A couple of things I recommend to people interested in announcing / voiceover:

1. Read aloud. To your kids, to your spouse, to whomever, to a recording, to yourself. Try to achieve a “natural read.” Reading aloud helped me immensely. The best class I took in college as far as my announcing career is concerned was “Oral Interpretation of Literature.” We had to read different kinds of literature in a dramatic way to actually “perform” the piece. Great class for announcers!

2. Practice, practice, practice. Read copy aloud from catalogs, newspapers, shampoo bottles, etc. Try to imitate the delivery of announcers you hear on TV and radio (not necessarily imitating their voice, but their delivery style).  Ask yourself how you would change the delivery if it were you.

I have known many people who had great voices who could not give you a natural read on a script if their lives depended on it. I’ve brought people into the studio to try them on a script because I thought they had a great voice only to find that they couldn’t deliver a natural sounding read. Delivering a natural read requires practice, especially critiqued practice.

A colleague passed along the following tips and I thought they were relevant for discussion…

For those interested in a short discussion on how much you might consider spending on Advertising your business, read on.

I’m doing this partially in light of all the people who are unhappy about the cost vs. benefits of a service like V123. This isn’t a discussion of how well Smartcast works. That’s been thoroughly covered. It’s just a little attempt to find some perspective.

Let’s say you want to have net take home pay of $60,000 per year. I’ll bet it’s a good average figure for those who are seriously in the VO business…many below, quite a few above. To get there you need about $100,000 in gross income. (Adjust for your particular dream or situation.)

Among businesses of all kinds a typical advertising budget is 2 to 5 percent of what you grossed last year. Pharmaceutical companies and Coca-Cola spend a lot more, but that’s their racket. Let’s say we’re in the middle and decide we should take 3.5 percent of our gross income and spend it on marketing ourselves.

That’s $3,500 for Ms. or Mr. Average VO. How do you spend it? How do we market? (I’m leaving agents’ commissions out of this as a different kind of business expense.)

A lot of what we do to advertise costs little or nothing such as phone calls, emails and networking. Websites, CD’s, postcards, business cards, banner ads on other sites, pens, calendars and other leave-behinds cost something. How much for you? How does $300 for V123 match up for you out of this example of a $3,500 budget? Or the other services that still charge
about $200 to belong?

How effective are these marketing items for you? Of course you have to audition for a paid bidding service, but you’ll send an audition to almost anyone else who asks for one, yes? You pay your agent 10 or 20% for the privilege of auditioning for many jobs to get one.

Side thought and not a criticism for those who audition a lot for paid services and get little result: Are you auditioning too much? Are you being selective, picking jobs that truly reflect your style, age and experience?

In summary, what’s most cost effective for you? A paid service, or 500 cold drink holdin’ Koozies with your name and number on them?

Here are a few tips to prepare and protect your voice while being a podcaster.

Before you do an interview or participate in any recordings of your voice, there are a few things that you would want to avoid:

• Stay away from dairy products (they coat your vocal cords and your voice is not as crisp).
• Don’t drinking anything carbonated (can cause little gurgles in your throat that create unattractive sound effects).
• Limit alcohol or caffeine intake
• Avoid screaming and shouting
• Stay away from smoke-filled environments.
• Eliminate constant clearing of the voice. Sip water, hum or use a mild throat lozenge.
• Don’t smoke!
• Keep your vocal cords well-hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
• Don’t whisper! Whispering puts extra stress on your vocal cords by forcing them together without them actually touching.
• Avoid excessive use of mouthwash (it has a high alcohol content)