Hey there, voice-over artists!

I’m Justine Reiss, the host of The Voice-Over Pod with Justine Reiss of Such A Voice, and I am thrilled to introduce you to an immersive exploration of the captivating realm of voice acting, where authenticity, emotions, and diversity reign supreme.

Voice-over has undergone transformative changes over the past two decades – I know because I’ve been in it that long – so it’s crucial to stay informed and inspired. With each episode of The Voice-Over Pod, we aim to demystify the captivating world of voice acting and provide you with valuable insights into what it takes to thrive in this industry.

Here’s some examples of what we’ll be talking about:

Authenticity in the voice: We delve deep into the importance of authenticity in voice acting. We’ll discuss how to infuse your unique personality and experiences into your performances, helping you stand out in a crowded field.

Finding the right emotional tone: Emotions are at the heart of voice acting. We’ll explore how to tap into and convey a wide range of emotions effectively, from heartfelt narrations to high-octane video game characters.

Speaking diversity in voices: The voice-over industry is increasingly embracing diversity in voices. We’ll shed light on the significance of this shift and explore how different voices bring depth and richness to various projects.

Who gets hired and why: Ever wondered what casting directors look for in a voice talent? We’ll talk about how to get noticed and hired, featuring insights from industry professionals.

Trends in voice acting: Stay ahead of the game by staying informed about the latest trends in the voice-over industry. From audiobooks to video games, we’ll discuss the exciting avenues and evolving demands in this field.

Conversations with industry experts: Our podcast features interviews with renowned voice coaches, casting folks, and industry alumni who have graduated from our own SAV program, and big names in acting, video games, and online voice-over. Prepare to be inspired by the likes of Doug Jones, James Seawood, and casting experts who have paved the way in this captivating field.

Diverse range of work: Voice acting is a multifaceted art form, and we’ll explore its diverse facets, including commercials, animations, video games, motion capture, radio, TV promos, trailers, and much more.

Keys to success: We’ll unravel the keys to your success in the voice-over industry, covering topics like voice coaching, demo creation, marketing strategies, setting up a home studio, and more.

Whether you’re an aspiring voice actor looking to kickstart your career, or a seasoned professional seeking to stay updated with the latest industry trends, The Voice-Over Pod is here to provide you with valuable insights, expert advice, and engaging conversations.

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes, and let’s start uncovering the secrets to success in the fascinating world of voice acting. I love having conversations around anything voice related, and here is where you can listen, learn, and maybe get some answers to questions about why you may want to begin your journey into voice-over.

Stay curious, stay passionate, and stay tuned for The Voice-Over Pod!

Click here to listen and subscribe!

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Dear Paul, 

I get that I should be marketing, but I don’t know how. I hear about funnels, and I have no idea what that means. I find the whole thing complicated, and I have no clue where to start.

Yours truly,

A Totally Made-Up Voice Actor Based on Years of Working with Hundreds of Voice Actors

–

When it comes to marketing, the vast majority of voice actors are exactly there. They may be posting on socials like crazy but not generating any leads. Maybe they get lots of likes and comments on their content, but no one is sending auditions or reaching out about work. Maybe they’re even driving a lot of traffic to their website and lots of demo listens and downloads, but no one is converting. Maybe they just feel lost and directionless.

Maybe that’s you. Or somewhat you.

Today, we’re going to talk about a simple marketing funnel, what it is, the four stages of a simple funnel, some common mistakes newer talent make when executing a funnel, and a quick real-world example.

What the Heck Is a Funnel?

A funnel is simply a customer journey. 

Think about a journey you might take. At the start, you need to know the route and have enough gas to get there. When you’re on the road, you may need to stop for snacks and to hit the head. Later on, you might need to stop for more gas and a short walk. And at the end, you might need to know how long it took you to get there, your average speed, and your miles per gallon.

You have different needs at different points in the journey. A marketing funnel is no different. Customers have different needs at different points of their journeys, too.

The most basic marketing funnel – the points on the journey – go like this:

1. Awareness
2. Interest
3. Decision
4. Action

It’s called a funnel because each stage of the journey will likely have less people in it (for example, not everyone who is aware of you will be interested in working with you), so it’s wide at the top and narrower at the bottom.

The Four Main Stages of a Funnel

Stage 1: Awareness

Goal: To get visible. This stage is all about getting seen and heard. 

In my humble opinion the best way by far to do this is by reaching out directly to decision makers who can hire us. Not chiefly casting directors, but end clients – producers, creative directors, training directors, medical video producers, independent authors, and on and on. Other strategies include social media, LinkedIn, blogging, YouTube, live networking, referrals, and more.

Stage 2: Interest

Goal: To build trust and curiosity by providing relevance and value.

You can be a vendor begging/asking for work, or you can be a consultant to the people who hire voice actors. 

For example, you attend a book fair looking to meet independent authors. You can present as a narrator looking to make connections to book work, or you can present as an audiobook production consultant and narrator who can be a future resource for authors considering an audiobook. One is transactional, the other is consultative. One is looking to get; the other is looking to give.

