Working With Clients in Voiceover
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For me, at the beginning of my career working with clients felt alien, daunting, and kinda scary. Hell, using the word “clients” felt odd. I was worried they’d find out I was a charlatan, that they’d misuse my voice, that they wouldn’t pay me after my work—you name it.
Fortunately, most people out there are pretty nice and are rooting for you to do your best. That may be kinda cheesy, but it’s true—and once they’ve hired you to voice their project, they’ve got some skin in the game too.
So how can you make sure that you—the voice talent—have the best experience you can? Where you’re paid a fair rate, and you and your work are protected? And how can you make sure that your client feels equally well treated, protected, and has such a great time working with you that they hire you again and again?
Let’s break down a sample project from beginning to end, and I’ll walk you through how I try to do just that.
THE PROPOSAL
Lots of gigs begin with a proposal, particularly on pay-to-play casting sites (Upwork, Voices.com, Voices123, Bodalgo, etc.) The proposal is where you as the voice talent can pitch yourself and your services, and more often than not has a few parts to it.
THE COVER LETTER
This bit is pretty intuitive I think, and here is a sample of one of my ‘cover letters’ (it’s not perfect, but a good jumping off point). I’d recommend fashioning a general template that you can copy paste, and then always always customize the appropriate parts to the specific job. This shows that you’ve actually considered the specific and personal needs of this person, and that you are the perfect solution for what they’re looking for.
<— I always make sure to use the client’s name.
Hello Jill!
I hope this finds you well.
<— I lead with specific reasons why I fit the bill. The client said they wanted a “warm, professional voice,” so I make sure to restate those needs and that I fit. I also offer adjustments or samples to leave the door open for a conversation.
I believe my voice might be a good fit for the warm, professional sound you're looking for in these six product videos. Below are links to some of my work, you can also find an expanded portfolio on my personal website. Additionally, if you'd like a specific sample for your brand please feel free to reach out and I'd be glad to provide one.
<— Next, I give a brief rundown as to why I’m qualified for the job. A quick list of bigger credits, any training, years experience, and if you want to list your equipment.
A quick bit about me: I'm a professional actor and voice talent with 15+ years experience, elite performance training (MFA, NYU Tisch), and a list of clients including BMW, Microsoft, IBM, Netflix, Audible, Penguin Random House, Bayer, among many more. In my home studio I use top of the line audio equipment and software to provide the highest quality sound in my recordings.
<— If you are comfortable doing live recording sessions, say so!
For a live directed session, I am available via SourceConnect, Zoom, and Skype.
<— Again, I leave the door open for a conversation in case they are interested.
If you have other questions about me, my training/experience, or anything else--please don't hesitate to reach out or visit my personal website.
<— The job posting was a bit unclear, so I let them know I’d like to clarify some terms and expectations. I’ve found this not only helps to protect me, but also helps to make sure I understand the client’s expectations. Honestly, asking questions like this makes you seem more professional, and might even boost the client’s trust in you somewhat.
One quick note regarding my proposed rate for this project. Before confirming that I'd ask more details on the length of each of the six scripts, as well as their intended broadcast usage.
Thank you!
Warmly,
Jay Myers
SETTING YOUR RATE
This bit’s hard. You don’t want to work for nothing, but you don’t want to bid yourself out of a job either. To find an appropriate rate, you can either comb the casting site you’re using to see what people are offering to pay for similar services, or (on sites like Fiverr or Upwork) you can look at profiles of other voice talent similar to you in skill and experience and go from there.
Beyond that here are some resources I’ve found helpful in setting my own rates for proposals:
***A quick note: I learned all of this through trial and error, and made a few mistakes. You will likely make mistakes too, but it is never the end of the world. Take em in stride as best you can and use that as information next time around. In fact, most of my mistakes have turned into some of my favorite stories.
The Offer
Hey hey! They offered you the gig!
First up, give yourself a little celebration. Quite sincerely, take the time to acknowledge your win here.
THE CONTRACT
Alright, let’s iron out these contract details.
Firstly, if you’ve booked the job through a pay-to-play site, the fee you’re paying to the site is partially to protect you in these contracts. They make sure that you get paid for your work, that the terms you set aren’t breached, and they’ll go to bat for you if there’s any foul play. Just be sure that you actually take the time to read the site’s Terms of Service or Terms of Use. It’s vitally important that you don’t violate those, because if you accidentally do something that violates those terms they might not be able to protect you anymore. (Speaking from personal experience).
If however you booked the job outside of a pay-to-play site, or outside of an agent’s purview, you gotta protect yourself with a contract. Before you send the client ANY recordings, or even before you do any work, make sure you’ve received a signed contract with everything outlined in great detail. This doesn’t make you difficult to work with, it makes you a true professional—and remember you’re also protecting your client by guaranteeing their side of things too!
Below is my personal contract template which I edited from Gravy for the Brain’s free template. Feel free to use and tweak it yourself!
GETTING THE BALL ROLLING
It’s nice to offer a quick conversation or email exchange to make sure the client’s expectations are clear, and that you know exactly what they're looking for in their voice over. Helpful questions to ask are:
Are you looking for a specific tone in the read? (Professional, comedic, sarcastic, etc.)
Do you have any reference material that would be helpful for me to look at before recording? (marketing materials, YouTube videos, audio samples, etc.)
How quickly do you need this audio delivered by? -or- What’s your timeline for delivery?
Is there a way you’d like me to deliver the files to you? (email, Dropbox, WeTransfer, etc.)
Do you have a preferred file format or specifications? (.mp3, .wav, etc.)
More or less, ask questions that’ll help you do the best job you can and give your client the best experience possible. (because that can often convert into more work down the line)
DO THE JOB
Easy peasy. Do what you came here to do.
If it’s a longer job that spans a couple of weeks, it might be nice to give the client updates on your progress, but there’s no need to be overly communicative unless they request it.
WRAPPING UP & GETTING PAID
Once you’ve delivered the files to the client, I always leave the door open in case they’d like adjustments—bearing in mind of course the revision policy that we’ve agreed on (read the fine print on that contract).
Now comes the good bit when you get paid for your hard work and beautiful voice.
INVOICING
Once again, if you’ve booked through a pay-to-play site, they’ll take care of this for you. If however you’re flying solo, there are lots of services online that make it really easy to invoice your client. A list of some options I’ve used is below, but before you make a choice be sure to check the site’s service fees and/or transaction fees. Depending on your situation, or if your client is international, that may make a difference in what service you use.
You could also send them a PDF invoice using this template if you prefer.
FIN.
That’s all she wrote! Be gracious as you take your bow, let them know you’re there if they need anything else, and leave the door open for future collaboration.
You’ll find what works best for you as you move forward, but hopefully this acts as a good starting point for you to hone your own brilliant brand of service.