You’ve put in the hours, polished your acting skills, and set up a recording space that rivals the pros. Your schedule is wide open, ready for gigs. Yet, your inbox is empty, and you wonder if your phone’s been off all day. What’s happening?
This scenario is all too familiar for many voice actors, especially those just starting out. Even if you’re standing at the mic ready to hit record when a job comes in, there are some things that could still hold you back from landing those coveted jobs. Let’s look into 3 reasons and how to fix them.
1. Your Online Presence Needs a Boost
In today’s digital age, your online presence is your calling card. If potential clients can’t find you, or worse, if what they find doesn’t reflect your current skill level, you’re missing out on opportunities. Do you have a website dedicated to your voice acting career? Are your demos easily accessible and do they showcase your current talent level?
For example, say you meet someone at a networking event and you tell them you’re a voice actor. A week later, they decide to look you up online. If they can’t find you, or if they stumble upon a website that talks more about your love for vintage bottle caps than your voice acting skills, you’ve lost a potential client. Worse still, if your demos are outdated, showcasing skills from when you first started, their first impression of your skill is bad.
Here’s how you can fix it: Make sure your online presence is polished and professional. Have a website that ranks well in search engines when someone looks up your name. Ensure your social media profiles are linked to your voice acting career. Host your demos front and center on your site and update them regularly to reflect your current skills.
2. You’re Not Auditioning Enough
Now, a spoonful of medicine to go with previous tip: You shouldn’t wait for people to bring you work. The lion that waits for others to bring them food is the lion that stays hungry. The voice acting industry is competitive, and if you’re not actively auditioning, you’re missing out. Do you know what a good booking ratio is on casting sites? It’s around five percent. That means, on average, you need to audition twenty times to land one job.
How many auditions are you doing each day? Each week? If you’re only auditioning ten times a week, it’s not your online presence or your voice that’s the issue— it’s that you’re not putting enough shots on goal. Even if your booking ratio is more like 1 in 100, 1 in 300, or more, you need to audition often enough that you get the practice needed to improve. In voice acting, what you put in directly correlates to what you get out. If you’re not seeing the results you want, it’s time to increase your efforts.
Time to unclog this drain: Have you considered casting sites? They provide daily audition opportunities that can lead to paid work. There are even free casting sites you can use if you’re not keen on putting in the monetary investment right now. If you’re already on these sites but not getting enough auditions, review your profiles. Success on casting sites often depends on how their algorithms perceive you. Optimize your profiles and demos so their algorithm can match you with the jobs you deserve to audition for.
3. Continuous Improvement is Key
The voice acting industry is dynamic, with trends and styles evolving constantly. If you’re not continually honing your skills, you risk falling behind. It’s a great industry where the people who audition for the jobs you want are also your peers. Chances are you know quite a few of them, and when someone else books the job you were pining for, you celebrate their victory. Sure, you wanted it, but there will be plenty more chances to land similar roles in the future. That being said, your peers are constantly improving so when the next big opportunity comes up, they can knock it out of the park.
So what happens when you stop seeking growth? Your skills stagnate. Commercial trends shift, and what was once top-tier might now be average. If you took coaching sessions two years ago, those skills might have dulled without practice. Your peers have grown, the bar has been raised, and you’ve fallen behind. Embrace the mindset of constant improvement. Aim to be one percent better every day- which may sound like a pie in the sky idea and bunch of hot air, but it’s actually quite simple. Say today you get in the booth with a great mood, and for the first time in weeks, you’re able to audition without a care about if the imaginary director on your shoulder will like it. Harness that feeling and remember how it feels. The next time you’re in your head about your reads, you’ll recognize the how it affects you and maybe take 5 so you can refocus. It’s not an intentional improvement, but it’s still groundbreaking. It’s also more than a 1% improvement. Some days that improvement doesn’t come from reading a book or taking a class. Sometimes it’s a discovery that comes from doing the same things a little differently.
Let’s bake this cookie: Stay engaged with the industry. Take workshops, attend webinars, and seek feedback from peers. Keep up with trends and continuously refine your skills. This proactive approach will ensure you’re ready when that dream audition comes your way. And even when you don’t have something new in your calendar, challenge yourself to try the same process a little differently. You might just learn something about your flow.
The Path Forward
Can you guess what today’s theme is? Active Involvement! Voice acting is not a passive profession. You can’t wait for opportunities to come to you; you have to seek them out. Your input directly affects your output. If you’re not seeing the results you want, reassess your strategies and find ways to be more active in your career.
Ready to take the plunge and turn active research into active growth? You can start with my free eBook linked here. Hope you have a great day and take some time to get behind the mic!
