by Rachel Alena
I know. You read it online.
A VOICE TALENT MUST HAVE A NICHE! Well, I don’t always agree. Here’s why…. 100% True story… Last month, I met a newbie voice talent and we chatted. Here is how the conversation went down:
VO Newbie: “I’m so excited! My goal is to become a full time voice over talent. I already have my niche. I plan to be a children’s educational narrator.”
Me: “That’s a very specific niche. Would you consider broadening it?”
VO Newbie: ‘Nope. I’ve researched it online. A voice talent must have a niche.”
Me: “Well, it’s just that…with your strong British-Swedish mixed accent…and such a very specific niche…you might be limiting the amount of work you can obtain in the beginning. Broadening your niche might give you more opportunity to reach your goal of working in VO full-time.”
VO Newbie: ‘Nope. I’ve read that you should have a niche and that’s my plan. Children’s educational materials it is.”
Creating a niche is a fantastic way to become an expert by focusing on one area! And, with so many voice acting genres, you’re likely to have natural stronger talents in specific areas. Having a niche is great for marketing, too.
Here’s why not….
Less opportunity in the beginning
A niche such as ‘children’s educational narrations’ has specific clients. There will be opportunities in all genres. As a new voice talent who is playing the audition game you may find yourself waiting for opportunities.
Limited skill set with less to offer potential employers
Here’s a real-life example.
One of my first jobs for Delta Dental was to narrate 2 enrollment manuals…yes…those big thick books about benefits. This type of job was considered ‘industrial’ voice acting, such narrating as training materials.
Then, they asked if I could I narrate commercial material. Yes! Commercial voice acting was in my skill set so I could do those jobs, too. As a result, I now narrate commercial style videos for them.