We’ve all heard the expression, “The more mud you throw at the wall, the more it will stick.” It does make sense: the more we put out there, the better our chances are for success, and the more our skills will grow along the way.
Take a second and think about where your gaps are that you’re not filling with your business. If you’re like me – and most other humans – you’ll find that your gaps (or what you’re not doing, that you could be doing) usually fall in areas where you’re either uncomfortable or you just don’t enjoy,
What I want to talk about is filling the gaps with areas where you ARE comfortable, or that you are extremely familiar with.
Your next VO job might be right under your feet!
Most of you who have come into the wonderful world of voice-over have come from other worlds, perhaps careers that you’d been in for decades. Some of you might be retired, yet you have years of experience in one or more specific industries. Some of you might have experience in raising children, or dog training, or running a family-owned orchard. Guess what? Now you can make those skills and experiences pay off within your voice-over business.
People that I talk to always sound surprised when I bring up this way of adding volume to our business, by following another route, in addition to the standard paths we travel when it comes to finding voice-over work. But just think of how you could grow if you were to create voice-over work for yourself, as well as auditioning for other peoples’ projects.
Adding volume is a good thing, and also means adding volume to our piggy banks, which is even better! We’re also sharing our hard earned knowledge, which feels good too, by giving what we do even more significance.
I want you to think about the world that you’ve come from, or perhaps you’re still in and intend to be in for a while. Maybe you’re a nurse, or in pharmaceuticals, law enforcement, administration, the restaurant business, fashion, or teaching. Don’t just think about your inner circle, think bigger. I want you to widen that circle because it can be huge.
If you’re a nurse, for instance, there are probably tons of training module jobs or companies that specialize in instructional design. It’s the same in the restaurant world. There are training modules in food service, food safety, the Heimlich maneuver, alcohol service protocols, etc. I know, because I’ve done them. Google these things in your area of knowledge and present yourself not only as a voice-over professional, but as someone who has a background in that field.
Say, for example, your experience is managing a restaurant, reach out to instructional design companies with a letter of introduction and let them know your availability for food and beverage projects. Or, depending on how much of an entrepreneur you are, you can even build your own group of voice talents and gather an instructional design team (or work with an existing company) and sell your services as a package. I’m just talking food and beverage as an example, but think of all the different areas that this can be done. If you’re an ER nurse, and you’re interested in doing audiobooks, look up books on Amazon that might be on patient care, or “how to take care of yourself while taking care of others”, or maybe even a romance novel that takes place in the medical world. If the e-books are out, but you don’t see audiobooks done for certain titles, reach out to authors or publishers in different genres that specialize in your area and let them know you’re a voice-over professional with a background in that area (of course, you’ll need demos or samples of your work to show your voice-over skills).
You can also look at apps on topics in whatever your area is. Find out who the developer is and contact them for work on any future projects. You get the picture.
The ability to do voice-over and audition for other’s projects is always great. But remember, you can also build and grow your own gigs. Think about all you have to offer. What areas can you build a little niche for yourself? It will help with your branding, as well as target-specific marketing. Target marketing, by the way, can bring in more work than throwing a wide net out across all work in general.
So, take charge of your destiny! Make your past, your background, and all the years you’ve put into another business pay off. Marry that background to your voice-over business.
Don’t hide it, use it…and imagine the possibilities!
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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