Home Recording Spaces Hey Reader, When you record VO at home, you’ve probably battled the biggest enemy of clean, professional audio: your room. That slightly hollow, echo-y sound (reverb) can make an otherwise perfect read sound amateur, costing you bookings. The great news is you don’t need to spend thousands on a full vocal booth (although you certainly can once you advance in your career). You just need to focus on breaking up flat, parallel surfaces and applying adequate treatment as...
7 days ago • 2 min read
Being Authentic Hey Reader, We all know the "Conversational Read" is king right now, whether it's for commercials, e-learning, or corporate narration. But sometimes, we can get so focused on sounding conversational that we forget the crucial step: actually being authentic. The single secret ingredient that makes a read truly memorable is You. Here are a few ways to stop "acting" and start simply being yourself in the booth: 1. Find the Hook You Believe Every script has a central idea or...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Post-Session Hey Reader, Landing a great booking feels amazing! But after you send off the final audio, there's still a few things to be sure to take care of. The 15 minutes after you finish delivering the final files are actually some of the most critical for your long-term business. This is when you solidify your reputation as a professional who is easy, reliable, and delightful to work with, and track relevant info for your bookkeeping. Here are the four immediate steps to take after a...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Following Up Hey Reader, We put so much effort into finding new clients that sometimes we forget a core business truth: it's easier and cheaper to keep an old client than to find a new one. But how do you stay top-of-mind without being pushy? Here are a few ideas. The goal is to provide value, not just ask for work. Here are a few simple, repeatable follow-up opportunities that you can incorporate into your marketing efforts: The New Demo Share (The 3-Month Check-In): Action: Send a quick,...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Standardized Recording Hey Reader, We all know that a great performance is only half the battle in voice-over—the client also needs a clean, professional sounding audio file. While your gear matters, consistency matters just as much. The fastest way to professional-sounding audio is by standardizing your setup before you even press 'Record.' No more fiddling with settings mid-session! Here is a quick guide for calibrating your mic and gear and getting a consistent sound, every single time....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Pacing Hey Reader, When we talk about voice-over performance, a lot of the focus is often on tone, energy, and inflection. All of those are crucial, but there's one element that can instantly elevate an average read to an amazing one: pacing. Pacing, or tempo, is simply the speed at which you deliver the script. Most of us default to a "conversational" pace, which is a great starting point, but it's not the finish line. The real magic happens when you use tempo as a performance tool to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Auditioning Efficiently Hey Reader, Let's talk about the audition game. For many voice actors, especially those working on pay-to-play sites, the key to success isn't just winning a high percentage of auditions—it's auditioning for scale. Think of it like being a sales rep. You have a good product (your talent), but you know you need to make X number of calls to get one client on the hook. In voice-over, you need to submit a high volume of quality auditions to keep your booking ratio healthy....
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
File Naming Hey Reader, We talk a lot about performance and audio quality, but sometimes the simplest business tasks make the biggest difference. A consistent, professional file naming system is one of those tiny details that tells a casting director or client, "This person has their act together." You want your file name to be a clean, clear calling card. 1. The Audition Naming Rule The goal of an audition file name is purely identification. The client needs to know immediately who the file...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Input Levels Hey Reader, When you’re recording and processing your auditions or final files, you should aim for your absolute loudest peaks (usually a plosive or a sudden loud word) to land around -6 dBFS to -3 dBFS. This crucial bit of space is your headroom. It ensures two things: Safety: You guarantee that you won't accidentally clip or distort your signal during an unexpectedly loud read. Flexibility: You give the client or the mixing engineer plenty of room to apply their own...
2 months ago • 1 min read