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There’s a moment every voice actor dreams of—when a client emails, not for an audition, not to ask about rates, but to say, “Hey, we’ve got another project for you.” No hoops, no hurdles, no audition, just repeat business landing straight in your inbox.

If you’ve been in the game for any length of time, you know that getting work isn’t the hardest part—getting clients to come back is where the real magic happens.

So, what’s the secret? What makes a client think of you first when their next project lands on their desk? It’s not just about talent. It’s not even about price. 
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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Well, there comes a moment that every voice actor dreams of.
Not when a client reaches out to have you audition, not when they reach out about rates,not when they reach out to give you guff for your questionable fashion sense.
I thought this looked good.
But to say, hey, we got another project for you.
No hoops, no hurdles, no audition, just a bag of money sitting there for you in yourinbox.

(00:24):
Now, if you've been in the game for any length of time, you know that getting work isn'tthe hardest part.
It's getting clients to come
back, which is where the real magic is.
So what's the secret?
What makes a client think of you when their next project comes up?
It's not about talent.
It's not even about price.
It's about relationships.
And if you're going to turn those one off,
gigs into long-term clients, then you need to know how to make those relationships last.

(00:49):
Now here's the truth about why clients stick around in the first place.
Most voice actors assume that if they simply do a good job, then the client will keepcoming back.
And sometimes that's true, but more often than not, it takes a lot more than just thebaseline of doing a good job that makes you their go-to.
Think about it.
How many voice actors are there?

(01:10):
A fucking ton!
But how many of them are easy to work with?
deliver on time, understand and anticipate the client's needs even before they mentionthem, and make the whole process seamless.
A fraction.
Clients don't just want a voice.
They don't just want a performance.
What they want is trust.
They want to feel confident that when they send you a script that it comes back fast,flawless, and formatted the way they need it.

(01:34):
They want to know that they're not going to have to chase you down for pickups or thatyou're going to
ghost them in the middle of a project.
You don't want to be just a voice actor or a vendor.
You want to be the easiest choice they make all damn day.
Most voice actors get stuck in the gig mindset.
They think transactionally, right?
Send me the script, send me the audition, I'll book the job, I'll do the record, I'll sendit back, rinse and repeat.

(01:57):
But if you want real long-term repeat clients, then you've got to think way beyond theindividual job.
Because the truth is...
Every job is an audition.
Every client is deciding on an ongoing basis if they want to work with you on the next jobbefore this job is even over.
Every email, every file delivery, every communication, every need anticipated, it allpiles up.

(02:21):
You're not just trying to prove that you're good at what you do, you're trying to provethat working with you is an
effortless experience.
What does that mean?
It means that you've got to anticipate clients' needs before they even articulate them.
You need to deliver the files exactly how they want them without having to be asked.
You need to respond quickly and be reasonably available.

(02:43):
And you need to go the extra step.
Do your homework on pronunciation.
Offer them additional takes.
Maybe that's making a grammatical suggestion slash correction when appropriate on thescript.
Okay, let's talk about the emotional side of connecting with your clients for a minutebecause it's one of the most important aspects of long-term relationships in business.

(03:06):
See, clients don't just remember good service.
They remember how they felt while they were working with you.
If you made their life easier, if you anticipated their needs before they voiced them, ifyou showed up like a professional, they'll come back just because
They like working with you, you big lug.
And that's why the idea of emotional intelligence is just as important as your performancechops in the business of voiceover.

(03:33):
Being able to read between the lines in emails.
Being able to pick up when a client is under pressure, under deadline.
Being able to adapt your communication style to match theirs.
Those are the things that'll set you apart.
Folks, it's about way more than just nailing the read.
It's about knowing who your clients are.
what they care about, and how they like to work.
You gotta be able to adapt to, assuming you're working in more than one genre, and my god,who isn't these days, you've be able to adapt to lots of different kinds of clients.

(04:01):
Corporate video producers need people that can handle last minute changes without stress.
E-learning clients need consistent delivery so that if they give you another module sixmonths from now, it will sound the same.
Medical narration clients need clarity and precision.
Commercial clients need energy and versatility and acting chops and being able to turnstuff around quickly.

(04:24):
Every kind of client has, in fact, every almost individual client has a differentworkflow.
And the more you can adapt to that person's workflow, the more valuable you become as aconsultant.
For example, you're working with an ad agency.
They may need same-day pickups.
So if you're a little bit more flexible with your pickups policy,
That can be a major advantage.