You can build interest and curiosity with your demos, the messaging on your website, in your email outreach, your comments on social media, free guides and checklists for various buyer profiles, how you present yourself as a pro, what you value in a working relationship, how you like to do business, and more.

You provide relevance and value by showing you understand your buyer’s challenges and pain points and demonstrating how you solve them.

Stage 3: Decision

Goal: To persuade a prospect to confidently choose you.

Social proof shows a prospect that people like them have made a similar decision in the past, with positive outcomes. For example, showing creative directors that other CDs have hired you in the past and had great results. We can provide social proof in a lot of different forms: client testimonials, case studies, and prior work examples to name a few.

We can also build trust with a clean and easy to navigate website, a smooth discovery call, a quick and easy onboarding process, clear proposals, and so on.

Not everyone who trusts you will hire you, but everyone who hires you will do so because they trust you.

Stage 4: Action

Goal: To get the conversion. 

That doesn’t always mean to get hired. A conversion might be a demo download, a contact form filled out, or a discovery call scheduled. The best way to increase any single conversion is to eliminate friction. 

For example, if your demos are hard to find, they’ll be harder to listen to and download. If your contact form is buried, it will be harder to get people to fill it out.

Be obsessed about eliminating friction and making things as easy as possible for your customer.

Common Beginner Funnel Mistakes

Trying to Sell Too Early

Sell too early, at the top of the funnel, and you’re proposing marriage on the first date. Don’t be that person. People need to trust you before they buy from you. Before they trust you, they need to know who you are. In other words, relationships, like cars, need warming up. They are built over time. 

Lack of Follow Up

No one will buy from you the first time. Does it happen? Yes. In reaching out to almost 150,000 people over the years, I’ve had a handful of (literally four or five) people hire me straight away. It takes between 8-20 touches to engage a prospect, guide them through the funnel, and get them to engage. If you thinking you’re going to reach out to 10,000 people one time and get work, you’re sadly mistaken. Reach out 100 people 10 times and your odds skyrocket.

Talking About You

Prospects don’t care about you. They care if you can solve their problem. Show that you understand it and can solve it, and you win. Make your messaging about them and their problem, not you and your gear and your training and blah blah blah.

Overthinking Everything

Especially when you’re new, you don’t need a complex social media strategy, 17 different target buyers, 11 demos, and a $10,000 website. 

Newer talent need to get started marketing. If you don’t start, you can’t grow.

A Simple Funnel Example

1. Awareness: You reach out to a new prospect with an introductory email, demonstrating you get their problem and can solve it.
2. Interest: Your first follow up drives them to your website to check out your demo. Now they start to understand how you fit into their world.
3. Decision: When they have an appropriate project they return to your website because they think you may fit,= and they decide to move forward (either with an audition or a job).
4. Action: They fill out a contact form, email, or call about said audition or job.

A funnel is simply a framework for building a relationship with and guiding your prospects through a customer journey toward an intended action. Funnels give you a structure to help people more confidently make the choice to hire you. 

They take time, patience, a little work, and forethought. 

Start simple and improve over time – but start. Now.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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1. Identification: Finding the sources of noise.
2. Prevention: Steps to eliminate interference at the source.
3. Remediation: A few post-production techniques for noise removal.

1. Identifying Hums and Hisses

In order to fix an audio issue, you need to be able to identify it properly. Terms like hum, hiss, crackle, and static are often used interchangeably, but they originate from entirely different sources.

Attack of the Drones

A hum is a low-pitched, continuous droning sound. If you observe the spectrogram in your recording software, a hum usually lives at the very bottom of the spectrum, specifically around 60Hz. It often features harmonics echoing at 120Hz, 180Hz, etc.

Hums are almost always electrical in nature, though they can occasionally originate from external equipment. The most common causes include:

• Ground Loops: Equipment plugged into multiple power sources with varied ground potentials.
• Electromagnetic Interference: Created when power cables are run near signal lines.
• Unshielded Power Supplies: Using poorly insulated power devices.
• Nearby Appliances: Interference from heavy household appliances operating near your recording space. HVAC, air conditioning window units, and refrigerators are common causes.

Revenge of the Hiss

A hiss sounds exactly like it reads. A constant “shhhh” sound similar to a rushing waterfall. It lives in the upper middle to high frequencies, usually resting above 4kHz.

Every piece of equipment, from your microphone to your audio interface, generates a small amount of internal noise. If you are forced to increase the gain on your interface to an extremely high level just to get a decent signal from your microphone, you are amplifying that internal hiss along with your voice.

2. Prevention at the Source

As any professional audio engineer will tell you, modern post-production tools are wonderful, but over-reliance on them to fix preventable problems will degrade the natural quality of your voice. Here are some suggestions to ensure your audio quality is impeccable before you hit record.

Gain Staging Settings

Gain staging is the process of setting your recording levels appropriately to maximize your Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Adjust your input settings so that your normal speaking voice peaks somewhere between -12dB to -6dB on your input meter. When your recording is too quiet initially, significant amplification in post will also increase your noise floor. If your dynamic mic requires massive amounts of gain, invest in an inline preamp to provide clean volume without introducing hiss.

