All right, so you want to turn your love of reading
into an actual paycheck.
Yeah, who doesn't?
Right, so we're diving deep into all these narrator websites
to help you figure out which ones are actually worth your time.
It's a jungle light there, lots of options.
It is.
So for this deep dive, we're starting with a YouTube video.
It's called These Legit Websites Pay You $800 a Day to Read,
Worldwide, Always Hiring.
Catchy.
Right.
And a channel called Superhuman's Life.
Now obviously, we always say check out multiple sources,
but this one's good for a basic overview.
And it gives us five metrics to compare all these websites.
I like a good metric.
Lay it on me.
What are we looking at?
Okay, so first we got reputation and credibility.
Makes sense.
Like is the platform legit?
Then user experience, easy to use.
We got to think about book selection, of course,
for narrators, that's huge.
Obviously.
And then the big one, payment and compensation.
The bottom line.
Right, how much can you actually make?
And then finally, support and community.
Support's nice.
Does the platform help you succeed?
Got it.
So we're gonna use those five pillars
to check out each platform.
And the thing is, you might care about some of those
more than others.
Oh yeah, for sure.
Like if you are just starting out,
you might not be as worried about community as you are
about whether or not you can find work, for instance.
Exactly.
Okay, so let's start with ACX.
Okay.
The one that everyone's probably heard of.
Yeah.
Because it's owned by Amazon.
Which right away, that gives us some credibility.
Yeah.
Like you trusted a little bit more.
The YouTuber gave him a four out of five stars
on TrustPilot, which is pretty good.
Not bad.
And that's probably because Amazon.
But keep in mind, ACX is just for audiobooks.
Right.
So you're working with that massive Amazon listener base.
Huge.
Okay, so we trust the platform probably.
But what about using it?
What did they say about the user experience?
Okay, so for user experience, they got a four out of five.
So making a profile, uploading samples, browsing for books,
it's all pretty straightforward.
Okay.
Not perfect.
They mentioned some little glitches here and there.
A little clunky maybe.
But overall, it seems pretty manageable.
Manageable.
Okay, good.
I can handle manageable.
Now the library.
I am guessing it's big.
It's Amazon.
Oh yeah.
They got a five out of five for book selection.
Wow.
The variety is huge.
That's what I'm talking about.
Which is like the beauty of ACX.
You can really niche down, find exactly the kind of books
that you want to narrate.
Mysteries, romance, whatever, you name it, they got it.
Perfect.
Okay, so the big question.
Yeah.
How's the pay?
Yeah.
Can we actually make 800 bucks a day
like that YouTube video says?
Okay, let's talk payment.
Yes.
They got a four out of five on ACX for this.
You're right.
Here's the deal.
Set your own rate per finished hour.
Wait, per finished hour?
What does that even mean?
Yeah, so it's not like a regular hourly rate.
Right, let's go see.
A finished hour is the length of the final audio file.
Not how long it takes you to actually record and edit.
Oh, okay.
So it could take like way long.
Oh yeah, it could take six hours,
maybe even more to produce just one hour of finished audio.
That's really important to know.
Okay, so how do we even know what to charge?
I mean, 500 bucks an hour sounds amazing.
Well, they did mention some folks making 500 bucks
per finished hour,
but that's probably top tier, right?
Right.
Super experienced narrators, amazing audio quality.
You're competing with other narrators,
so gotta be competitive, but also know your worth.
So there's no magic number?
Not really.
Okay.
And besides per finished hour,
are there any other ways to make money on ACX?
Like what about those bonuses they talked about?
Yeah, the bonuses.
There's the royalty share model.
You split royalties with the author.
Interesting.
Could be good or bad, right?
Yeah.
Depends how well the book does.
And then there's bonuses for good reviews,
finishing early, that kind of thing.
So you're kind of like partnering with the author,
hoping for a hit.
Okay, so there are ways to like boost your income,
but what about like actually doing the work?
What about support?
Do they just throw you in the deep end?
No, actually, they got a four out of five
for support and community, which is good.
We got tutorials, training videos,
even a forum where you can like chat with other narrators,
ask questions, all that.
That's awesome, especially if you're new to all this.
So it sounds like ACX is a real contender.
Especially if you just love the idea
of having all those books to choose from.
Yeah, totally.
Lots of potential there.
But we got four more platforms to look at
and they all have their pros and cons.
For sure.
What works for one person might not work for another.
Right, exactly.
So let's keep going.
Welcome back.
Okay, so we just went through five narrator websites
and I don't know about you, but my head is like spinning.
Yeah, it's a lot to absorb for sure.
But you know, we have to remember
that that YouTube video is just one guy's take.
Yeah, it's like one perspective.
Like you wouldn't buy a new phone based on one review.
Right, you wanna see what everybody else is saying.
Yeah.
And one thing the video didn't really get into is
like marketing.
Yeah, personal branding.
That's huge no matter what platform you choose.
Yeah, cause it's not enough to just like make a profile
and then just sit there and like wait for the offers
to come pouring in.
No, you gotta put yourself out there.
You're probably.
It's like you're running a business, right?
You're a freelancer.
You gotta build your brand.
You gotta market your...
It's not just about having a good voice.
It's about like the whole package.
Yeah, presentation, the whole nine yards.
So how do we do that?
Well, you gotta be online, right?
Gotta have a website, social media, network
with authors, publishers, other narrators, you know.
Okay, so like actually building relationships.
