The True Cost of Voiceover Success

Voiceover students often want to know how long is it going to take to be able to replace their income. They want enough voiceover work so that they can leave their current job and do voice work full time.

The average person in the United States earns anywhere from 35,000 to 50,000 dollars per year. We all know the value of a dollar and the idea of replacing $50,000 of annual income can seem overwhelming. Voice talent would benefit by looking at a simple economic model that makes their “nut” seem a lot smaller and more manageable.

Let’s say you currently earn $50,000 a year and that is the amount of money you need to earn in VO in order to leave your existing job. $50,000 divided by 12 months is $4,167. This number is your monthly pre-tax voiceover goal. Not quite as scary.

Now divide that monthly goal by 4. You get $1,041. This is your weekly voiceover goal. Wow, it’s getting even less scary. Now divide that number by 5 work days of the week and you get $209. Can you make $209 a day from your studio doing voiceover jobs?

When you break your earning goals down in this manner you take some of the stress out of looking at a huge annual number and you are able to see a more realistic mark. $200 a day is very manageable when you consider that most non-union voiceover jobs pay more than that on average.

If your goal is to be a TV promo or radio imaging talent then you’ll be able to calculate that in order to earn $50,000 a year you will need to book 14 stations on retainer that pay you $300 per month to equal your goal. This means you will need to book 1 station every 3.7 weeks in order to replace your annual income in one year. Suddenly your goal becomes a very realistic endeavor.

If you are non-union commercial talent and you are targeting small market voiceover clients, then an average commercial job will likely pay you (at the very least) $100.00. This means you’ll need to book roughly 500 commercial jobs in a year or 2 $100 spots per day.

Now the harder part. Waking up every day – going to your computer and asking yourself the question that will be paramount to making your goal a reality. How am I going to earn $200 dollars in voiceover work today?

This simple method is used by small business owners, service providers and retailers daily. When you know you’re goal it’s easier to offer sales, incentives and to implement marketing strategies that make it easier to make you daily goal a reality. You are also able to see a realistic day to day tracking of your productivity and earnings. This is a critical foundation of success for every business.

No one can tell you exactly how successful you’ll be in voiceover. You’ll have good days and bad. But if you employ this ‘one day at a time’ method you’ll likely be able to leave your current full time job faster than you thought possible.

704-674-8294 / GabrielleNistico.com / gabby@voiceovervixen.com

Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover Success, Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategies, Entrepreneur, Income