Our customer success team at Voice123 hears this a lot – especially from our new clients: “I’d like to book a freelance voice actor, but I want the best one available for my project. How will I know I’m hiring the best voice actor for my needs? Let’s be honest, just about every other person is freelancing now. Ok, maybe not every other person, but the pandemic has significantly increased the amount of freelancers that are out there.
If you’re unlucky, it’s your neighbor who’s quit their full-time job to pursue their dreams of being the lead vocalist in a heavy metal band. Jokes aside, you’d be surprised how many people became freelancers during the pandemic – and how many new voice actors there are.
The power of the pandemic
In 2019, 28% of the U.S. workforce performed freelance work. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, that number jumped up to 36% of the workforce. And in the few months that these new freelancers have been working, they’ve reported positive financial results, and 96% of them are likely to freelance in the future.
Now when it comes to voice acting, it’s brought a lot of fresh, new talent to the industry. Which is great — it’s good to have more talent and voices to choose from. But then when it comes to recording your project, you may find yourself in an unfortunate situation — your voice actor lacks the professional edge.
In terms of finding voice actors, it can be hard to tell who’s right for the job and who isn’t. When resumes and portfolios are lined with projects you’ve never heard about, it’s easy to assume they’re good enough for your project too. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Instead of going by trial and error, here’s how to ensure you’re hiring the best voice actor for your project.
Professionalism
These qualities aren’t ranked in any order, but we’d say professionalism weighs in with a heavy factor. By professionalism, we mean the ability to work in a timely, acute and productive manner. The last thing you want to do is chase a voice actor down for a recording that’s due the next day.
Delays in production schedules and setbacks can be expensive. Luckily, professionalism isn’t too hard to spot once you get communications going. Are they quick to respond? Do they take feedback well? Can they adjust and serve your needs? Do they have your interests at the top of their mind? They should be clear and concise with their communication.
Hiring great talent with no professionalism can be a drag, and often ends without prospects of rehiring. But with top-notch professionalism, you can be sure the voice talent stays fresh in your mind the next time you need a voice like theirs.
Great professionalism is a win-win for both clients and voice actors — it is after all, a voice actor’s business working with a client’s business. It’s best to make sure your voice actor is on the same page throughout the production process.
Skill and talent
Maybe your voice actor’s samples and demos sounded great, but when it’s time to record, you just can’t get the same level of performance from them. That might be because they spent all the time they needed to perfect their demo, but might not necessarily have the skill to perform and adapt well in the booth.
Needless to say, it’s important to find a voice actor that has skill and talent. They should be able to adapt to the project’s needs, work with direction, and provide their artistic interpretation when appropriate.
An understanding of others’ needs
A great voice actor is someone who knows how to run a good business. That requires understanding a client’s needs, knowing who their target audience is, and what the message is.
A great voice actor knows these things thoroughly, and is only able to give their best performance when they truly understand what they’re saying — and who they’re saying it for. Without that knowledge, voice acting is no more than reading lines on a script.
You’ll want a voice actor who goes beyond the script. They should be able to deliver your message with the intended emotion, to a target audience they seem to really connect with.
Also, it’s important that the voice actor can understand your needs too.
High-quality voice over
Image: Envato
Last but not least, a voice actor must-must-must be able to record and deliver a pro-quality voice over. Nothing ruins a multimedia project more than poor audio. And while it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what makes a voice over high-quality, it’s very easy to tell what makes a voice over bad.
Avoid hissing, buzzing, background noise and distortion. Ask a voice actor for their recording and studio specs, and learn about how they’re recording.
Good reviews
Looking for reviews of a service before buying it is basically standard practice these days. Look for reviews that highlight how easy it was to work with the voice actor, how responsive and attentive to detail they were.
If they don’t have any reviews, err on the side of caution and keep your ear sharp. It may just be that they’re an undiscovered needle in the haystack.
Final thoughts
Luckily, any professional voice actor who’s worth their salt will have a website or profile that’s oozing how good they are at the job.
Samples and demos can give you a good idea of how they sound, reviews will show you their reputation and what to expect, and a bit of communication will tell you how eager they are to create a great voice over project.
Now that you know how to ensure you’re hiring the best voice actor for your needs, be sure to visit Voice123! You’ll find tons and tons of professional voice actors who present outstanding services, and a voice over that’ll seal the deal.
