The ultimate guide to voice overs for YouTube

Being a content creator can be tough, especially on popular social media platforms like as YouTube. The market is already saturated as more and more people are taking a shot at becoming an influencer every day, so you really need to aim for a special niche and have a recognizable brand that will set you apart from your competition.

If you’re into video essays, fan-made animation projects, tech tutorials, or marketing, you can turn to voice over tools to bring out that dormant creative genius and make your content more engaging, all while saving a lot of time in the process.

What you need to know about creating voice overs for YouTube 

You don’t need to be a video creator to know that voice overs are heavily featured on YouTube. They may sometimes seem like clickbait, but they actually have a very important place in video creation.

Of course, first impressions are the most important, and they often make or break the whole channel. If you want to make it on YouTube, you have to ensure you do things the right way from the get-go. That means never settling for less and ensuring your content is both engaging and attractive. When it comes to voice overs, engaging and attractive means sounding not robotic and not blurred by stock background music—so you need to pick the right app if voice overs are your game plan.

How to create a voice over that represents your brand

Broad strokes are always easier. Saying that you should opt for high-quality recording software and make sure your YouTube videos exude professionalism is easy, but explaining how to add your own personal touch (or your own voice) to it all is trickier.

For one, you should keep in mind what you’re trying to present to your audience. Keep your content in mind at all times when creating voice over content. If you’re making documentaries about wildlife, it doesn’t make sense for you to hire a voice over artist to record the script and filter it through a funny-sounding sci-fi voice changer.

Next, if you’re making a podcast, it might be better to avoid voice acting and AI solutions outside the intro. People follow podcasts not only because of the content, but also because of the host—so you should put yourself out there if you want to attract more viewers and give your brand, company, or channel a recognizable voice.

Another great voice over tip is to mix and match. For example, if your brand is promoting diversity, collaboration, or some kind of group project, it might be wiser to use multiple voices instead of sticking to the basic one-voice-for-everything template.

Doing all that can be difficult, but fortunately, there are video editing and text to speech (TTS) tools that can help you master all sorts of audio editing at home. Speechify, for example, features a ton of customizable settings you can play around with to create precisely the kind of voice over of your dreams.

Benefits of using a voice over in your videos 

The benefits of using a voice over are many, and most of them boil down to increased traffic, more subs, and all-around more trust people put into your brand. However, there are a few other benefits to voice overs that you might not have thought of, such as:

Save money

For one, using a voice tool for voice over work is a very affordable, money-saving method. Instead of hiring voice actors for everything, you can record voice overs for, say, your explainer videos, beginners guides, and tutorials. This type of content is supposed to be informative first and foremost, so having fancy audio work is the cherry on top, not the cake itself.

Save time

Obviously, you can also boost your productivity and dish out more content by using a video editor and a few high-quality AI voices instead of wasting hours recording someone’s voice until it reaches satisfying quality levels.

Increase accessibility

Now, no one says voice overs have to be the main focus. You can also add them as an optional feature that will help those with poor vision interact with your video content, especially if you’re making instructional material your followers can’t get elsewhere.

Bring your vision to life

Voices are powerful tools, but not even the greatest voice over talents can make all sounds with their mouths, no matter how high-quality audio equipment and home studios they have. Luckily, voice overs can be done using TTS tools like Speechify, so you can DIY the whole thing and bring your vision to life with dozens of accents, speech patterns, and languages to try.

Use Speechify’s text to speech app to create professional voice overs for your YouTube channel

So, what exactly is Speechify?

In most basic terms, it’s a text to speech (TTS) reading assistance and voice synthesis tool, originally designed to aid people with reading difficulties like dyslexia. In truth, though, it’s actually a full-blown voice synthesis tool that you can use to create lifelike voice over content without the need for a full recording studio.

You can make podcasts with it and so much more, including voice over work. How? Simply make a script and have Speechify read it for you. You can customize countless parameters within the app, including tone, pitch, and reading speed to make your voice over as natural-sounding and non-robotic as possible.

If you’re using your own voice in the video, you can use Speechify for cool transition effects or additional voice over support while you’re in your video editing software.

The best part is Speechify is completely free to use, although you can get even more features with Speechify Premium. The app is available for Android, Apple, and Windows devices—as well as in-browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox.

Give Speechify a try today to transform your voice over work.

FAQ

What is the best voice over microphone?

There is no right answer to this, as what is the best usually depends on your goals and needs. If you’re just starting and don’t have a lot of money to spend, go for a reasonably priced USB microphone with a pop filter to make sure there are no popping noises in your audio. Then, use Audacity to tune the audio up.

What is the best way to get a voice over gig?

You can always try freelancing on sites like Fiverr. Simply register, post your portfolio, and look for gigs that seem appealing. Over time, as your reputation grows, you’ll get more and more clients looking to work with you.

Of course, you can also rely on natural-sounding text to speech software like Speechify to produce customizable and consistent high-quality voice over content without the need to use your own voice.