The post How to localise voice-overs for different markets appeared first on Voicebooking.

This post will take you through the importance of tone of voice for voice artists, and the key things to look out for when starting your career as a voice over. 

Why is tone of voice important?

Tone of voice will either make or break your voice over recording. 

Otherwise referred to as the way a voice actor speaks, tone of voice is everything from the literal pitch of the voice, to the emotion conveyed by the voice over. 

These elements, though it may seem obvious, are so important for people to pick up, especially when you literally can’t see the speaker. 

Tone of voice is essentially the “filter” your voice goes through, and is incredibly important for determining how your words are interpreted by the audience. And whether your campaign will be effective or not. 

The key thing to remember with tone of voice is that it represents the emotion put forward by the speaker, so it’s essential that tone of voice matches the intention of the given script. 

Know your archetypes

Before diving into the elements of what makes up voice over tone, it’s important to first establish your voice archetype. 

Also for clients, understanding voice archetypes helps make life easier for your chosen voice overs, and can keep you ahead as opposed to minimising productivity. 

Here are some examples of voice over archetypes:

• Announcer (Energetic, storytelling, and the right amount of salesy – Commonly used in consumer ads, movie and game trailers)
• Authority figure (No nonsense, confident voice – Commonly used in legal disclaimers, government announcements and corporate videos or presentations)
• Character voice (Typically exaggerated, energetic and animated – Commonly used in adverts, animated productions such as cartoons)
• Conversational (Friendly, warm and relatable – Common for ads, voicemail messages and explainer videos)
• Dramatic (Expressive and emotional – Perfect for dramatic readings and audiobooks)
• Impersonator (Energetic and exaggerated, sounds like a celebrity or public figure – Great for impressions overall, for parodies, comedy skits, etc)
• Mature & wise (Think: Morgan Freeman or David Attenborough – Perfect for documentary narration)
• Narrator (Clear, concise and authoritative – Great for non fiction audiobooks, e-learnings and online videos)
• Soothing or calming (Calming, gentle and soft – Perfect for meditation and relaxation recordings)

Now that you have a rough idea of what voice archetypes there are out there, let’s go through some of the key things to take into consideration when it comes to tone of voice.

Embody your personality

The sooner we realise a voice isn’t just a projected vibration of air, the better. 

The tone of voice you wish to portray can say a lot about the meaning of what you’re saying. Say you’re congratulating someone on their pregnancy, but you’re speaking in a blunt, unenthusiastic tone, it’s not going to seem very convincing.

The same can be said for someone whose parents just passed away, you won’t be making jokes, or be overly energetic with them, you will likely comfort them in a calming, understanding tone. 

Tone of voice can go a long way in general communication, the same can be said for tone of voice for voice over professionals. Embodying your personality in your voice is incredibly important, especially if you’re trying to convince people to take an action, like you would in a corporate radio ad. 

Even if you’re not selling something to people, say, you’re narrating an elearning course. You won’t want to be monotonal as this could cause users to tune out, so you’d add a bit more personality into what is typically a boring script. 

Take this iams cat advert as a purrfect example of personality (yes we know it’s corny). 

The voice over chosen for this created a “cat voice” and ran with it, and this ad was very memorable for the British audience, for which only Felix and Whiskers were the two main cat food competitors at the time. Likely based on the Looney Tunes classic Sylvester voice created by Mel Blanc, it’s proven an effective baseline. 

Tip: Much like you add your own flair to everyday communication, tone of voice is equally, if not more important for recording a voice over. 

Storytelling from the heart

Tone of voice is not only important for expressing personality, but also storytelling. Though decades have passed, the way we communicate may have changed, but ads? Not so much.

As audiobooks become more popular, the demand for creative voices also does. Though audiobooks are the projects that most commonly involve storytelling, it’s not the only project type that benefits from a good anecdote. 

In commercials you’d find that there are a great many ads that use storytelling as a tool to convince an audience to buy a product. After all, you must first gain trust before you can convince your audience to do anything. 

Check out how this Lurpak advert from 2014 does it!

This advert was aired in 2014, and takes the user through a sensory rollercoaster. 

Not only are there beautiful sizzling sound effects, and a buttery voice (pun intended – again), but this ad also tells a story about food in general, and how it can be an “adventure”, rather than just saying: “our butter’s nice”. 

Stories are just as, if not, more important to tell in audio form, for the audience that remains on the move and tuned into the radio. 

Bear this in mind the next time you book a voice over project, is there a story you want to tell?

Rhythm and flow

One often overlooked pointer is the importance of rhythm and flow when recording an audio project. 

Whilst not directly related to tone, the two are intertwined, whether we like it or not. For instance, when you associate someone speaking quickly, typically they’ll have a higher pitched voice, and vice versa can be said for those who take their time speaking. 

The rhythm that your voiceover conveys is important for determining the impression you want to leave behind with your audience. You want a regular pattern of movement, so as to not confuse your listeners, and it needs to fit in with the message you’re putting out there. 

If you’re trying to convince your audience to replace breast milk with your baby formula, you will gently describe the benefits of it, including the key USPs. If your rhythm is too fast, it may be interpreted as rushed, which is certainly not the impression you want to leave with a concerned mother or father. 

