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Commercials, trailers, audiobooks, and eLearning are just the tip of the iceberg of things that need a voice. And the list just keeps growing. Never before has there been such a pent-up demand for voice over actors. The good news is that demand is being met with a supply of professionals with voice over experience, male and female, Millennials and Boomers. They are waiting in the wings to help creative directors and business owners like you reach your audiences.

When tasked with hiring a voice over professional, you ideally crave that perfect voice to sell your product, teach your staff, or build awareness. Your decision on who to hire a voice over artist can make all the difference. The right voice over artist will grab a listener’s attention, leading to a successful project. The wrong voice will have the opposite effect. That’s why you should voice over experience matters when choosing an actor for your next assignment. 

Skills Come with Experience

While distinctive vocals are a vital characteristic in voice over actors, look further. The candidate needs to be able to use that voice to convey a message. Inflections must be practiced, deliveries honed, and these skills come with experience. Voice coaches are an integral part of the voice over industry, and they help dedicated professionals target and avoid regionalization and teach the various degrees of dictation and speech. Producers and directors seek a natural delivery with a familiar tone, and they are the cream of the crop.

Some of a voice actor’s experience comes from skills gained outside the voice over industry. Talented on-screen and off-screen actors can usually deliver dialogue with little effort. Those who have that kind of talent in their past are sought after by corporations and businesses worldwide. 

Building Relationships

If you are a broker or work for a multi-faceted organization, it’s even more important to seek a voice professional with experience. By building relationships with experienced voice over professionals with an array of genres under their belt, you will always have an answer for that next project request, whether it’s for a video game or television promo. Established relationships are in everyone’s best interest, and the stronger the relationship, the higher the success rate. 

A Career, Not a Hobby

Voice over professionals who dedicate their working lives to their craft fast-track experience. You will find those who work full time exuding a high level of dependability, which is how they put bread on the table. To them, voice over acting is a career, not a hobby.

Indeed, voice over experience matters when it comes to some of the building blocks of making a career for themselves, including:

• Building Trust
• Perseverance
• Niche Marketing 
• Networking
• A Professional Studio 

Being thick-skinned is a virtue as well. Many beginners face hundreds of audition rejections before landing that first gig, and rejections build fortitude, something to look for when hiring your next voice over actor.

 Voice Over Experience Counts

An estimated five to ten years can elapse before a voice over career hits its stride. Over time, those dedicated to the craft will rise to the top. Those pros understand how to reach a listener depending on the project, and that’s why voice over experience matters.

An agent or business owner may discover a new voice now and then who knocks it out of the park on day one. But for the most part, those who put in the necessary time and effort will bring home the golden goose. 

Remember when the late Helen Reddy did her part to boost gender equality through music back in the 1970s? You know the song: “I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore…” Now that the earworm is in place, let’s explore how female voiceover is used today.

A Woman’s Touch is in Vogue

Listen closely to a radio or a television commercial. Is the voice you hear a male or a female? Ten years ago, the answer may lean toward men but now female voiceovers are more common. That trend is evident in the membership numbers posted by the organization Voices, showing female membership rose 60 percent since 2015. Job openings climbed 24 percent. Voices also surmise that the demand for female voiceovers will surpass that of men within four years. 

What creative folks and top brass are recognizing is the response that audiences have to a female voice. Maybe it’s because that could be your mom giving you advice, or perhaps it’s the soothing manner in which a woman can deliver a message. Whatever the reason, the voiceover industry is hungry for female talent.

Putting Female Talent to Work

Women make many of the buying decisions in most households so it makes sense to have them relay your message. As powerful as a women’s pull is on a consumer, we also live in an age of diversity. The listening public no longer believes that only male voices can help them decide to buy a video game, join an organization or purchase a new appliance. 

Advertisers have found that women possess a knack for in-show narration skills to reach those who watch animal shows or mysteries. On the radio, the healthcare and travel industries love to work with female voiceover professionals. 

Seniors can touch an entirely different audience and reach retirees with comforting tones in messages about Medicare and wellness. Dating sites will hire a mature female voiceover actor with a flirty tone, as well as a younger playful voice to entice single moms to log on. 

The internet has become a popular option for female voiceover work. The Voice Realm, an online voice casting portal, found that 66 percent of those polled prefer a woman’s voice when watching videos online. On-hold messaging is another area where women appear to outshine men. A calming, friendly tone works so well for Apple, that Siri was once only a women’s voice.

Opportunity Knocks for Female Voiceover

By grabbing the attention of a consumer, the female voice is the answer for many companies selling goods and services. The gap between gender equality continues to shrink. The idea that only men could sell beer and trucks, while women marketed cleaning products and diapers is eroding. Call today for an audition with Iris Fields and see how her sophisticated and distinct voice can boost your products and services.