Audio Marketing: When Your Voice is Best

I’m probably going to be banished from the voiceover community for saying this, but there are times when your voice is better for your audio marketing than a professional’s (of course, there are many instances when it’s best to get a professional but that’s another post).

If you are the figure-head of your company and people relate your product and service to you as an individual, then there are times when your voice will be more effective than a faceless voice artist. For example, when a customer visits your website and they are looking for information they relate directly to you, what is going to be the most effective way to keep them on the site and encourage them to buy your product or service – a professional voiceover, or a photo of you with your voice saying “Hi, this is Joe Bloggs, welcome to my website…”?

It certainly worked well for the likes of Victor Kiam - ”I liked it so much, I bought the company!” (Remington) – and it is a common tactic for the majority of Internet marketers.You may hate your own voice. You probably cringe every time you hear a recording of your voice. Well, guess what? You’re not alone. Even professionals feel uncomfortable about listening back to their own voices but know it is the only way to hear what does and doesn’t work and to correct any problems.

During my years in radio we would have “snoop” sessions, which involved listening back to part or all of a show and picking it to pieces, deciding what worked well and what should be avoided in the future. It was hard to get past cringing at everything I said in order to listen objectively.

Few people have voices that will turn listeners off completely. The exceptions are high-pitched squeaky voices or whiney nasal voices, and even these can be corrected with time and effort. Practice recording your voice using whatever equipment you have available, and play it back to yourself. Listen to what sounds good and what doesn’t.

The initial mistake most people make is they try to speak differently to their normal speaking voice. Suddenly, their speech is stilted and monotone. You should talk as if you were explaining your product or service to a client, face-to-face, or telling a friend a story. Be natural. Don’t be too precise with your pronunciation – you don’t need to speak the Queen’s English.

Accents are interesting and you shouldn’t try to lose yours. If your accent is strong and you are marketing to people nation or world wide, slow your speech down a little and make sure you are clear and will be understood by people who aren’t familiar with your accent. The ear quickly adapts to new accents as long as the speech is comprehensible.

Give some thought to when your customers might be more amenable to hearing your voice than that of a professional. Practice recording yourself speaking and aim to sound natural and friendly. Stop worrying about not sounding slick and polished and remember that people often respond best to “normal”.

You may not be an instant natural at this (few are) but, like most things, you will improve quickly with effort.

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