By Neil Williams · 20+ years as a voiceover artist
How to Hire Voice Actors
Find the right voice, write a useful brief and know what you’re booking before recording starts.
Start with the Project, Then Choose the Voice
You can book a voice actor directly, through an agency or through an online casting platform. The right route depends on the voice you need, how much casting help you want and how you prefer to manage the recording.
I’m Neil Williams, a British male voiceover artist. After more than 20 years recording for clients, these are the details I’d suggest sorting out before you book.
1. Prepare a Clear Voiceover Brief
A useful brief gives the artist enough information to recommend an approach and quote accurately. Include:
- The project: a commercial, corporate video, e-learning course, explainer or another type of recording.
- Your audience and tone: who is listening, what they should take away and how you want it to feel.
- The script: send the latest version, or a word count if it’s still being written. Flag pronunciation, timings and any different versions.
- Where it will be used: for example, internal training, your website, organic social posts or paid advertising. For advertising, include the channels, territories and planned campaign length.
- Delivery: your deadline, file format, separate files or edits, and whether you want to direct the session.
You don’t need to know every technical detail. Explain what you’re making and ask the artist what else they need.
2. Listen for the Right Fit
Choose a voice that suits your audience and message. A polished commercial reel is useful, but it won’t necessarily tell you how an artist handles a long training script or a conversational business video.
Listen to relevant examples. Pay attention to clarity, pace, tone and whether the performance keeps you interested. Check the sound quality too: distracting room noise or echo can be difficult to fix later.
A short sample of your own script can help you hear the fit. Give a little direction rather than asking the artist to guess. You can request a free sample from me here.
3. Compare Your Booking Options
| Route | When it can help | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Book directly | You’ve found an artist you like and want to discuss the job with them. | Relevant demos, recording setup, availability, usage and what the quote includes. |
| Use an agency | You want help casting, several voices or someone to coordinate the booking. | Who handles direction and delivery, what is included and the total cost. |
| Use an online platform | You want to compare profiles or invite auditions in one place. | The individual artist’s work, platform terms, fees, usage rights and revision arrangements. |
No booking route guarantees the right result. Compare the individual voice actor and the complete quote, rather than judging by the headline price alone. If you’re considering Fiverr, my Fiverr voiceover guide covers the details to check.
4. Agree the Details Before Recording
Ask for written confirmation of the recording fee, intended usage, deliverables and deadline. Make sure you’re comparing quotes for the same job.
Check how pickups and revisions work. An artist correcting a misread is different from recording a rewritten script or a new direction after approval. Agree what is included and when extra charges would apply.
If timing matters, explain whether the voice must fit an existing edit. Confirm whether you need a live directed session and how you’ll connect. I can work with clients through ipDTL, Source-Connect or Zoom.
Read about my recording studio or how an ipDTL session works.
Your Voiceover Booking Checklist
- The voice and delivery style suit your audience.
- The artist has the approved script and pronunciation notes.
- The quote covers the intended usage and all required versions.
- Revisions, file delivery and the deadline are agreed.
- You know who will approve the recording and how feedback will be shared.
For a guide to the information that affects a quote, see my voiceover rates page.
Need a British Male Voiceover Artist?
Send me your script, intended use and deadline. I’ll come back to you with a quote, and you can ask for a short sample before you decide.