How To Become A Voice Actor In 2026

If you want to become a voice actor in 2026, this is a quick step-by-step how-to guide. And keep in mind, the full

how-to guide. And keep in mind, the full voice acting 101 class I teach is 7 hours long. So, when I say this is a

hours long. So, when I say this is a quick guide, I mean this is a quick guide. Step one, make a business plan.

guide. Step one, make a business plan.

When you say, "I want to be a voice actor." unless you're pursuing this as a

actor." unless you're pursuing this as a hobby, what you're saying is, "I want to open a business." And your business is selling voiceovers. There's this

selling voiceovers. There's this misconception that you need to break into voice acting, and that's just simply not how this works.

The other big misconception I see is that you can do this without investing any capital or money, and all you need is for the right person to hear your magical voice. And it is true that the

magical voice. And it is true that the startup costs associated with becoming a voice actor are very low in comparison to starting other businesses like a retail store or restaurant, but there

are still startup costs. But what is a business plan, and what is it actually going to do for you? Think of your business plan like your home base and to-do list. Your business plan is going

to-do list. Your business plan is going to help you stay focused and stay on task. It's also a step-by-step plan on

task. It's also a step-by-step plan on how to get from where you are to where you want to be. And if at any point in your work day you get overwhelmed or confused and you don't know what to do, you go back to your business plan. And

remember, when you're filling out your business plan, if you get to a spot where you're like, "I have no idea what to put here." that's not only okay, it's very common. All you do is make a note

very common. All you do is make a note on a separate document that that's something you need to research and figure out. Step two, market research.

figure out. Step two, market research.

Next, you need to identify your target audience. That means what kind of

audience. That means what kind of projects or clients do you want to work with? Here are just some of the genres

with? Here are just some of the genres you can work in as a voice actor. This

is a very basic list, and you can get extremely targeted and specific when it comes to genres. Each genre is distinct with its own styles and how you go about getting work in each genre is going to

vary with some of them having overlap.

Now, some voice actors have a niche, and that means that they'll predominantly work in one of these genres, but the vast majority of voice talent rotate through many of them because there is more work or opportunities in some

genres. For example, it's extremely rare

genres. For example, it's extremely rare that anyone works in just video games or animation. There's always some kind of

animation. There's always some kind of supplementation that needs to go with those, and that's the case even with really well-known talents. Step three.

Industry trends. Research and write down current trends in the voice acting industry. An important part of the job

industry. An important part of the job is staying up to date with what's happening in the field, which means whatever genres you want to pursue, you also need to consume. So, if you want to work in commercial, you need to be

watching and listening to commercials.

If you want to narrate audiobooks, you need to be listening to audiobooks. If

you want to work in animation, you need to be watching animated shows and movies. Step four. What kind of voice

movies. Step four. What kind of voice actor do you want to be? There are many paths you can take to becoming a voice actor, and there are just as many types of voice actors. You have the traditional path, which means the end

goal is moving to LA, getting signed with the big five, which refers to the major voice acting agencies, which I have some thoughts on, but more on that later, being cast in major productions, and working in your home studio as well

as on major production studio sites.

Then, there's the full-time from home voice actor, which is much more broad.

You can build a broadcast-quality home studio and work for major brands and studios and still have high-end representation, but you're limited by not being in LA for some big jobs that require you to be on site, and you're

not able to network with people in person. You can have a mid-quality

person. You can have a mid-quality recording space and work full-time, but for small clients. So, that would mean regional commercials, corporate training e-learning independent animation and video game creators,

audiobooks, IVR or phone answering.

Basically, anything that doesn't need to be broadcast quality, which is a pretty fair amount.

And if you want to be part-time, everything I said pretty much still applies here. You do just need to expect

applies here. You do just need to expect to get out of it what you put into it.

So, if you're only putting a few hours a week into voice acting, there's a good chance you aren't going to book much if any work. So, if you're just hoping to

any work. So, if you're just hoping to make a couple hundred extra bucks a month, this could be a good option for you. Some people make a few hundred to a

you. Some people make a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars and it's a broad spectrum because again, you really truly are going to get out of it what you put into it. Now, if you want to do this as

into it. Now, if you want to do this as just a hobby, the world is your oyster.

There are a lot of small creators you can team up with who are just making art. You can make content yourself and

art. You can make content yourself and you can volunteer with charitable organizations. With hobbies, you can

organizations. With hobbies, you can expect to make quite literally a few dollars or actually end up spending money to perform because that's what you do with hobbies and that's totally fine because it's all about having fun. And

yes, you can start out as a hobbyist or part-time and then transition into full-time later. Step five, tools and

full-time later. Step five, tools and resources. I get several emails a day

resources. I get several emails a day that say something to the effect of, "Hey, I want to be a voice actor. What

kind of microphone should I get?" As if that's all you need to get started is just a really good microphone. But

here's the thing, if you don't know how to use that microphone, it's not going to do anything for you. It would be like getting the fastest car in the world, but if you don't know how to drive, you're not going to win any races. And

you may be sitting there right now thinking, "Training? I get compliments

thinking, "Training? I get compliments on my voice all the time. All I need is that aforementioned microphone and then I just read in front of the microphone and make a ton of money." But if that were the case, a lot more people would

do this and book work.

The truth is voice acting is acting. Or,

you may understand that and be thinking, "Hey, I have a background in theater or commercial TV or film. I get that. I

don't need training." And while that it is true that it's easier for those type of actors to transition into voice acting, you still do need to learn quite a bit of technical and of industry

specific technique to become voice actor. And that's why I highly, highly,

actor. And that's why I highly, highly, highly, highly, highly recommend everyone takes at least a few classes on script interpretation and delivery before they decide they even want to

start voice acting. Step six, practice.

