VO Pro: The Business of Voice Over and Voice Acting
Voiceover Business Strategies That Work
The VO Pro Podcast is the go-to show for voice actors who want to grow their voiceover business without relying on casting sites or waiting for agents to hand them work. Hosted by voice actor and business coach Paul Schmidt, this podcast delivers no-fluff, tactical advice on how to market your voiceover services, attract high-quality clients, and build a profitable VO business in a world of AI-generated voices and shifting industry standards.
You’ll learn practical voiceover marketing tips, how to master direct marketing for voice actors, build a solid client base, and use tools like email outreach, SEO, and strategic positioning to stand out. We cover how to price your work, optimize your VO website, and navigate topics like AI and voiceover with clarity and confidence.
Each week, we bring you insights and strategies from Paul, and interviews with working voice actors, coaches, casting directors, and experts who understand the business of voiceover from the inside out.
If you're a freelance voice actor looking to take control of your career and actually get booked, this is the podcast for you.
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Audible, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Castbox, and RSS, and wherever you get your podcasts.
You’ll also find helpful information including my free Move Touch Inspire newsletter for voice actors at https://VOPro.pro/mti
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The Pro Blog: https://vopro.pro/blog
The VO Freedom Master Plan: https://vofreedommasterplan.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vofreedom
Episodes
201 episodes
The Beginner’s Guide to Voice Over Conferences with Survival Guide
Today, we’re diving into voice over conferences—what they are, why they’re a must for serious voice actors, and how to navigate your first one like a pro. If you’re a new voice actor looking to grow your skills, connect with the VO community, o...
Making Wavs with Bobbi Maxwell and Kevin Kilpatrick
Kevin Kilpatrick and Bobbi Maxwell, hosts of the Making Wavs podcast, join me to discuss their backgrounds in radio and how they transitioned into voiceover. Kevin primarily works in automotive and e-learning, while Bobbi focuses on com...
Tracy Lindley, Queen of LinkedIn, on VO, Marketing, and Kids
In this first-ever chat with our friend and colleague, we chat with the Queen of LinkedIn for VO, Tracey Lindley about her journey into the voiceover industry, her experiences with LinkedIn, and the importance of community and organization in b...
How In-Perpetuity Contracts Can Limit Earnings in Voice Over
Alright, so you’ve landed a big commercial gig, and the client’s ready to pay you thousands to use your voice. You’re stoked, right? But then, buried in the contract, you see it: in-perpetuity rights. Sounds fancy, sounds official, but ...
The VO Strategist Tom Dheere: "Voice Over Is Contracting!"
Tom Dheere, known as the VO Strategist, shares his origin story as a voice actor and discusses the changes in the industry over the past 30 years. Tom emphasizes the importance of being a good storyteller and adapting to the evolving in...
The REAL PROBLEM with Voice Over - NOT What You Think!
The current state of the voice over business is not the problem. Generative AI, the pay-to-plays, the glut of talent, the seemingly endless string of strikes… none of that is the reason you’re not succeeding in voice over. Today, I’m tal...
The 14 BEST Voice Over PODCASTS in the Industry
To me, a great VO podcast has to be current – this industry changes at light speed and if you’re last episode was 4 months ago or you publish when you feel like it, you’re not keeping the community up to date. A great voiceover podcast h...
Erikka J: From P2Ps and Local Studios to VO of the YEAR
Today we chat with the incredible Erikka J. and we cover a lot of ground, including imposter syndrome, Erikka's journey in the voiceover industry, the importance of building relationships, and the evolving opportunities for women and people of ...
7 Habits of Highly Successful Voice Actors + 2 Bonus Tools
Every Olympian has a goal of winning gold. Every team starts the season with the goal of a championship. It’s the systems, the habits, that separate elite from very good, very good, from good, good from mediocre, and mediocre from bad.
The VO Toolkit: 11 ESSENTIAL Apps for Your Voice Over Business
There are hundreds of apps out there to help run our voice acting businesses, but finding the right ones can be like finding a needle in a haystack. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve found a set of tools that works for me. In this vid...
