"One of the keys to succeeding in the voiceover business is setting oneself apart; being and delivering something that others don’t. So, I offer three things that you can start doing today that will transform your voiceover career." -- Dan Hurst

Sometimes the amount of work can seem overwhelming and it’s really tempting to look for shortcuts that will get the job done without sacrificing quality. Today, I have a couple of thoughts that might simplify your life, but not always in the way you think.

In crafting a commercial message, assure the prospective customer that they won’t have to worry about being wrong. Give them ammunition to justify their decision to use your client’s product or service. Make it easy, safe, and comfortable for them to invest with your client.

Beginnings are hard, let’s all agree on that. There, now that we’ve gotten past that nastiness, we can proceed, right? The problem is, that’s really not much of a beginning. I mean, all I did was express a questionable opinion, then try to force you to agree with me. Hardly a compelling start, now, is it?

The best commercial I saw recently was 6 seconds long. I was watching some conspiracy video on YouTube that was two hours long and my feed was interrupted by a spot, which is always infuriating. The voice on the spot asked “what does ambiguous mean?” then the Google logo appeared and it was done. The commercial was over before I could hit “Skip Ad”. It was effective, short, and it came and went so fast I remembered everything.