Manage Your Cables

Unshielded, inexpensive, or frayed cables act like antennas for interference. Use high quality, balanced XLR cables for your microphones. Balanced cables are specifically designed to prevent electrical interference picked up along the cable run. Additionally, keep your audio cables physically separated from your power cables. If they absolutely must cross, ensure they cross at a 90-degree angle rather than running parallel to each other.

Power Conditioning

Tidying up your power supply can drastically improve your noise floor. When possible, plug all your audio equipment, your computer, and your studio monitors into a single, high quality power conditioner or surge protector. Avoid plugging your recording gear into the same circuit as heavy appliances, dimmer switches, or fluorescent lights.

Assess Your Environment

Occasionally, the hum or hiss isn’t electronic. Modern microphones are extremely sensitive and exterior noise may be bleeding into your booth. Turn off the HVAC system, or nearby appliances while recording. Whine from your computer fans may also need to be isolated. A physically quiet room is the first step in a quality recording.

3. Remediation in Post-Production

Even in a best case scenario, your noise floor levels may need an adjustment in post. Be sure to lightly apply any effects, as heavy-handed processing can ruin the tone and timbre of your voice.

Equalizers and Filters

A high-pass filter (or low-cut filter) is your first line of defense against low-frequency noise. Generally, you can safely roll off the very bottom of your audio spectrum to clear out room rumble. Apply an EQ plugin to your track and engage a high-pass filter. Set the cutoff frequency somewhere around 100Hz, and use a gentle slope like 12dB or 24dB per octave. This will help clear out the muddy frequencies from HVAC units or outdoor traffic, without thinning out the natural weight of your speaking voice.

Noise Gates

A noise gate acts as an automatic mute for your recording, cutting off the audio signal whenever you stop speaking. This can be an effective tool for lowering ambient room noise during the quiet spaces between your lines when applied correctly.

Warning: If your gate is set too aggressively, it will prematurely chop off the natural trailing ends of your words, making your performance sound jarring, abrupt, and robotic. To avoid this, set a fast attack time so the gate opens instantly when you speak, but pair it with a gentle, slower release time so the gate closes smoothly and allows your voice to fade out naturally.

Spectral Denoise Plugins

For stubborn, continuous broadband noise like heavy preamp static or room hiss, dedicated noise reduction plugins like iZotope RX or Waves X-Noise are the industry standard. These sophisticated tools work by “learning” the unique audio profile of your background noise during a moment of silence and digitally subtracting it from the rest of your recording.

Warning: If you push a spectral denoiser too hard, the effect begins to degrade the essential frequencies of your actual voice. The result is bizarre and metallic sounding. In post-production, less is always more. It is far better to reduce a hiss by 60% and leave the audio sounding natural than to eliminate the noise 100% and risk an artificial tone.

Final Thoughts

Eliminating the phantom menaces of hums and hisses doesn’t require a degree in electrical engineering, but it does require mindfulness and close attention to detail. By understanding the core differences between low-frequency hums and high-frequency hisses, optimizing your physical recording environment, and applying a deliberately light touch in post-production, you can guarantee that your voice always remains front and center. Keep rockin’ the mic!

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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You’ve trained. You’ve practiced. You’ve recorded your demo. Then the demo arrives in your inbox and you think, “Okay…now what?” 

I remember when I got my first demo, I was sure my career would magically take off. At that time demos were CDs in plastic cases with artwork we had to have designed and printed. It took a lot of time, creativity, and money so I expected my demo to be the hard part. Receiving your demo is one of the biggest turning points for new voice actors because many people assume the demo itself is the finish line. 

In reality, it’s the starting point. 

A voice-over demo is not a career. It’s a tool. Your demo is designed to help you market yourself, submit for opportunities, approach agencies, create profiles on casting sites, and begin auditioning. Think of it like a business card or resume. It opens doors, but you still have to walk through them. Voice-over is a combination of acting, audio, marketing, organization, communication, and persistence. The demo is important, but it’s only one piece of a much larger system. 

Another thing that surprises many new students is that auditions come from many different places. Some voice actors work with agents. Others use online casting sites. Some market directly to production companies, e-Learning developers, advertising agencies, or local businesses. Auditions can also come through referrals, networking, social media, and relationships built over time. 

Everyone’s trajectory is different – my own journey and career are very different from most of our students for many reasons. And most voice actors work in specific genres. One person may focus on commercials, another on e-Learning, another on audiobooks, and another on corporate narration. The industry is much broader than many beginners realize. 

Another major surprise for students is how FAST the industry moves. Many auditions are due the same day they arrive. Some are due within just a few hours. More and more, I have auditions that are due ASAP. Clients are often moving quickly, especially in advertising and commercial work. Sometimes, the first strong auditions submitted are the ones that get listened to. 

That doesn’t mean you need to panic every time an audition comes in, but it does mean that organization matters. Having a functional home studio, a reliable recording workflow, and a basic system can make a huge difference. This is one reason why professional voice actors spend so much time creating systems. Many actors use CRMs for tracking, invoicing, and scheduling. 