Check out how Aptamil does it!

Aired in 2021, this ad represents the soothing archetype, yet takes the audience through the key USPs, building trust with the listener or viewer. 

Another example of how to apply different rhythms for different projects can be summarised perfectly for any video game, or toy advert targeting boys from age 7-14. For this you’d expect a faster paced, energetic announcer voice archetype that’s going to get little boys excited enough to tell their parents what they want for Christmas. 

Take this example of a Mexican hot wheels ad. 

Aired in 2000, this advert is old but gold. It encapsulates the excitement boys have towards the hotwheels franchise, speaking in a faster, trailer-like tone for the sake of provoking a child to get the news to their parents as soon as possible!

And that is why rhythm and flow is so important when it comes to tone of voice. 

Bonus tip #1: Silence is golden

Of course, we’re not talking about sending blank audio files to your clients, or (as a client), asking for silent audio. In this case we’re talking about placing pauses in the right places, and using silence to your advantage. 

Silence, in the form of pauses, in between sentences can help create suspense, but can also help create a feeling of calm and serenity. This is of course depending on the other factors in place. 

Whether there’s music in the background, whether your chosen voice over is confident or more timid-sounding, and the overall rhythm they wish to convey in their recording. 

Use silence to your advantage, it’s effective for communication, giving your audience time to soak in the message you’re sharing. 

Bonus tip #2: Speaking your target audience’s language

Speaking your audience’s language is incredibly important for the art of convincing. Are you using the words they’re looking to hear about when presenting your product?

Look at Lurpak, they used words to describe flavour of food, marketing butter, an all-round, world renowned flavour enhancer. 

How about Aptamil, who mentions breast feeding and how it’s important that your child starts out with that? 

Speaking your target audience’s language is not only important, it’s essential to delivering a convincing voice over performance. 

You could have the best voice in the world, know exactly how to use it, but still might not be tingling your audience’s eardrums the right way, simply because you aren’t saying the right things. When thinking of how best to relate to your audience, it’s key to perfect the tone you put out there, but also imperative that you use the terminology that drives conversion. 

The importance of tone of voice

Without a tone of voice the world would be a dull place. It would be nothing but monotonal voices that sound like Google translate, without an ounce of emotion, how boring. 

Imagine adverts with a man literally reading out the benefits of a product, without anecdotes, without a story, without personality behind the microphone, you don’t want that to apply to you!

Whether you’re recording an advert or an e-learning narration, audiobook or corporate video. 

Don’t neglect tone of voice for your voice over projects. It makes all the difference, it makes them, well, human. 

The post Why tone of voice is important for voice overs appeared first on Voicebooking.

Introduce yourself quickly; who are you and what do you do?

Benjamin Hagberg from Stockholm, Sweden. I now work full time as VO professional. Mostly from my home-studio booth.

How did you become a voice over actor?

From my childhood I have some really fond memories of voices and great narrators from children stories that I listened to on tape cassettes. I particularly remembered a Swedish reading of the famous ”The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. The narrator had such a charismatic voice and did the different character voices with the utmost brilliance. This fascination for what you can do with the voice has always followed me. As for my career as a voice-over, I grew into the profession over the years. 

I went to a preparatory acting school for 2 years back in 2006. There, I was introduced to the possibility of recording VO. After graduation, I freelanced for a while as an actor while continuing to develop my voice. I got help through private training with voice coaches and people studying to become Voice teachers. I loved to train my voice in my spare time, as it kept me motivated.

At the same time, I contacted as many voice agencies as possible in Stockholm. Some called me to come and record voice samples. Nothing happened for a few years. But around 2012, an agency called me. They told me that it stood between me and another voice for recording a national radio commercial for Lufthansa. Lo and behold, one week later, they told me I got the job!

Things started to progress slowly from there. Around 2013-14, I began getting more and more jobs. So I set up my own recording space at home. Years went by with me doing Voice Over work part-time. In 2018, the same year my wonderful son was born, I was flooded with more VO jobs. So I could finally make it a full-time career. And that’s where I am today. Now I also have a professional recording booth at home which is wonderful! My own ”office-space”  which also fascinates every person visiting our apartment

What do you love about your job?

I love when I get into the state of being completely absorbed” in the moment” and forgetting everything else when performing a voice over job. This is what I call “the magical state”. It doesn’t happen every day, of course. But when it happens, it’s a wonderful reminder that voice work is my true passion. I also love the everyday routine of recording and working with my voice, which is at the essence of my job as a VO.  

If you weren’t a voice actor, what would you like to do then? And why?

I think I would like to be a stage performer, maybe a singing performer. The world of theaters has always fascinated me. I have always liked singing and performing as well. 

But it could also be something completely different. I could be someone who works with ideas and production for films, particularly documentary movies for OMNIMAX-theaters. I’ve always been fascinated with these OMNIMAX-theaters and the amazing films they have. I love the feeling of being completely transported to another world, whether you’re flying around in space or exploring the deep canyons of the Grand Canyon. 

Why did you choose to be a part of Voicebooking? And what do you like about Voicebooking?

