March 13, 2020
The pros and cons of hiring an external scriptwriter for your video
Maybe you’ve decided that you need a voiceover video for marketing purposes. Oh, where to begin? You’ve found the perfect voiceover talent. You’ve found the right images and slogans and all of the visuals necessary to deliver a fantastic video. Now what?

Are you going to write that script yourself (or find that one guy/gal in your office in sales that can write a script)? Sounds easy enough. Until you look up and realize that you need to have a killer opening line to attract viewers, a call to action and all the contact information all crammed into thirty seconds. Oh, it also has to be funny or touching or… was it serious? Or – Well, you get the picture. There’s a lot to think about when producing something that will represent your company.

Certainly, a scriptwriter will take care of all of this. The potential benefits of hiring a scriptwriter are obvious. Scriptwriters tend to be economical with their words. If they’re good, then they know how to create a killer hook and deliver a powerful message that is easily understood.

But outsourcing can pose many hidden problems too. Scriptwriters won’t know your product as well as someone in-house will. Are you in a niche market or delivering something extremely technical? Well, then you may be in for heavy revisions. If you find someone online, chances are that person is in a different country altogether which can pose language and cultural issues. Maybe that scriptwriter will play it too safe, creating a generic one-size-fits-all script. That’s an even bigger branding problem.

When you take it in-house, you can avoid those cons. You’ll save a bit on the budget and you’ll discover that many of your staff have great writing skills. Of course, you also run the risk of leaving someone with little experience in charge of your exposure. You also will have a writer who has been working closely with the process. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is a positive thing.

In the end, there’s no right answer; it’s more a matter of weighing the pros and cons of your specific project. Some questions to ask include:

  1. What is the function of my video? Am I targeting a new audience? (Then maybe you want someone from the outside)
  2. How many of these am I creating? Is it for internal use or as a pitch which requires more specifics and technicalities? (Then maybe you want someone from the inside)
  3. What’s my budget? (This can go either way!)

Whatever the case, voiceovers are powerful tools. Make sure you take your time to get it right!

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