Voice over artists are the ones who make commercials go, and everyone knows that, but it is easy to lose track of how many times in the course of, say, a week, that you hear the work of professional voice talent. If people weren't hiring voiceover artists left and right, there would be a lot of silence or silly music instead of talking. Or you wouldn't have things like phone trees (which may actually be a good thing). So when you think about it, it can be pretty surprising just how many voice actors are speaking to us on a daily basis. You yourself probably never think about it. The only reason you're thinking about it now may just be that you've got a project of your own to figure out, and you've just considered the possibility of hiring voice talent.

But a person rarely has just one project in the fire. If you've got one going, you're probably thinking of others. And you may be wondering which of them are right for voice talent.

If you're talking commercials, that's easy. Everyone knows that voice actors are the ones who sell those products, mainly because they're tired of hearing and seeing local, low-budget productions. One has to wonder if that really works, in fact—and, indeed, it may work if no one that has anything to do with a particular business cares whether it looks professional. But a lot of advertising jingles and TV promotions seriously need a professional look and sound.

There are other places that voice talent can do a lot of good as well. Podcasts, for one. If you need a professional-sounding podcast, then doing it yourself may be the worst thing you can do—unless, of course, you are one of those voices. Then, if you have company on that podcast, you may need to hire a professional to be the other voice. There are an incredible array of projects that professional voice talent can be good for.

Audio books and narration projects, for instance—not to mention corporate narration projects and e-learning narration. Some of the best vocal talent in the country is busy readying business books and books that tell readers how to make money, self-help books, spiritual path books—and, of course, novels. It is usually a mistake, for instance, for an author to read his own novel. And if you are a self-published author with a good book, then you may want to consider making it available in audio format. And to do that, you have to hire the right voice for it.

Even video game companies hire voice actors to be the voice of a character or a narrator. There is plenty of narration in video games nowadays, because the stories have gotten so complicated. Instead of, “You're on a mission in exotic land. People are shooting at you. Shoot back,” it's, “The story of the gem that you seek is long and complicated. You probably want to know why each and every character in this game is gunning for you, and why you want that gem in the first place...” And then they go on to explain it to you. The person who does that explaining has to have a voice that can fit into the game itself, and not be a distraction. That takes talent and professionalism. The biggest mistake most people make is choosing to do it themselves simply to save money.