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 of the benefits that using a pro voiceover will bring to their brand, their company, their product/service yet they're not willing to pay for it or willing to pay a fair price. So why is that? And what is a fair price?

1. I'm hoping that this article will appeal not only to the voiceover artists themselves but also the voiceover seekers
as well. Hopefully, the information will be as pertinent to them. The topic for this article is voiceover Pricing, which
is often a neglected part of the marketing mix but as we all know quite a crucial aspect. If you look at any of the
voiceover forums, it does cause immense problems & I think it causes problems on each side - voiceover seekers
don't 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 don't want to price themselves too high and obviously, they don't want to undercut
themselves 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 of the benefits that using a pro voiceover will bring to their brand, their company, their
product/service yet they're 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 problems may stem from the impression that voice over is an easy job - anyone can do it. And
voiceover artist with the Internet and more accessible technology its easy for anyone to set themselves up as a
voiceover talent. And this mentality seems to have reached some voice seekers who are unaware of 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 it's 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 mix to arrive at a
pricing strategy that gives you and your work value. So if you or a client starts to question your rates here are
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 if you know what you're doing" followed by a budget of £10/ $20. I don't know if
I'm the only one who finds this sort of posting extremely rude and just plain naive. No, No No !! I've 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 there are 10 minutes already. And all those minutes are billable. It isn't 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 of delivery,
the quote, the turnaround time, the licence usage etc. Then you record, edit, convert the audio to 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.
2. What about the other costs that you've incurred - what about your home studio? Some voiceover artists make
this cost quite transparent in their pricing by charging a studio fee. For others, they prefer to factor it into their
final quote. Quality recordings come at a price. Even though the equipment has become more affordable, it will
need updating and replacing as your career continues to grow and succeed. This all needs to be factored into the
investment you've made and continue to make in your voiceover career.
3. Training, and coaching - consider the investment you have made in attending workshops, purchasing voiceover
books, taking part in local college courses.
4 Demo production
5. Maybe you have a royalty-free music library that you offer to your clients - how much did that cost?
6. And what about the basic running costs that every business incurs - stationery, printing cartridges, postage,
envelopes, telephone calls, broadband connection. And your marketing materials - websites, postcards, e-
newsletters, all have costs involved.

2. 7. Memberships - online casting websites, union memberships, SAVOA for example
8. Travel costs to studios and auditions.
All of these and no doubt many more costs all need to be considered for your pricing strategy.
These are to remind you of the value you have placed on yourself and your voiceover career so that when your fee
is questioned you are confident that the value of your voiceover recording justifies every penny of your quote.
So how do you come up with some concrete figures to put on your rate sheet?
If you're a union member than this is fairly straightforward- unions do tend to set minimum rates and guidance.
And I assume these are followed by clients who employ union talents.
If you're not then you have some options: Go to the voiceover forums - a lot of fellow voiceover actors have very
generously shared their own rate card. This is hugely helpful and will help you decide how you want to set your
rates, do you do it per word, per finished minute, per page. You'll notice this will vary from voiceover artist to
voiceover artist as well as the method changes depending on the nature of the project and the market it is being
used in. Also, visit the online casting sites such as voices.com who have a downloadable pdf document with rate
guidelines for different projects and different markets, and I believe www.Voice123.com also have a document
that sets out their average rates for projects.
There are also pricing strategies and psychologies that other businesses employ when they are setting prices -
here are some of them which you may want to consider using when creating your rate card. I want to thank Ivana
Taylor (strategystew.com) for these ideas from her 8 Pricing Strategies article on the www.smallbiztrends.com
website.
1. The 9 and Zero effect. People associate the number nine with value and zero with quality. Look at the difference
between fast food and a gourmet restaurant. A burger meal can sell for about $4.99 while a gourmet entree at the
best place in town may go for $30. So the psychology of pricing isn't so much about gaining additional sales
because the price appears to be lower, it's about what the price communicates about your offering. So which do
you want to communicate? Value or Quality? Now you can price accordingly.
2. Prestige Pricing. Higher prices connote higher quality. Luxury brands are a perfect example of this strategy. A
latte at Starbucks has a higher perceived value than a basic coffee with cream. Simply improving the look,
packaging, delivery or promise of your product you can justify a higher price and support a prestige pricing
strategy.
3.Quantity suggestive Pricing. Consumers are receptive to purchasing items in suggested quantities. When you
suggest how many you want your customers to buy and give them an attractive price, they will do what you tell
them.
4. Stuffing the bundle. But wait there's more! Consumers perceive more value when there is more stuff included in
the bundle. You can even call this a form of value-building. TV infomercials are notorious for this strategy. They
introduce the main product and keep adding more and more items to the mix to build value - while
simultaneously "discounting" the retail price.
Well, I hope this has given you a few ideas about pricing and I hope that your clients will have a better
understanding of the true costs involved, that they're not just buying a voice - but all the expertise, technical
ability and branding value that the particular voice brings to their project.