Tim, you want to start off with audiobooks and become an audiobook narrator then ACX is the company to register with.

ACX Audiobooks are sold through Amazon, Audible and iTunes. Just search under narration and filter by gender, accent, language and so on to see what book you are qualified to audition for.

6. Findaway Voices

Another audiobook producing company that recruit audiobook narrators from anywhere in the world.

Other Ways to Find Voice Over Jobs

Another method that you might not have thought about is directly contacting companies that require freelance voice over artists.

This is why it is so important to have an online presence with your website, up-to-date social media accounts including LinkedIn with a variety of audio samples to market your voice over business.

You can approach and cold pitch to ad agencies, video game companies, anime studios and any other companies that you can think of. Don’t forget startup companies too.

How about checking this list of companies that are in partnership with Netflix. If you have a second language voice over dubbing might just be for you. It is ever increasing and it’s a great way to use your voice over language skills.

You must have experience and your own at home studio to do this.

Commercial voice over work is another option and the rate of pay is much higher.

You can join a number of companies and search their job boards for the latest voice over job opportunities. Choose voice offers by country location.

Also, make sure to check the job boards daily for new voice over job offers. Only high calibre voice talent is required for these sites and an online audition process will take place

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How Much Can a Voice Over Artist Get Paid?

This answer can vary depending on your experience, the voice over job platform that you are on and the type of voice over work that you can do.

As mentioned in the video interview audiobooks are at the lower end of the scale but doing Commercial voice over work brings in a higher rate.

The key thing to do is to market yourself properly, provide as many different types of samples that you can.

Make sure that your voice over recordings are clear and professional and if you are able to upsell your talents by offering additional services such as translation if you have a second language, editing if you’re able to re-word a document means there are always options to make more money online as a voice over artist.

According to Indeed.com the average salary of a voice over artist in the USA as of 23 May 2019 is $57.19. That might not seem like very much but you must understand that to record a 30 second audio will not take you 30 seconds to do.

It will take you much longer to get it just right, remove any background noise, provide a variety of styles for the client and add background music if required.

The re-recording and editing can actually take some time. So, in reality, you can, in fact, make a full-time income from voice over work over $60,000 a year with constant workflow.

One Great Advantage of Voice over Work

One of the best things about voice over work is that it is definitely not restricted by age. All age groups are required, also a range of accents and even ethnicities. Perfect for when stories need to be told by different characters and in different settings.

Here’s a perfect example, and if you have kids you might already be familiar with it. It’s called Best Robot Ever and is an excellent selection of stories and podcasts especially made for children.

Outlets like this need voiceover artists of every age. Voice over work would actually be a great opportunity for a young teenager on school holiday. A way to develop a new skill and earn some money.

If you’re retired or a work from home parent, doing voiceover work is also a great way to make an extra income. Why don’t you try to use your voice to make some much-needed cash it could just become a full-time career.

If you want more information on voice over work or any other work from home opportunities don’t forget to sign up for the Teamworkdream weekly newsletter, make a comment down below and by the way, please share this post with others. You can do this by pinning any one of the images as a bookmark.