It’s a special double feature! Rodney Saulsberry and Yolanda Spearman are sharing their expert knowledge of the voice-over industry — she’s in the first decade of her career, and he’s in his fourth decade.
People think voice-over work is a side hustle, but it can be a full-time career with a full calendar and a full wallet. Voice talent is always in demand, with unexpected opportunities for multiple streams of income…
Those voices in video games? People got paid for that! That narrator on the TV commercial? Paid for that. Cartoon character voices? Paid for that.
For the rest of this week, whenever you hear an unseen voice in a commercial, video game, cartoon, audiobook, or movie, I want you to think: I could get paid for that.
But right now, join us to hear about: how to get started in the voice-over industry, what to put in your demo, the everyday way that Rodney trained his voice, the benefits of union membership, how (and where) to market yourself as a voice talent, Yolanda’s preferred online resources for finding work, industry code words for the best and worst ways to get paid … and more!"I believe voice-over is analogous to music. When I’m doing a voice spot, I’m actually singing. There’s rhythm, there’s notes to it, all of those things happen in voice-over.” – Rodney Saulsberry
Highlights From This Episode:
- True Stories! You can make a career (and good money) as a voice-over artist
- Pros Know: You can get paid multiple times for the same work
- 5 things you need to get the freedom you want
- Pro Tips: How to get started in voice-over (this hasn’t changed in 40 years!)
- The core skill set of voice-over artists
- Pros Know: You can have more than one agent
- How Rodney trains his voice all day, every day, in every way
- Build these other skills to have more opportunities
- How (and where) to market yourself as a voice talent
- Passive income ideas for voice artists
- Pro Tips: What to put on your first voice-over demo
- The real challenge for voice-over artists
- 3 resources for voice-over pay-to-play (and Yolanda’s favorites)
- Pro Tip: The voice-over industry’s #1 cuss word
- The benefits of an artists’ union membership
Resources:
- Dr. Pam Perry's Ready Set Go Speak! Program
Relentless Execution: Discover what makes you happy and do it by Yolanda Spearman
You Can Bank On Your Voice: Your Guide to a Successful Career in Voice-Overs by Rodney Saulsberry
Step Up to the Mic: A Positive Approach to Succeeding in Voice-Overs by Rodney Saulsberry
Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
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