Everyone has heard local merchants read their own commercials on the radio. Perhaps they did it in order to give their spot an air of originality. More likely, they did it to save money. After all, they figure, anyone can read words into a microphone, right? Well, yes. Anyone can do that, just like anyone can make a meal. However, not everyone can do it with flair.

If all the only thing you need to do is fill some airtime, then an amateur voice may be all you need. Similarly, if all you need to do is get rid of some hunger pangs, then a bologna sandwich will suffice. But you don't want to give a bologna sandwich to a potential client you're trying to impress—so why would you want to give the audio equivalent to a bologna sandwich to potential customers?

When you purchase air time, you are not doing it to hear yourself talk: You're doing it in order to convince potential customers to buy your product. Sounding anything less than professional is not going to help you do that. And giving the impression that you're cheap, which using below-par voicing does, is going to give them the impression that you skimp elsewhere as well. If jewelry merchant puts substandard advertising out there for the world to see, how do I, as a potential customer, know that she doesn't also put out substandard jewelry? Yes, people do make that connection, even if they don't admit it. They may not even be conscious of it.

Now, consider this. If you hire a professional voice over artist to sell your product, you are sending the public a message, however subliminally, that you understand how important it is to pay attention to the details. Advertising is one of those little details that it pays, quite literally, to pay attention to. When you are attempting to sell something, the packaging is your first line of attraction, and on the radio, the voice the customer hears is all the packaging you have, the only thing with which to impress him. Why leave that to an amateur? After all, you've paid good money for your advertising. It's much better to spend a little more on effective advertising than a little less on a spot that doesn't work. Or worse, a spot that makes you seem foolish.

Now what, exactly, will a professional voice-over artist give you that you can't do for yourself or get your brother-in-law to do? Plenty. For one thing, you get professionalism. That makes sense, right? You hire a professional; you get professionalism. You get know-how. Sure, everyone can speak, but that does not mean that everyone can speak well. A professional voice-over artist knows how to enunciate words so that people can understand what he or she is saying, while making it sound perfectly natural.

It's your choice in the end, of course. If you think that your customers don't pay attention to packaging and don't get annoyed by amateur commercials then, by all means, do it yourself. But if you want to send the message that you are a professional who knows when to call in the experts, then hire the best voice-over talent you can afford to read your next commercial.