Hello!

I'm Kate Reynolds, and I'm an independent voice actor. I always believed that the only way to be a voice actor was to get an agent, get added to their roster and wait for the call ups.

In fact, I work on global marketplace Fiverr.

I know, I know! You've heard all the stories. I've heard them too. No money to be earned. Full of time wasters. Literally earning five dollars for your hard work.

I thought I'd write this post to address the fact that this is not the case for me. Sure, there's other aspects of Fiverr that are, erm, in need of improvement, and I'll address them below, but for the most part Fiverr has been an excellent money-maker for me, and I'm sure much more lucrative than getting an agent ever would be.

Why?

Because I'm my own boss, and I set my own rates.

Now let's get one thing straight. I'm a firm believer in getting paid what you are worth. Working for nothing - even if it's something you love doing, like writing or voice overs - dilutes the value of the craft, and will lead you to feel burnt out.

But for a long time there have been gatekeepers in the industry stating what is an acceptable rate for voice overs, and it's high. For big brands putting tens of thousands of dollars worth of ads across free-to-air TV - you better believe they should be charged industry standard rates. But that local newsagent run by sweet old Marie and Doug? They don't have hundreds of dollars lying around for new phone greetings.

I saw a gap in the market - affordable, natural voice overs that I can do at home, without needing to organise dial-in sessions. Instead of living in a big city, getting called into a session and driving into a studio, I can walk the four steps into my home booth and smash out a recording in the same time it would have taken me to drive to location.

And it's not just me (of course). Having worked in the radio industry for many years, I worked with top voice talent from the big agencies. I see quite a few familiar names as I scroll, well, my competition really; those who have realised that there are other ways to make a living as a voice actor.

Like any platform, there are downsides. My current gripe is that I pay a MOTZA to promote my services through Fiverr. I pay every time someone clicks on my ads and messages me.

The spam. The SCAMS! I am paying to get random people messaging me about THEIR OWN fiverr, or asking for jobs, or in one rather unfortunate case, sending me a photo of their PENISLAND.

But for the most part I've had great success with Fiverr, and if you're ever looking to hire talent - whether it's writers, designers or voice actors, then I gently suggest you check out the catalogue of incredibly talented freelancers over here. I promise, we don't bite. 

(Psssst I might get money when you click on links.)