I can’t remember for sure how I heard of Voicebooking but I remember I registered to become a voice at Voicebooking back in 2014-2015. And then in 2017, they wanted me to be a Swedish voice in their archive. 

Since then I have had the fortune to be a part of this agency. They have given me the opportunity to work with some really high profile clients and develop my career and my skills as a VO. I really like that Voicebooking is such an innovative and dedicated voice agency. It’s one of the best voice agencies I have worked with. 

The fact that they invite us voice-talents to an annual event in Amsterdam is something special. This is really appreciated by me as a VO-talent, since it gives me the chance to meet people who work there and get to know the business better. It also makes me as VO feel special.

What project did you like the most/are you most proud of, and why?

It’s difficult to single out just one project, but I particularly enjoy projects that allow me to showcase my vocal abilities. For instance, I’ve had the opportunity to work on some trailer projects for Nickelodeon, as well as several dubbing projects for various video games, which I found to be quite enjoyable. 

Some memorable projects involved performing as a sports commentator for a radio commercial, and I’ve also had the opportunity to be the pre-recorded announcer for live events for different companies. Generally, I enjoy projects that challenge me to step out of my comfort zone and allow me to surprise myself and the client.

What was the most crazy voice over job you have had? Which job was the most fun to do?

Craziest? One that comes to mind is a job where I recorded pre-scripted presentations for every person at a 50th birthday party. The client wanted each guest to be highlighted over loudspeakers at the party while they were seated. The script was a bit strange but hilarious, and my performance had to be over the top to match the vibe. 

The most fun job? Maybe one where I dubbed the Swedish version of a Babbel commercial. It was called” An alien abroad”. The character was an alien walking around London who couldn’t speak a human language. But with Babbel’s help, he soon spoke with a perfect Brittish accent. While doing the dubbing, I was supposed to speak as if I was behind a mask. It helped a bit that I had a cold that day, so my voice sounded naturally muffled. 

Every craftsman/woman has their own special set of talents. What makes you the voice actor that you are?

There are a few things that makes me the voice talent I am. One is my ability to understand the “business” of VO. I’m good at understanding and adjusting my voice and tone to different genres and types of the target audience. That is very important. You have to understand that reading an instruction manual for medicine differs from reading a cereal commercial. Clients are often very much aware of the style they are looking for in the delivery. They would appreciate it if you, as the VO, could deliver as they wish. 

As a Swedish VO, I often get to do VO where the original English version is available, and they want the Swedish VO in the same tone and style as the original. I can adjust the tone or style of my Swedish delivery easily. Then the interpretation and reading come naturally. Maybe that’s one of my strong sides as a voice-over, the “ear for it”.

Lastly, I noticed throughout the years that I’m able to have a lot of energy in my voice and that I’m able to sustain long voice-sessions without getting too tired in my voice. I read a lot of audiobooks which can be tiring for your voice. But voice training and techniques I’ve learned during my career have greatly improved my stamina.

What advice would you give your younger voice actor-self?

This is a tricky question. Well, one thing. Trust in yourself and your abilities. Don’t pretend to be somebody else, meaning don’t try to ”imitate” other styles of voice. Trust in the fact that it is your voice that you should portray, not how you think a voice-over ”should” sound like. This is still something I struggle with today though. I have to remind myself to trust in my own voice. 

The post The client is always right – stories from our voice over Benjamin appeared first on Voicebooking.

Making sure your content is localised to your target audience is important, but how do you actually go about doing this? Here at Voicebooking we have got loads of experience with that. In this blog we will give you a step by step walkthrough regarding all the steps necessary when it comes to localising your content.

What are we localising?

While you might want to start localising all your content right away, you first need to take a critical look at exactly what content you need to localise. Because, it is not just about translating everything you got, there are way more angles of localization you should keep in mind.

First of all, cultural differences. Something as simple as the use of certain colours, might need to completely change. If we take the colour red, for example, you might relate the colour to a feeling of excitement. However, in some cultures it can be seen as the colour of mourning instead. 

Maybe certain slang you are using could be interpreted completely differently by certain social circles. You might be surprised by how much of your content can be interpreted in a different way. 

Also, legal differences. Different countries have different laws. Things like intellectual property and data management laws might be wildly different when comparing one country to another. And while losing goodwill due to some cultural insensitivity might be bad, getting sued over things like intellectual property is a lot worse.

And don’t forget about SEO differences. Not only do different markets require a different approach in the kind of keywords you want to target, they might even use entirely different search engines. Your number search rating on Google isn’t going to bring home the bacon when expanding into the Chinese market, for example.

How do I do this?

Now that you know what content you need to localise, how do you actually go about doing so? While there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to localising your content, there are definitely some guidelines to keep in mind.

A good first step is to take a good look at what market you are exactly localising your content for. You need to be very clear about who you want to reach with your content, so that you know exactly what kind of cultural background you need to keep in mind during your localization efforts.

The next step is to learn about these people you are localising your content for. And the best way to do this is often simply just by talking to them. Find somebody who is familiar with the daily life of the people in the market you are targeting. Consult with this person about every kind of content you want to push in this region. They’ll be able to point out any potential holes in your strategy and ensure you’re not making big mistakes.

