I have said time and time again that following up with freelance writing clients is very important. After all, if they are not thinking about you they may turn to somebody else for the next job that comes up. But what if you get the feeling that a client is ignoring you? What should you do then?
Simply put, there is a fine line between following up with a client and annoying the heck out of them. Personally, each follow up email that I send is based on my past dealings with that particular client. In other words, there is no standard on how often you should follow up. For the most part, I like to check in with past clients at least once per month. This is nothing more than a quick email letting them know that I am available, and would be glad to help with any new projects.
If you have followed up three times without any response, there is a good chance you are being ignored, to a certain extent that is. At this point, you may simply want to move on. If the client needs something from you, they will get in touch. Until then, you should go about your business with clients that you are actually servicing at the time.
Remember, things do come up from time to time. For instance, I finished a very large ongoing project for a client at the end of June. They told me to follow up every so often, so once a month I would do so. After three months without a response, I pretty much figured that they had moved on. But just when I forgot about them, I received an email explaining a serious situation they had at their office. I replied that it was no big deal, and a couple emails later I had a new $1,000 job on the table.
All in all, following up with your past freelance writing clients is important. Just remember two things:
1. You do not want to go overboard with the number of emails you send.
2. Situations do arise that may hold a client back. Give them time to respond to your follow-ups.
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After posting my October freelance writing income yesterday, I received several emails asking the same question: how do you earn so much money? While this is not an easy question to answer, I am going to attempt to do so anyway.
First off, you have to realize that I did not earn over $7,000 my first month as a freelance writer. In fact, it took me three months to break the $1,000 mark. The bottom line is that you need to start at the beginning, and build your career month to month. It may not seem like you are making any progress, but over time this will change. By carefully charting your monthly income you will be able to see just how much progress you are making.
Moving on, I have built my income up to a high level because I provide quality service to my clients. This includes both content and customer service. I take the time to make sure that every client is satisfied. And of course, doing this means offering a high level of customer service. You need to constantly be in touch with your clients, providing updates, making sure that they are taken care of, and always getting what they want.
Repeat work. Does it get any simpler than that? When a client is always sending work your way, you will have a much easier time increasing your income. This allows you to hold steady at your current income level, and then increase it by adding new clients to the mix.
Finally, always make sure that you are working hard and putting your all into every job. When I started out as a freelance writer I was working 10 hours a day or more, and only making half of what I do now. All of this hard work has led to me being able to work shorter days, while earning much more money.
Above are just a few of the reasons why I think I earn a decent freelance writing income. Hopefully you will be able to put these tips to good use. Of course, the way that you run your freelance writing business will not be the same as me. Do what is best for your situation, and you will reap the rewards in the end.Â
One thing that I have learned since starting my freelance writing career is that my income will vary from month to month. While it may always be in the same range, there is no way of predicting when a big month will arrive. For me, one of those big months happened to be October.
Generally speaking, I did not do anything special during October to boost my income. In fact, I worked with the same clients as always, and only added two new projects. The only thing that I changed was putting a little bit more time into writing. At this point, I am beginning to feel more comfortable with breaking down my time between freelance writing, blogging, and other start-ups.
Here are my freelance writing income stats for October 2007.
Number of Completed Projects: 24
Payment by PayPal: 20
Payment by Check: 3
Payment by Bank Wire: 1
Total Income: $7,047.84
As you can see, I just eclipsed the $7,000 mark last month. Since beginning to chart my income in July, this is my biggest month. This is not my most profitable month ever, but definitely ranks somewhere in the top 10.
It is hard to predict if I will be able to make as much or more money in November. As mentioned above, a freelance writing income is one that will vary from month to month. The way that I best get around this is by setting a basic goal of $4,500/month, and then working my best to beat that by as much as possible.
If you liked this post, you should do two things. First off, subscribe to my RSS Feed. This will help to make sure that you learn all the tips for earning this type of income. Additionally, Stumble this article if you get a chance. More traffic means more exposure, and more exposure means more freelancers achieving high levels of success.
Like always, I would be glad to answer any specific questions. Leave a comment, or send me an email!
