Top 7 Myths About Becoming a Pro Voice Actor

Let's face it. There's a lot of B.S. and myths out there about becoming a voice over actor, a professional VO actor, and about the voice over industry in general.

And sadly, a lot of this bullshit is put out by snake oil salesman, so-called coaches in this business, who will defleece you from your money or pica your pocket. And I'm not being dissingenuous.

So today we're going to bust the top seven myths about becoming a pro voice actor. And we're going to set the record straight.

Myths numbers one and two: You can break in fast and you don't need any training

I lumped these two together because this is the line you'll be fed: “You're about to discover one of the fastest ways to launch a profitable voiceover business in the next 90 days without needing previous experience.”

And all you need is their program to do it.

And it's complete and utter bullshit.

So-called coaches who spout this quick fix nonsense are only here to do one thing, separate you from your money.

They're preying on your naivete and ignorance.

The fact is, it takes months and years to become baseline competent enough to compete with pro voice actors for professional work.

It takes, on average, 3 to 5 years to build a full time, sustainable clientele in the voiceover business. And that's with solid training and knowing how to market yourself.

Not 90 days. Not 190 days. More like 1090 days or more.

When are we going to learn that if something sounds too good to be true, it is? Nothing in life worthwhile is easy. Do the hard shit that nobody else is willing to do. That's where the rewards are.

Myth Number Three: “Well, if people tell you you have a nice voice, then you should become a voice actor.”

No, just. No.

If I told you you have nice feet, would you go, “Oh, well, then maybe I should be a dancer”?

I can hand you a 1958 Les Paul humbucker guitar, but if you don't know how to play, I might as well hand you a leaf blower.

Your voice is an instrument. And just because you own one doesn't mean you know how to play it professionally.

Let me ask you this: Could you be a highly profitable guitar player in 90 days?

Even if you learn to play pretty well in those 90 days and I gave you another 90 days on top of that and plopped you in the middle of Nashville, where you'd be competing with professional guitar players who have been in the business for years, building relationships for years, failing thousands of times and learning from those failures and getting better each time.

In two weeks, you'd be living under a bridge.

So, what makes you think you can be a highly profitable voice actor 90 days from now?

And by the way, these so-called coaches, even they don't actually believe they can take a bunch of newbs and turn them into Tara Strong in three months.

Even they know what they're promising is bullshit.

They just don't care.

Myth Number Four: Getting voice over work online is easy

People think, “Well, you know, as soon as I get good training, then I can just jump online and find work.”

Nope.

That actually used to be true. Ten, maybe even as recent as five years ago, you could make a decent living in voice over using nothing but the online casting sites.

And then came COVID. And suddenly everybody was trying to find a way to work from home and every chuckle butt who had ever been told they have a nice voice, tried to become a voice actor.

Now the online sites like Voices and Fiverr and Upwork and Voice123 are oversaturated with undertrained actors who are now fighting over scraps of crappy work for shitty rates because the actors that were on those sites previously who had put in the time they had trained the algorithms and they had built the relationships and they continue to book well on the online casting sites.

Now can you still make a good living on the online casting sites? Can you still make six figures on Fiverr? Yes, you can, but again, it takes months and years, not 90 goddamn days.

Myth Number Five: Once you get an agent, you're set

Seems logical, right? A good agent is a ticket to big time auditions. Right? So just get out of my way while I become the voice of a national brand or six.

Having a good agent is a great thing. I have three wonderful agents, and they're worth their weight in gold.

But having an agent, getting an agent, for the vast majority of actors is not an immediate game changer.

And here's why. A good agent, by definition, is going to get you access to better auditions. Better auditions, again, by definition, are going to be more competitive. You, my friend, still have to book and you will be competing against way more and way more talented and skilled voice actors.

If you're not booking consistently before you get an agent, you're going to have a heck of a time finding a good voice over agent because good agents work with talent that books.

Myth Number Six: Being a pro means getting paid

No.

Being a pro means being committed to your clients, to yourself, to the people you work with, to the industry, to being committed to hone your craft. It means auditioning not just to get this gig, but to do the best work you can in service of others.

It means knowing your worth and standing up for it and not devaluing the work that we all do. It means showing up on time, being prepared, doing your absolute best and standing by your work and your word. If and when things get sideways. And sometimes things do get sideways,

It means coming from a place of service to your clients and your peers. It means participating in the voiceover community and lifting others up.

Getting paid is what pros do, but it's not what makes them a pro.

Myth Number Seven. “I can't do this.”

“Wait, Paul, didn't you just spend the last seven or 8 minutes telling us how hard this business is?”

Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean you can't succeed in it.

It just means you have to be prepared to train for and run a marathon, not a 90 day sprint.

Rather than believing a lie like, “Well, I can be a voice actor in 90 days,” believe a real truth. Embrace a real truth like, “I can be a pro voice actor in 3 to 5 years.”

Now it takes a lot of training and practice and grit and curiosity and tolerance of failure and discipline. And most of all, it takes patience.

But you absolutely can do it.

You just have to be committed to what it takes, what it really takes every damn day.

For more information on the VO Freedom Master Plan or to get my Move Touch Inspire newsletter on Thursdays just for voice actors, click those links.

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As always, thanks for being a part of the conversation, and we'll see you back here again real soon.