You’ve been told you have a great voice, and your friends say you should be on the radio or in commercials. But there’s a lot more to becoming a professional voice actor than having a good sounding voice. It takes time and training to develop the skills needed to make it in this industry. You also need a solid portfolio that demonstrates your ability to work well with direction.

Many aspiring voice actors are often confused about where to start. A mentor or coach can help you hone your craft and give you the foundation for your career. Choosing the right one is crucial, and a coach who tries to sell you on their demo reel production services too early is a red flag.

Voice over is a very creative industry. It is difficult to distill down into a formal school-like process, and the vast majority of successful voice actors will have had a coach along the way to guide them through this journey.

The path to success in Voice Over is unique to each individual, but there are some key principles that all talent will need to master. A good voice coach will be able to teach you the fundamentals such as breathing properly, pacing your delivery, and how to emote through your voice.

It is also important to know what your worth and how to charge for your services. Even established voice actors can struggle with this aspect of their business. Learning how to price yourself and establishing yourself in the marketplace is an ongoing journey that will improve over time with practice, coaching and validation from clients in the form of booked jobs. Voiceover training