We were lucky to catch up with Caryn Clark… The Hip Chick Voice! recently and have shared our conversation below.

Caryn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

The first dollar (well, I think it was $250) I earned from working as a voice over talent was as a narrator for a scratch track. The client was pitching a show to The Travel Channel about Halloween in New Orleans.

I started my voiceover journey by finding a coach, attending workshops, working with my coach, making demos, and auditioning on online casting sites relentlessly. This took a couple of years, in total.

I had auditioned and auditioned for months and months and months without a nibble via an online casting service, and FINALLY, landed a job! Granted, it was a scratch track for a pitch, but it was PAID WORK! To say I was ecstatic is an understatement!

The day of the session arrived, and I was nervous. But I knew what I needed to do.

As the session got started, there were not one, not two, but multiple people on the line to direct.

And, it all just started to spiral down the drain from there.

I’d read the copy in a way one person would direct, and the other person would have changes to the direction of the read, so I’d read it that way.

This went on, for every section of the narration, for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually, we wrapped up the session and said our goodbyes.

Or so I thought.

About two hours later, I received a phone call from the client. They wanted to re-do the session, but first, they wanted to coach me on what they were looking for. Of course, I was agreeable to this. We ended the conversation with the client saying he’d get back to me.

And, he did get back to me. About an hour later, he called to say, they were just going to use another talent.

I was devastated. I mean, I was still compensated for the job, but knowing I wasn’t able to give the client what they wanted was beyond heartbreaking to me. I spent a few hours wallowing in my sadness with a giant pity party full of tears, sobs, and disappointment in myself and my talent.

Caryn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So many voiceover talent come from radio or have a broadcast background. I do not. Heck, I’d never even been in a radio or TV station until I became a voice actor, and even now, visits to a studio outside of my own equate to a few handfuls of occasions.

I started my adult working life in corporate financial marketing in New York City, where I wrote very dull descriptions and legalese for products like mutual funds and annuities. I’m a lover of words, and graduated with an English degree from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). I was a choral singer in high school and college. My passion for using my voice led me to voice acting, after over 13 years in corporate life.

I was, to be blunt, terrible at voice acting when I started, which means I scratched and clawed my way to a career. Since 2007, I’ve enjoyed a career voicing mainly commercials (my favorite type of work), along with e-learning and web video narration. My next big goal is to embark on in-show (tv show) narration.

These days, creative and advertising strive to be relatable to the consumer, whether it’s via user generated content or an advertising campaign. My voice print and brand is unique, yet relatable, and I have a range that spans from late teen into late forties.

I am also a fanatic about customer service. Voiceover is generally the last link in a long chain of production, so clients need the right read, and they need it right now. I will go above and beyond to give my clients everything they need, even if it’s at 2am. My phone and email are ALWAYS on. My job is to help the client and make their job easier.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My goal on social media is to engage with others to create real relationships. Whether that is making comments on their posts, or connecting and having a conversation with them through a private message, I truly enjoy getting to know the people I connect with.

My favorite social media platform is LinkedIn. It wasn’t always. Matter of fact, I avoided it for years. But, it has become the platform I spend the most time on these days. I’m building my business each day by connecting with others and learning about their businesses, and most importantly, about them as a person. Here’s an example – just yesterday, I came across a post about a video piece being made for a hockey team. It was a behind the scenes piece, and it showed all the work that went in to creating the final video for air. In the BTS, they highlighted a cameraman who was ice skating along with the players in order to capture the best shots. It never occurred to me that a cameraman might need ice skating skills! It was really cool to see!

My advice for those starting out would be to engage in a genuine way. Really learn about the people you’re connecting with. Business is built on relationships with are built on trust, and the way to start a relationship is to take a genuine interest in people and their business. When you comment, make the comment thoughtful and relevant, and avoid just saying things like, “Cool!”

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

From a very basic non-creative viewpoint I think a) they think the voiceover business is easy (I mean, we just read things in to a microphone, right?), b) that it pays well, and c) it’s easy to find work.

All three of these ideas are misguided.

There is an inordinate amount of training and ability required to be a voice actor. It requires the ability to act, improv, and sound natural while doing it. It also requires us to have the ability to use audio editing software. It’s not as simple as reading off of a page into a microphone.

As far as pay, well, (see what I did there?), it CAN pay well, Commercials on a regional or national level, especially, can compensate a talent very well. However, most actors aren’t just voicing commercials, and when they do voice them, they’re not voicing a regional or national campaign every week. Actors are also voicing eLearning courses, web videos and narrations, phone messaging, video games, and even audiobooks.

Lastly, it’s not that easy to find work. I have a number of agents who bring me incredible audition opportunities, but, I might also be auditioning along with 500 other actors. Online casting sites are shifting, and that landscape is changing so that it’s more challenging to find or book work on those platforms. So, most actors are out there constantly pounding the pavement, so to speak, by direct marketing to potential users of voiceover.

Despite all the social media ads telling people “You can do voiceover – it’s easy!”, voiceover is saturated with actors, and being threatened by AI. Unless an actor has a very unique trait and/or extraordinary acting ability, I don’t encourage people to choose vo as a career right now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carynclark.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehipchickvoice/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehipchickvoice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thehipchickvoice/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Ir8tOPkcY9Gfzm7VCMb6g
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/caryn-clark