Voice-over may be creative, but it’s also a business. And maybe the most important thing for new students to understand is this: voice-over is not just “having a good voice.” Successful voice actors are constantly developing multiple skills at once:

● acting and interpretation

● audio quality and recording technique 

● communication 

● marketing

● organization 

The acting side is incredibly important. Clients are usually not looking for “the best voice.” They’re looking for someone believable, relatable, authentic, and easy to direct. 

At the same time, audio quality matters too. Your auditions don’t need to be perfect Hollywood-level productions, but they do need to sound clean, clear, and professional enough for the type of work you’re pursuing. When you book the job, then the audio needs to be top notch. 

And finally, let’s talk about something every voice actor experiences: auditioning without booking. Even working professionals audition constantly. Not booking a job does not automatically mean your demo is bad, your voice is wrong, you failed, or you should quit. There are countless reasons someone else may book. Age range, vocal tone, timing, budget, client preference, previous relationships, brand direction. All are things out of your control. 

A huge part of succeeding in voice-over is learning how to audition consistently without taking every outcome personally. This is a tough one in the beginning, but you get used to it. This industry rewards persistence, professionalism, and preparation over time. 

So if you’ve recently received your demo and you’re wondering what happens next, the answer is: start building your business. Start learning how the industry works. Develop systems, improve your acting, your audio, and your workflows. You’ll learn how to submit efficiently, communicate professionally, and stay consistent even when the process feels unpredictable and frustrating. 

The demo is not the end of the journey. It’s the beginning.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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Creating Strategy and Momentum in Voice-Over

Success in voice-over rarely comes from random bursts of inspiration. It comes from strategy, consistency, and momentum. Sometimes voice actors can wait for motivation before taking action, but momentum is actually created through action. The more intentional your daily habits become, the more opportunities begin to appear.

If you feel stuck or inconsistent by a lack of auditions, it may not be a talent issue. It may simply be time to create a stronger system. Here are some practical steps to build momentum in your voice-over career while staying proactive, focused, and marketable.

1. Treat Voice-Over Like a Business

One of the biggest shifts a voice actor can make is moving from “artist mindset” to “artist and entrepreneur.” Passion matters, but strategy creates sustainability.

Start by organizing your week with structure:

• Audition hours
• Marketing time
• Research sessions
• Skill development
• Networking outreach

Professional voice actors don’t simply wait for auditions to appear. They create routines that keep them visible and improving. Even dedicating an hour or two of focused time a day can create long-term momentum if done consistently.

Create measurable goals:

• Submit three auditions daily
• Research and reach out to ten potential clients weekly
• Practice voice-over every time you’re in your car

Tracking progress helps you see growth even during slower seasons.

2. Build a Daily Research Habit

Research is one of the most overlooked habits in voice-over. The industry evolves constantly, and staying informed helps you sound current, competitive, and marketable.

Listen carefully to what’s booking right now. Voice-over trends shift from polished announcer reads to conversational authenticity, to very casual, then evolve again. 

Research also means studying buyers:

• Advertising agencies
• Production companies
• Casting directors
• Game studios
• Audiobook publishers

Understanding who hires voice talent allows you to market yourself more effectively instead of blindly sending emails.

3. Audition Consistently Even When You Don’t Feel Inspired

Momentum in voice-over often comes from volume and consistency. Some auditions will feel exciting. Others will feel repetitive. The key is continuing anyway.

Daily auditioning improves:

• Speed
• Interpretation skills
• Mic confidence
• Stamina
• Adaptability

Overthinking kills momentum. Make it a point to stick to daily goals regardless of how you’re feeling.

4. Analyze Your Audition Patterns

If you are auditioning frequently but not booking, step back and evaluate patterns honestly.

Ask yourself:

• Are your reads too performative?
• Is your audio quality competitive?
• Are you choosing appropriate auditions?
• Are you sounding conversational or overly polished?

5. Market Yourself When Auditions Slow Down

Slow audition periods are not dead periods. They are marketing periods.

If auditions decrease, redirect your energy:

• Send introduction emails
• Update your website
• Post new samples online
• Create social media content
• Network
• Reconnect with previous clients

Marketing does not need to feel aggressive. Think of it as relationship building. Share your personality, your professionalism, and your reliability. Consistency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust.

6. Stay Visible, Flexible, and Persistent

Voice-over is rarely a straight path. Careers expand through persistence and adaptability.

The actor booking commercials today may later move into:

• Animation
• Promo
• Corporate narration
• Video games
• Audiobooks
• Live announcing

Remain open to growth. Keep learning. Keep refining your sound. Keep building relationships.

Most importantly, keep showing up.

Momentum is not created overnight. It’s built through repeated daily actions. Strategy gives your career direction. Habits create consistency. Persistence creates opportunity.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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I know, I know: you didn’t start voice-over so someone could tell you to take a nap. You started because you love acting, storytelling, characters, commercials, games, animation, narration, or maybe making money from a padded room in pajama pants. Still a pretty great part of the job.

But here is the part we do not talk about enough: your voice-over career will only be as healthy as the person behind the microphone.

Voice-over is not just talking. It’s acting. It’s business. It’s marketing. It’s auditioning. It’s editing. It’s client communication. It’s rejection management. It’s chasing invoices. It’s training, practicing, and trying again and again after sending thousands of auditions into the great unknown…

…and if you never stop, eventually your reads will sound tired because you are tired.

