Don’t be Rude to your Clients
Every so often I send out requests to other professionals for services such as web design, marketing, SEO, etc. And it never surprises me when somebody emails me back with a rude response. They may say something such as “I don’t have time to help you†or “Unless you have a big budget you are wasting your time.†And as you can imagine, as soon as I see something like this the service provider is marked off my list. After all, do I really want to work with somebody who cannot even communicate in a professional manner? The answer is no.
Simply put, you should never be rude to your clients or anybody who inquiries about your freelance writing services. If you come across this way, it is going to greatly hinder your chances of securing a long term relationship. It is not difficult to communicate with respect and professionalism in mind. This is why it simply boggles my mind when others are rude when responding to email inquiries.
Take for example an SEO “professional†that I emailed last week. I am working on some new projects, and need to find a new SEO to assist me. Well, the first reply that I received was something like this: “I absolutely CANNOT help you at this time. I have too much work to take on a new client.†They did not say thank you for getting in touch, or tell me to keep them in mind in the future. Instead, they jumped the gun, told me no, and killed any chance they have at future work. Would it have been difficult for this person to be a bit nicer? Of course not. In the amount of time that it took to be rude they could have sent a nice email that would have left open the chance of working together down the road.
As a freelance writer you need to be serious about customer service. If you are hard to work with, your current clients are going to run away and potential buyers are going to cross you off their list before giving you a chance. The bottom line is simple: treat others with respect and the way that you would like to be treated yourself. This will pay off big time in the long run.Â
August 7th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Hi Chris
It can sometimes be very tempting to lose it. Such an instance was today when I was asked to write a 500-word article for $2. They were looking for a native English speaker and wanted articles turned around in 24 hours. I felt insulted but replied back courteously, not because I could potentially garner future work from them – I just made a conscious decision not to react in my reply.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I’ve had similar situations to ebele’s. It’s hard to compete, though, when writers are willing to take that sort of pay. I usually politely reply that I’ve given the lowest rate that I can. I need to eat, too! =)
August 11th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
It can definitely be difficult to bite your tongue at times. But in the end it is much better to act in a professional manner; no matter how hard it may be!
October 16th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
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