When you’re starting up a business or establishing yourself as a freelancer, it’s easy to think that all potential clients are good clients. The customer is always right, after all.
This isn’t always the case. Sometimes you may not be a fit for a project. All freelancers will run into that at some point, and that’s not a big deal. There are also clients that will make your life a living hell. [Read more…]
Approaching a client with an idea for a writing gig might seem intimidating – especially if you’re new to freelancing – but don’t let that stand in your way. Your services are sought after and offer a lot of value to potential clients. Having a professional setup and some strong portfolio pieces are essential to making that connection and starting a business relationship that pays off for both people.
While this article gives tips on how to create pitches clients can’t refuse, it’s important to do some ground work first, so let’s look at some things you need to do in order to build a strong foundation.
Landing new gigs – whether by actively pursuing clients or letting your website do the work – can be a tricky thing. A myriad of factors come into play, and sometimes, we can’t even identify all of those factors. It’s not like acquiring clients is a one-size-fits-all deal.
While there are strategies that increase your chances of getting new jobs, I believe that the bottom line is being able to establish a connection from the get-go. A genuine, solid connection.
That’s what I’m going to talk about in this post – how to effectively attract clients by creating a genuine connection. [Read more…]
I could be wrong, but many of you probably have regular clients that bring in most of your income. You’ve worked with these clients for a long time, and you know that you will get steady work from them. It might even be that you know their needs and preferences by heart that you can write for them in your sleep.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but there is also something important about reaching out to get new clients from time to time – even if you already have enough regular clients.
Today, I’d like to share the reasons behind this thinking.
There is a high degree of uncertainty in our chosen field. While we may have enough regular clients, who’s to say that next month, one or two might need to cut back on their expenses? What if we suddenly lose a client (or more)?
It is thus important to get new clients to expand your network. In case you find yourself losing a client or two, you will have those new clients to make up for it.
Of course, it is also imperative to make sure that you can handle your regular work plus the new client’s demands. Before you get new clients and agree to do work for them, make sure that you have enough time and resources to meet everyone’s needs.
Another reason it is important to get new clients is the idea that “new” can also mean “challenging”. As I said earlier, with regular clients, you know each other so well that you may sometimes operate on autopilot.
As a writer, it is important to be challenged and do new things. This helps you be more creative and flex different writing muscles.
With a new client, you also want to make sure you impress in the hopes of creating recurring work. This means that you also challenge yourself at every turn to ensure that your work is of even better quality than usual. (Not that this should not be the case for everything you do…)
New challenges that may come when you get new clients:
The main thing about facing new challenges when you get new clients is that you are bound to learn a thing or two. As a freelance writer, you probably have your specialization, which I think should be the case. This is the area/niche which you are most knowledgeable in and comfortable with.
But if you stay in that zone forever, then you might stagnate. If you get new clients that require learning about an unfamiliar niche or writing style, then it is your chance to professionally improve yourself. And, I don’t know about you, but it is quite an important thing.
How often do you get new clients pro-actively? What other benefits does it bring?
Related resources:
Most people, whether they are working for an employer or freelancing, want to feel like they are working toward something better. They may be trying to get a better salary or qualify for a promotion. Whatever the individual’s personal “carrot” hanging on a stick in front of them, they need something to keep them motivated on the job.
The same thing is true for freelance writers. We have an idea of what “success” means to us, and while what it looks like is as unique as the writers themselves, part of it usually involves a writer stretching him or herself in their work. Very few people would be content doing the same kind of work day in, day out, for the rest of their working lives – especially if the rate of pay stays the same.
If you want to get the higher paying freelance writing jobs, you need to stretch yourself. Going after a bigger or better-paying gig can be a bit nerve-wracking, but this is a good sign. You need to get outside your comfort zone if you’re going to grow as a writer, and if you wait until you have no butterflies to do it, you will have missed out on some wonderful opportunities.
Sometimes you need to seek out these opportunities by sending out pitches to clients you would like to work with or applying for gigs that pay more than what you are currently getting. At other times, the chance to stretch as a freelance writer comes to you when a client asks if you are interested in taking on a type of project you haven’t tackled before.
When that happens, try not to get too hung up on the “what if I mess this up?” thoughts. If the client didn’t think you could handle it, they wouldn’t have approached you. Ask questions to make sure you understand what the client wants, and give it your best shot.
One of the advantages of doing this kind of work is that we have variety in the projects we can work on. If we don’t give ourselves permission to try something new every so often, we will just stagnate in our working lives.
What projects have been a stretch for you and how did you feel once they were completed?
Have you ever thought about why you would write a cover letter to someone? It’s not simply a way to let them know that you are forwarding your freelance writing resume and/or samples for their review. Your cover letter is a way to introduce yourself to the potential client and invite him or her to enter into a discussion about whether you can effectively work together.