Now it’s simply time to get to work. Use the insight you got about the other culture, and start localising that content. Make sure you select the exact content you deem to be most important in your efforts towards entering your market of choice.

And while keeping in mind the lessons you learned from the cultural insider, adapt your content to this new cultural context. Most important during this process is not simply selecting your best content, the content that works best for adapting into the other market.

Finally you might even consider having a professional come in to have a final look at it all. A first impression is everything, and it’s easy to miss things. You want to make sure the first published content is top notch. Here at Voicebooking we have heaps of experience if it comes to localization and would love to help you make sure your localization efforts are the best they can be.

Easier than you think

While localisation might sound very challenging, when you approach it in the right way it is actually very manageable. You just need to make sure you have a clear image of the content you want to localise, and who you are localising it for. But don’t forget to consult an actual Sicilian person when making content for the Sicilian market, or you might find an unwelcome surprise in your bed. 😉

The post What to keep in mind when localising content appeared first on Voicebooking.

Introduce yourself quickly; who are you and what do you do?

I started 15 years ago as a VJ at TMF Belgium, which was quite a dream job! In the meantime, I have been working for more than 10 years as a DJ at radio station MNM, I host Sporza on Radio 1, I make my own podcasts (e.g. Fichebak) and I do various VO work from my home studio.

How did you become a voice over actor?

I once started as a net voice for MTV Belgium. I did that in combination with my VJ work for TMF, which were both part of the same parent company. When that disappeared, a colleague talked to me about Voicebooking. At the time, they were looking for new female, Flemish voices. Incoming Astrid the Dutch voice over! After a short introduction and installing the right setup, I was off.

What do you love about your job?

The big advantage is that I don’t have to move around. I schedule the shoot myself and don’t have to take traffic jams or other parties into account. I do it at my own pace, not dressed up and with the baby monitor next to me. The chat function on Voicebooking also allows you to engage with the client much more quickly, which only makes it easier for everyone.

If you weren’t a voice actor, what would you like to do then? And why?

Because of my love for sport (watching it and being immersed in it, not so much practising it ?), I think I might have gone looking for a job as a spokesperson or press officer for some top club.

Or my big plan B: open a pancake bar in Antwerp! Nothing better than a freshly baked pancake with sugar, and ice cream, and whipped cream, and apple, and…

Why did you choose to be a part of Voicebooking? And what do you like about Voicebooking?

After meeting them for the first time, six years ago now, I immediately felt the warmth with which Voicebooking works. I was, and still am, extremely well supported by everyone. If I have questions about budgeting, or if a customer tries to be difficult, they immediately help me with clear advice. Also important: the Voicebooking platform is very handy! You immediately have a clear overview, you can quickly report your absences and it simply looks good.

What project did you like the most/are you most proud of, and why?

It is very difficult to choose one out of hundreds of assignments. It is all so varied. Of course, it is the ‘specials’ that stick out. Like voicing a covid-video for the Flemish Government, or voicing the VO as an anime-girl for an Asian pop culture festival. These are the assignments that require you to step out of your comfort zone and that other people talk to you about.

What was the most crazy voice over job you have had? Which job was the most fun to do?

When I was still not long at Voicebooking, in 2018, I was suddenly asked if I would like to work as a voice actor for The Fast and the Furious Live show in the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. I was assigned a role for which I did the dubbing in several sessions. I had never done dubbing before, and soon found out that it requires a lot of precision work, but is also very enjoyable and funny. Unfortunately, I was not able to go and watch the show itself, as it was cancelled last minute. Fortunately, my invoice was paid!

Every craftsman/woman has their own special set of talents. What makes you the voice actor that you are?

I would like to believe that my strength lies in the fact that I have a young, fresh voice that comes across as enthusiastic, but not too enthusiastic either, and with a lot of warmth. This makes me very versatile; I can be used for commercials as well as for corporate assignments to make slightly boring texts come across as fun and interesting.

What advice would you give your younger voice actor-self?

Always try to keep calm during the recording. Even if the client asks for an enthusiastic tone of voice, this does not mean that you should suddenly start speaking very high and in a hurry. This is a typical pitfall. Keep your voice low and warm, but with a smile and you will notice that you sound much clearer and fresher than you might expect. And oh yes: the customer is always right.  

The post The client is always right – stories from our voice over Astrid appeared first on Voicebooking.

1. Frase IO

A game changer when it comes to creating content!

Platform and pricing:

www.frase.io
Solo: €13,97
Basic: €41.93
Team: €107,18
Enterprise: on request

The platform Frase.io is for all the content creators that need a helping hand with their research, writing and optimisation of their content. It allows you to make fully optimised content briefings in a matter of seconds. You will not only be able to identify the most important search terms, headers and concepts in your competitor’s content, you can also create templates to make your content production easier.

Frase.io helps you to write converting, SEO optimised copy, for instance with automatic blog introductions, product descriptions and FAQs. The handy thing about Frase.io is that your sentences are automatically completed, saving you valuable time you put in thinking about your next project.

