For Voice Over Clients

Why You Need a Pro Commercial Voice-Over Artist for Your Next Commercial

Professional Commercial Voice-Over Artist Debbie Grattan offers her thoughts on the advantages of hiring a Pro Commercial Voice-Over Talent versus someone who is newer to the voice-over business.

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Being a full-time commercial voice-over artist, I always have my ear tuned to commercials. Whether it’s on tv or radio, I find it amusing how just as many listeners are taking their attention away from the program (as it goes to commercial break), I am unconsciously tuning in.

Living in a relatively small media market in the Midwest, I see and hear a wide range of quality in the radio and tv commercial spots. Occasionally, I say to myself (or my husband if he’s in earshot), “What were they thinking? Who approved that read?!”

Perhaps I’m overly sensitive because I grew up in the monstrous market of Southern California, where nearly every single spot (in prime time anyway) is extremely well crafted. And where radio commercials are perhaps even more important than television commercials in attracting listeners and customers, since capturing the ear of all of those drivers on the freeway is essential. I find that a good commercial voice-over track and script can make up for a lot of subpar stuff that may be happening elsewhere in the spot.

So, choosing a quality commercial voice-over talent and making sure you have a well-written script are of paramount importance when you’re trying to make that strong, positive impression on your audience. This holds true for both radio and television commercials when choosing which pro voice talent to hire.

As I’ve mentioned in other commercial voice-over business articles, there are a whole lot of voice talent newbies out there who have jumped into this business thinking they’ve got what it takes to do this for a living. What they usually fail to realize is the subtlety and nuance involved in reads, and how one little change in inflection can completely change the meaning that is conveyed to the audience.

I find that without some solid acting training and script interpretation skills, it’s very difficult to have the foundation to be able to provide the array of vocal options that clients often want to hear, so they can choose the best take. Most of the time, that foundation comes only after years of experience.

If you’re going to the cost and effort of producing a tv or radio commercial, I strongly suggest you don’t cut corners in the voice talent selection part of the process. The voice talent can make or break the success of your advertising spot.

I know not everyone realizes this. Some people are very visual, others are kinesthetic and still others are auditory. It’s essential to cover all three bases (and look/listen) to your spot from all combined perspectives, to make sure you are sending the desired message on all channels

Debbie Grattan is a professional commercial voice-over artist who has been in the voiceover business for more than 20 years. She’s been the “go to” artist for many production companies and recording studios across the US. Check out her commercial voice-over demos, and request a commercial voice-over audition to hear what kind of quality Debbie can deliver.

Why Hire a Female Voice Actor Over a Male Voice Actor

Female Voice Actor Debbie Grattan covers some of the pros and cons to consider when hiring a male and female voice actor for a voiceover project..

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I read recently that there are over 3.3 million commercials playing each day just on the radio alone! That number is staggering, but it’s good news for me, because every one of those spots needs a voice talent.

I find most people don’t pay all that much conscious attention to commercials. We’ve gotten very good at tuning them out (I bet the advertisers really hate hearing me say that). That’s why we are being bombarded with more and more advertising messages each day. The average person sees and hears anywhere from 300 to 3000 individual ads per day in a variety of media formats. It’s a numbers game. The advertisers know only a few messages will get through so they have to throw more and more messages at us in hopes the right ones will stick. Talk about a competitive environment!

It’s very interesting to take a look at the factors that most influence the effectiveness of a radio or television commercial actually registering with its intended audience. One component which sometimes gets overlooked by the average consumer is the voice talent doing the speaking.

Celebrity Voice Overs On the Rise

These days, you can hear a wide variety of celebrity voiceovers on commercials selling everything from milk (Holly Hunter), orange juice (Donald Sutherland & Tom Selleck), credit cards (Morgan Freeman), cars (Jeff Bridges, Tim Allen, Peter Coyote), and the list goes on for quite awhile.

Why choose these voices? In the case of many of them, they actually have very distinctive ways of speaking that would probably not translate into big bucks if the average voice talent had the same way of speaking. Their voices are recognizable to the average person, but I don’t think most people realize who the voice is when they hear it. There is a comfort and familiarity that is largely unconscious. And, advertisers LOVE to do things in the unconscious part of our brains. That’s how they get us to take action, by pushing buttons that we don’t even know we have.

So the famous voice actor can have some effect on the average listener, but what about the basic difference between an unknown female voice actor versus an unknown male voice actor? Does it matter which sex you hear on the spot? Sex sells, but which sex sells better? Of course, that depends on who you’re talking to.

Do Women Prefer Hearing a Female Voice Actor?

Here’s one theory, which is based solely on my real life experience living with my husband. Women are much more “shopping” oriented than men. Duh, right? But, let me elaborate a bit.

