There are two ways that you can look at the work and people you deal with in your freelance writing career. You can strive to find projects, or you can strive to find clients. Do you know the difference? Do you know which one is better? Simply put, your goal should be to find clients. The difference is that a client comes back to you time after time. While there is nothing wrong with a one time project, it will not help you to sustain your freelance writing income in the long run.
Here are several things that you can do to help build long term relationships with freelance writing clients:
1. Instead of only working with small time webmasters, seek out larger, more established companies as well. They are often times the clients who need your help on a regular basis. This does not mean that you should turn down small clients, but you need to consider what they can offer you over the long haul.
2. While a professional relationship is important, you will want to get personal as well. Call your clients on the phone from time to time, or email them to talk about something unrelated to work. For instance, do you know that one of your clients is a big football fan? If so, send them a quick note after their favorite team wins a big game. This can go a long way in building a long term relationship on both a personal and professional level.
3. Always remember that your freelance writing clients are in charge. Sure, you are doing work for them, but in the end they have the final say on every detail. They can decide to quit working with you for any reason or no reason at all. Never give a client any unnecessary reason to stop calling you. For example, you may think that being rude to a secretary or assistant is no big deal, but if your main contact finds out, it could be the end of your relationship.
These three tips will help you to cultivate long term relationships with all of your freelance writing clients. While some clients are not looking for long term help, this is something that you should always have in mind. The more work that a client sends your way, the busier you will be and the more money you will earn.
With every freelance writing project you accept, you will have to negotiate a deadline with the client. Personally, most of my clients are easy to work with in this area. In other words, they are flexible and willing to work with me to make things as easy as possible. With that being said, I have had some freelance writing clients that are a pain in the neck as far as deadlines are concerned.
Here are five tips that will help you to meet each and every freelance writing deadline.
1. Never agree to take on a new job if you do not think that you will be able to complete it on time. The main culprit of this problem is taking on more work than you can handle. I have done this in the past, and the end result was long work days in order to meet every deadline.
2. Keep a list of every freelance writing deadline that you have. This will help you to keep track of what is due, and when you need to have it to the client. I do this both in paper and electronic form.
3. Try to spread out your deadlines. In other words, if you have five projects lined up, try spreading them out across the course of a week. This is much more manageable than having to finish and send all five projects on the same day.
4. Give yourself enough time to complete your projects so that you are not working your fingers to the bone on deadline day. There is nothing more stressful than having a project due, but not having it done in advance. Finishing work early, if only by a day, will help immensely.
5. Obviously, you will want to plan for the delivery of the project. In today’s day and age this is not too much of a problem because you will more than likely use email to send completed work. But in some cases, you may be forced to use snail mail. If this is the case, you need to factor it into your schedule. After all, it will take a few days for your mail to reach your client.
With these five tips, you should never miss a freelance writing deadline!Â
Every time that I accept a new freelance writing project I get excited. After all, I love writing, and new projects give me the chance to get creative. With that being said, every project has to come to an end sooner rather than later. If not, your clients are sure to get upset with you! The question is: what do you do with a project upon completion? You may think you know the answer, but there are some details you may be forgetting.
The obvious first step upon completing a freelance writing project is to send it off to the client. But before you do this, consider the steps below instead.
1. Always, always, always proof your work before sending it off to the client. I made a big mistake with this in the past, and will never do so again. Upon completing a feature article for a decent sized publication, I proofed the work and emailed it to the client. Little did I know, I sent the wrong file which was full of mistakes. Although I usually don’t have two files, for this project I did. As you can imagine, the client was not happy when he saw all the typos, etc. Of course, I explained the situation and sent him the correct file a few minutes later. Even though I didn’t get burnt by this mistake, it did show me that proofing is an important part of the completion process.
2. You never want to email a completed job to a client with a note reading nothing more than, “Here is your project. Thanks.†Instead, put together a nice email saying how much you enjoyed the project, as well as any pointers and/or tips that the client may enjoy.
3. There is no better time to ask for more work, or pitch a new project idea. You do not want to be overbearing with this, but definitely add this somewhere. Remember, it is repeat work that will keep you busy while also keeping a nice flow of income.
Taking the three tips above into consideration, here is a sample email that you could send along with a completed project.
Mr. Tony Smith:
Attached is the project as we discussed. It came out great, and it was a joy to work on. This article is sure to elicit a response from all the readers who purchase your magazine for real estate related information.
While putting this project together, I came up with a few other ideas that may fit in well with your publication. Would you be interested in discussing them? Let me know when you get a chance.
If you see any changes that need to be made, be sure to let me know.
Thanks again, and as always it is a pleasure.
Sincerely yours,
Chris
As you can see, sending a completed freelance writing project to a client is more extensive than a few words and an attachment. If you play your cards right you may be able to earn another job.
