I hope that this article will be useful not only to voiceover artists but also to people looking for voices. It is hoped that the data will also be useful to them. This article is about voiceover pricing, which, as we all know, is a very important part of the marketing mix but is often overlooked. If you look at any of the voiceover forums, you'll see that there are a lot of problems, and I think they're on both sides: voiceover seekers don't know how much to charge for a project or what budget they should set. At the same time, voiceover artists struggle to establish a project-specific rate. They don't want to charge too much, but they also don't want to undercut themselves. Finding a happy medium where both parties feel comfortable and that the price is fair for the value they're getting and adding is difficult. ingridvoiceover.com
Even though they are seeking the services of a professional voiceover, some voiceover seekers are unwilling to pay a fair price. This always astonishes me. They must be aware of the potential advantages of employing a professional voiceover for their brand, business, or service, but they are unwilling to pay for it or pay a fair price. Hence, why is that? And what is a reasonable cost?
The perception that voice over is a simple job that can be done by anyone may be part of the issue, in my opinion. In addition, anyone can easily establish themselves as a voiceover talent thanks to the Internet and more readily available technology. Additionally, it appears that some voice-over clients have adopted this mindset and are unaware of the true costs and investments involved in providing you with a professional radio commercial voiceover, e-learning narration, or corporate video read. In addition, it is essential for you, the voiceover artist, to keep in mind how you got to where you are now and how each factor must be taken into account when devising a pricing strategy that values your work. So, if you or a customer starts to question your prices, here are some things to think about when and why they are the way they are.
To begin, TIME. A significant factor is this. Postings for jobs that begin with “this is a quick easy job, will only take you 5 minutes if you know what you're doing” and include a budget of £10 or $20 are extremely problematic for me. I don't know if I'm the only person who finds postings of this nature to be extremely impolite and naive. Yes, no, no! I just spent those five minutes opening my email client and reading your job posting; I'll need another five minutes to respond, making it ten minutes. Additionally, those minutes can be billed. The time it takes to record the voiceover isn't the only factor. What about the time it takes to talk to the client about the script, the style or delivery, the price, the turnaround time, how to use the license, and other things like that? After that, you record, edit, and convert the audio to their preferred format, upload it to their server, wait for feedback, and then edit, convert, and upload it again. Therefore, no, a voiceover of five minutes does not take five minutes.
What about your home studio and the other expenses you've incurred? By charging a studio fee, some voiceover artists make this cost clear in their pricing. Others would rather incorporate it into their final quote. Recordings of high quality have a price. Even though equipment is now cheaper, it will need to be updated or replaced as your career progresses and succeeds. All of this needs to be taken into account when making investments in your voiceover career.