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His voiceover demo: "Niche" Your demos to attract a variety of voiceover customers

One word you’ll hear over and over again in your broadcasting career is “niche.” You will be advised to “find your niche” and admonished to do “niche marketing.” (You can pronounce it “neesh” or “nitch.” Either way is fine.)

A voiceover niche describes a very specific area of ​​the voiceover industry. In other words, a detailed segment of a general market.

For example, one market in the voice-over industry is narration. Niches in that market may include:

  • corporate storytelling
  • documentary narration
  • medical narrative
  • e-learning storytelling

Another example is audio books Niches in that market may include:

  • fiction
  • self help
  • historical
  • romance novels

Another is commercial television. Niches in that market may include:

  • Senior/retired issues
  • products and programs for teens and tweens
  • automobiles, men’s toiletries, power tools
  • hospitality, travel and tourism

If you look at each example here, you can imagine that the voice, delivery, gender of the voice actor, tone of voice, age, etc. are all very important considerations in the creation of each of these audio products.

A self-help audiobook on overcoming anxiety for seniors would require a very different voice and presentation than a TV commercial about back-to-school clothes for teens. A PBS documentary on World War II would require a very different voice and delivery than a TV commercial for laundry soap.

Your actual voice, i.e. how you sound, your genre, and your delivery will certainly influence the niche you can apply to.

For example, if you naturally have a high, squeaky, quirky voice, it may be perfect for cartoons, animations, or video games. However, you may find it difficult to find work in corporate storytelling that may require a more mature, authoritative, or business tone. So taking into account your natural talents and strengths can go a long way in finding your niche.

Your personal experience may also influence which voiceover segment you apply to. If you are familiar with technical or medical terms, counseling or therapy experience, teaching, horse riding or travel experience, for example, your own life experience can go a long way in determining your niche or niches.

Your experience in a particular field can lend itself very well to finding a niche in voiceovers.

And the idea of ​​having a niche is VERY good. Again, a “niche” is a genre of voiceover that you specifically target, as well as a particular clientele around which you formulate your marketing efforts. For example, if you excel in medical storytelling and you want to specialize in that market specifically, you only need to target your marketing strategies towards medical clients.

This is not to say that a voice actor cannot have numerous delivery styles and work in many different types of voice acting. Many voice actors work in several different niches. Generally speaking though, you will find that the most successful voice talents usually focus on one or two specific areas of the business. For example, movie trailers, animation or fiction audiobooks.

Focusing on a specific niche also streamlines the delivery of your services.

If you do the same type of work every day, you know exactly what to do and how to do it. Know the style of delivery the client wants, the recording and editing techniques required, and what rates to quote that the industry will bear.

The obvious advantage of having a niche (or niches) is that you can attract a very specific voiceover client: high-end beauty spa voicemail recordings. Radio networks in the store. Employee safety videos for human resources. Mass transportation locutions (bus, train, etc.). Web-based product descriptions. Meditation and relaxation videos. The list is endless!

And a lot of voice acting clients these days are looking for very specific voice actor demos. If a client is looking for a calming voice for a relaxation video he’s creating, he won’t want to read your laundry detergent commercials or corporate video commercials in a demo. It will be much more attractive to them if you have a demo designed specifically for their needs: five or six different points that highlight your wonderfully soothing and calming voice in a relaxation audio sample.

So if you’re wondering if having specific voiceover demos will benefit your career, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Now, here’s the flip side of the coin: Not every customer wants to hear just one type of voiceover from you. Many customers will want to hear your range. From the warm and friendly next-door neighbor to the hard-selling car ad, from the thoughtful nature documentary to the sexy fashionista, they’ll want to know what you’re capable of.

An advertising agency is a good example of a client who will want to know more about your full range. They have many different clients with many different needs, so they will want to hear from a wide range of your skills, not just one specific talent. A prospective agent will also want to listen to more of a specific type of reading. Having demos that also show their full range is a very good idea.

So here is your best strategy:

  1. Have a series of nested demos. That is, demos that specifically target a particular market and contain only recordings that fit THAT particular niche: corporate voicemail recordings, high-energy teen retail commercials, romance novel audiobooks, political ads, etc.
  2. But ALSO have demos that showcase your range of skills within each market: a storytelling demo that includes corporate storytelling, documentary storytelling, medical storytelling, and e-learning storytelling. And a commercial demo that includes high-energy ads, thoughtful health-related ads, dialogue with the opposite sex, ads that include wry wit, humor, and emotion.

Broaden your voiceover customer base by appealing to both voice seekers: those who want to hear just one type of delivery from you, as well as those who want to hear your full range.

© 2012 Maxine Dunn

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