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Voice overs are quickly becoming one of the most important elements of any marketing strategy and advertising campaign, and are a valuable way to persuade your target market consistently, and effectively. By adding a human element to your marketing messages, you can encourage people to pay attention, boost sales, and most importantly, create a positive brand connection with all customers.

Those who are considering using voice actors in their marketing projects would do well to learn a few key terms and definitions  that are commonly used to talk about the voice over field.  

Audition Tapes:  Prospective voice actors and actresses will submit their audition tapes as they apply for the job.  In addition to allowing you to judge the abilities of each actor, these tapes also can be kept on hand to help you keep track of the numerous applicants you will be interviewing.

Demo Tapes:  Demo tapes are also part of the interview and audition process, and can be recorded in your own studio, or completed by the voice over talent. These tapes will be a recording of the sample scripts you provide as part of the interview.  

Recording Studio:  This is where all recording of audition tapes, demo tapes, and other related material takes place. You can rent a recording studio for your project, or request your voice over talent to make their own tapes at their recording studio and submit them accordingly.

ISDN Voiceover:  Professional voice over talent will record most of their work in a home studio that makes use of ISDN technology. These recordings are sharper and more fine-tuned than the average recording studio.

Commercial Voice Overs:  With an emphasis on direct selling, commercial voice overs are a powerful way for marketers to communicate with potential customers.  Commercial voice over scripts mention the product or service by name and promote it in a variety of ways.

Narrative Voice Overs:  These voice overs are intended to entertain the audience by helping to tell a story, and are often included in media such as television and film. You still  may require a narrative voice over, however, for your ad campaign, if it tells some type of story.

Impressions:  These are the types of voice overs that impersonate a famous person, celebrity, or imitate an historically famous personality.  Impressions are a great way to make your message stand apart from the competition, and you can find many royalty-free scripts with this distinguishing feature in mind.

Performers' Unions:  These are unions for voice over professionals that set market rates and help talent develop their skills.  There are currently two unions that most professionals join; the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and the Screen Artists Guild (SAG).

Actors:  The voice industry is full of actors and actresses with a knack for drama, who entered the field because of its unique nature and potential profitability.  The voices provided by professional talent can help give your marketing a human flavor.

Familiarity with these key concepts and the associated terminology will help you immensely in your dealing with professionals in the voice over business.  If you approach interviewing talent from an organized, educated perspective, you are sure to find a voice over professional who will boost the appeal of your advertising campaign.

About the Author: Terry Daniel is a Professional Voice Over Actor from Minneapolis, Minnesota and Has Provided the Voice Talent for Hundreds of Projects and Advertisements Since 1991.