Talking about saving time, we all know how time consuming trend- and competitor research can be. With Frase.io however, you can use the text editor to see how certain topics score in comparison to your competitors. And you can determine the recommended number of mentions for each topic’s Google optimisation.

Use the topic model to determine the right keywords for your content and compare the search terms for your content with your top competitors. A dashboard will help you to discover all the best content opportunities for you. The platform uses your Google Console data to generate new insights. Pages ready for an upgrade are automatically identified. You’ll discover new high-growing opportunity keywords you are not ranking for yet and can automatically cluster your keywords to inform your content strategy process.

What we love about Frase.io the most is that it is not only handy for long form content but can easily help you create a short summary that you can easily use as a social copy for example. The absolute highlight is the “Write For Me” button. An absolute game changer when it comes to creating content. It creates almost perfect copy. 

2. Jasper AI

Your copy writer that is faster than all of us

Platform and pricing:

www.jasper.ai
Creator: €36.35
Teams: €92,22
Business: Custom Pricing

Similar to Frase, Jasper offers you to create original and SEO-proof content in no time. You’ll be able to boost your ad conversions with better copy and you can easily write and test multiple variations to improve your ROAS.

According to them you can finish your first draft ten times faster, and believe it or not it is fast (I tried it out). What I liked about it the most is that you don’t just start with an empty page. And we all know how depressing that can be, especially when you are fighting a writer’s blog, thanks to its option to do research and write 100% original content without any plagiarism.

Jasper.ai writes full sentences in only seconds: creative, comprehensible and in over 25 languages and offers over 50 templates that you can use (e.g. Facebook headlines, YouTube video descriptions, product descriptions, email subject lines, etc).

Scale up AI content marketing quickly, reuse existing content and generate new content. One thing that Jasper can shine with is their option to improve old content and refresh it with improvement.  

3. Voicebooking

From text to speech in no time

Platform and pricing:
www.voicebooking.com
Free for first time use
Premium: € 4.99

Voicebooking’s Voice Over Generator Platform is a powerful tool that allows you to convert your written text into speech in 10 different languages. By using our generator, you can let your writing come alive by making it sound more human, even if it’s machine generated. Use our audio editor to create a realistic sounding recording by highlighting words and phrases within the text, choosing between high or low pitch for every word and even adding pauses where needed. The Voice Over Generator is perfect for if you make guide tracks for videos or presentations, for example.

4. Peppertype

The virtual content assistant 

Platform and pricing:

www.peppertype.ai
Premium: €371,68
Enterprice: on request

Your writing tasks, no matter how small, are now faster and easier. Peppertype is a tool that simplifies your content creation, with options for automatically generating creative texts in the most important nuances that you need. The platform makes it easy to write blog posts, book descriptions and texts for email marketing campaigns or answering questions on social media. You can also use the plugin in order to create meta titles and headlines that are SEO proof. Another extra highlight that I love especially, Peppertype uses natural language generation (NLG) to automatically create the content based on your input. The best part is that NLG is generated by algorithms, so you don’t automate human creativity (like Grammarly does).

5. Canva AI

Platform and pricing:

https://www.canva.com
Canva free: €0,00
Canva Pro: €109,99
Canva for Teams: €139,90

Canva’s Magic Write is a powerful feature that leverages AI technology to help users create compelling and engaging content quickly and easily. With Magic Write, users can generate high-quality text in a matter of seconds, making it an indispensable tool for content creators, marketers, and designers alike.

The feature provides a range of formats to choose from, including social media posts, blog articles, and even resumes, and is powered by OpenAI to suggest the best wording and phrasing based on the user’s prompt. Magic Write also includes a variety of customization options, allowing users to adjust the tone, style, and length of their text to suit their needs.

With its ability to generate high-quality content quickly and efficiently, Canva’s Magic Write is a game-changer for anyone who needs to create compelling and engaging content on a regular basis.

6. Rytr

Platform and pricing:

www.rytr.me
Free plan: €0,00
Saver plan: €8,83
Unlimited plan: €27,01

Rytr helps you find blog ideas, develop brand names and write landing page and website texts, as well as work effortlessly with formulas like AIDA or PAS. Rytr is also helpful for writing compelling emails, ads for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The platform enables you to write pitch presentations as well. And it’s not just text. You can create graphics from blocks with drag&drop, too. When it comes to parts of speech or sentence structure, everything is built around AI: just give the text in question a short description and Rytr does the rest!

7. Uizard

Platform and pricing:

www.uizard.io
Free version: €0,00
Pro: €11,18
Business: €36,33
Enterprice: on request

Uizard is a rapid prototyping tool used for transforming your wireframes into prototypes automatically, create custom style guides, export as Sketch files, download frontend code, and iterate as fast as possible.

It breaks away the problem and time to transform the low-fidelity wireframe into a high-fidelity wireframe. Uizard’s Drag-and-drop technology, along with its rich UI components and templates, help you create mobile app, web app, website and desktop software designs in an instant.

Whether you and your team prefer to sketch your ideas on paper, capture them with a pen and tablet, or visualize them online, and thanks to ability to add your personalised brand style guide it’s never been easier to transform your concepts into reality. Uizard Pro is a wire-framing tool and prototyping app for designers.