Top Animation Coach Everett Oliver: "Animation Down 75%!"
Today, an eye-opening chat with the best animation coach in the business, Everett Oliver, as we discuss the state of the animation business, Everett's background in the animation industry, the importance of developing relationships, and the dif...
What To Do When It’s SLOW in Voice Over (YES, IT WORKS!)
Just about everything in the voice over business slows down in June, July, and August. But I also hear a lot of talk about a more macro slowdown in the voice over industry overall. Is that real? Is that just a chicken little reaction to...
How to Get Started in Voice Over for Beginners: Complete Guide
One of the problems with voice over advice on YouTube and in general is that it often comes from successful people. Stay with me. Among the things it takes to be successful is time. So, the people that are successful today start...
My Most HONEST, BLUNT ADVICE for Voice Actors (& Grown Ups)
We need to talk. Whenever a conversation starts with that sentence, you know it’s going to be uncomfortable. But you need to hear this and I need to say it. I say it with love and kindness, but it’s going to be real, honest, and direct. Blunt, ...
The 7 DEADLY Sins of Voice Over – NEVER DO THESE!
There are Seven Deadly Sins in voice over. Things you should never do under any circumstances, and things that, if you do try to get away with them, I guarantee you it will bite you in the ass, either in the near or long term. Some of th...
The 2 BIGGEST Voice Over Marketing FEARS & Why They're BULL
Voice actors are petrified of marketing their services. Today, we’re going to get into what those fears are, why they exist, and why they’re complete and utter B.S. We’ll talk about some of the misconceptions around sales and ma...
THE 4 HOT Voice Over Genres in 2024 and the 3 that ARE NOT
The voiceover industry is experiencing significant changes due to the rise of AI and ongoing strikes. However, there are still opportunities for human voice actors in certain genres. Audiobooks, e-learning, animation/video games...
Is Voices LISTENING, AI Legislation, and More w/Carin Gilfry
Carin Gilfry, founder of Voice Actors of New York City and co-founder of the National Association of Voice Actors, discusses the Vocation and eVocation conferences, whether Voices is listening to voice actors, the impact of AI on the voiceover ...
TOP 6 Ways to Get GREAT Clients/Partners and RECURRING WORK
To be a successful business, you have to have great clients. What are great clients? They are ones that understand the value you provide, pay you well, and send you a lot of recurring work. We’re not talking about getting one-off jobs here. Any...
Mr. Versatile Thom Pinto - In-Show | Documentary | Commercial | Promo
Thom Pinto is one of the most accomplished voice actors of the last 30 years. In a rare interview, Thom sits down with me and discusses his experience and success in various genres, including commercials, promos, in-show narration, and movie tr...
9 Networking No-Fail Nuggets for Non-Assertive Narrators
Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter N - 9 Networking No-Fail Nuggets for Non-Assertive Narrators and Voice Actors Let’s face it, the vast majority of the marketing you do to grow your business is online. We live in an age whe...
Mark Rider VO: Movie Trailers, Promos, Commercials, and WORK
I'm so happy today to chat with my friend, Mark RIder, as he shares his journey from radio to voiceover and his experiences in the industry. Rider stresses the importance of having a diverse skill set and not limiting oneself to one gen...
Terry Daniel: "That Sh*t Sticks With You For Life"
Today we welcome voice actor, head of UVT Coaching, and my one-time coach, Terry Daniel. Terry discusses his journey in the voiceover industry and his experience as a coach. He shares how he got into coaching and the importance of training with...
The UNFIXABLE MISTAKE You CANNOT Make in Voice Over
There are metric tons of bad mistakes you can make in voice over. You can have no training or be undertrained. You can have a bad recording space or bad equipment. You can do your own demos. You can have a bad website. All of those are f...
9 Engagement KILLERS to GET OFF Your Website NOW
Stop doing this dumb shit on your voice actor websites! Today we’re going to talk about the nine engagement killers that after you watch this video you should be tripping over yourself to get the hell off your website. They’re like peop...
