The best sites for finding voice over work, right now
Please pay me.
Making money online is a topic that MANY people talk about. As soon as you search for one YouTube video about freelancing, you get inundated with talking head advertisements about webinars, seminars, and any other nars that might exist. But the truth is, if you’re a freelancer, you don’t really need all that stuff. You’re not setting up a drop shipping business that no one’s going to buy from; you’re a creative professional, and you have something that people actually want, and can’t find anywhere else. YOU.
So, where do people find you? In the world of voice over, there are a ton of sites out there that can potentially give you exposure to clients and get you some work. But, not all sites are created equally. It is my hope that this short guide will set you on the right path to finding meaningful opportunity in the deluge of online marketplaces.
To start, let’s talk about free sites vs paid sites. There are a handful of sites that are regularly used by freelancers, where you can set up a free account and start selling your services or auditioning for jobs. I always recommend that you start here. However, if you’ve already set up your online presence on the free sites and taken full advantage, you do have more options to consider with paid sites. On the paid sites, you pay a membership fee for the privilege of auditioning for jobs. Whether or not it’s worth it depends on the site, and you. Today, I’d like to mention some sites in each category and talk about their pros and cons.
Free Sites
#1: Fiverr
In my opinion, Fiverr is the best place to be online for voice over work at this moment. Why? Because it’s free to get started, and tons of customers use this site to purchase freelancer services every single day. The lion’s share of my personal voice over income comes from this site. The beauty of it is that customers can browse through services as if they were products, listen to your samples, and place an order immediately if they want to do so. Or, if they need a more personal touch, they can chat with you directly on the site and get their questions addressed prior to placing an order. Also, buyers can simply post a request for services and let freelancers respond to them with offers. Having these options means that Fiverr really has revolutionized the freelancing environment online… so much so that other sites are beginning to follow suit.
Now, some might speak ill of Fiverr and the way they’ve approached freelancing. Sure, selling services for just five dollars sounds like an unbelievable devaluation of freelancers’ time, energy, and talents. But here’s the thing; the day's of everything be five dollars on Fiverr are LONG gone. My average selling price on Fiverr right now is around $80, and that’s for voice overs that are just a few minutes long on average. I’ve had single orders that are hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Some of my repeat buyers have spent thousands of dollars on my services. It’s really not the same marketplace it used to be, and here’s why: you can set your own prices. There are some voice over artists on Fiverr that sell 100 words for $100 (and then charge extra for commercial or broadcast licensing) and others that sell the same thing for five dollars. In the end, it’s really about supply and demand. If what you’re offering on Fiverr is in demand, you will command a higher price for those services. Many of us on the site charge industry standard rates now, as a result.
In general, here are the pros and cons of Fiverr:
Pros: Easy to get started, no upfront fees
Cons: Fiverr takes 20% of your sales, new sellers usually need to undercut competition to gain traction
#2: ACX
ACX, otherwise known as the Audiobook Creation Exchange, is a marketplace where authors, literary agents, publishers, and other Rights Holders can connect with narrators, engineers, recording studios, and other Producers capable of producing a finished audiobook. Basically, it’s a site that Amazon (Audible) has created that allows you to connect with authors to record their audiobooks for them.
While audiobooks are not for the faint of heart, they can be a great way to earn money doing voice work. Authors pay anywhere from $50 - $250+ Per Finished Hour (more on that later) on the site, which means there are opportunities for new narrators and seasoned professionals to make more than a few sheckles, if you’re up to the task.
Before you get excited by the thought of recording an audiobook, know that it takes a lot longer than you think; your typical hour of spoken word is about 10,000 words or so, so a 40,000 word book is going to result in about four hours of finished audio when you’re done. But, that four hour audiobook takes way more than four hours to record; you’ve got to record the book itself, and we all make mistakes when reading, so that’s going to eat up some more time. Then, you have to edit it to remove those mistakes, background noises, plosives, etc. and format it to the standards required by ACX for submission. In total, you might be looking at 3-5 times the length of the book in terms of the time it takes to complete. That 40,000 word audiobook might take you twelve hours to complete, and that’s if your workflow is optimized. For a newbie? you might be looking at 20+ hours of work. Also, important to keep in mind is that, if you’re being paid Per Finished Hour, that means you get paid the hourly rate times the number of hours of audio you’ve delivered to the client. For example, if that 40,000 word book project was paying $50 PFH, you’d likely get $200 total for the book as a newbie. That’s $200 for all that time and effort you put in. The industry standard rate, for someone who is an established pro in this field, is around $250 PFH. So, there’s money to be made in audiobooks, but it’s a lot of work. a LOT.