Dee Bradley Baker, one of the best to ever do it, says on his voice acting advice site, “As a voice actor, you aim to earn your living with your body. Eat well, keep in shape, get enough sleep, and keep your mind focused.” That is not just good health advice: in this context, it’s also good business advice.

For people of faith, Sabbath rest is not just a suggestion; it’s a gift. But even if you are not a person of faith, the principle still works: you were not built to grind seven days a week forever. You need rhythm. You need recovery. You need space where your identity is not tied to whether you booked the spot or fixed your noise floor.

One of my favorite ways to think about rest is the feeling of a snow day. Remember that? You thought you had school. Then suddenly, freedom. No backpack. No bus. Just a day that felt like a gift.

What if you gave yourself 52 snow days a year?

I am not talking about being lazy. I am talking about working hard, then stopping on purpose. There is a huge difference.

Rest is not quitting. Rest is what keeps you from quitting.

John Lubbock once wrote, “Rest is not idleness,” and that lying under trees watching clouds is not a waste of time. That is hard for driven people to believe. Especially performers. Especially entrepreneurs. Especially voice actors who feel like every missed audition is the one that could have changed everything.

But your best work rarely comes from panic. It comes from presence.

A rested actor listens better. A rested actor makes bolder choices. A rested actor has more emotional access, better timing, and a stronger ability to take direction without spiraling into, “Well, I guess I am terrible and should sell my mic.”

A rested business owner also makes better decisions. You write clearer emails. You follow up without sounding desperate. You market with a strategy instead of throwing spaghetti at LinkedIn.

So here is the practical challenge: pick one day, every week, when you do not do voice-over business. No auditions. No editing. No checking casting sites. No refreshing your inbox to see if the client said, “Perfect, thanks!” No “quick” website tweak that becomes four hours of font choices.

Instead, rest. Delight. Play.

Watch a movie because you enjoy it, not because you are studying the ADR. Go outside. Have dinner with your people. Play pickleball. Play a game. Take a walk. Read something unrelated to booking more work. Do something that reminds you that you are a whole person, not just a voice attached to a waveform.

And if a full day feels impossible, start smaller. Take one evening. Take Sunday afternoon. Take three hours where your phone is not the boss of you.

You are not going to get it all done. Even if you were given eight, nine, or ten days in a week, you still would not get it all done.

So stop trying to prove your worth by never stopping.

Rest is not the enemy of your voice-over career. Rest may be one of the reasons your career can actually last.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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When people imagine the life of a working voice actor, they usually picture someone stepping into a booth, reading a few lines into a microphone, and cashing a check. Yes, recording is part of it – but it’s not the whole story. A working voice actor isn’t just a performer. They’re also a business owner. 

Let me walk you through what a fairly typical day can look like for me. 

Morning: Emails Before Espresso 

The day often starts not in the booth, but in the inbox: audition requests from agents, casting site breakdowns, follow-ups from clients, revision requests, usage questions, payment confirmations, and of course, the Such A Voice blog! A working voice actor checks audition emails quickly, because timing can matter a lot: many jobs are cast within hours.

As I am in my email, scripts get downloaded, recording specs get read carefully, and file naming instructions get double-checked. Nothing screams “amateur” faster than ignoring submission details. 

Before recording anything, there’s a quick scan of the calendar: What’s due today? What’s due tomorrow? What needs prep time? 

Mid-Morning: Warm Up Like a Pro 

Before hitting “record,” there’s prep. Vocal warmups. Breath work. Articulation drills. A few tongue twisters to wake up clarity. This is a performer’s career, and your voice is an instrument – don’t take the stage cold. 

Audition Block

Now comes what most people think is the job: recording. But auditions are not guaranteed income. They’re volume, consistency, and skill refinement. 

A working VO artist might record: three commercial auditions, an eLearning sample, a couple of narration reads, and maybe even a promo or political ad script all in the span of an day. This requires understanding tone, direction, and messaging for each on individually; not to mention the editing, exporting, sending, and logging them all. 

Midday: Marketing & Follow-Up 

Here’s the part no one glamorizes: direct marketing. 

• Checking in with a past corporate client: “Hi — just wanted to reconnect and see if you have any upcoming projects.” 
• Sending outreach emails to production companies. 
• Researching agencies; agents can amplify careers, but marketing builds them. 
• Updating your CRM, refreshing your website, posting content, the list goes on.

Afternoon: Paid Work (If Booked) 

If today includes a long-form project like an audiobook, the day shifts. Long-form work requires stamina, consistency in tone, focus, and hydration. There will be retakes, pronunciation checks, client notes, file splitting, and pickups. This is craft plus endurance. It’s not always glamorous, but it is deeply satisfying. 

Real Life in Between 

Many working voice actors don’t only do voice-over. They teach. They coach. They do brand ambassador gigs. They freelance. They manage families. They take side hustles that keep income stable while the VO side scales. 

You might leave your studio mid-afternoon to walk your dog, or teach a class, or run errands. This career is flexible. but it requires discipline.