8. Contact Out

Platform and pricing:

Free version: €0,00
Sales: €73,59
Recruiter: €185,38
Team: on request

Need leads? Then Contact Out is the tool for you. Lookup professionals from all over the world via their own AI search engine. You can easily find the right email and phone number in two simple steps: Narrow down and customize your search and get trustworthy contact details.

The search engine allows you to build a list of professionals in seconds & send them personalized campaigns. Save time by updating your CRM in real time with current data for all of your sales prospects. Just click from LinkedIn to deliver the full candidate details to your CRM. Contact Out also includes an ATS Plugin and Chome Extension making the search even easier.

9. Synthesia

Platform and pricing:

www.synthesia.io
Personal: €27,95
Enterprise: on request

Synthesia is a web-based platform for creating videos with AI avatars and voices. This platform enables you to not only to natively localize content but also to create and update existing videos for brands to engage and communicate more effectively with global consumers. 

Synthesia offers many features including video production, text to speech in 60+ languages, more than 40 AI avatars acting as presenters, 25+ templates, and more.

As crazy as it sounds, all you need to do is to choose one of the AI avatars, add your own text, e.g. for your presentation, adjust visuals if needed and within seconds your video is done. Perfect for how- to videos, presentation or training videos.

10. VidIQ

Boost your Youtube views with AI

Platform and pricing:

https://vidiq.com/
Basic: €0,00
Pro: €6,99
Boost: €36,33
Max: €73,59

VidIQ is the ultimate AI content tool for all the Youtubers out there. It is designed to give your videos the ultimate boost with the help of several features.

Let’s start at the very beginning, the content ideas. VidIQ offers you 50 titles ideas a day including SEO and competitor ranking. The AI-powered video editor can suggest videos for you to create, based on what is most relevant and timely. It takes into account all the videos that have recently been successful on similar channels, as well as your own videos. It then generates ideas based on these insights so that you can focus on making high quality content yourself.

Another practical feature VidIQ impresses with is their new Keyword Research tool, which lets you research the best keywords for your content so you can increase reach and engagement. This lets you understand what people are searching for on YouTube so you can create content that people want to watch. Work them into your script but also tags and description and your next video should go through the roof. 

If this isn’t enough for you then maybe their competitor tool, trend alert feature, productivity tools, score card or thumbnail generator will convince you. I am an absolute fan and will keep on using it for our YouTube channel. It really showed us what is working for us and why and the number of views went up.

11. Podcastle

Are you podcasting already?

Platform and pricing:

www.podcastle.ai
Basic €0,00
Storyteller €11,17
Pro: €22,35

Podcastle is an AI-powered, collaborative audio content creation platform that helps professional and amateur creators make, edit and distribute production-quality audio in seconds. With Podcastle, anyone can easily create an audio experience – from interviews to scripted narrative stories. The platform makes it fast, easy and affordable for businesses to implement podcasting as a new way of connecting with their customers.

12. Chat GPT

Sit back while AI writes your content for you…

Platform and pricing:

https://chat.openai.com

Pricing operates on a token system where you pay for a certain amount of words you use, there is also a free version but no promises that it will be for long.

Chat GPT is the fastest growing AI tool, having grown to 100 million users in a mere 2 months, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. It operates using a language model which processes text form verified sources (such as textbooks and other resources) to easily perform language processing tasks based on request.

The post Discover the top AI-platforms for content creation appeared first on Voicebooking.

First: The original script must be good

Just between us: you know those scripts that are written by the client’s client, often  way too in depth and written in a way that you wouldn’t normally speak. A good voice-over can handle that. But what about translators?

Well, they often get the feedback that the script translation isn’t good. For example, a native speaker in your company will go nuts when you ask him to look at the translation: ‘What a bad translation!’

But… Is that criticism justified? Is it really a bad translation or is the source not really what it should be?

Tip 1: if you are having a translation checked by a native speaker, have them read the source file first. And ask them if they would give the translation the same score.

Tip 2: A good briefing is key

Even if you are working with a translator with a great reputation, without a good briefing there is a chance that you will end up with a script translation that you cannot work with.

Many translators are used to translating in written language. Fine, but not for video. It happens all too often that a nice spoken language script is expertly translated into unpronounceable written language. You don’t want that to happen, so tell your translator: “Sweetheart, it’s for a voice-over, it has to remain spoken language!”

Also indicate that the order is essential. If your translator changes the order in a sentence because it sounds nicer, or because it is the logical way to say it in that language, then you have a problem. Image and text no longer match. 

So, don’t just give your translator the source file, but also show him the video. Then he can see with his own eyes why the correct order is so important.

Tip 3: Duration

When your translator watches the video, he will also understand that the length of the text is essential. After all, the length of your video is usually fixed and the translation must be the same length as the video. Otherwise you will get stuck when you put the voice over under the video!

This is a really tricky one for your translator. English, for example, requires fewer words to say something than French. And what about Finnish? What incredibly long words they have! So your translator can’t simply make a literal translation. He has to rewrite the voice-over until it fits, without compromising content, order and style. Quite a challenge!