There is a second way to make money with narrating on ACX, which is called Royalty Share. But I will be honest: royalty share kind of sucks. There, I said it. Royalty share is an agreement where you record the book for free, basically, with the ability to receive a commission on the future book sales. This is really only a good deal if you’re recording a book that is likely to make a lot of sales. So, if you’re deciding to go this route, check the books ranking on amazon, look at all the information and determine if this book is a dud or is a seller. Then make your decision accordingly.
Pros: Plenty of work available, ACX doesn’t take a commission on your fees for narrating the book
Cons: Audiobooks are a pain in the behind, sometimes. Be prepared to work long hours to get them done. Charge appropriately.
#3: Upwork
Upwork is another extremely popular site for freelancers and buyers to work together online. It operates a bit different than Fiverr, though. The primary method of finding work on Upwork is to review the job postings shown on the site, and bid on the job by using the credits system they have in place. Jobs cost a certain number of credits each time you apply for them, and you’re given a limited number each month. There are options for you to purchase additional credits a la carte, or you can upgrade your membership and pay a monthly fee for more credits and additional seller features.
However, Upwork is introducing a new feature called the Product Catalog. This feature mimics the functionality of Fiverr, in that you can list a product such as voice over services, and buyers can search for those services on the site and buy them outright. This part of Upwork is very much in its infancy, so it would be wise to set up your own products on the site and see how they perform as the site dedicates more time and energy to this business model.
Overall, finding jobs on Upwork requires a bit more effort than Fiverr, in my experience. I’d start here after you establish yourself on Fiverr, if you still have time in your day to send out multiple auditions. Here are my overall pros and cons:
Pros: Free to join, free to send out a limited number of job applications monthly.
Cons: More time and energy required to secure work, having to buy additional credits to apply for jobs
Paid Sites
#1: Voices.com
Voices bills itself as the #1 platform online for voice over services. While it is true that Voices.com is used by many of the worlds most famous brands (Microsoft, Cisco, Hulu, Shopify), it might be a bit disingenuous to call it the #1 platform from a seller perspective. Here’s the rub: they charge hefty membership fees, and you have to audition for everything, basically. The fees are no joke either; they START at $500/year for the “Premium” tier. It goes as high as $2,999 a year for “Platinum” as well. Platinum is also invite-only, so you can’t just plunk down three large and get all the features either.
Now, it’s not all bad. The jobs on Voices do pay fairly well. You’re not selling yourself for five dollars on this site, by any stretch. However, there are TONS of voice actors on this site and competition will be stiff. You have to be on your A game if you’re going to compete here, and you have to set aside time to send out tons of auditions if you hope to recoup your investment or even make a profit. If you’re talented and willing to put in the time and energy, this could be another viable stream of income for your voice over career.
Pros: You can earn a pretty good amount of money for each job
Cons: Expensive to join, considerable amount of competition when auditioning
#2: Voice123
Voice123 is a site similar to Voices.com. You sign up for a membership at one of their membership tiers (ranging from $325 - $600) and audition for jobs. When clients submit a project, they get proposals from voice actors who are actively interested in the project. The algorithms that power Voice123 look for matching voice actors and start inviting the ones who are the most relevant to the project. The order in which invitations are sent is determined by the percentage of the voice actor proposals liked by clients, as well as their membership plan. So, in essence, the more money you spend (assuming an equal level of talent among competition) means that bigger spenders get more visibility on the platform. Still, it’s another place to make money if you are looking for more voice over work.
Pros: You can earn a pretty good amount of money for each job
Cons: Expensive to join, considerable amount of competition when auditioning
Final thoughts
I hope this helps you decide how you want to approach finding voice over work online. My recommendation is simple: exhaust your efforts on the free sites before moving on to pay-to-play sites. For more information on how to get started with a voice over career, what kind of gear to use, coaching, and other topics, check out my other blog posts or drop me a line on social media! Links to my instagram, facebook, and LinkedIn can be found below.
