THIS IS NOT ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT THE THREAT OF SYNTHETIC VOICES TO OUR INDUSTRY.
Lord knows, there’s enough of that going on right now, and perhaps prematurely. But I’ll state for the scope of this article, that the jury is still out on AI voices, while still accepting that its effect is inevitable.
No….
Here, I’m talking about the juggernaut of AI programs that can literally transform the drudgery of of your VoiceOver business.
To whit: I used an AI program to whip–up the graphic for this article in less than a minute.
*I* am actually writing this blog…but it’s getting harder and harder to tell if it’s AI doing it. Minus the troubling factual errors regularly appearing in the results of AI writing programs, they are getting amazingly facile at creating documents that “look” convincing; so much so that it’s upending formal education from top-to-bottom…especially the testing end of things. The up side? AI is also being used by instructors to make their jobs less of a chore.
Let me show you the results of another exercise in the use of AI for voiceover. With AI it’s all in how you write the prompts, ya know.
I prompted one of the more popular AI programs: COPY.AI with the following statement:
“Pretend you are a freelance voice actor, come up with 10 ideas of how to find new paying clients who want my voice. Compare each of these ideas and list the pros and cons of each idea.”
Within 15 secs, I had the result below. Mind you…it’s no great shakes, but it’s also not bad advice (especially for a newcomer).
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Sure, as a freelance voice actor, here are 10 ideas to find new paying clients who want my voice:
- Create a website for your voiceover services: A website is an online storefront for your voiceover services. You can showcase your portfolio, services, contact information, and testimonials. Pros: A website is a professional way to showcase your work and make it easy for potential clients to find you. Cons: Creating and maintaining a website requires time and effort.
- Join a voiceover marketplace: Joining a voiceover marketplace like Voices.com or Voice123 can help you connect with clients looking for voiceover services. Pros: Voiceover marketplaces provide a platform to showcase your portfolio and connect with clients. Cons: You have to pay a commission to the marketplace for each project.
- Attend networking events: Attend local networking events to meet potential clients and other industry professionals. Pros: Networking events provide an opportunity to build relationships with potential clients and learn about the industry. Cons: Networking events can be time-consuming and may not always lead to immediate results.
- Collaborate with other professionals: Collaborate with other professionals like video producers or filmmakers to provide voiceover services for their projects. Pros: Collaborating with other professionals can expand your network and lead to future referrals. Cons: Collaborating requires time and effort to build relationships and may not always result in paid work.
- Use social media: Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to showcase your work and connect with potential clients. Pros: Social media can help you reach a global audience and get your work noticed. Cons: Social media requires time and effort to build a following and engagement.
- Cold email potential clients: Research potential clients and send a personalized email introducing yourself and your services. Pros: Cold emailing can be an effective way to reach out to potential clients and showcase your work. Cons: Cold emailing can be time-consuming and may not always lead to a response.
- Advertise on Google: Use Google AdWords to run ads for your voiceover services. Pros: Google AdWords can help you reach a targeted audience and generate leads. Cons: Advertising on Google can be expensive and may not always lead to a return on investment.
- Offer free samples and demos: Offer free samples and demos of your voiceover work to potential clients. Pros: Offering free samples and demos can showcase your work and lead to future paid work. Cons: Offering free work can be time-consuming and may not always lead to paid work.
- Attend industry conferences: Attend industry conferences and events to meet potential clients and learn about the latest trends in the industry. Pros: Industry conferences provide an opportunity to build relationships with potential clients and learn about the industry. Cons: Attending conferences can be expensive and may not always lead to immediate results.
- Ask for referrals: Ask your existing clients for referrals to other potential clients who may need your voiceover services. Pros: Referrals can be a powerful way to generate new business and build your network. Cons: Clients may not always have referrals to offer or may not want to share their contacts.
Overall, each idea has its own set of pros and cons. It’s important to evaluate each option based on your personal goals and resources. A combination of these strategies can help you build a successful voiceover business.
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As I said: there are no Earth-shattering revelations there, but using that simple example, maybe you can see the potential for using AI to solve some time-consuming tasks to your VO marketing: spreadsheets, content, graphics, automation, turn text into video, do your SEO, etc. With 11Labs you can clone your own voice to audition for you when you can’t. Many new AI programs are now available as extensions you can run from your browser with one click.
One other example is to use AI to do keyword searches for your SEO ot other application. This is the short list of words it came up with to replace the word: “authoritative”:
Definitive
Commanding
Domineering
Authoritarian
Expert
Influential
Persuasive
Credible
Trustworthy
Respected
The AI phenom is developing and revealing itself to the world with such blinding rapidity that it’s nearly impossible to keep up. To do so, I take daily delivery of BEN’S BITES. Fresh links and info that is all about AI delivered to your email every day.
Here are other great resources:
3 Ways You Can Reduce Business Costs Using A.I.
How You Should Be Using ChatGPT Right Now
CourVO
Well said Dave/A :-)I. It’s much less about resistance and more about exploiting the technology for our benefit. All the resistance isn’t going to stop it or make it go away. Thanks for the insight and tips.
Wade
Thanks Wade! Appreciate your comment and best to your fam!
Dave C
A very good point, Dave. And considering how many of us need to be our own “media empire” in order to market effectively, the use of A.I. to help with that, can really have astounding results – and make that aspect of our “jobs” a lot easier. My worry for the future is – If this makes us more efficient in creating content, when does it become *expected* for us to be super-human with our marketing (etc) and when is it acceptable to simply be … human? Right now, for me at least, it’s all about finding a good balance. Who knows what the future will bring? Whatever it is, it sure is coming upon us fast! All the major search tech companies are introducing ChatGPT-like services into their search in order to remain relevant (Bing, Google). We live in interesting times!
Jodi,
I think you’re right about “‘balance”. I also see the concept of pendulum swinging back ‘n’ forth at work in a lot of these trendy things.
Right now, it’s on an overkill pass…LOL
Dave C
AI isn’t going to take your job. It’s somebody who knows how to use AI that will take your job.