And yes, it’s not crazy if your translator charges more for this transcreation. But I promise you: that investment pays off. Because without too much effort, you can offer your client a film with a translation that fits like a glove!

Tip 4: Involve the translator in the recording session

Do you want to be absolutely sure of a good translation? One that completely matches the image? Then ask your translator for the maximum translation service and involve him in the recording as well. If something doesn’t quite work out, you can come up with a suitable alternative together. And please: don’t hold your translator responsible for such a mismatch, a translator is only human. A mistake is always lurking. Translation for video is always difficult. So you made a mistake? This can easily be solved if your translator listens in!

And yes, again: this is an expensive exercise. But especially with a commercial for an A-brand – watched by thousands, hundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of people – you don’t want to have to deal with translation errors. Having your translator listen in and direct the voice over prevents this. Especially if you’re dealing with a language you don’t know yourself!

Learn more about our voice over script translation services.

Learn what you need at every stage of the process of in-house media productions! Download our ebook!

The post The key to good voice over translations appeared first on Voicebooking.

At first: Work with a professional voice over

Of course!”, I hear you think. But still, that’s where it starts. A simple question: how do you know if the voice over is emphasising the right words? You can’t check, you don’t understand a word the voice is saying. You can trust a professional voice over with this. Of course it is no guarantee, but it reduces the chance of mistakes by dozens of percent. 

An extra advantage is that if you work with voice overs who have recorded for well-known companies, you can almost be sure that they speak an accent that is generally accepted in the country of origin.

Tip two: Number the sentences

If you don’t speak the language, it can be tremendously difficult to know where in the script you are. As a result, you might accidentally put the voice over in the wrong spot under the image. 

There is a handy solution for this. Give the sentences or paragraphs in your script a number, or a letter. And ask the voice over to record your numbering as well. Then when you put the recordings into your video, you’ll know exactly where you are in the script. 

A voice over may find this difficult, because they get out of the flow of the text when they record the numbers. In such a case, just ask them to speak the text and then edit the numbers into it.

Tip three: Listen in live during the recording session

Of course, you have maximum control if you are present during the recording. You can then consult with each other. An important advantage is that you can ask for feedback right away. Is the wording correct? Is it spoken language? Invite your voice-over to share their vision of the text with you. He or she may have some very good suggestions.

Now you may know that I am Dutch, and it is common knowledge that the Dutch are very direct. Dutch voice-overs are therefore used to thinking along with you and they will readily give you unsolicited advice on alternative phrasing. For voice overs in many other countries, this is often not done. In most cases, you really have to make it clear to the voice over that you will not see their feedback on the script as criticism, but as valuable input.

By the way, is anyone in your company a native speaker of the language you are going to record? If so, have them listen in as well. Then you won’t end up with 1 + 1 = 3, but with 1 + 1 + 1 = 5 (or whatever creative addition you want to make).

And last but not least: Make sure there is a good translation

This one ties in well with the previous point. What do you do if the voice-over indicates that the translation is not good? What if your translator disagrees? Who is right? You don’t know the language, so you can’t judge. 

Of course you try to work with a reputable translator. But then again. Do you even have to look at the voiceover translation? Or maybe the original script wasn’t that good? That’s something for another blog…

The post How to work with a voice over in a foreign language appeared first on Voicebooking.

Voice over search: take this into account

Getting really good voice actors for video or audio often takes time and can sometimes be a bit of a puzzle. On our online platform you can easily and quickly book a voice over. But even then, there is a lot of choice. So, how do you choose the right voice over?

Limit your favourites to a maximum of 3

Choosing is hard enough. If you put 10 different voice talents on your shortlist, you won’t make it any easier for yourself. Narrow your favorites down to a maximum of 3 voice talents and choose your favourite voice over from there.

On our platform, you have the option to save your favourites. This way you can save certain voices per project or per language that appeal to you and easily share them with other people in your team.

Get to know your target audience

You are creating your project for a specific target audience. Therefore, always ask yourself “does this voice-over appeal to the target audience?” This way, you are much more likely to take into account what your target audience likes to hear, rather than basing it on your opinion or taste.

Speak to the same gender

Do you want a man or a woman as your voice over? Decide for yourself! Is your message best conveyed by a man or a woman? A shortcut might be to choose a female voice if you want to appeal to a female target audience. And a male voice for a male target audience. Of course, you can also choose to do it entirely different.

Listen to demos

Want to know what a voice sounds like? Then listen to the available demos of a voice over. This way you can already listen to a voice to see if it fits the message you want to convey. In addition, you can determine your favourites based on the demos.

It is even possible to request a demo based on your project. With the desired tone-of-voice. Are you happy with the sample? Then you can immediately convert the sample request into a briefing.

Pay attention to the tone of voice

The tone of voice is the style in which your company communicates with your target audience. It is the voice of your organisation. By using one fixed tone of voice in texts and audio or video, you make yourself recognisable.

Choosing a voice talent therefore also depends on their tone-of-voice. In demos, voice talents often demonstrate several tone-of-voices, so you have an idea of what they can do. So listen carefully to the differences and whether a voice has the potential to reach your target audience.

