What types of materials should voice actors have when submitting professionally?

For the sake of this article, we will describe “submitting professionally” as applying to join a talent roster, studio talent pool, or responding to open-call paying opportunities from casting directors that require a demo.

This does not necessarily apply to open-call paid indie projects—in those situations, you will usually record the audition lines listed in the casting call and submit it via the producer’s preferred method without the need to supply a demo or resume. By posting a public casting call, producers generally understand they are voluntarily opening themselves up to a wide range of actors of varying skill and experience levels. You may use your best judgment as to whether or not you are ready to submit for these types of paid online castings.

But what about those Google Form links you find on social media for casting directors opening up their roster, or a production company that has an application on their website for interested talent? Before rushing to submit for these types of opportunities, here are some things that are good to have.

A professional-sounding voice demo

A demo is the most essential marketing tool a voice actor needs if they wish to work professionally. It will also be a requirement for most agency and studio submissions, unless they already know your work for whatever reason. (After all, would you submit to a modeling agency without professional photos, or apply for an art position without a portfolio?) Your demo does not need to be compiled from actual jobs you’ve done—in fact, a good amount of actor reels consist of material that was created specifically for the purpose of the demo—but it should sound good enough that it theoretically could be from actual projects.

The demo should ideally be professionally produced, particularly if you are submitting to agencies, studios, or high-level production companies. However, you may be able to get away with a self-made demo if it adheres to commonly accepted industry standards and sounds on par with or close to a professionally made demo. The demo should have been recorded in a professional-sounding environment and be mixed in a way that is not distracting (even if you’re submitting for jobs that would record in-studio, a demo with poor audio quality will come across as amateur.)

If you do not have a professional-sounding demo, it is best to hold off on submitting to high-level talent rosters until you do have one. For more information about types of demos, see this article.

A website

Having some type of a professional website is pretty much a must in this day and age. Your website does not need to be fancy, but it should have the bare minimum casting directors or potential clients will need when they Google you: a way to hear what you sound like (demos/samples) and a way to contact you (yours and/or your agent’s email.) For more information on what a voiceover website should contain, see this article.

Some type of credit list (resume, IMDb, etc)

This may be listed on your website already, in which case you can generally skip having a separate resume unless a submission form specifically calls for it. If you have a fairly robust IMDb page, this is often submitted in lieu of a resume especially in the case of higher-profile or more experienced actors.

However, having an acting resume on hand never hurts, as you never know when you might be asked for it. It’s also an opportunity to show off things like training you’ve had or non-character voiceover experience that wouldn’t show up on a site like IMDb. For information on how to make a resume, see this article.

A proper home studio (if you don’t live where the work is)

If you are submitting yourself for professional opportunities that would record remotely, it is imperative that you have a high-quality home studio and can deliver files that are reasonably “broadcast-quality”—at minimum, this means a quiet acoustically treated space, high-quality microphone (preferably XLR, though some lower-level paid projects will accept USB), audio interface, and the ability to view scripts and adjust gain from inside your booth.

You don’t have to break the bank on equipment or an expensive booth, but if you’re recording in a big open room on a cheap mic you found from Amazon, it’s better to wait until you have a space and setup that wouldn’t sound out of place if put into, say, a video game.

If you’re submitting to a studio where you are able to physically come in and record at their location, then a home studio is generally not imperative. But if you’re submitting to a studio that primarily records in-person and you want to be considered as a remote talent, the bar may be significantly higher—see this article for more details.

(Optional) Social media

A social media presence isn’t truly necessary as voice actor, but it can help to at least have established accounts on the most popular platforms such as Twitter/X and Instagram. Even if you choose not to post or be active on these sites for whatever reason, having a completed profile with at least a link to your website where people can contact you for work can help casting directors find you. Posting role announcements – even if you don’t post anything else – is enough “activity” to show you are engaged in your career, and may be some level of a factor for higher-profile character work. If you really hate even having a profile, you can always delete it once you become established enough not to need it. For more about social media, click here.

In general, when is one considered “ready” to submit for professional opportunities?

As mentioned in the intro, there is not one definitive set of benchmarks that will magically make somebody “ready”. However, the following are ideas of questions to ask yourself if you’re trying to honestly evaluate whether to submit to that professional roster now or hold off for a bit.

Remember that first impressions are important. It’s easy to get impatient in the acting business, especially if it feels like your peers are seeing overnight success or that everyone else is achieving their goals faster than you are. But before rushing to put the cart before the horse, stop and ask yourself (or a trusted peer or mentor) whether your current materials are truly showcasing you at your best.

Are you a trained actor?

It is very rare that someone who has never even taken an acting class is magically going to be a great actor. It’s true you can learn a lot from self-taught methods and repeated practice, but if you have little to no proper training, think very critically about whether or not your current skill level is competitive enough to submit to companies or casting directors who do work with trained actors all the time.

If you happen to be one of those rare unicorns that naturally has amazing acting instincts, congratulations! In that case you’ll likely already have some acting experience or perhaps are being actively scouted for paid jobs, in which case you may be on track to submit further.

Do you have experience with original projects, preferably paid ones?

