Working From Home Doing Voice-Overs

Today, I have an interview with Julie Eickhoff, a professional voice-over artist who works from home. Julie has shared some information about the voice-over industry below that I hope you’ll find useful — benefits, earning potential, and more.

If you’re interested in voice-over work, read on to learn more about it, plus get some information on her e-course designed for aspiring voice-over artists.

Interview With Voice Over Artist Julie Eickhoff

What Is Your Background?

Well for starters, I’m from Iowa. I have a BS degree in English and Secondary Education.

Out of college, I was a middle school English teacher for one (really long) year. My career from there has been kind of crazy thanks to wonderful mentors and people who encouraged me to try new things.

Over the years, I have been an Employee Relations manager at a Bank, the Chief Meteorologist at a TV Station (I went back to school for meteorology), morning radio show co-host, an advertising executive at a TV station, and a realtor.

While I was a realtor, I also became a mother … which changed everything.

With different priorities at home, I needed to find balance with work and home, and I started down the trail of figuring out how to work from home.

And this is where I currently am…working from home doing voice overs!

How Did You Start Teaching People How To Work From Home Doing Voice Overs?

While I was a realtor (and working 24/7), my husband starting traveling a lot, and we had a baby at home.

I reached my breaking point of stress. There was no way I could work as much as I did, manage the household, and have any meaningful time with my family. So, I knew I needed to come up with a way to work from home.

My broadcasting career came in handy here. I knew that voice artists were working from home, and I knew I could do the work.

So, I contacted a friend who knew about the biz, ordered my equipment, and started learning everything I could.

The learning curve was steep and long. But eventually I had a legitimate business, and it’s been working out great ever since.

Along the way, I’ve had lots of friends and family ask how they too could learn how to do voice overs. I decided to put my teaching, my on-camera skills and my voice over skills to work together and I developed the course, “Work from Home Doing Voice Overs.”

What Will People Learn During Your Free Training Series?

The free course, Intro to Voice Overs, will show interested students what’s involved in becoming a voice artist.

It covers on a basic level what equipment you’ll need (which is surprisingly inexpensive!), your recording space in your home, how voice artists get paid, and lots more.

The goal of the free course is to give students enough information for them to know if this is a path they want to go down.

What are Some of the Benefits of Being a Voice Over Artist?

Where do I begin? You can work from home, the flexibility is amazing, it’s creative, you get to run your own business, and you can do it on the side or full-time.

I love being home when my daughter gets home from school, I love being there during holiday breaks and summer, I love not having to commute in bad weather ( I live in Minneapolis now – we have loads of snow!), I love the ease of scheduling doctor appointments, and my dog loves having me home.

I have time to exercise and cook meals. I feel in control of my life, which reduces stress for everyone in my family.

Is Voice Acting for Everyone?

Probably not everyone, but gone are the days when the only voices you hear are booming male voices on the radio.

We need all kinds of voices. Listen to all the places where you hear voices … web videos, telephone systems, movie theater ads, e-learning modules, audiobooks, podcasts, explainer videos, tutorials, video games, live events, etc.

We need male, female, child, high, low, soft, loud, accents, motherly, salesy, sweet, motivating and on and on and on.

How Much Can the Average Voice Over Artist Earn?

Voice artists are paid per project, and the range can be quite wide depending on the usage of the project.

A voice over on a commercial that runs nationally is entirely different than a voice over for a corporate office that is only going to be used internally.

Many voice artists like to get their feet wet with audiobooks. So, I will use that as an example.

With audiobooks, you can get paid two ways or a combination of both.

There’s royalties (where you get paid a portion every time the audiobook sells), or you can get paid per finished hour for narrating/producing the audiobook.

Rates vary here, but you can easily find projects that pay $100-$200 per finished hour.

So a 5-hour audiobook with a rate of $200 per finished hour would be $1000.

Do You Primarily Narrate Audiobooks, or Do You Work On Other Types of Projects Also?

I have done a ton of audiobooks and will continue to do so, but I also do lots of other types of work … e-learning modules, radio commercials, movie theater ads, and telephone follow-up surveys.

Is There Anything Else You Would Like Readers to Know?

If you’re wanting to find a way to work from home and/or if anyone has ever told you that you have a nice voice, going through the free intro course will give you a great idea if this career is a possibility for you. It won’t take much time to complete. Then, you can decide if you want to proceed.

If you do want to proceed, the full course, Work from Home Doing Voice Overs, will be perfect for you. It takes you step-by-step through every part of getting up and running.

I took all my research and experience and made it efficient for students to get equipment, set up their recording space, learn how to use recording software, practice mic skills, recording skills and so much more.

It’s easy to follow and fun. When you’re finished, you’re ready to move forward and I’m always willing to answer questions and help you out!

Thanks so much Julie for taking the time to answer our questions!

Want to Enroll in the Free Voice-Overs E-Course?

If you’re interested in signing up for Julie’s free free voice-over intro course, you can go here.

Good luck!