Even with little to no experience in the voice acting industry, finding high-paying and exciting job opportunities is still possible.
According to data from the leading voiceover platform, Voices, there is a heavy demand for new talent in the voiceover industry. Demand for English-speaking voiceover artists rose by a massive 43%, and the market for non-English speakers grew even more.
If you’ve got a voice that friends and family compliment or enjoy putting on silly voices and speaking in different accents, you could be the perfect fit for voice acting.
One of the most attractive things about this kind of work isit can be done remotely. Yes, voice artists can find 100% remote voiceover jobs. It’s also a field where entry-level candidates can thrive.
What is a Voiceover Job?
You might wonder what voiceover is if you are new to the term or industry.
A wide range of businesses want talented voice artists to read and record their scripts for shows, movies, commercials, etc. The company hires a voiceover actor who reads a script aloud in the agreed-upon style.
What Skills or Qualifications do Voice Artists Need?
It’s a common misperception that a degree in voice acting is required to get started, but it is not. Instead, the focus is on skills and abilities. The more voices you can do, the more appealing your services will be to potential clients.
Tech Skills
For even a small role, you will need to be tech-savvy. You will need to learn how to use voice recording software and develop some stellar editing skills. In addition, you’ll likely need to remove errors from your recording or place time gaps. Of course, these skills will improve with experience, so with that in mind, consider making a recording today to brush up on your tech skills.
Vocal Abilities
The better your pronunciation and diction, the more chance you have of being a successful voice actor. You should be able to speak clearly and accurately. In addition, it is beneficial to use your voice in diverse ways; if you can talk in anime and cartoon voice styles, you will have more opportunities. If you need to become more familiar with these types of voices, consider watching some popular cartoons and pay close attention to how the actors use their voices.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Like tech skills, communication and interpersonal skills are a must-have for any freelancer. You will regularly interact with clients, and they’ll expect you to be polite, friendly, and timely with your messages.
What Qualifications Does a Voice Actor Need?
The good news is that you do not need a degree or special qualification to become a voiceover artist. That said, you will need a demo, which is a recording of your voice. Your demo should contain a good variety of different styles and tones. Your demo must be of the highest quality. It’s your opportunity to show potential clients why they should pick you. Put time and effort into it, because it can pay off massively.
What Equipment Does a Voice Actor Need?
As this is a freelance role, you must have your own equipment at home to create your voice recordings. It would help if you established your own recording studio.
You will need to have the following equipment to accept gigs in the voiceover market:
Microphone
Splurge for good quality, as the better your microphone, the better you will sound in your recordings. Settling on a cheap option would be doing yourself a disservice. It would help if you also had a stand or a microphone mount for the microphone. If you’re holding the mic in your hand, the sound quality will be inconsistent.
Quality Headphones
You need headphones to accurately listen to the audio you have recorded.
Pop Filter
A pop filter stops hissing and popping sounds in your audio recordings.
Shock Mount
Shock mounts stop the effects of unwanted vibrations and disturbance in your audio recordings, making them professional quality.
What Voiceover Jobs are Available?
Voiceover artists work on all kinds of projects. This is great because this increases your chances of finding something suitable for your voice.
Voiceover work includes:
- Children’s cartoons
- Adult cartoons (think Family Guy)
- Anime
- Dubbed movies and television series
- Commercials
- Video games
- Phone messages
- Podcasts
- YouTube channels
- Radio
- Audiobooks
- Educational videos
- Business videos
Is Free Training Available for Voiceover Artists?
If you are new to the market, then it’s definitely worth getting some training. It will improve your skills and confidence and prevent imposter syndrome. The good news is there is free training available online. So it’s highly recommended that you take advantage of it before trying to find work or recording your demo reel.
You can join SkillShare and learn from master voiceover artists. They offer a week’s free trial of their service. If you don’t want to pay, you can unsubscribe after seven days.
If you would prefer, you could check out free videos on YouTube.
How Much Does a Voiceover Artist Get Paid?
According to SPG Studios, the average hourly American wage for voiceover acting is $37.
Of course, that does not mean you will earn $37 per hour; you could make more or less. Factors determining your rate include your experience and ability, the project, and the client’s budget.
Another wage-increasing factor is unions. You will earn more if you are a union member and have union-based clients. Consider joining a union such as SAG AFTRA.