Yeah, it's not just about uploading a few demos
and calling it a day.
You gotta engage, show your personality, show your
passion, it all that.
People wanna work with someone they like,
someone who's professional.
They gotta trust you basically.
Show that you're serious.
Okay, so we got us down top of this stuff.
Yeah, and remember, things change, right?
What's hot today, maybe not so much tomorrow.
Right, new platforms pop up,
old ones update.
Exactly, you gotta adapt, stay informed, keep learning.
Always be learning.
So maybe you're trying different platforms,
different genres, taking workshops, you know.
Learning how to edit better,
even getting better equipment for recording.
Yeah, invest in yourself.
It's a process.
On going.
All the time.
And you know, becoming a successful narrator,
it takes time.
Oh yeah, it's not like some get rich quick scheme.
Definitely not.
You gotta be dedicated, persistent, and like,
truly love doing it.
Passion, baby, passion.
Yeah, and you gotta be realistic
about the downsides too, right?
You're gonna get rejected, you gotta manage your time.
It's not always gonna be sunshine and roses.
Yeah, it's like any creative field, right?
You gotta take the good with the bad.
But think about the rewards though,
bringing a story to life with your voice,
connecting with people, it's powerful stuff.
It is.
And you're creating something.
Something entertaining, inspiring.
That's gotta feel good.
Yeah, for sure.
And don't forget the flexibility.
You're your own boss.
Right, you choose your projects, your schedule,
design your own career basically.
Okay, so for those who are truly passionate about it,
the rewards can be huge.
Definitely, oh, and one more thing,
the skills you learn as a narrator,
they're useful everywhere, not just in your career.
Oh, really?
Like being able to communicate clearly,
engaging an audience, that's valuable in any situation.
Yeah, presentations, public speaking,
just everyday conversation.
Suddenly you're like the most interesting person in the room.
Right, so even if you don't end up doing narration full time,
it can still make a huge difference in your life.
Totally.
So for all those aspiring narrators out there,
what advice would you give them?
Like if they wanted to start building their brand right now,
what should they do?
Okay, first things first.
Figure out your niche, what are you passionate about?
What kind of voice do you have?
What makes you stand out?
Once you know that, you can start building your brand.
Okay, so step one, know yourself.
Exactly, then get yourself a website.
Show off your work, doesn't have to be fancy,
just clean professional.
Gotta have some good demos on there.
Okay, online portfolio, check, what else?
Social media, gotta be active, engage with people,
build those relationships, authors, publishers,
other voice actors, everyone.
Right, network, network, network.
Yes, tell your friends and family what you're doing too.
Word of mouth is powerful,
and don't be afraid to ask for advice
from other narrators, people are usually happy to help,
especially in this field.
Community is key.
It is, and remember, be patient.
This stuff takes time, you're not gonna be
a superstar overnight.
Don't get discouraged if you don't get your dream gig
right away, just keep practicing, keep marketing,
keep putting yourself out there.
Love it, it's the marathon, not a sprint.
Yeah. Got it.
And we're back, part three of our deep dive.
So hopefully by now you're feeling ready to like,
jump into this whole narrator thing.
I hope so, we've talked about a lot,
reputation, user experience, all that good stuff.
We even got into like, marketing yourself.
Yeah, it keeps you gotta, you know,
treat it like a business if you wanna make it work.
Exactly.
But before we wrap up, there's one last thing
we should probably mention.
It's something that YouTuber like,
touched on a bit, but didn't really go deep into,
and that's the sheer variety of work out there
in the world of voiceover.
Yeah, right, like, we've been focusing on audiobooks
this whole time, but there's so much more
you can do with your voice.
Oh yeah, way more.
Remember voices.com and Bunny Studio.
They have all kinds of projects,
commercials, video games, e-learning,
even those AI voices since you hear everywhere.
It's wild how much is out there.
And you know, having all those options,
that's actually a good thing for beginners.
For sure.
Even if you're like, dead set on narrating books,
being able to do other things
makes you way more marketable.
More skills, more options, right?
Yeah, exactly.
All those skills you learn doing audiobooks,
pacing, tone, all that.
It's all useful for other types of voiceover.
It's like having a toolbox, right?
Different tools for different jobs.
Exactly, and who knows, you might even find out
you love doing something else even more than audiobooks.
You never know until you try.
Right, and you know, even though we've given you
all this info, at the end of the day,
you gotta figure out what works for you.
Yeah, the perfect platform, it's different for everyone.
What we've talked about, it's a starting point.
You gotta do your own research too,
check out those websites, read reviews,
maybe even talk to some narrators, see what they say.
Word of mouth is good.
Yeah, and don't be afraid to try things out.
Maybe a platform you weren't sure about at first
turns out to be the perfect fit.
The important thing is to stay curious.
Keep learning, keep exploring.
All right, so I think that brings us to the end
of our deep dive into the world of narrator websites.
Hopefully you're feeling a bit more confident,
a bit more excited to get started.
Me too, but if you're still feeling a little overwhelmed,
you know, there's one thing to keep in mind.
A lot of successful narrators,
they use multiple platforms.
Oh yeah, that's a great point.
You can kind of like combine the best of each one, right?
Build your own little voice over empire.
Exactly, it's not all or nothing.
You can use what works for you.
So keep learning, keep growing,
and most importantly, keep using that voice
to share some amazing stories.
That's what it's all about.
That's it for this deep dive.
Thanks for listening and happy narrating.