My husband doesn’t shop. He goes to the store when he actually NEEDS something. I rarely see him come how with something he didn’t intend to get when he left the house. I’ve seen other men do this too and I find it mildly intriguing.

I, on the other hand, have a hard time NOT getting things I don’t actually need. Especially if they are marked down 50% or more. My husband and I have had some interesting discussions around this, and I’ve learned to control some of my urges in this area, most of the time.

I think that women are much more “suggestible” when it comes to getting them to buy stuff they don’t actually need. And, that’s often what the advertisers want all of us to do. Heck, if everyone only bought stuff they actually needed, this country would be in a world of hurt. Just look at what happens when people stop consuming so much… Our economy takes a dive pretty quick.

I firmly believe that for most products and services, your odds of selling are better if you target female buyers. Simply because female buyers are, on average, more prone to want to shop. And, more shopping automatically leads to more buying.

One really great way to get a woman to listen is to have your commercial sales pitch delivered by a female voice actor. We women tend to trust each other. We have a special bond that men just don’t get. I notice I am much more tuned into ads that have a pleasant sounding female voice actor, than ads with a man’s voice. I may still listen either way, but I feel more comfortable and at ease with a woman’s voice in general.

Reasons Why a Female Voice Actor Can Be a Better Choice:

1. Women pay more attention to radio and TV commercials. Because of that, advertisers often target the female audience. Just watch an hour of prime time television (other than sports) and ask yourself for each ad, “Was that ad aimed at a man or a woman?” You’ll find most ads are aimed at women.

2. Women can be more believable in a voice over, because in general, they are perceived as less aggressive, softer and more easygoing than a male.

3. Women can speak to other women (trust factor, friend to friend, confidant) AND also to men, with the sexy, sultry style that is attention grabbing for the male.

4. Women can be perceived as intelligent, without being oppressive, or dominating, in a way that works well for corporate video, training industrials, e-learning, etc.

It’s interesting to note that many times, men are portrayed as dopey and unintelligent in commercials. Do you think the advertisers would be doing that if men were the target audience? Advertisers know that women enjoy commercials that make women look superior to men.

So, here’s the thing. If an advertising firm is making this decision, then they’ll be factoring in this type of analysis and research to determine which voice will work best. But, I sometimes find that the person making this decision is not an ad agency but the end client. And, in this case, it can sometimes be nothing more than the client’s own comfort level with their own gender or the opposite gender. Clients may ignore the advice of the person to whom they’re paying a large sum of money to manage their advertising, simply to follow what “feels” best to them. While I believe in following your feelings and intuition, sometimes you have to follow the advice of the expert.

For your next commercial spot, really give this some thought and put yourself in the mind/ear of your target market to hire which type of voice is a better fit and will yield the best results.

Before You Hire Voiceover Talent, Ask These 5 Questions

Female Voice Actor Debbie Grattan offers 5 Key Questions that anyone who needs to hire voiceover talent should ask themselves before moving forward with a project.

In this age of technology, it is all too easy to achieve the appearance of being a quality voiceover talent even though you’re not quite up to snuff. Seemingly, all that is needed is a good microphone, a decently sound-proofed room in which to record, some editing software, a slick website, and presto… you’re in the voiceover business!

Living now in a relatively small media market in the Midwest, I see and hear a wide range of quality in the radio and tv commercial spots. Occasionally, I say to myself (or my husband if he’s in earshot), “What were they thinking? Who approved that read?!”

But, like most things in life, just because something looks (or sounds) easy, doesn’t mean that it actually IS easy. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone called me during the past 20 years and said, “My (pick one… friend, spouse, neighbor, dog) thinks I have a really great voice and that I should get into the voiceover business as my new profession. Can you tell me how to go about doing that?”

I’m all for helping people get started on their path of living their dreams and discovering their purpose in life. Everybody has to start somewhere.

But, when I explain to the prospective newbie voice over actor just what is involved in terms of training and experience, I can almost feel them starting to squirm as they try to find a way to politely end our conversation just as soon as humanly possible.

People don’t like to hear the truth when the truth feels uncomfortable: What looks so easy, is in reality, a whole lot of hard work, persistence, luck, and years of experience required in order really make being a paid voiceover talent into a full time career.

And I realize these folks are out there in cyberland competing for the same jobs I’m trying to win. The slew of voiceover websites now offering voiceovers for “as low as (pick a ridiculous, rock-bottom amount)” bring in even more batches of folks, working at deeply discounted rates, to compete for a single gig.

I can imagine what happens to producers who suddenly discover (a few minutes into the recording session, with the client sitting in the control room or on listening in on a phone patch somewhere) that this voiceover actor who had such great demos and the appearance of real talent just does not have the “chops” to deliver what is needed.