The highest earners in the industry earn MILLIONS per year. Consider Nancy Cartwright. She is a voiceover actress for the Simpsons. She makes about $400,000 per episode.
How To Increase Your Earnings as a Voice Artist
If you have high hopes as a voiceover artist, you might be asking yourself how to increase your earnings. Implement some of these tips to make yourself stand out from the crowd and land your dream gig.
Build Your Own Website
This will require a small investment, but it’s worth it if you plan on making it big in this game. The good news is that it’s super easy to set up a simple and attractive website. You don’t need any coding skills. Instead, consider using a website builder like WordPress or Squarespace (other website builders are available).
Build a Social Media Presence
To hit the big time as a voiceover artist, you must have a social media presence. It’s an opportunity to showcase your skills to a vast audience. You can also use social media to connect with other artists and gain valuable insights into the industry.
Consider using platforms like Twitter and TikTok to create short skits or clips showcasing your talents. Alternatively, take it a step further and create your own YouTube channel where you produce longer-form content.
Quality Over Quantity
It’s tempting, especially for newbies, to try to work as much as physically possible to make some money. The problem with this mindset is in the long term, you’re doing yourself an injustice. It’s not sustainable to work endlessly and maintain a high standard of work.
Every project you work on stands as a testament to your professional reputation. In the gig economy, reputation is everything. So don’t sacrifice your brand to make some quick cash. Instead, try to focus on your long-term goals. You will foster a far better career this way.
10 of the Best Remote Online Voiceover Jobs
Here are 10 legitimate freelance voiceover jobs available to total novices without experience.
1. Voices
Voices is considered by many to be the leading voiceover marketplace. They have established themselves as the largest online community of voice artists. In addition, they boast over 2 million freelancers from 160 countries. Because of this enormous community, clients and businesses flock to it to find the best talent on the market.
After you’ve signed up and created a kick-ass profile (don’t forget to add all your best demos and samples), clients can contact you and invite you to jump on their latest project.
If you land gigs with Voices, you can expect to make anywhere between $150 to $1500 per project.
It’s free to become a member and create a portfolio. If you have success with Voices, you may consider upgrading your account to its premium version known as ‘Voices Talent Membership’. At $499 per year, it’s pricey, so be sure you like the website and are finding regular gigs with it before you spend money.
If you decide to join the premium version of Voices, then you will receive some sweet perks. When clients search through the website, they bump up your profile, and you can ‘audition’ for gigs.
Another neat thing about Voices is they pay via PayPal, and they cover the cost of the fees, so you get 100% of your earnings.
It’s also worth mentioning that Voices have some mega clients, like Microsoft and the History Channel, who source their talent from the Voices marketplace.
ACX is all about audiobooks; the audiobooks produced with ACX are sold via iTunes, Amazon, and Audible. They hire voice artists and producers who can bring authors’ characters to life with their well-adjusted voices. Making this an ideal gig for the bookworms out there!
It’s a relatively simple sign-up process, follow the registration prompts and then add an unlimited number of your excellent samples. Next, pick how you want to get paid.
You can receive an hourly rate from the client or opt for a portion of the royalties. If you choose to get a share of the royalties, you will get 50%, which is generous.
Then you can start searching for work. When you find something that looks like a good fit for your voice, you provide a short demo using their offered manuscript. If the Rights Holder likes your style, then they can make you an offer.
You both agree on your terms, then you get to work.
If it sounds like a good fit for you, then there is no better time to start with ACX than now; theyhave over 1700 job postings just waiting for the right voice.
2. Voice123
Another reputable entry-level voiceover artist marketplace is Voice123. Again, it’s a great fit for beginners and experts alike.
Voice123 has been around since 2003 and has completed over 250,000 projects, making them well-established.
They offer a free account for beginner voice actors to get started. If you want to increase your job opportunities, consider upgrading to a Premium or Platinum account. Premium accounts cost up to $4,950 per year; because of this high price tag, they are best suited to experienced professionals.
Similar to Voices, Voice123 allows clients to search through the voiceover artists’ profiles. Then once the client finds the person they like, they can contact them and negotiate pay and terms.
Voice123 has some world-renowned clients; Coca-Cola, The New York Times, and 21st Century Fox use Voice123 to find their vocal talent.
Rates with Voice123 range from $30 to over $100 per hour.