Evening: Skill Building 

Even established pros continue training. A coaching session. A workout to maintain breath support. Accent practice. Listening to current commercials. Studying trends. Markets shift, and staying knowledgeable and competitive is part of the job. 

It’s business plus performance. One big booking can change everything, but it’s small, consistent action that will build your business. 

Final thoughts: If you want a voice-over career, don’t fall in love with the fantasy of “being booked.” Fall in love with the daily process: the inbox, the warmups, the auditions, the follow-ups, the business mindset. 

The artists who build sustainable careers show up every day, even when no one is applauding. The good news is, anybody can start doing that today.

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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We love potatoes as fries, chips, and salads. But “potato” has also taken on a disparaging meaning: any technological device that seems low-quality or out-of-place is, wryly, deemed a “potato.” The phone camera that catches a sudden case of 2008 is a “potato.” In voice-over, a “potato” can describe any audio recording chain that lacks professional audition quality. 

But, no matter how much money you spend on your audio recording equipment, one universal phenomenon can undermine it: echo.

Echo demotes the most pristine, buttery studio quality to the rank of a potato. Nobody wants to hear your amazing voice-over performance in a parking garage, shower, or even an untreated room with hardwood floors. Next to professional voice-over auditions, these environments instantly scream “potato!”

Fortunately, there are solutions for taming the wild, wild west of echo. But first, we should clarify a few concepts.

In industry terminology, recording environments with a characteristic echo are sometimes called “live.” Environments with non-noticeable echo are sometimes called “dry.” The technical word for environments with zero echo is “anechoic.”

Informally, if you have an undesired echo in a voice-over recording session then the engineer might say they are getting some “room coloration.” Because each sound pitch has its own frequency and that frequency has a physical wavelength, the walls and other surfaces in your environment might amplify certain pitches more than others.

We should also be clear on the distinction between sound isolation and sound absorption. Sound isolation separates your recording environment from environmental sounds like lawnmowers, planes, and barking dogs. This is different from sound absorption, which is material (and, importantly, mass) that does not reflect sound waves when recording in its environment.

Below I’ll quickly run through common solutions for resolving echo when recording voice-over. They may, in some cases, also provide some isolation, but that’s not the primary lens.

It’s also worth noting that some voice-over styles are more demanding of echo-free recording than others. A recording environment that works well for voicing a Human Resources training might echo too much when recording a drill sergeant in a Nickelodeon animation. Because echo is affected by loudness (also known as sound pressure level, or the energy of the sound waves needing to be absorbed), lower volumes will always echo less, all else being equal.

Portable Sound Booths

A wide range of products call themselves “portable booths.” These include suitcase-sized assemblies of sound-absorbing panels, fabric-hanging hardware to create a fabric enclosure, and sound-absorbing material that attaches to or encloses the microphone itself.

In my experience, these can make a modest difference. They usually don’t have enough mass or directional coverage to make a major difference. They are mainly priced for aesthetics. At home, tension poles, clamps, and quilts can produce a comparable (but less aesthetically pleasing) result. In a hotel, being creative with the linens (yes, I’ve recorded voice-over on my laptop beneath hotel quilts) can be just as effective as a portable booth.

Inside A Car

A lot of vehicles make decent voice-over recording environments. They contain some soft material that reduces echo. They offer some sound isolation from surrounding noise. Upholstery tends to reduce echo more than faux leather or vinyl. Sloped sedan windshields tend to be more recording-friendly than more vertical ones (right angles are bad for echo).

Closets

Closets, particularly the walk-in types, often already have clothing and other soft materials hanging. They are often a go-to structural space for a bounded working environment. 

Acoustic Foam

For its weight, acoustic foam (which comes in various shapes) can perform well at absorbing sound. On a pound-for-pound basis, it might actually be the most efficient material. It can be a more affordable way to cover larger areas and has an aesthetically pleasing presentation.

In my practical experience, foam almost always lacks the mass that other solutions have. That means that its sound-absorbing performance declines with loudness faster than curtains, dedicated absorbers, and most other environmental options. Studios will often use it as a finishing layer atop other treatments.

Polyester absorbers are a newer foam alternative that can perform similarly, be layered, and take up less space.

Curtains

Curtains (or any less-attractive hanging fabric with mass) can be very effective at absorbing echo. Theaters historically use curtains for a reason. They are easy to add to whatever density your hanging hardware will support. 

Purpose-Built Fabric Absorbers

Nothing beats mass when it comes to sound absorption. While purpose-built fabric sound absorbers can be a premium expenditure, they are my personal favorite solution. They are usually built with a wood frame, filled with medium-density, polyester foam, and mounted on walls or ceilings.

Final Thoughts

Carpeting, particularly combined with mass (foam beneath it and/or shag pile), will always reduce environmental echo. The same goes for foam-filled upholstered furniture.

Sound isolation booths can incidentally reduce echo by providing a shorter travel distance for sound waves. However, they often require significant interior treatment to truly absorb echo. Smaller dimensions concentrate energy dissipation, so mass is key to both sound absorption.

There are also dedicated echo-eliminating software plugins: Acon Digital, iZotope, and Waves are well-known options. While I have these, they are generally a last resort that is intended for project post-production. For a voice-over talent, they are not a great long-term solution.

