How do you feel about your freelance writing clients? Just as they have an opinion of you, you probably have some thoughts of your own. How you “rate†clients is ultimately your decision, but the following details should definitely be considered:
1. Rate. How much money are you getting paid? Even though this is not the only thing to consider, most freelance writers love clients that pay at or above the industry average. Just like all of us, you surely have a few clients that pay better than the rest.
2. Quantity. How much work does the client send your way? You definitely need to consider this when rating a freelance writing client. If you are earning a good rate but never receive new projects, in the long run you are not making any money.
3. How do they treat you as a person? The highest paying client in the world can get annoying if they do not know how to treat people. Do you get along with some clients and not others? You definitely need to think about this when you are rating the people that you do business with.
4. Future. What does the future hold for your writer – client relationship? Do you believe that they will keep you around for the long haul? Or are you just going to do one or two projects and then be kicked to the curb? It is important to value relationships that are going to last a long time.
When rating a freelance writing client consider the four details above. They will help you formulate a clear picture of how things have progressed to this point and where they are headed in the future.
Just like many freelance writers, I had every intention of working on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, I got very sick and it was soon obvious that getting any work done was going to be next to impossible. This does not happen to me very often, but I learned once again that you never know what can up and how it will change your schedule.
There is nothing wrong with taking a day off as a freelance writer, even if it is not planned. Just like any other job, you need to be willing to take time off if you are sick. If I would have worked on Christmas Even two things would have happened: 1. I would have worsened my situation and prolonged my illness. 2. My work would have greatly suffered. With both of these details it is easy to see that nobody was going to benefit in the long run.
One of the biggest benefits of being a freelancer is that you can take off when you want and work the schedule that you set, for the most part. Although I had to take time away when I wanted to work, there was no “calling off†or having a boss mad at me. Instead, I will simply catch up this week and all will be good.
Freelance writers get sick too! If something unexpectedly comes up and you need to take a day off, so be it. You may have to work hard in the days to come to get back on track, but this is much better than putting your health at risk while also jeopardizing the quality of your work.Â
As a freelance writer I communicate with clients day after day. Some days I only send emails, others I spend a lot of time on the phone. And from time to time I even meet with clients in person. What does all of this mean to me? Simply put, effective communication can go a long way in avoiding trouble with clients. This is why I strongly suggest to every freelance writer that they make themselves available to clients through various communication methods.
You don’t like talking on the phone, right? I get this a lot from aspiring freelance writers. They prefer to talk with clients via email if at all possible. While email is a great way of communicating with clients, keep in mind that sometimes it just doesn’t cut the slack. You can accomplish more in a quick phone call than you can in a long email chain. On top of all this, there are some clients who will simply prefer to talk on the phone. So if you want to keep the gig you do not really have a choice.
When you effectively communicate with clients you can avoid a lot of trouble. For instance, if you are going to miss a deadline you need to let the client know as soon as possible. Or if you run into a problem this is also something that you should communicate. It is better to get in touch and stay in touch than to disappear and only talk when the job is complete.
Over the years I have found communication to be a very big piece of the freelance writing puzzle. Many people think that being a freelance writer means hiding out, completing jobs without guidance, and moving onto the next task. While some of this is true, communicating with clients is also a very important part of your job description.
If you are open to communicating with clients in many ways you will find yourself running into less trouble. In turn, you will have happy clients that pay on time and send repeat work.Â
