There are two types of voice-over customer, the quality conscious and the budget conscious. Although budget is important, sacrificing quality for the sake of hiring the cheapest, is ALWAYS a bad idea. Hiring a voice artist because they are cheap can cause all sorts of problems and in the long run, will probably end up costing more than you had originally bargained for, and not just financially!
Consider this: You own a funeral parlor and you need a professional voice over to advertise your services. You search online or place your casting call with one of the many voice-over marketplaces. Within hours you receive lots of samples from voice artists with varying degrees of experience, training and talent. The most suitable voice for your particular project happens to be more expensive than some of the other quotes that you receive, so you opt for the cheapest. This particular voice talent has a high pitched voice with little emotion, does not sound very natural and their samples display poor editing skills, but they are the cheapest, so they will have to do … right? WRONG!
First, it will probably take a longer consideration for an inexperienced voice artist to get your script right, having to do several re-takes, re-record sections that sound flat or are lacking emotion, you may even have to hire someone else to correct their mistakes or to re-record your script altogether. Think of the extra costs involved! Now you've gone over your budget by a reasonable amount!
Second, what message are you sending to your potential customers by using this voice? Do you really think that using this voice artist to represent your product or service will bring more customers or inquiries? Chances are that it will not! Using the wrong voice-over can often cost you customers and it can also cost you your reputation!
The most suitable voice for your project may seem a little more expensive at first, having great samples, sounding natural, and obviously appearing to have more experience. Even if hiring this voice artist may take you over budget to begin with, it's worth it!
Your reputation is at stake! Do not ruin it for the sake of your budget!