Choose a voice agency that makes it easy

Need a voice over? Voice agency Voicebooking has a database of professional voice actors in over 90 languages, gives advice on the type of voice, translates, mixes audio and helps you prepare a script for a voice over. And it goes fast.

We make it a challenge to make the process as easy as possible. On our platform you arrange everything online yourself (or have it arranged) and you receive the audio recording within a day or even within a few hours. With the right tone-of-voice and the right accent.

Have any questions? Feel free to get in contact with us.

The post How to find the right voice over appeared first on Voicebooking.

If your message fits in with your viewer’s behavioural consistency, you’re already one step ahead of them. In this blog post, you’ll find out more about the power of commitment and consistency, as well as how to apply this in your next web video.

YouTube video: How to create content that sells.

Persuade your viewer 

Let’s get one thing straight: because people are used to their thought patterns and behavioural patterns, it can be tricky to convince them otherwise – which is your end goal, if you’re trying to get them to buy your new product or try out your service. The trick is to establish common ground with your viewer first; something that you can both agree on. For example, imagine you’re making a web video advertising a new kind of drinking cup for toddlers. 

Don’t start your video off by telling the viewer why your drinking cup is the best on the market; talk about the importance of drinking enough, of raising small children safely. Any father, and especially any mother will agree with you on both fronts. Once you’ve got their attention, you can start telling them all about the advantages of your new drinking cup. Now this scenario fits in with a responsible parent’s behavioural consistency.

Keep your story simple 

Did you know that our brains only make up 2% of our body weight, but use up to 25% of our energy? This is why it’s important to use our ‘thinking power’ carefully. As a result, a lot of our decisions are made subconsciously – consistent with our previous thoughts and behaviour. 

That’s why you usually take the same route to work, shop in the same places and vote for the same political party – simply because you don’t have the time to think about every single decision you make, especially in today’s complex and busy world. This is why you should avoid using too many facts and figures and keep your story simple.

Start off small 

Once you’ve figured out that people like consistency, you can take them on a customer journey, taking baby steps towards your goal. For example: in one neighbourhood, that had many children living in it, a group of residents wanted the other residents to place warning signs in their gardens to encourage passing cars to drive more slowly. 

You can probably guess what happened next: most residents didn’t want the warning signs in their garden (not in my back, err, front yard). That’s why the group decided to start off small and had the residents sign a petition and put a small sticker on their car windows first. 

A few weeks later, the group returned with the request to place a warning sign in residents’ gardens. Out of the group of residents who didn’t sign the petition and take a sticker first, only 17% placed the sign in their garden. Out of the residents who first signed the petition and placed a sticker on their car window, 76% agreed to place a sign in their garden. The moral of the story? 

Start off with a small request first. A good example of this is using the phrase ‘for more information, go to…’ Instead of ‘buy this car’, say ‘how about a test drive?’

Document it

More often than not, our thoughts are just vague ideas floating around in our heads: I want to live healthier, work less, achieve more. However, we usually don’t act out on any of these thoughts. By documenting our thoughts, we can achieve more. I want to stop smoking by this date. I want to lose 10 kilos. I want to sell 20% more. The first step is to write the thought down so that it’s crystal clear. 

The next step is to share your newly defined goal with other people. Weight Watchers utilises this principle by having their members share their goals with others online and in Weight Watchers meetings. Sales teams achieve the same by hanging their targets on the wall. Asking a consumer to share something on social media can achieve the same effect. 

Consistent and persistent 

Sometimes it’s amazing seeing how much people like consistency. Take initiation ceremonies in the army or for students. During these initiation ceremonies, people are humiliated, hurt or can even die. Even so, these rituals still exist. 

Researchers have explored the reasoning behind this. It’s apparent that people appreciate something that took hard work and persistence to achieve, more so than something that’s easily achievable. In other words, we feel more loyalty and unity if we have gone through the initiation process first; we feel braver afterwards, more resilient. 

This is why the phenomenon still exists today. Now, there’s a big chance that you aren’t in the army, or a member of a student society, but it works in exactly the same way if you want to sell a product. 

How many times have people spent all night waiting in line for the latest iPhone? Or have sat at their laptop, anxiously bidding on a pair of exclusive, one-of-a-kind trainers? The more effort you have put into getting something, the better it feels. This is why you should make your product exclusive and one-of-a-kind – it’s what people love.

It’s clear that behavioural consistency is important and helps us in our daily lives, ensuring that we don’t have to think about every single little thing. We’re also firm believers of ‘a promise is a promise’ and act accordingly. Keep this in mind the next time you make a web video, radio ad or e-learning course. It’s a sure-fire way to positively influence people.

About this series

The blog post series ‘Positive influencing’ by Voicebooking explores the psychology behind influencing. The goal is to attract and persuade your readers, viewers and listeners, not manipulate or mislead them. 

This series is based on the six fundamental principles of persuasion, as researched and described by Robert Cialdini, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and Stanford University.

More on the topic with the YouTube video link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUkiSyORREg

The post The secret behind producing effective videos appeared first on Voicebooking.