You've done the first part of self-promotion, which is being worth promoting: you've trained, you're producing clean work, and you have a demo you're not embarrassed by. Now the rest.
Marketing costs time and money, so don't try to do all of it at once. Pick one method. Learn to do it properly. When it's running and you're confident it's covered, plan the next. Seven that work, roughly in the order a new voice actor should take them.
Seven ways to be found, in this order
- 1. A marketplace profileWhere clients actually look. Demos, a real bio, kept current.Start
- 2. Social mediaOne or two platforms, done like a person.
- 3. Short videoIn the booth, thirty seconds, enjoying it.
- 4. Share your winsWith the client's blessing. Not bragging, reporting.
- 5. Your own websiteOnce the others run. The one place you control.
- 6. NetworkingOut of the booth. Conferences, meet-ups, the industries next door.
- 7. Teach somethingIf you can write or teach. Expertise, shown.
The seven
1. A profile on a professional marketplace
The closest thing to having a website without the cost or the maintenance, and the fastest route to actual clients. Most voice over is cast online now. A client with a script opens a casting site, not a phone book, so a profile with your demos on at least one reputable, professionally run marketplace is the one method almost nobody should skip. Put your best demos on it, write a bio that sounds like you, keep it current, and link to it from everything else on this list. Choosing the right one is its own read.
2. Social media
Everyone you'd want to reach is on one platform or another: other actors, producers, casting directors, engineers, clients. Connecting is a click. Pick the one or two platforms where your kind of client actually spends time (for most voice actors that means LinkedIn first, and one of the visual ones second), set the profiles up properly, and post like a person rather than a billboard. Learn the etiquette before you dive in. A quiet, useful presence beats a loud, salesy one.
3. Short video
Your product is your voice, but video is how people find things now, and a face makes a voice easier to trust. Short clips of you in the booth, a thirty second read of something fun, a behind the scenes of a job you're allowed to talk about. Curiosity about how voice over works is enormous, and every animated series and game now posts its own "in the booth" footage. Borrow the idea. You don't need production values. You need to look like you enjoy the work.
4. Share your wins
When you land something you're proud of, say so. A post, a short note to the people on your list, a line on your profile. Make sure the client is happy for you to name them first; some can't be named and that's normal. It's not bragging. It's telling the people who might hire you that other people already have.
5. Your own website
The one that feels biggest, and the one to do once the others are running rather than first. A site that reflects your brand, says clearly what you do and puts your demos two clicks from anywhere is the best long term marketing asset you'll own. Learn the basics of search so people can find it, and use it to tie the rest together: your profiles, your video, your contact details, all in one place that you control.
6. Networking
Get out of the booth and meet people. Voice over conferences, workshops, local meet-ups, online communities, and the events of the industries next door: animation, games, audio production, e-learning. You'll learn things, and you'll meet the people who, a year later, remember your name when a job comes across their desk.
7. Teach something
Give a little back. Write about what you've learned, run a beginners' session locally, answer questions in the communities. Clients like hiring people who clearly know what they're talking about, and nothing shows expertise like explaining it. This one isn't for everyone: it takes writing or teaching skill as well as voice skill. If you have both, it's a quiet, powerful way to be known.
A rhythm that keeps it going
The seven methods fail in the same way: a burst of effort in January, then nothing until the phone goes quiet in April. Marketing works on rhythm, not bursts. Here's one that a solo voice actor can actually keep.
- Every dayAnswer every message. Ten minutes in one community or platform, being useful. Record something, even a practice read.
- Every weekOne post that shows the work: a clip, a booth moment, a lesson learned. Check your marketplace profile still says what you'd want it to.
- Every monthUpdate the profile with any new work. One short note to your list, if you have one. Look at where last month's enquiries came from.
- Every quarterSearch your own name. Review the demos, retire anything that sounds like last year. Book one event, online or in person. Decide the next method to add.
That's the list. One at a time, done well, and revisited. Next up, the thing that makes all seven work harder: a brand that's actually you.
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