So, here’s my short list of how to separate the legit voiceover actors from the “not ready for prime time players.”

1. Does this voice-over actor have the vocal range that is needed? Can they deliver the nuance?

Do they have any specific training as an actor in how to deliver a professional read? Do they have some awesome God-given ability that supersedes actual voiceover acting training? Maybe they’ve just got an ear for it, or a combination of all three. Whatever the source or their voice talent, make sure you can hear a wide range of vocal ability in their voiceover demos. Or, before you hire voiceover talent, take your prospective actor through some paces on the phone, just to see what they can really do — Kind of like a test drive.

Ask for a custom voice over audition for a few differing styles, if possible. Beware if they are unable to answer your calls or emails until after normal business hours as this could suggest they have a full time job other than being a voice over actor, and may not be the perfect choice for your project. Especially if availability is an important factor.

2. Does this voice-over actor have a high quality recording studio?

A low quality studio can really detract from the end product. This seems fairly obvious, but still is something to look into. Key elements include, a high quality microphone, sound-proofed recording environment, professional grade studio monitors, and a good computer setup (software, quality soundcard or firewire connection, ISDN, SourceConnect, etc). I think that every voiceover actor should post their home recording studio equipment and specs on their website for all to see. Look for it. And don’t just assume their voice over demos were recorded with that same studio setup. There’s a good chance they were recorded somewhere else.

To be safe or if there is any doubt, you can ask for a sample recording done in their home studio so you can get an accurate idea of just what kind of recording studio quality you are dealing with.

3. Does this voice-over actor have real experience as a working voice talent?

Nothing takes the place of experience. The more experienced the voiceover talent is, the better job they will probably do for you. Depending on the job, I highly recommend working with voice-over actors who have solid acting experience, or at least some extensive voiceover acting training from a reputable teacher.

There are many fine workshops in the voiceover services industry, and if you don’t see any credits listed on a bio or voice over resume of where or with whom they studied, ask them. If they don’t have a good answer, then it might be a good time to move on.

Hiring an inexperienced novice to handle your job can only lead to disappointment, frustration and potentially loss of revenue for you and your client. And of course, since you are trying to please your own client, you don’t want to be the one who gets the blame when the voice over actor is less than satisfactory for the job.

4. Has this voiceover actor worked with many quality clients?

If they’ve been in the voiceover business for years, then they should have worked with many clients. I recently tallied up all of the clients I’ve worked with in just the past 5 years, and it totaled over 400 unique clients. Most of those clients used me for multiple jobs. That kind of volume speaks volumes!

Ask them who their current clients are, where you could hear them on TV or radio, or if they have some links to websites where their voiceover work is featured in conjunction with a corporate client. See if the names they provide are nationally recognized names, or local businesses.

Most pro voice-over actors do a combination of all of the above, but if their biggest jobs include Sam the Barber, and Papa’s Hardware store, that might be a clue that they have pretty minimal experience as a working professional voiceover actor.

5. Is this voiceover actor going to deliver what you need in a timely and professional manner?

When you have a hard deadline, or a finicky client, the last thing you need is a voiceover actor that isn’t up to the challenge. Today, there are many different formats used for audio broadcasting. Does your VO talent know what a CCITT u-Law, 8.000 kHz, 8 Bit Mono format is? This is often needed for IVR and telephony voice jobs. Do they have the knowledge, equipment and software to make this conversion for you?

Do they have a phone patch, to allow you and/or your client to listen in on the session with you in real time, to direct and offer assistance with pronunciation, etc? Is your voiceover actor really a pro?

Do they respond to your inquiries quickly and professionally? Do they offer a custom voice audition of your script to present to your client for approval beforehand? Do they sound knowledgeable when quoting rates, and are they in line with other professional voiceover talent rates for the same job? Are they available to speak to you during your regular business hours?

These are just a few of the probing questions you can ask before you hire voiceover talent. Do your homework and you’ll be very glad that you did.

And, the best way to avoid having to constantly go through this process (if you frequently need to hire voiceover talent) is to build your own group of “go to” voiceover talents. Get a few male and a few female voice over actors who are versatile, professional and meet all the suggested requirements mentioned above.

Then, whichever voice over talent you need for a particular job, you can relax knowing that you’ve got a top notch talent who can always deliver a high quality service.

Debbie Grattan is a professional female voice over actor who has been doing voiceover work for 20+ years. She’s been a “go to” voice talent for many production companies and recording studios across the US. Check out her voice demos, voice actress bio and studio specs for more information.

VERSATILE

EXPERIENCED

PROFESSIONAL