This post came about because of our admin, Cadden, who’s also a voice actor. I wanted to understand what the most challenging part of his VO career is right now. He said, “Figuring out where the opportunities are for each VO genre.”
This is such a relatable challenge that I wanted to share the answers with you! But once I started writing, I realized we needed 3 posts to contain all this good stuff.
Each post, I’ll break down the WHERE (do you get opportunities), HOW (to find them/get on their roster/etc) and WHO (what role/position to connect with/market to) for FOUR different VO genres.
Today we’re focusing on: E-LEARNING, MUSEUM TOURS, RADIO IMAGING and TOYS.
If you struggle to create a plan on contacting potential clients and agents, our Business, Branding and Marketing video course was created to help. We’re offering a 10% discount for the month of July!
E-LEARNING
WHERE (Listing the top places to get E-Learning opportunities. Numbered by quantity of opportunities)
1| Internal Company Rosters
2| Agents
3| Online Casting Sites
Every once and awhile you’ll receive an e-learning opportunity from agents and online casting sites but the majority come from company rosters.
HOW
The best way to find E-Learning companies is to search Linkedin. I reached out to a contact I have that owns an E-Learning company to make sure there weren’t any hidden search terms for us to know. She said if you just search “E-Learning Company”, you should be able to find them.
What’s great is that once you book an e-learning job with one of these companies, it’s repeat work. They’ll hire you again and again for updates.
WHO
When you’re searching for E-Learning companies, make sure to find the PROJECT MANAGER. That’s who is often over the hiring of voice talent or at least sending out the auditions.
MUSEUM TOURS
WHERE (Listing the top places to get Museum tour opportunities.)
1| Online Casting Sites
John Marshall Media (previously Lantern Audiobooks) does Museum Tours, so if you’re on their roster, you could get opportunities that way. Most Museums create their own audio tours, so online casting sites are the best resource. I did find a couple of international companies that specifically create audio museum tours but of course, that would be for people with non-American accents. One of those companies is the Orpheo Group.
HOW
I’ve seen museum or audio tour auditions pop up on online casting sites every once and awhile. However, if that’s something you’re interested in, I’d go the self-marketing route. With a quick search on Linkedin, I was able to find several people and companies to connect with that do these things. One such company is Acoustiguide – https://www.acoustiguide.com/. If you do speak multiple languages, make sure to include that in your subject line or at the beginning of your pitch.
WHO
For audio tours, you’ll be looking for a PRODUCER. Smaller museums or tours may keep things in house, so I’d look for a PROGRAM DIRECTOR when marketing to them.
RADIO IMAGING
WHERE (Listing the top places to get Radio Imaging opportunities. Numbered by quantity of opportunities)
1| Agents (specific – Hoss Management, The Mix Group, Atlas, Cope Management, ACM, Benztown)
2| Individual Radio Stations
HOW
Outside of agents, self-marketing to rosters and individual radio stations would be the way to go. Start with your local radio station. See below who to market to.
WHO
Primarily, you’ll want to connect with a PROGRAM DIRECTOR, IMAGING DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR, OPERATION MANAGER or even a GM (General Manager) if it’s a smaller radio station. (This info thanks to Adam Schneider, our radio imaging coach)
Before you do this, you will need a radio imaging demo! Adam Schneider not only coaches radio imaging but also does demos. See below on how to get started with Adam
Adam Schneider teaches Radio Imaging, does Radio Imaging demos and occasionally leads an Imaging workshop.
TOYS
WHERE (Listing the top places to get Toy voice opportunities. Numbered by quantity of opportunities)
1| Agents
I spoke with the talent coordinator at Mattel and he said they mainly work with agents BUT have hired from direct contact and even word of mouth. They also keep in mind voice talent who have ranked highly on a project but haven’t booked a job yet.
HOW
Even though these mainly get booked through agents, I think it’d be a great idea to create relationships and connect with people in charge of hiring voice talent for toys. Below you’ll find some titles to search for.
WHO
My contact at Mattel said the role for that company is the TALENT COORDINATOR. Mattel’s a big company, so the smaller companies may not have a specific role dedicated to that. I’d also connect with any SOUND DESIGN engineer, PRODUCER or CREATIVE DIRECTOR.
With all of the genres above, there are exceptions to the rule. However, what I listed are where the majority of opportunities come from. And just like gardening, you could throw seeds to the side of the road and hope one sprouts OR you could focus on putting seeds in soil that is most likely to sprout.
