If you want to get really good in the voice-over industry, you have to find a balance between working hard behind the mic and treating this fun opportunity like a career. That means studying industry trends, tracking your competition (and befriending them so you can relay information back and forth), and finding out the best coaches based on genres. Your work as a voice-over professional doesn’t stop once you graduate from Such A Voice. Educating yourself is continuously ongoing. Use the resources below to immerse yourself into the ongoing education opportunities as a voice-over talent.
Podcasts:
Voice Over Body Shop, The Voice Over Cafe, VO B.O.S.S, Mike Lenz Voice: A Journey into Voice Acting, VO Buzz Weekly, and the B-Hive Podcast: Women in Voice Over are all great podcasts to check out. Podcasts are popping up every day. Find what you like and what works for you!
VoiceOverXtra.com:
This site is the main education and resource center for the voice-over industry. It gives you access to online news, webinars and articles specific to genre, production, technique, tools, business practices, and marketing.
Social Media Groups:
There are a whole bunch of other groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Use the search button on each platform and type in “voice over.” You’ll be able to find plenty of groups. Here are some groups that I recommend from LinkedIn and Twitter:
LinkedIn – Voice Over Professionals and Voice Over Marketing Mastermind.
Facebook – Voice Over Universe, Voice Over Collective, and Voice Over Pros.
Conferences:
VO Atlanta – voatlanta.me
WoVOCon – world-voices.org
Mid-Atlantic Voice Over Conference – midatlanticvo.com
That’s Voiceover – thatsvoiceover.com
VO Mastery – vomastery.com
MidWest Voice Over Conference – midwestvoiceoverconference.com
FaffCon – www.faffcon.com
(among others)
Meetup Groups:
VO Peeps, Meetup.com (sign in to meetup.com, see what you are interested in, and find VO meetup groups, if there happens to be any around you – if there aren’t any, maybe you can start one!)
Join World-Voices.org:
The World-Voice’s Organization’s (WoVO) mission is to “inform and educate members of the voiceover community and other business professionals about best practices, standards for ethical conduct and professional expertise as it relates to the voiceover industry.” WoVO functions as a non-profit, member-driven industry association of professional voice talent. They often host a “rates roundtable” event with industry leaders including agents and casting directors to help us all keep on top of what’s going on.
SAV Biweeklies:
We offer a wealth of information from “Growing Your Acting Chops to “Marketing Avenues for Getting the Word Out” to “How To Get An Agent” to “Proper Use and Upkeep of Your Home Studio Equipment and Software.” These are available the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month 8-9PM EST. If you do not have a trial or membership with Such A Voice, then you have to sign up to access these biweeklies. To sign up, log into the Such A Voice website members area, go to “My Sessions,” and click register to sign up for the session you want to attend.
SAV Website:
If you are a member of Such A Voice, you have access to a LOT of wonderful marketing and start-up information on the Such A Voice website including, but not limited to, Technique, Branding, Social Media Marketing, Business/Legal, Establishing Your Online Presence, and Home Studio information and tutorials. Use the information daily.
Whew! That’s a LOT! So, here’s what I suggest; start with what you need most. Home studio help? Click on the Home Studio tab and go to the SAV website member section to read/watch it all, listen to the Voice Over Body Shop podcasts, find a webinar on voiceoverxtra.com that deals with home studio issues, or post a question in one of the FB voice-over groups. Need marketing help? Start with the SAV website members section under the multiple marketing tabs (the eLearning marketing tab is not specific to the genre of eLearning – it is marketing training for you done in an eLearning style), join the Voice Over Marketing Mastermind group on LinkedIn, and/or listen to the one of the VO B.O.S.S podcasts specific to marketing. Figure out what you need help with, then go down the list of resources to find what can provide you answers. Remember, your voice-over career is a journey and so is your education. Best wishes on your journey!
Check out our VO Pro Membership for more content like this!
Jillian Nielsen is an expressive voice talent with over 14 years of experience in radio and television commercial and promotional voice-overs.