Voice acting isn't any different than playing an instrument. No matter what level you're at, you absolutely need to practice regularly. I personally think

practice regularly. I personally think everyone should practice daily. That

often means reading from practice scripts in your recording space and listening back to yourself.

Most people do hate hearing this because many are looking for that one quick trick that'll make you an amazing voice actor. And usually that one quick trick

actor. And usually that one quick trick you need is simply to put in a lot of hours of practice to get good. And now

if you're thinking, "Okay, I get needing to practice, but how do I know if I'm doing it right?" That's a great question and why so many voice actors advise getting coaching. So much of coaching is

getting coaching. So much of coaching is someone who knows what they're doing giving you an evaluation and feedback on your current skill set. Depending on

where you are in your career, you may need more or less sessions more or less frequently, but you should always be getting this feedback at every point in your career.

Step seven, vocal health. You also need to practice continuous vocal health and maintain general wellness, which includes but is not limited to vocal warm-ups, vocal cool-downs, articulation

drills, breathing and mouth exercises.

And keep in mind, this is general advice, this is not medical advice. Be

sure to always check with your doctor before partaking in anything that may be specifically detrimental to your specific health. Step eight, recording

specific health. Step eight, recording spaces and equipment. There is no best microphone, there is only the best microphone for you. But even more important than your recording equipment is your recording space. You can buy a

$5,000 mic and if you're recording in a poorly treated space, you're not going to sound good. And the best way to figure out what microphone is best for you and how to treat your space is to book a consultation with a reputable

engineer who specializes in voiceover.

More often than not, if you try to figure it out yourself or rely on your cousin who works in music but doesn't understand voice acting specs, your audio will not sound good. You also need to learn how to use your equipment.

These days the vast majority of voice actors need to have at least some basic understanding of audio editing. The bare

minimum is knowing how to remove unwanted space and sound, format and file transfer.

Sometimes you can find an engineer who offers both studio build consultations and basic audio engineering and editing classes. Step nine, demos and samples.

classes. Step nine, demos and samples.

Professionally produced demos are different from samples. Most people will not be ready for a demo for at least 1 year, and that's common. That's because

demos are now predominantly used to get with big agencies who will get you big clients, and when you submit your demo, they're looking for indicators that you're at a certain level. And when I say certain level, yes, I'm talking

about performance, but I'm also talking about studio quality and demo production quality. For the vast majority of

quality. For the vast majority of people, it's obvious within the first 2 seconds if you produced your own demo, and that's a huge red flag in the professional world of voice acting. If

you submit a demo that isn't mixed, mastered, and produced so it sounds like the spots were pulled from commercials, movies, shows, etc., the agent just won't take you seriously. So, most

people should not produce their own demo, and they really shouldn't produce a demo until they're very, really, truly ready. This is because most people who

ready. This is because most people who are new are going to dramatically improve their voice acting skills in the first year, and demos are very labor-intensive and expensive, so it's a

huge waste of time and money to make one when you'll likely look at it after a few months to a year and just cringe.

So, my suggestion is to create samples, which can just be 7-10 second individual audio clips on your website that showcase your various styles and characters. Step 10, finding work,

characters. Step 10, finding work, auditioning, marketing, and networking.

How do you find work? One way is auditions, and there's a few ways you'll get auditions as a voice actor. Your

agent will send a script to you and other people on their roster with directions on how to submit, which includes the number of takes, if you should slate, how to label your file, and where to send your file. You'll find

auditions posted on various platforms like casting sites and social media, which also typically has the directions that I mentioned above.

You could get an email directly from a voice seeker who wants you to audition for their project, and God only knows how much or how little information that person will give you.

And to be totally transparent, auditioning and how to audition is a huge topic with a lot of hot opinions, and I'll have to make a very specific video on that later. Now, I don't

particularly care to audition unless I am specifically requested. Usually, it's

just not the best use of time, in my opinion. Most of the time, casting

opinion. Most of the time, casting listens to the first 3 seconds of an audio clip, and they make their decision before they even listen to the 500 other submissions they've received. So, I

don't really audition. If I had to guess, I'd say over 90% of my work comes from people finding me on social media.

I post a video, someone sees me, and they contact me. And just to be clear, I'm talking about what I'm doing right now. This was not always the case. I had

now. This was not always the case. I had

to build up to this over the course of several years while I was sending out emails pitching my services to production companies, ad agencies, marketing agencies, small businesses, and really just anyone who I thought

could use my voice. Essentially, what I was doing is I was reaching out to people and trying to make connections or make friends. And I truly believe that

make friends. And I truly believe that that's the best way to get work, by making friends. A lot of people are

making friends. A lot of people are interested in voice acting because they have this idea that it's very solitary, and you don't really have to interact with other people. Nothing could be further from the truth. The people who

book the most work consistently are the people who are very good at their jobs, yes, but also very likable. There's a

reason you see the same people in movies and TV shows together all the time. It's

because they all enjoy working with each other. That's why networking is so

other. That's why networking is so important. And a lot of people don't

important. And a lot of people don't like or understand the word networking, but all it means is making friends with people you want to work with. It's as

simple as that. Well, actually, none of this is really that simple. Like I said in the beginning of this video, when I used to teach my annual how to be a voice actor class, it was about 7 hours long, and that still only just covered

the absolute basics on how to get started. And I also cannot stress enough

started. And I also cannot stress enough how important it is to get a personalized evaluation from a reputable and professional voice actor for those of you who want to pursue this as a full-time career. But, this video that

full-time career. But, this video that you just watched should at least give you a very general overview if you're thinking of becoming a voice actor. And

if you have any other questions, you can leave a comment below and I will do my best to answer. Or, you can email me for more info on classes and resources if you're ready to get started. Have fun

and good luck.