Are you currently overseeing a voice over project? Perhaps you’re considering hiring a professional to take care of your script writing needs.
It is recommended that you do hire a professional, as there can be various moving parts when putting these things together. This post will cover the main reasons why you should hire a professional to take care of your voice over script.
What is a voice over script?
A voice over script is simply a script that your chosen voice over will read from when recording. In other words, a piece of dialogue intended to be read aloud by someone off camera.
The script should be to the point, and suitable for the target audience that you’re aiming to convert.
Why shouldn’t I write my own voice over script?
Of course, you as a brand and product owner will know best what main idea you want to push forward, but that doesn’t mean that you’re best suited to do so.
Below are some key reasons as to why you should leave the script writing to the professionals.
Not everyone can write in spoken language (or active voice)
A key reason why you should hire a professional for your script is the fact that many people find it difficult to write in spoken language.
When it comes to writing voice over scripts, creating text in spoken language, especially active voice, can be challenging for some. It’s common for many to write in passive voice, which is more suited for narrative content pieces, as opposed to voice over text.
A script containing active voice requires due diligence when being put together, and tends to come with more experience. An example of the difference between active and passive voice can be like so:
Active: She prepares dinner.
Passive voice: Dinner was made by her.
What to the naked eye may seem rather redundant, the difference in the two sentences are clear, also communicating the same thing but with fewer words – Which also makes a difference when it comes to the project’s total price.
Professionals can speak your audience’s language
As mentioned, brand owners and managers are well aware of what they’re selling, and who they want to target. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how to speak to an audience effectively.
And that’s okay. Everybody’s different and no one is expected to be a jack-of-all-trades. When it comes to marketing, you wouldn’t hire a salesman to run a social media campaign, the same goes for hiring a cashier for a cleaning job.
Professional script writers are specialised in just that, crafting professional scripts – And in this sense when it comes to speaking your audience’s language, that’s what the writers specialise in.
Ideal script length for different projects
As well as the ability to speak your audience’s language, professional voice over script writers are also familiar with the script length required to fulfil certain projects.
Some voice over scripts can last 60 seconds, some as few as 30 or 15 seconds. These time differences are significant when it comes to how many words are required, as well as what will be communicated in them.
Say you have a campaign to promote your new chocolate bar and you’re going to roll out an array of ads, to initially interest your audience, then follow up and retarget them.
Rather than sending them the same minute-long ad, you can send out variations that incorporate the same brand slogan, and catchy jingle – the difference being that a professional script writer will be used to cutting longer texts down, which somebody unfamiliar with script writing may find harder to do.
Less is more
With advertising especially, less is more. Even for radio ads, the average 30 second text has only around 75 words.
Considering you may have a lot to communicate in those 30 seconds, it can be tough to cover all bases without feeling like you’re rushing or skipping steps.
Luckily there are an array of voice over agencies that are specialised in doing exactly that, wherein they’re aware of the concept that less is more.
Can be very time consuming
Another reason why you should hire a professional to write your voice over script, is simply that you may not have the time to do so.
If you’ve ever tried coming up with script after script to represent your brand you’ll soon come to realise that you may be faced with various obstacles.
These include having to research how to write in spoken voice, as well as active voice; having to keep an eye on word count and length of time spent reciting the script; even getting hit with writer’s block and having to get over that hurdle just to finish your script.
Should you write your own voice over scripts?
As a business owner, focused on finding solutions and products to solve people’s problems, you may find that you simply don’t have the time to write your own scripts, and that’s fine, that’s what the professionals are for!
Whether it’s because of time constraints or a simple lack of knowledge when it comes to putting together script content, it’s important to know that you’re not alone in this.
