Does anyone know how to get hired as a voice-over artist?

Question:

Does anyone know how to get hired as a voice-over artist?

I am interested in doing voice-over work locally, in the United States. I have done one for a promotional tape for a car show. But, I did that for the promoter who was a friend. I would welcome any help on this. Thank you.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have worked as a commercial actor (on-camera talent) and also done a couple of voice-over jobs, once for a video game and a couple other times for V.O work to go along with print work for the web portion of a print shoot. V.O. is a very competitive market. In order to get an agent for this, you will probably need to make a demo. There are two ways: if you are able to get an agent, you could hopefully audition for some V.O. jobs and get hired, and then use real clips from your jobs to make a demo. Otherwise, you could find a V.O. coach and work with them in private lessons (I used to go for about $65 an hour) and eventually make a demo real using copy they have. This might cost $500-$1000. Then you'd have a demo tape to use to get an agent and also submit for V.O. jobs. It's a very competitive market, and actors who want to do on-camera stuff also dream about V.O. work because it's easy and fun and there is probably more opportunity there becasue you don't have to look a cerain way. Look up some agency websites and see if they have voice actors with downloadable clips so you can hear what these type of demos sound like. Good luck!