Mechanical diffusers (uneven, hard surfaces designed to break up directional sound reflection) can be a great option aesthetically. They can be a discreet and even artistic addition to some environments. They are essential for echo-reduction of the highest-volume sound sources (rock bands, urban noise). In my experience, they are less effective at voice-over-related volumes.

Creative triage is an option in emergencies. On one occasion, I threw spare bed quilts on top of folding panel dividers to lower the echo in a hardwood-floor living room for a video shoot, and it worked.

Armed with this knowledge, your personal battle against echo should be victorious. Your amazing voice-over audition on good equipment won’t be experienced as coming from a “potato.” 

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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Sound is at the core of our careers. It informs nearly every decision we make, from the subtle inflection in a winning audition to the placement of an acoustic panel in our home studio. Yet, many voice actors don’t really understand the core science behind sound, despite its key role in our lives. 

Understanding how sound works will give you a strong foundation. You will understand how the frequencies in your voice work, which will give you freedom to experiment with new timbres and textures. It will be easier to make informed decisions (or at least more informed guesses) when setting up or modifying your home studio. And it will help demystify the jargon you read when looking at microphones, plug-ins, and post-processing in your DAW. Let’s dive in!

Fundamentals of Sound

Sound is the transference of vibrations through “sound waves.” When anything (such as a string, hard surface, or the air in a wind instrument) vibrates, it produces sound waves. A sound wave is a repeating pattern of alternating pulses of compression and rarefaction – literally molecules squishing together and pulling apart repeatedly. It is somewhat more complicated than this, but for voice-over purposes, just picture a classic, two-dimensional squiggly line.

Wavelength, Frequency, and Intensity

Sound waves are measured by wavelength, frequency, and intensity. Each “pulse” or compression (and corresponding rarefaction) in a sound wave is known as a cycle.

The wavelength is the distance between two adjacent peaks (top point of the wave) or troughs (bottom point of the wave) in one cycle. As a voice actor, wavelength mainly matters for acoustic treatment. 

The frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz), is the number of times a cycle passes a point in one second. Frequency is directly linked to wavelength with the formula: speed ÷ frequency = wavelength. This means that high-frequency sounds have short wavelengths and low-frequency sounds have long wavelengths. Frequency corresponds to pitch on a musical scale: higher frequencies have a higher pitch and vice versa.

Intensity is how much energy is transmitted through the sound wave – in simple terms, it’s how loud or how soft a sound is. For our purposes, this is measured in Decibels (dB). Decibels are a logarithmic scale starting with 0 (the quietest threshold for human hearing), and every jump of 10dB means multiplying the intensity by 10. So 20 dB is 10× more intense than 10 dB, and 30 dB is 100× more intense.

In case your head isn’t spinning yet, here’s a complication to throw in the mix: Since sound waves are a physical disturbance of molecules, they are affected by the environment. Temperature and density of the air will change how fast the molecules can move, which changes the actual speed of sound, affecting our formula! The change is generally minimal for voice-over, but useful to know.

What You Sound Like 

Now, how do you actually use that knowledge? While performing, you are manipulating your vocal apparatus (also called your vocal anatomy) to affect the timbre and pitch of your voice. This comes down to frequency: the “fundamental frequency” and “overtones” (resonant frequencies). 

If you look at the full frequency spectrum (human hearing ranges from about 20Hz to 20,000Hz) and pluck out a single frequency, you will get what’s called a “sine wave.” This is the purest representation of a frequency. This sound consists of ONLY a fundamental frequency. Any singer or instrument can produce the same focused fundamental frequency, along with additional, quieter frequencies. These are the “overtones” or “resonant frequencies.”

Pitch is the most straightforward. It’s the fundamental frequency. How high or low is the core of the sound you are producing? In music, certain frequencies are targeted as notes, with the most common example in Western music being the pitch A4 at 440 Hz. You can affect your performance drastically by changing the pitch, or fundamental frequency, you are producing.

Timbre, pronounced “tam-burr,” is all about those extra frequencies. This is what distinguishes one voice from another, from a trombone, a kazoo, or even a squeaky chair. In standard speech and singing, these additional frequencies generally have a lower intensity than the fundamental, but can also be manipulated. When you equalize, or EQ, in post-production, you are raising or lowering the intensity of different frequencies, affecting the timbre. 

As a voice-over performer, manipulating the timbre of your voice is an invaluable tool. For example, if you focus your voice forward and talk through your nose, you are amplifying the mid- to high-frequencies. When you open up and talk from the back of your throat, you are diminishing those higher frequencies and instead highlighting the lower ones. This is why you can sing the same note and have it sound lower or higher: the fundamental frequency stays the same, but all the other frequencies change in intensity, change altogether, or both. This is also true for your equipment: analog gear is often known to “color” a sound, which simply means adding or emphasizing certain frequencies.

As An Audio Engineer (Still You!)

Every voice actor is, to some extent, an audio engineer. Whether it’s setting up a home studio, editing an audition, or producing an audiobook, you will need to dip your toes in the engineering world. [This isn’t a full guide—just key concepts to keep in mind.]