If your goal is to invite further discussion, you need to add something more than a simple laundry list of your qualifications. By all means tell the client something about your background, but share something more with him or her: Tell them about what you can do for them.
Rather than stating that you have extensive experience in writing SEO articles or web copy or whatever, talk a bit about why you like your work and how you approach new projects. What are your strengths as a freelancer? Share them in your cover letter.
The idea here is to give the reader an idea of who you are and to start laying the groundwork for developing a working relationship. Clients will hire people they feel that they can work well with, and that may mean more to them than simply how well you can put words together.
What do you add to your cover letter to make a client want to learn more about you?
I personally hate getting asked this question by clients. The truth is that I am busy. My family is probably a lot like yours – we enjoy eating and living indoors – so I make sure that I stay busy.
When a client asks that question, they are really trying to find out whether you are too busy to talk to them about a project. That is an entirely different question. I’m never too busy to talk to a client or a prospective client about their writing needs. To tell someone that you are too busy to talk to them seems disrespectful and just plain wrong.
No one wants to feel undervalued, especially if they are looking to spend money. Case in point: Several years ago when I was in the midst of planning my wedding, I went into a bridal shop to look at gowns. I don’t recall how long I was there, but the memory of being asked to step out of that part of the store because it was “reserved for brides only” really stung. (I thought the gold and diamond engagement ring on my left hand would be a dead giveaway about my status, but apparently not.)
It would have taken the same amount of effort to ask,”Can I help you?” or even “Hello.” I wish I could report that I told that woman off or asked to speak to the manager, but the truth is that I just left. I bought my wedding dress from a store that had dialed down the snootiness factor and made me feel welcome.
If someone wants to talk to you about a freelance writing job and asks whether you are busy or how busy you are, resist the urge to answer only the question asked. A better strategy is to give the client the information they really want to know, which is whether you are too busy to talk to them. I don’t know of too many business owners who can afford to just walk a potential customer, so at least find out what the client has in mind. Then you can talk about scheduling and deadlines as necessary. Even if you have to pass on taking the assignment, you can preserve the relationship with the client so that they will come back to you next time they need some work done.
So…How busy are you?
The job market is shaped like a pyramid. Consider the pyramid shape for a minute. It’s broader at the base and gets narrower as it rises to the top.
The same thing is true when you are looking at freelance writing jobs. If you are looking at entry-level opportunities, there are many of them out there. I’m just talking about numbers, not whether they would be a good fit for you or whether they pay a rate that you would feel comfortable accepting.
One of the reasons that I like checking out leads on Indeed.com is that this job search engine gives you information about the number of jobs it has currently listed, as well as estimated salary. This morning, I typed in “freelance writer” as a search term and got these results back for estimated salaries and number of jobs:
$20,000+ (6666)
$40,000+ (4392)
$60,000+ (2075)
$80,000+ (1172)
$100,000+ (984)
Following the job pyramid example, the entry-level gigs form the base of the pyramid. This is good news for people who want to get started as freelance writers, because they are looking for a chance to get experience and build up a portfolio of work.
As you move into the higher-paying levels, the number of jobs decreases. As you move toward the top of the pyramid, it gets smaller too. The shrinking job market for higher-paying gigs is actually good news for freelance writers. Why? As you move up toward the pyramid toward more lucrative work, the number of people applying for those gigs also decreases.
It takes time to develop your skills and gain the experience necessary to go after the bigger jobs. Most people who decide that they want to be freelance writers either give up after a short time or focus on the lower-hanging fruit when it comes to job opportunities, because they are more plentiful and considered easier to get.
If you have been holding yourself back from going after a freelance writing job that is a bit higher up the job pyramid than you are used to applying for, why don’t you put yourself out there and do it anyway? The only way you will edge closer to the top is to challenge yourself to do so. There may be fewer gigs the closer you get to the top, but there is less competition as well. Go for it!
I don’t gripe about my clients on my blog. Other people do. In fact, I see a great deal of grousing about PITA clients on freelance writing blogs.
Sometimes, these complaints are presented as part of an educational effort. You know, “this is how to handle a bad situation” stuff. There’s a moral to the story, so to speak. That makes sense to me.
In other cases, it the posts read more like invitations to commiseration. Sometimes, they’re nothing more than cathartic rants. I guess I can understand the underlying sentiments in these situations, but I can’t really imagine myself doing something like that.
It’s not that I don’t occasionally get PO’d, mind you. I just tend to reserve my moaning for those unlucky people in my more immediate social circle. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong about releasing steam in public, it’s just not part of my personality, I guess. Plus, I know it isn’t part of my business plan.
I thought I’d take a little time today to argue against publicly railing against your annoying clients–even if you make every effort to keep their identifying information under wraps.
