53 Sure-Fire Ways to Lose Clients

Just about any freelance writing blog will tell you how to keep clients. They’ll tell you things like “do your best” and “meet deadlines.” Heck, I’ve done it myself. Unless you’re new to the freelance writing blog niche, you’ve heard it all before.

What they don’t all tell you is why you keep losing clients. In my mind, that’s a better lesson, and one that can help grow your freelance writing business quicker than anything. Here are 53 of the things you can do to keep those clients from coming back:

1. Keep your customer records in your head. There’s no reason to create a contact list or database of names and contact info. You’ve got a big brain, use it.

2. Meet deadlines. If a project is due at 5 PM, turn it in at 4:59.

3. Learn to proofread quickly. Those mistakes will jump right out at you anyways.

4. Ask for more work. Daily.

5. Or, you can go the other route. Don’t ask for more work. They probably don’t have any for you anyways.

6. Don’t be afraid to put a finished project in your portfolio. Online. Without asking.

7. Buy Rockstar Freelancer and Unlimited Freelancer. Don’t read them.

8. Subscribe to The Writing Journey and Freelance Writing Jobs: Business Tips. Don’t read them.

9. Stand up for yourself. If your product doesn’t need improvement, tell the customer.

10. Stay away from social media like Twitter and Facebook. They’re just fads and don’t really work for building a writing business.

11. Work hard for at least a few minutes a day. Work smart the rest of the time.

12. Borrow ideas from others. Frequently.

13. Use a Spell Checker. Warning: the following video contains (unintentionally) adult language.

14. Always think outside the box. There’s probably not a good reason it was done that way before.

15. Never give anything away.

16. Follow up on every lead (within a week or two). Writing is a long process, and customers are patient.

17. Answer emails weekly, too.

18. When someone asks for a free sample of your work, give them a lecture and some good links about “spec work.”

19. Covertly outsource. Clients aren’t hiring you, they’re hiring your business, right?

20. Meet expectations, but charge extra to exceed them.

21. Run down other writers. After all, they’re the competition.

22. Be overly casual with your clients. It’s harder to fire a friend.

23. Never admit mistakes.

24. Be humble. Don’t toot your own horn, or potential clients will think you’re conceited.

25. Template your customer service. Know what your customers will complain about and answer those complaints immediately.

26. Create a complex pricing structure. That way, you can always be sure to make enough on any given project.

27. Don’t follow the hot trends. You’re a leader, not a follower.

28. Never work for less than your best rate. It devalues the market.

29. Do all of your own design work. You’ve got a great eye for what works.

30. Don’t ask for the sale. You don’t want to be pushy.

31. Spam. Frequently.

32. Only work for cash.

33. Keep SEO #1.

34. Don’t spend any money on marketing.

35. Don’t offer revisions. Clients rarely ask for them, anyways.

36. Don’t hone your craft. You already know what the hell you’re doing.

37. Never collaborate with another writer. You’re a one-woman writing crew.

38. Put new customers first. Your long-term clients will understand.

39. Squeeze as much business from each client as you can. Don’t let them go anywhere else for anything.

40. Design and price your service offerings based on your time, not on the market.

41. Marketing is an art, not a science. Be artistic.

42. Worry about today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. This goes for deadlines, too.

43. Assume that your customers are looking only for the lowest price.

44. Forget about small accounts.

45. Once a client tells you “no,” don’t ask again.

46. Remind clients and potential clients of how good your writing is, rather than how your writing can increase their business.

47. Ignore word-of-mouth and in-real-life marketing.

48. Be completely flexible in your schedule. Work when you can, or when you want to. Customers will adjust.

49. Treat email correspondence with your clients like you would correspondence with a close friend.

50. Talk smack about former clients. This will help your new clients know how to act.

51. Don’t argue with a customer, even if they want you to do work that you know will fail them.

52. Only do business within your target market.

53. Ignore your critics completely.

Obviously, there are more. What are some ways you’ve lost business? I’d love to hear them!