Fan projects can be a fun hobby and a great way to practice. However, they won’t really hold up as “work experience” and shouldn’t be included on a professional resume that is sent to established casting entities. But if you’ve got a decent amount of work experience in original projects—-such as audio dramas, indie games, student films, or even school/community plays, these are a good foundation for a starting actor’s “real world” resume. While paid experience is obviously a bonus, whoever is reading your resume isn’t likely going to have any idea if those original roles were paid or unpaid.

Do you have proper marketing materials?

The biggest part of this is making sure you have a demo that fits the type of roster you are submitting to. For example, if you’re submitting to a dubbing studio, a commercial demo isn’t going to be of use to them. If you’re submitting to a company that produces explainer videos, a gaming demo isn’t going to help. And you’d probably want to hold off on applying for a roster of audiobook narrators until you have some type of audiobook or at least narration demo!

Your demo doesn’t need to be hyper-specific (ex: a general “character reel” is usually sufficient to submit for both animation and gaming opportunities if you don’t have separate demos) but it does need to make sense for the type of work that studio or company actually does.

It’s also smart to have at least some type of website for your work, even if it’s made from a basic free template. Potential clients and casting directors will often go to an actor’s website to learn more about them and their work when considering them for opportunities. An extensive IMDb profile showcasing past work (or profiles on other reputable casting sites such as Actor’s Access in the US or Spotlight in the UK) may suffice instead of this, but if this is what you do for your living, there’s really no excuse not to make a website!

Are you able to provide what would be needed on a technical level?

If you’re submitting for remote recording opportunities, it’s important that you’ll be able to deliver high quality audio on time and according to specifications. Many projects require live-directed sessions; do you already have the knowledge and technical capability to complete a live session smoothly without constant Internet dropouts or inability to monitor your gain? Are you simultaneously able to record audio on your end to deliver to the client afterward in the format requested?

Are you competitive with the existing talent on their roster?

To be clear, you won’t generally know who else is on any given roster or especially a private talent pool. But if you’re submitting to an agency, take a listen to the demos on their website of the talent they represent and evaluate honestly whether or not you believe your skills are on a similar level. If their roster consists of mostly all A-listers with many years of experience and killer demos, they might not be willing or able to take on developmental talent at this time.

The same goes for production companies and specialty sites—-for example, if you’re cold submitting to narrate YouTube videos for an informational outlet, listen to the VO in some of the videos they’ve produced and see if you feel you’d also be a great option on par with the talent they’ve already been hiring. If the work would require you to record remotely, how is your technical quality? If all their current talent have home studios and you’re recording from a podcasting mic in a basement, they might not be willing to take you on until you have a better setup. You can also ask your peers and/or mentors for honest evaluations on these things.

Do you fit the criteria being asked for?

As tempting as it may be to submit for any and every opportunity you can find, it’s important to make sure you’re actually eligible for those opportunities. Some rosters might only be open to talent who can work as local to a certain market, so if you submit to these, make sure you’d actually be willing to fly out on a regular basis at your own expense if you booked a gig. Some rosters might only be looking for actors from specific demographics at the moment, in which case it’s important to think critically about whether you’re an appropriate fit. Other rosters may have certain prerequisites (such as at least one professional credit, or a home studio of a certain level.) You may think it’s better to “shoot your shot” regardless, but submitting for opportunities you’re obviously not right for will reflect negatively on you.

And finally, do you feel the materials you’re submitting showcase you at your current best?

If you’re unhappy with your demos and feel you’ve grown a lot since, it may make sense to wait until they’re updated before doing a big round of cold submissions. There will of course be exceptions for time-limited talent pool openings where you’ve just got to submit what you have, but if there’s no deadline, there’s nothing wrong with bookmarking the page or form for later.

You may be tempted to say “what’s wrong with just aiming high?” Aiming high is great, but you also have to be smart about it. The reason for this is because you only get one chance to make a first impression, and if the first impression is “this actor isn’t ready yet and sent sub-par materials”, it can be hard to get a second chance to get in front of them in the future. Is it ever doable? Yes, so don’t beat yourself up too badly if you submitted your materials somewhere before you were ready—-chances are, they deal with so many actors they’ve forgotten about you already! But you still want to make sure you are putting your best foot forward when you have the opportunity to open a door for yourself.

How can I find rosters or other paid opportunities to submit to?

The first and most obvious option is submitting to paid open casting calls on our Discord server or other sites such as Casting Call Club. These open casting calls, especially the higher-rate ones, do tend to be very competitive – some receive thousands of submissions – but the benefit is that you can find projects that are actively casting voice actors as opposed to having to seek them out.

But at some point you’re probably wondering what else you can do. If you’ve already got some credits and have good demos done, what’s the logical next step?

Social media

Social media sites such as Twitter/X and Bluesky are another great place to find open casting calls. Many indie developers and animators post a casting call on socials or ask for a “demo drop” in the comments. You can also use social media to potentially network with others and (tastefully) promote your own work.

