Is Voice Over the Career for you?

Have you heard this before?

“You’ve got a great voice. You should be an announcer on the radio.”

Receiving a compliment like this might get you day dreaming about all of the potential you have to make money by simply using your voice. All you gotta do is talk…how hard could it be?

You may have heard that there is great money in voice acting, but that the doorway into the industry is even narrower than the one that leads to acting for the camera.
So… should you be intrigued or terrified?

The messages we receive about having a career in Hollywood are SO confusing, aren’t they?

TRUTH?
If you can get paid doing what you love to do, then you are more successful than most. However, even with some impressive credits on your resume and a decent agent, that doesn’t always translate to being able to pay your bills, a house payment, and putting food on your table.

The truth is there is a lot more to being a voice over artist than you might realize.

That doesn’t mean you should just give up on the idea.

It means you need to do some homework. Like any business venture, there is research required. Even voice artists who were born with a unique sounding set of vocal chords have had professional training, they have learned how to market and promote themselves to the right people, and they know their product niche. Having a business plan is key.

On Today’s show…

If you’ve always been intrigued about what a career in voice-over might look like, don’t talk yourself out of the idea before you’ve given yourself the chance to absorb the truth about it. The human voice remains the most effective tool for spreading messages, and while it may take time to figure out how to build a career in voice acting, it’s not impossible to find success in this line of work.
Today I’ll be sharing the space with two very successful Voice-Over Artists who you’ve heard thousands of times on radio, television, film and commercials. I am thrilled to be introducing you to my talented friends Virginia Hamilton and Mike McColl. Wait until you hear their stories!

Meet Virginia!

Virginia Hamilton is one of the “Big Boys” of the voice-over world… but she’s a woman:)
Heard daily on network television as the sassy, smart, in-show voice of “The View,” she has voiced thousands of national promos over the years for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, HGTV, Discovery and Lifetime (just to name a few).
Virginia has been the live announcer for “On the Red Carpet at the Oscars” on ABC for the last eight years. She’s live announced the ESPYs for the last five years, the Creative Arts Emmys for seven years and has been heard on Nickelodeon’s Halo Awards, the CMA Awards, and many others.
She is the branding and news voice for 20 television stations around the country, including the powerhouse KABC in Los Angeles and her national commercial clients include campaigns for Sears, Proactiv, Sam’s Club and Kaiser Permanente.
Virginia is one of only a few women to voice movie trailers.
An accomplished actress with a BFA from James Madison University, Virginia’s on-screen cred-its include work on the Drew Carey Show, Dharma & Greg, Caroline in the City, and The O.C.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Chris Jago, a professional drummer, and their soccer-loving sons Jace and Cooper. More about Virginia–>