3. Backstage
Looking for voice acting jobs for beginners? Look no further. Backstage has got you covered.
To find work with Backstage, you must pay $9.99 per month(billed annually). They have no free options, unfortunately. However, although they lack a free option, they make up for this with their high-quality clientele. Netflix, Disney, and HBO all use Backstage to find project talent.
They’ve been around since 1960, so you know they are credible and 100% legit.
Unlike other sites,Backstage allows users to apply directly to gigs, which is why this site is preferable.
You scroll through the casting calls (thousands of them to look at). Then, once you find something that fits you well, you apply, and if you get picked, you get paid. It’s that simple.
Another perk of Backstage is there are no commission fees associated with their site, just the membership fee, which is relatively low.
You can also find general acting work with Backstage.
4. Snap Recordings
Another place to find no experience voiceover jobs is Snap recordings.
Snap recordings provide their clients with high-quality voices and fast turnarounds. So, ensure you can meet their 3-to-5-day turnaround before you sign up.
Another plus for Snap recordings is their super-fast and easy sign-up process. All you need to do is fill out a short form, add some basic personal information and provide your best voiceover sample for them to review.
If they like your demo reel, they will send you jobs directly. You can earn between $50 and $100 per hour if hired.
They offer voice recording services for businesses and corporations, mostly telephone messages and systems.
Their clients include BMW and iHop.
Snap recordings have been in the business since 1997.
5. The Voice Realm
The Voice Realm is “the biggest network of casting websites for advertisers, producers, and creatives to source world-class voices.”
If you want to start voice acting from home, then The Voice Realm could be an ideal place.
Their application is straightforward. They need all your credentials and some other information too, like the brand of your microphone and editing software. Then, of course, they require your all-important demo reel.
The Voice Realm offers high rates. Many artists make over $100 per hour here, so make sure you’re ready to perform high-quality voiceover audio. Another awesome thing about the Voice Realm is it is free to join them. Still, on the negative side, they are known for taking a while to accept new artists.
They also handle all the payments and invoicing, so you are always guaranteed to get paid, which makes things simple.
6. Bunny Studios
Don’t be put off by their silly name. Bunny Studio is a great place to find entry-level voiceover jobs, and they have over 50,000 clients, including Airbnb.
They offer work to people of almost any language (over 100 languages available), making them well-suited to those who do not speak English as a first language.
Like other sites, Bunny Studios focuses on quick turnarounds for orders. 85% of orders are completed in less than 12 hours. Make sure you’re ready to work relatively quickly before signing up with Bunny Studios.
A perk of Bunny Studios is they pay you for your auditions, and even if the client rejects your work, Bunny Studios still pays you.
They also have a Trust Pilot rating of 4.7, so you can have peace of mind working with them.
7. Voice Jockeys
Voice Jockey offers remote voiceover jobs for beginners. Their clients include Walmart and JCPenney.
The sign-up process is fast and short. Just send over some basic information and your demo reel; they will get back to you in about 24 hours.
Once approved, you can find work, although you might want to consider their 50% commission fee. This is a reasonably high rate, but the site is still valuable for people looking for voiceover jobs without experience.
8. Fiverr/Freelancer/Upwork
These three remote working platforms have all been put into the same category because the principle for all three is identical.
They all connect freelancers with clients around the world. All three are highly reputable and have user-friendly websites.
All three-offer work for various remote jobs, including at-home voiceover jobs.
All you need to do is create a quality profile, upload your credentials, and start applying for freelance gigs. Make your rates competitive, and you will quickly find work as a voiceover artist.
It’s worth noting that according to various freelance workers, Fiverr is the most preferable site to use, as they also have the most users.
9. Indeed
Indeed, it is one of the leading online job marketplaces in the world. They offer job postings in almost every profession. Including voice acting jobs.
Consider uploading your resume to the site and checking out some available positions. You might even find long-term work there, which is always a good find for a freelancer.
The average voice actor salary rates start at about $15 with Indeed. Still, you can earn considerably more with a suitable CV and demo reel.
Final Thoughts
Remote voiceover jobs are generally easy to find if you know where to advertise your services and how to best promote yourself.
Voiceover work for beginners is just as easy; again, you need the know-how to find these gigs. Luckily, you have everything you need to start and explore fantastic opportunities with the information in the article.
Now all you need to do is apply everything you’ve learned and start landing amazing gigs.
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