First, when building a recording space, you are focusing heavily on the wavelength and intensity of sound waves. Different materials will reflect and absorb sound waves with different efficiency, but the main variable is wavelength. For example, acoustic foam mainly absorbs short wavelengths (high frequencies), which is why it’s usually discouraged. This is also why your room tone is usually in the low frequencies –  the bigger the wavelength, the thicker and denser the materials needed to stop or absorb it. 

Second, sound waves interact with each other. They interfere and may increase or decrease in intensity, especially in smaller spaces where they can bounce around and interact more regularly. This is the prime culprit in “boxy” sounding rooms. Smaller rooms create resonant environments for frequencies with wavelengths in the human vocal range. 

Third, sound changes when it is captured by a microphone and travels along an analog circuit. Different equipment will add or emphasize different frequencies, which is why microphones sound different. It is also why the “proximity effect” works – most microphones pick up the lower frequencies in your voice better at close range. 

In Conclusion

The world of sound and audio is vast, and this blog post only scratches the surface. If you are interested in learning more about audio, I highly recommend checking out https://audiouniversityonline.com. There are a ton of free resources and informative videos on nearly every audio topic, and it’s where I learned a lot of what I put in this post. I am also available for consultations. You can connect with me through my website peterreinvo.com. Good luck on your voice-over adventure. You now charge forward armed with more sonic knowledge, and as we all know, knowledge is power! 

VO Pro Members: I’ll be presenting on compression and limiting on April 12th! Be there or be a square wave! If you’re not in VO Pro and would like to attend, Such A Voice is offering a one-month trial, which you can find out more about here. 

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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There’s a moment in every voice actor’s career when the silence hits a little differently.

It might be the client who’s worked with you regularly, then suddenly isn’t. Or the audition you felt you nailed but fell on deaf ears. Or the project that seemed like a sure thing, only to disappear with no explanation.

However it goes, losing a client or a job is always an eye-opener.

Because for us, this isn’t just work: this is our voice, our craft, and our identity wrapped into performance.

So when something slips away, it’s easy to start asking the wrong questions.

Was it my read?
Did I miss something?
Am I still good?

Let’s get this part out of the way early: losing work is part of the job. 

What you do next is what defines your trajectory.

1. Don’t React. Reset.

When something falls through, your mind will try to fill in the blanks…and most of the time, it doesn’t do you any favors.

You start building a story:

• They didn’t like your voice
• Someone else was better
• You’re losing your edge

But the truth is, you rarely have the full picture.

One time, I booked a campaign, highlighted by a spot to be aired during the Super Bowl, a career goal of mine. I had already recorded it and had a great session, and felt like I had good chemistry with the producers. A month later, the entire production team was replaced, and they went in a completely different direction, and I was replaced along with them.   

Clients pivot. Budgets shift. Creative direction changes. New voices enter the mix for reasons that have nothing to do with your ability.

Before you spiral into self-doubt, pause. Reset your perspective.

You didn’t lose your skill overnight. Some things are just out of your hands.

2. Look for the Lesson, Not the Loss

Not every loss is random. Some of them carry information.

The key is to approach it with curiosity, not criticism.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?”, ask, “What can I refine?”

Maybe:

• You could have been more connected to the script 
• The pacing didn’t match the tone
• Audio quality needed tightening
• Communication could have been quicker

This isn’t about tearing yourself down. It’s about sharpening your process.

The best voice actors don’t win everything; they learn faster than everyone else.

3. Protect the Relationship

If it’s a client you’ve worked with before, don’t disappear. Silence can quietly close doors that don’t need to be shut.

A simple follow-up keeps things open, something like: “I appreciate the opportunity and would love to stay in mind for future projects.”

No pressure, no frustration. Just professionalism.

4. Stay in Motion

This is where momentum either survives…or stalls.

You lose a job and suddenly:

• You hesitate
• You overthink
• You slow down

Therein lies the trap. Momentum is one of your greatest assets, and it’s easier to lose than rebuild.

So instead of pausing, move: submit some more auditions, reach out to new prospects, and reconnect with past clients.

Not from panic, but from intention. Each action creates a new opportunity.

5. Separate Identity from Outcome

This one’s tough and takes discipline. In voice-over, things can really feel personal. After all, your voice is the product. When you don’t get the job, it can feel like rejection at a deeper level.

Professionals learn to separate the two.

They understand:

• Casting is subjective
• Clients are unpredictable
• Outcomes don’t define ability

Try to remember your career is built over time, not in any single moment.

6. Use It as Fuel

There’s a quiet focus that comes from being overlooked. Every missed opportunity can refine you if you let it.

Maybe it pushes you to:

• Improve your performance
• Upgrade your sound
• Refine your demos
• Strengthen your outreach

Not because you’re chasing approval, but because you’re committed to growth.

Final Thought

Losing a client or a job doesn’t have to be the end of your momentum. It’s part of the rhythm of this industry.

There will always be things you can’t control, but you can control your preparation, your professionalism, your consistency, and your mindset.

Because the truth is simple: you will lose out on jobs in this industry. What makes a successful voice actor is being able to take something away from the loss and use it to strengthen oneself. 

P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,  sign up here!

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group!

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