Maria Pendolino is an award-winning voiceover artist that has worked for top brands and companies all over the globe. Through her website http://www.voicebymaria.com, Maria is a highly sought after female voiceover for commercials, explainer videos, corporate narration, e-learning courses, social media, podcasts, telephone systems and more. She recently launched a new initiative, MillennialVoiceover.com as a way to help brands connect with the coveted millennial generation and “speak millennial.” 

As a full-time voice talent, she operates her own professional studio. In addition to voice acting, Maria is also a talented on-camera talent and has been featured on Lifetime’s hit drama ARMY WIVES, National Geographic’s binge-worthy favorite LOCKED UP ABROAD and HGTV’s flagship series HOUSE HUNTERS. Maria resides with her husband Eric in Buffalo, NY with their three rescue “studio” cats: Nellie, Two Scoops and Mozzie.

Where did you grow up? How did your upbringing influence your career?

I grew up in Buffalo, NY. I think the Western New York area is a great place to grow up. It’s a large enough community that we have a thriving arts and cultural scene as well as a great culinary scene (we did invent the Buffalo wing, after all). When I was young, I had the opportunity to participate in local community theatre productions and I think it was those early experiences of acting in and attending shows around Buffalo that sparked my desire to act.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in your market?

The voiceover industry is going through enormous disruption, which I think other creative industries are experiencing as well. As technology and the internet of things grows and grows, barriers to entry are lowering and customer acquisition models are changing. I think people out there who need to hire voiceover actors have more choices than ever before, but they may struggle with finding true professional voiceover artists who do this work day in and day out for different industries and have honed their craft vs. finding hobbyists who are trying to dabble.

How do you continue to educate yourself?

I think ongoing and continuous education is of the utmost importance. I regularly attend and speak at conferences both inside and outside of my direct industry to stay fresh. I also work one-on-one with coaches in different voice acting genres. And I take seminars and webinars when they’re available, both virtually and in-person, to keep working on my craft. I also participate in many online communities and meet-up groups with other voiceover talents around the world.

What role do partnerships and relationships play in your career?

Relationships are the key to my business. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage. I am a full-time freelance voiceover talent, so that means I’m not getting a paycheck directly deposited into my bank account at the end of every week. I’m hustling for every dollar that I make. The more that I invest in my relationships and networking – I find that I am able to work smarter and not harder. By nurturing and growing my existing client relationships, asking for quality referrals and building my brand through my relationships, I’ve been able to see my business grow year over year.

True or false? Hard work solves almost anything. Tell us why you feel this way.

Mostly true. Hard work solves a lot of things but you also have to have a plan. What do they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? If you’re working hard and you’re not seeing the growth or the numbers you want, you’ve got to be smart enough to change course or ask for help. You’d be surprised at the number of people out there who would be willing to offer advice, coaching and help if you reach out and let them know you need to make some changes. But, yes – success in business, or in anything, doesn’t come if you aren’t willing to invest the time, energy and money into your endeavors.

What achievement are you most proud of?

I was honored to receive the 2017 and 2018 Voice Arts Award for Best Voiceover Performance in the e-learning and consumer sales video categories, respectively. It was a huge honor to be recognized among my peers in a behemoth industry for my hard work. Also, sometimes it’s hard to explain to friends and family what I do on a daily basis, so this was an amazing way for me to be able to share my hard work with them. 

I’m also extremely proud of my new initiative, millennialvoiceover.com, that I launched with my business partner, Ian Fishman, who is a VO pro from Minneapolis. As millennials become the most powerful purchasing generation, we saw a real opportunity to provide an outlet for brands, advertisers and companies who want to use an actual millennial voice to speak to their millennial consumers, employees and audience.

What’s next in your career?

I’m about ten years into my voiceover career and I’m hoping for another great decade of growth and personal achievement. I’ve recently branched out into the genre of radio imaging and I’m also hoping to grow my client base in broadcast TV & radio affiliate work. In addition, I love doing character and animation work. I’ve got an independent video game coming out later in the year that I am the lead voice of and I’ve been building my stable of cartoon voices and accents.

What advice do you have for our readers?

Share your goals with someone! Having an accountability buddy to check in with on a regular basis is a great way to stay on track when you’re trying to build or launch something new. Even if it’s by text, it’s nice to know that someone out there in the world cares about what you’re doing as much as you do.

Is it possible for our readers to hire you or work with your team?

I’d be delighted to work with any of your readers! If you’re in need of a voiceover for a TV or radio commercial, a spot for Pandora, Spotify or Sirius XM, a narrator for e-learning or corporate training courses, a voice for explainer, how-to or product videos, radio station imaging, telephone systems (press 1, press 2, etc) or anything else, please visit my website at http://www.millennialvoiceover.com, reach out at [email protected] or call/text 607-222-1401. If I’m not the right voice for you, I’m always happy to connect you to trusted pro talents in my network and I can easily distribute your casting for free.