In a world that encourages DIY-ing everything, there are just some things — like voiceovers — to leave to the experts. Here are four reasons for hiring a professional voice actor (and not Janice from accounting, although she is a very nice person) for your next project:
- Keep Listeners Engaged
With the rise of online learning, assisted audio devices like Siri and Alexa, and podcasts and audiobooks, audiences expect a certain level of quality to keep them engaged. Professional voice actors prepare and practice the scripts so they can get the intonation just right, know when to pause for emphasis or dramatic effect, add excitement or energy as needed, and take extra care to pronounce all of the words correctly. They make sure all of the details come together to deliver a recording that makes dense and hard-to-understand topics digestible and enjoyable to listen to so that the content sticks. - Ensure Great Audio Quality
Many professional voice actors who work from home have their own professional home studios. Personally, I record from a StudioBricks OnePlus booth with a Neumann TLM-103 and a Sennheiser MKH-416 Shotgun Microphone, an Audient id14 Interface, and a MacPro Editing Suite. (See my setup here.)Getting great audio quality isn’t always easy, but working with a voice actor who uses a professional setup at home guarantees that you’ll receive a high-quality audio file that your engineers will be happy to use. - Save on Time and Effort
No more spending time asking Janice from accounting to re-record the audio and add just a little bit (or a LOT bit) more personality and excitement or asking if she could maybe soften her p’s and b’s. Hiring a professional voiceover artist means you’ll be working with someone who takes the job seriously and has the training and experience to turn around the project quickly so that you can delegate the task and check it off your to-do list *cue the choir of angels*. - Keep Your Brand, on Brand
Picture the Geico commercials and I’ll bet you can hear the voice of the Geico gecko. His voice has helped to establish Geico as a friendly, relatable, and cheeky brand that customers can trust. Strengthen your brand voice (literally!) with the talents of a professional voice actor. Even better, establish a consistent brand voice to use throughout your commercials and marketing videos so that your audience comes to recognize the voice and the brand.
Whether the project is a commercial, training video, e-learning module, announcement, or product launch, working with a voice actor adds quality, professionalism, and peace of mind. You’ll be glad you left it to an expert to get the job done right!
