This morning I was at a business networking meeting, and the guest speaker owned a marketing company. The talk revolved around a few areas, one of which was the age-old topic of what is your USP (Unique Selling Point for the uninitiated)? And how by narrowing down what type of business you target, how in the long run you can gain far more business by focussing on that target market more, becoming in a way more niche.

So, it got me thinking…..what is my USP? What makes me different from a lot of the other voice over artists out there?

Well, the full answer is I’m working on it! (Hey, this only happened this morning to make me aware/remind me I need to think about it some more!) But one thing that does make me different from a lot of people, is that I come from a video production background, which involved being a video editor. This gives me a fairly unique advantage, as I have a full appreciation of the role the editor plays in putting together an advert/documentary/corporate video/promo etc, the fine tuning involved in making everything fit within often tight time constraints.

So what benefit does this give me as a voice over artist? The ability to be empathetic when it comes to timings, knowing how the editor would want my voiceover to be supplied; for instance with small gaps in between sections of voiceover, so it’s easier for them to cut and splice bits together if things have to move around etc. Plus the knowledge that if a voiceover segment has to fit within a specific time limit, then I know that’s what I need to do, and I can deliver that as required. (Of course, unless it’s a script that is blatantly too long to fit within that time frame!)

So there we are, I suppose I’m on my way to really defining what unique talents/traits/skills I offer as a voiceover artist, and how that can be beneficial to my clients.

The question is, do you know yours?