Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Ways to Improve Your Voiceover Copy

The success of your podcast or radio and TV commercials will largely depend on your voiceover script. Composing an effective voiceover script that gets results is unlike writing print ads for publication or online advertisements.

Peter Drew, a veteran voiceover artist who is involved in Internet and radio productions, emphasizes the idea of 'writing for the ear, not the eye.' This idea requires one to write brief and straight to the point messages, the kind that we use in conversations. This style may seem very strange for anyone who has written ad copies but developing this style will allow one to create effective and convincing voiceovers.

Here are some simple ways to modify your marketing copy and recording strategies that will ensure the voiceover is narrated as smoothly as possible, and that it really does deliver a high-impact message to your target audience:

1. Make sure everything is in the active voice. Voiceovers need to take place in the present time, as if they were a real conversation. Make sure the whole script is written in the active voice so that the audience can identify with the messages easily.

2. Make use of windscreens. Words beginning in 'B', 'P' and 'T' produce a lot of wind or hissing sounds that affect sound quality. A talent may somehow compensate for this but this can lead to distortions in the pronunciation or meaning of sentences. A windscreen eliminates this problem and more by absorbing these unwanted noises. Your talent can focus on delivering a line properly without worrying about distortions.

3. Mark up the copy for inflection. Bolding certain words, highlighting parts of the copy or using something simple as underlines can really help your voiceover artist understand the gist of the message and deliver a quality piece. Read the copy out loud yourself to identify what parts of the sentence you want to emphasize, then mark up the copy so that the artist understands exactly what you need.

4. Write (or type) out any phone numbers. Remember that digits on paper are actually words when they are read out loud, so this may cause an imbalance in your copy. Read the entire piece with the numbers in full form so that you can adjust other parts for better flow if necessary.

5. Use your headline effectively. Listeners will hear your headline first so make sure this is interesting. A headline should be no more than ten words and declares a minimum of one significant point.

A script should always be compatible with the voiceover talent. A script writer should therefore always bear in mind the personality of the talent when composing the script. You can also adjust the script once you have chosen a voiceover talent. Fine-tune the script so that it matches the talent's positive and even negative features. In addition, provide ample time for your talent to practice. Follow all of these tips and you'll be producing effective scripts in no time.