Aim

The only way to hit a target is to first aim at it. Well, I suppose you could hit a target by accident if you don’t aim; but there’s not much percentage in that plan. How does this apply to the world of voiceover?

Voiceover isn’t a career so much as it’s a host of careers. Some people become very successful doing animation or video game characters. Some do move trailers and television promos all day long. Some do tons of radio imaging. Or audiobooks. Or commercials for television and radio. And that’s just a list of the traditional areas of voiceover specialization.

Then there are folks who try to do everything. While you can certainly do a variety of things as a voice actor, it’s far better to focus your energy and attention on one category. You might still do things that are outside your comfort zone or previous experience from time to time, but by being focused (by taking aim) you stand a much higher chance of hitting your target. Of reaching your goal to make your living doing voiceovers full-time.

The other thing you’ll likely find is that the area you end up being good at might well turn out to be something quite different from what you start out to do. One of my friends commented the other day that his goal when he started was to do animation work, but he’s found his place doing audiobooks. I always imagined that I would do lots of commercials. Yet, the thing I love doing is long-form narration.

So, if you’ve been at this voiceover thing for a while and you’re finding it hard to get any traction, think deeply about what you’re good at. Not so much about what you “want” to do, but what are you good at. Then aim at that target for a while. You may well be surprised at the results.