Im hoping that this write-up will appeal not merely to the voiceover artists by themselves but in addition the voiceover seekers also. Hopefully the knowledge will probably be as pertinent to them. The topic for this informative article is voiceover Pricing, and that is frequently a neglected portion of the advertising blend but as most of us know pretty a very important facet. If you search at any of the voiceover forums, it does bring about immense issues & I think it causes difficulties on each side - voiceover seekers dont know how to price a project -what budget to set. At the same time voiceover artists struggle to set a rate for a particular project. They dont want to price themselves too high and obviously they dont want to undercut on their own so its a tricky balance of finding a happy medium where both parties feel comfortable and they both feel that it is a good price for the VALUE they are adding and receiving.
It always surprises me that some voiceover seekers, even though they are searching out the services of a professional voiceover are not willing to pay a fair price for the services offered. They must have some awareness, a notional idea with the benefits that using a pro voiceover will bring to their brand, their company, their product/service yet theyre not willing to pay for it or willing to pay a fair price. So why is that? And what is a fair price?
I think some of the problem may stem from the impression that voice over is an easy job - anyone can do it. And with the Internet and more accessible technology its easy for anyone to set on their own up as a voiceover talent. And this mentality seems to have reached some voice seekers who are unaware on the true costs and investment that is necessary to provide you with your professional radio commercial voiceover, your e-learning narration, your corporate video read. And its also important for you, the voiceover artist, to remember how you have got to where you are now and how each element needs to be thrown into the blend to arrive at a pricing strategy that gives you and your work value. So when you or a client starts to question your rates heres some things to take into consideration when and why the price is what it is.
1. Firstly, TIME. This is a significant factor. I have a huge problem with job postings that start - "this is a quick easy job, will only take you 5 minutes for those who know what youre doing" followed by a budget of £10/ $20. I dont know if Im the only one who finds this sort of posting extremely rude and just plain naive. No, No No !! Ive just spent those 5 minutes opening my email client and reading your job posting - it will take me another 5 minutes to reply to it, so theres 10 minutes already. And all those minutes are billable. It isnt just the time it takes to record the voiceover. What about the time it takes to communicate with the client, to discuss the script, the style or delivery, the quote, the turnaround time, the licence usage etc. Then you record, edit, convert the audio on the format of their choice, upload it to their server, wait for feedback, do any re-records if necessary, edit, convert, upload again. So no, a 5 minute voiceover does not take 5 minutes.