Episode 410: LinkedIn Wake up Call

How to Actually Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Voiceover Business

I know. I can already hear you groaning. Mandy, I am an actor, not a business person in a blazer who posts about synergy.

I get it. But here is what I need you to understand before we go any further.

LinkedIn is not a social media platform. It is a business tool. And that distinction matters more than almost anything else I am going to say today.

Instagram is for your personality. TikTok is for your content. LinkedIn is for your clients.

Start With Your Profile

If your profile is not optimized, nothing else I am going to say really matters. Your profile is the first thing a potential client sees when you reach out. It needs to say immediately and clearly, I am a professional, I know what I am doing, and you should hire me.

Your photo needs to be a real professional-looking headshot. Not AI, not a car selfie, not an avatar. We are battling bots left and right and you need to prove who you are. A selfie in your booth is totally acceptable. Clear, well-lit, people can see your face. That is the bar.

Your headline is prime real estate and most people waste it by either just putting professional voice actor or listing every single vertical that exists. Neither one tells me what you do for the people who hire you. Instead of commercial, e-learning, corporate, imaging, everything under the sun, try something like voiceover actor helping brands boost engagement through authentic storytelling. That is who you are and what is in it for the client.

Set your custom URL so it reads linkedin.com/in/yourname. Make it cohesive with everything else you use. Fill out your contact info including your email address. Use the experience section to include voiceover even if you have another job. By leaving it out you are signaling that you are not taking it seriously.

Use your featured section wisely. A link to your website first, then maybe a Canva graphic with some testimonials or logos, then a piece of content you rotate regularly. And do not skip the audio clip feature. You get about 11 seconds and you have an extraordinary voice. Use it. Every visitor to your profile will already know what they are getting before they even reach out.

Curate Your Feed Like a Businessperson

Stop using LinkedIn like social media. Stop following other actors. I know that sounds harsh but no one is going to complain that you unfollowed them on LinkedIn, and if they do, that is their problem.

If your feed is full of actors posting about their bookings and their new mic you are curating for your ego and not your business. The people you should be following are creative directors at ad agencies, marketing managers at brands, producers, content creators, e-learning developers, HR managers. Those are your people on LinkedIn. When you fill your feed with them you start to understand what they care about, what problems they are trying to solve, and where you fit in.

How to Prospect

Use the LinkedIn search bar with Boolean combinations. Creative director and advertising. Producer and media production. E-learning developer and corporate training. Filter by industry and location. Find the people who can actually hire you.

When you connect, write a personalized note. Not the default. Mention how you found them, something real about their work, get to the point. Something like hi Sarah, I came across your profile, I am a voice actor and I would love to connect. That is it. Not a novel. Not even a pitch. Just a human being making contact.

And post in groups. Not voiceover groups. Not casting groups. Business groups, content marketing groups, e-learning industry groups. Where your potential clients are hanging out. Engage there. Comment on posts. Show up as someone who understands their world. LinkedIn rewards engagement. The more active you are the more likely you are to show up when people search for you.

My Favorite Strategy

I scroll LinkedIn intentionally looking for videos from companies that do not have voiceover. Brand videos, product explainers, company culture reels. All of it just sitting there with music or text overlays and no voice. That is an open invitation.

I screen record the video, write a short script, record it, drop it into iMovie or CapCut, and send it back. The email is short. Something like hey, I loved your video but I noticed it did not have voiceover so I made one for you to test. Here is the link on my unlisted YouTube. A/B test it. If you like it, let’s talk.

You are not just telling them you do voiceover. You are showing them work you actually did for them. Something they can use and test. That has made a huge difference in my business.

The Bottom Line

This is the long game. Building a client base through LinkedIn prospecting is not a week-long project. It is not a month-long project. It is ongoing. Some of what you send will go completely unanswered. That is literally how direct marketing works. But you are collecting data. You are learning what subject lines get opened, what pitches get responses, what kinds of companies are most receptive to what you do.

The actors who build sustainable voiceover careers are not necessarily the most talented ones in the room. They are the ones who treated it like a business from the ground up and kept showing up.

Want to Keep the Conversation Going?

If you want a step-by-step checklist of everything covered today plus some extra LinkedIn goodies, send me an email at mandy@actingbusinessbootcamp.com and put LinkedIn checklist in the subject line. I will send it your way.

I also have free classes every month, AMAs with Peter, a Substack with resources, email marketing courses, and business courses for voiceover actors. I am here to help. You just have to raise your hand.