Even if you choose a professional voiceover artist to provide a voiceover for your text, then this is no guarantee of a perfect result. So, what is the secret to success? The secret is the text itself!

Professional voiceover artists read the text word for word as it is written, without making any changes. Some speakers may note that the text is ungrammatical or has been translated with errors. But this is only a courtesy on the part of the artist. It is not one of his job duties.

Would you like to learn how to prepare your text for recording so that you can both avoid future embarrassment over your video, application or voicemail message and at the same time not go broke? It's time that you read our tips!

1. Write the text yourself and then give it to an editor

If you have ever prepared the text yourself for a voiceover but were not sure whether it would sound good, then you need to order text editing services. The editor will smooth over rough edges, correct speech errors, polish the style, and generally clear the text of redundant phrases and excess baggage. Though text editing is not included in the price of a voiceover, sometimes it happens that after editing the text becomes shorter. And then the voiceover recording will cost you less. After all, the cost of the recording is calculated on the basis of the number of words.

Let's give a simple example. You wrote a text for voiceover that was 490 words long and gave it to an editor. After editing, the text became more logical and cleaner, and it was shortened to 415 words. That may seem like a small thing, but you just saved 15% off the cost of the voiceover.

Even if editing is not able to achieve such a miracle, the process can still help you be sure that your thoughts are formulated and set out clearly.

2. Write the text yourself, but do it well

Do you not like spending money on additional services like editing? We understand. If you would like to bootstrap your way to success, then accept this lifeline: recommendations for writing voiceover texts . These tips will help you write the voiceover text yourself — and, we hope, they will at least help you ensure that the text will be acceptable.

3. Translate the text yourself and give the translation to a proofreader

If you need a voiceover of a text in a foreign language that you translated yourself but you are unsure of its quality, then order translation proofreading services. The proofreading is done by professional editors who are native speakers.

Missing articles, inconsistent verb tenses, and improperly used idioms — these are some of the little things that you might miss. But your native speaker audience will inevitably notice the errors, and your image will be somewhat tarnished in their eyes. Doing the translation yourself and ordering proofreading for it is a good compromise between saving money and common sense.

4. Keep the number of voiceover artists that you hire to a minimum

If you need to voice 20 characters, you do not necessarily need 20 voiceover artists. It is likely that that just 2-3 voiceover artists can handle all of the roles.

What is the advantage of this approach? The fact of the matter is that every voiceover artist has a minimum order amount. For example, to record 4-5 words you'll likely have to pay the same amount as it would cost to record 50-100 words. And if one voiceover artist is able to record a larger amount of text (for example, 4,000 words), you can expect a discount. The fewer voiceover artists you use, the more sections of the text that each artist will be able to record and the more money you will be able to save on recording the text.

Professional actors who specialize in recording character voices know how to switch between different characters. An orc and a goblin, the winner and the loser, the prince and the pauper – all of these roles can be played by one actor. If necessary, certain parts of the recording can be processed after the initial recording: for example, "metallic" noises can be added or an effect can be created where it sounds like the hero is speaking from within a dungeon. It is important for you to describe each character and game situation in detail where this has bearing on a particular phrase from the voiceover text. At the same time you can provide photos of heroes or screenshots of the characters — this will help the voiceover artist get a better feel of the character. And if you order an additional voiceover for your application in a new language, then the recordings in the existing language versions can provide excellent models for the new voiceover artists to follow.

For example, if you have a voiceover of the text in Russian (and you are satisfied with this recording), then you can provide it to the German voiceover artist as a model. It is not a problem in this case if the voiceover artists do not know the Russian language. In this case it is not as important that the voiceover artist understand the meaning of the sample text. Rather, it allows them to understand the desired tone, manner of speech, and tempo.

If your game or audiobook has several main characters, then it is still a best practice to have different actors play these roles. And the voiceover of the secondary characters can be divided between them.

4 reasons to order voiceover services from Alconost

1. Professional voiceover artists

Each of our voiceover artists are native speakers who speak with proper diction and have the necessary equipment and conditions to produce quality sound recording. Our readers speak without an accent, do not lisp, and provide professional results.

2. Professional project managers

Even if you order voiceovers by 10 voiceover artists or in 10 languages, you will not have to communicate with each artist individually. Your contact person for all questions about the text's voiceover is one person who knows how to properly formulate the task, control the quality of the performance, and has done this more than once before.

3. Transparent pricing

We offer per word pricing, a fixed rate for a minimum order, and discounts for large orders.

Yes, you can take the approach of finding a voiceover artist on the Internet and try to work with them directly. It may prove to be cheaper. However, you could save time and maintain your sanity by ordering voiceover services from Alconost. Don't take our word for it. Our customers have said it is worth it.

4. Additional services to ensure a flawless result

Translating a text from scratch, proofreading and editing your text or translation, processing recordings, and adding sound effects: we are ready to do everything to ensure that your voiceover makes the right impression on the audience. You don't have to search for translators, editors or sound engineers: we've already found them all and made sure that they produce excellent results. We would be happy if you would allow them to ensure that the voiceover for your text is perfect.