Studio rosters

Between end credits and online databases, it’s generally not hard to figure out which recording studio handled English language VO production for a show or game. From there, you can look up the studio website and see if there is any listed FAQ or protocol for actor submissions. Do keep in mind that many of these studios require in-person recording and may ask if you are able to work locally to that market. Indie/startup studios are traditionally more open to remote recording.

Online talent pools

Some casting directors will open individual rosters from time to time for their own internal casting database. These opportunities can be tricky to find as they’re often either by word of mouth or posted on a personal social media account with a relatively short window in which submissions will be accepted. Curating your social algorithms may help casting opportunities show up for you more often, even from people you don’t follow. Additionally, if you follow others who are active in the community, they may repost opportunities like this when they come up.

Production companies

There are companies that specialize in producing audio for various corporate purposes. These might consist of product explainer videos, tutorials for a company’s website, employee training modules or children’s learning courses. Googling terms such as “explainer video production company” can help you “think like a client” and find some of these companies.
On the character side, you may be able to find localization companies that specialize in recording VO for foreign mobile games or online children’s cartoons. Unfortunately in the age of AI voices, you do need to be careful to make sure you are dealing with a team that actually uses human talent!

Online casting sites

There are online job platforms such as Voice123, Voices, and Backstage where voice actors can find listings for voiceover opportunities that are actively casting. Such platforms are usually “pay to play”, meaning you must pay the site a yearly membership fee to be able to submit to these jobs (and in the case of Voices, the platform will take a cut of the pay you get from each job as well.) Many actors, particularly remote actors, swear by these casting sites as a great way to build their experience and income.

However, there are two major pitfalls to be aware of before signing up for a membership. One is that the sites are extremely competitive, meaning you may be shelling out a significant amount of money to join only to find yourself not booking any jobs. Another is that pay-to-plays are notorious for clients posting exploitative opportunities—think extremely lowball offers, broadcast commercials requiring in-perpetuity usage, and even AI training jobs! See this article for a much more in-depth look at the pros and cons to online casting sites.

We generally do not recommend using sites such as Fiverr if you can help it. Marketplaces that are based around talent devaluing and undercutting themselves and each other perpetuate a “race to the bottom” mentality that condition clients that voiceover should be done fast and cheap with free edits and revisions, and ultimately hurt everyone’s ability to make a living. There are actors who claim they’ve found ways to “work the system” and make great income, but do keep in mind that perception matters, and think carefully about whether you wish to brand yourself as a “cheap” talent.

Agencies

Agent representation is obviously a goal for most actors. However, agencies these days are more competitive than ever to get into, and it can be easy to put the cart before the horse by doing an agent submission blast long before you are ready. If you are still a beginner who is actively training and learning the ropes, and you don’t have much in the way of professional credits, you probably aren’t ready for an agent yet.

Regional agencies (those outside of major cities such as LA or NYC) tend to be a little easier to get into, but still with a relatively high barrier of entry given that VO these days is a global market and there is no shortage of professional talent looking for audition opportunities. Nevertheless, it can be a good starting point, especially if you look for agencies in the actual region where you currently live.

For a much more in-depth article about how agencies work, click here!

Direct marketing

Direct marketing, also called “cold calling” in the past, involves reaching out directly to potential clients you’d like to work with. This could be via social media, LinkedIn, or email. Be sure to only use publicly available information (never unsolicited phone calls or walk-ins in the modern era) and do your best to contact them via the avenue that would most likely get your message routed to the right person. Do not be overly persistent about following up as this could annoy people or even potentially cause them to blacklist you!

Direct marketing can also work in the case of reaching out to indie game developers you might like to work with, but do keep in mind that these people often get flooded with unsolicited submissions from voice actors, so it’s best to try to at least do some surface-level research as to how they usually find their talent. See this article for more on cold-outreach etiquette.

Passive marketing

Even in a sea of hopeful voice actors, don’t discount the idea of passively marketing your brand. Clients can and do find actors who make themselves available and easy to find. A professional website is a great foundation for this (you can look into search engine optimization if you want to take it a step further), but social media presence can be helpful too, particularly if you create engaging content related to voiceover. You don’t need to be obnoxious about overly promoting your work, but putting yourself out there to some degree can help potential clients find you and keep you at the top of casting directors’ minds.

!! Remember to be aware and protect yourself !!

As much as there are legitimate opportunities, there is unfortunately no shortage of scammers, lowballers, and AI training gigs. We have entire articles on how to spot these, but when you receive an audition opportunity from a talent roster or production company you’ve submitted to for the first time, here are a few things to consider:

• Are the rates they’re offering in line with current industry standards (or, if they’re a small team and genuinely not able to offer that, are they at least fair for the scale and scope of work they’re asking for?
• Are they offering any sort of protections against your voice recordings being used for AI training (and if they’re not proactively included in the contract, would the client be willing to sign something like the NAVA rider?)
• Does the contract they’re asking you to sign contain any major red flags? (Note that you will almost never be able to review the contract at the audition stage, but it should be provided upon an actual casting offer. If you audition, are subsequently offered the gig and then see that the contract has issues, you’re always within your right to attempt to negotiate before signing or at least ask questions, and walk away if you are unable to come to an agreement.)