(04:45):
That can go a long way into building that relationship.
Your e-learning and corporate narration clients, they may require tons of file splits andreally meticulous, precise naming conventions.
So if you just took the extra step of maybe creating a template that follows theirformatting, you just might become their favorite voiceover artist.
If you're working with animation or video game studios, they may love people that canreally improv.

(05:12):
If you can bring
Extra creativity, a unique idea, an interesting choice.
They're gonna value that.
Here's my pro tip.
If you can train yourself to do this, it will set you light years ahead.
Three words.
Ask smart questions.
So let's say a client sends you a script this afternoon, rather than you just firing back,okay, got it, I'll send it over shortly.

(05:32):
Take the time to dig in a little bit.
Hey, should I match the pacing of the last video we did?
Do want this all on one file or separate files for these sections?
Is this a draft?
And if so, do you need a little help editing?
For an extra fee, of course.
Tiny smart questions can make a world of difference because they know that you're lookingout for them and that you're thinking ahead.

(05:53):
Now, one of the biggest mistakes, brutal mistakes that voice actors make is they thinkthat once the job is over, well, then they kind of goodbye to the client and they don't
keep in touch.
They don't follow up.
Folks, the relationship is not over and it's not the client's responsibility to keep therelationship warm, it's yours.
So instead, follow up, make sure you do that, and when you do it, make sure that youremind them of how much they like working with you.

(06:20):
A few weeks after you send a project.
Shoot them a little email that says, had so much fun working on this with you.
Let me know how it turns out and when you're done, I'd love to see it.
A few weeks, maybe a couple months later, reach out and say, hey, Marcia, I saw thisarticle today and it made me think of you for reasons A, B, and C.

(06:41):
Hope you're well, talk to you soon.
If they haven't reached out, send them a piece that you've recently done that may besimilar to the kind of work that they do and just say, hey, man, here's a project I just
did.
that was a lot of fun, made me think about the work you and I did, and I hope you enjoyit.
Most voice actors focus, I think, too much on landing new clients, and that's natural inthe beginning, I get that, but here's the thing.

(07:04):
If you don't focus on keeping the clients that you already have, they can't become repeatclients.
And depending on the literature you subscribe to or have read, it's up to seven timesharder to get a client back than it is to get them in the door in the first place.
That means it's much, much easier to get business from a client who already knows theexperience and likes the experience of working with you.

(07:25):
These are the cherry gold standard clients, Repeat clients.
The kind that send you work without having to chase them.
The kind that recommend you to colleagues and refer you without hesitation.
The kind that trust you enough to give you creative freedom and let you bring what youbring to the table.
I have built my business like this from day one with very few exceptions.

(07:48):
You gotta start treating your career as a collection of long-term clients and not as acollection of one-off gigs.
You've got to create and manage your own database of your clients.
You've got to follow up with them consistently, religiously, every few months.
You've got to be able to remember every piece of communication, every project, everythingabout that relationship.

(08:10):
And you've got to offer solutions before they even ask.
Proactive service is consultative.
You're acting like a consultant and that builds trust.
Look, any trained monkey can book a gig.
The real challenge is becoming the business person that that business person wants to workwith again and again and again.
So the next time you book a gig, ask yourself, what can I possibly do to make sure thatthis is not the last job for this client?

(08:37):
Because that's the real secret to building a voiceover business that lasts, that issustainable, that is scalable, and stands the test of time.
Now it's your turn.
Take a past or current client and send them one follow-up email that will help build therelationship and build their trust with you today, right now.
Not a pitch, not a beg for work, just a friendly touch that brings them value.

(09:02):
Just do it see what happens.
Because the voice actors who know how to build relationships are also the ones
who know how to build careers.
Now if this video helped you, if you got some value out of it, if you think it'll helpanother voice actor or another creative freelancer, please feel free to share it with them
on social media or by email or however you choose to do it.
Give us a like, a subscribe, hit the notification bell so you'll find out first when ournew videos come out every week.

(09:26):
And most importantly, let's continue the conversations, be it here on YouTube, be it inthe VO Pro community, be it in the wider VO community at large.
The more we talk, the more we
Educate ourselves and each other the more we exchange ideas and information the betterstronger industry will have for everybody Thanks so much, and we'll see you again real
soon