The old saying in the voice-over industry is never to turn away voice work. I disagree with this and here’s why.
1 – What if the job isn’t for you?
I recently got an invitation to audition for a radio commercial on a freelance site. They wanted a guy who could read the script in Spanish! I don’t speak Spanish…let alone read it! I Turned that job down!
2 – What if the price is too low?
I was also recently offered a job way below my usual rate. Now for the record, I am willing to negotiate a little but if I charge $100 to voice an explainer video but the client wants me to come down to $25 for – just this one time – you can be sure the client will ALWAYS want me for only $25! I’m not going to do a LOT of work for a little bit of money! I Turned
that job down.
3 – What if you’re unavailable?
Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks. Most of us are going to spend time with friends and family. I’m sure your clients are too. Some clients…need you available 24 / 7! I usually let my clients know when I’m going out of town and I’ll be unavailable.
4 – Are you sick?
I’ve only had to turn down a voice job 3 times in the past 10 years because I was sick. Only 3 times because this client needed their job done today and my voice did not sound the way it usually did. The other times I was sick I got lucky. My clients waited until I got better to finish the job.
So to answer the question, should you ever turn away VO work? I say yes – it is OK to turn VO work away…well, sometimes.