My clients read my blog. They don’t necessarily subscribe to the RSS feed and drop everything when they notice a new post, but I know that they check in with some regularity. They mention posts in our conversations, etc.
I’d hate to alienate or upset any of them by calling them out in public. Even if I didn’t share their name, business type, info about the project, etc., they’d know that I was raking them over the coals for the world to see instead of handling the situation with a one-on-one conversation.
Additionally, I realize that I have imperfections and that I make mistakes. I’d hate to stumble upon their post about “my dumb-ass writer who apparently didn’t bother to read the last page of the project specs because I’m now waiting for editing so I can have the stuff this afternoon instead of using it this morning, as originally planned.”
If I screw something up, I don’t really need to encounter our dirty laundry in the public sphere, even if my name isn’t Sharpied on the waistband of the undies for all to read.
I also realize that some of the stuff that can drive me up the wall is nothing more than pure accident or a byproduct simple communication failure. In other cases, I’ve found that PITAs can be resolved rather easily with a little quality back-and-forth.
Venting doesn’t seem to contribute much to problem resolution. If someone irritates me, I can let loose with a stream of expletives down here in the office where no one else is going to hear them.
I’m anything but a doormat. I don’t do the subservience thing and I’m more than ready to stick up for myself if I’m being wronged. I just don’t see the value of doing it in a public setting. It feels rude to me, and I generally have a high threshold for rudeness.
Additionally, I know that some clients find me via my blog and that others look it over after receiving a referral before they contact me.
I can see how railing on bad clients could turn them off. Who wants to volunteer to work with someone who makes a point of publicly mocking or criticizing his or her clients, right?
You can argue that posts like that might send a message–that you expect a certain standards of behavior and professionalism from those with whom you work. That’s not a horrible argument, but I wonder how many prospective clients are more likely to see those gripe posts an indication that the writer is a cantankerous PITA.
Besides, it seems much more reasonable to outline expectations in one-on-one discussions. Heck, you could even outline them on a separate page of your site/blog if you feel that strongly about some issues.
Let’s say I needed to find a lawyer. I wouldn’t be magnetically attracted to the shyster with a blog post about “his stupid client who apparently doesn’t want to win this case, based on his unwillingness or inability to provide me with the necessary documentation.” I’d look for someone slightly more professional who didn’t seem quite as likely to fly off the handle if it took me a few days to find a receipt from 2002.
I don’t think I’d set up an appointment with the insurance agent who blogged about “annoying customers who take a high deductible to save money on their monthly bill and then gripe about it when they have a claim.” I’d avoid an accountant who mocked clients for misunderstanding their potential deductions, too.
In other words, I just can’t believe that openly grousing about your clients does much to encourage business.
At the same time, I really do enjoy reading Kathy Kehrli’s Irreverent Freelancer, where she makes a point of raking lousy would-be clients over the coals. I also do see the value in revealing atrocious experiences so that others can learn and benefit from them. Obviously, I can’t consider myself a hardliner on this.
So, I’ll dump it in your laps… What do you think about it? Do these public attacks on frustrating clients serve a greater good that justifies the potential downside? Are there particular standards that writers should follow when calling out a bad apple from their client barrel?
Credit where it’s due: At Freelance Folder yesterday Laura Spencer wondered if it was OK to fake it with our freelance writing. Should we accept projects we know nothing about and risk not giving in our best work to our clients. In the ensuing comment discussions many writers suggested outsourcing the projects outside the realm of our expertise.
Freelance writers outsource projects for a variety of reasons.
In most cases outsourcing makes good business sense. Writers who outsource while taking a break run less of a risk of losing a client to another writer than if the client had to seek a replacement on his own. Plus clients appreciate writers who find suitable replacements rather than try to wing it on an assignment. If you’re considering outsourcing, keep these points in mind as it could be your gig and reputation on the line:
Don’t be sneaky. Your client hired you, and only you, to complete his project. If he wanted someone else, he would have hired that person. To hire someone else to do your work means you’re now turning in work in someone else’s voice, using someone else’s words and that’s not fair to your client. Always clear it with your client first and give him the chance to approve. He may want to go with someone of his own choosing or want to learn more about the recommended writer first. Most likely he’ll trust your judgement, but let him know first, just the same.
Your first instinct might be to outsource a gig to a friend. Think long and hard before you do this. Your friend may be a good writer, but is she the best person for the gig? Is she responsible enough to meet deadlines? In other words, do you trust her implicitly not to screw up? See, that’s the thing about hiring friends, they sometimes take advantage of friendship and slack off. Always outsource to the best qualified person rather than the person you like best. If the writer flakes or does a poor job, your client will be less likely to trust your judgment should the occasion to outsource arise again.
What happens if you lose touch with the other writer? What if he misses his deadline or just decides not to do the project? As the person who outsourced, you’re on the hook to get it done. When you outsource, you’ll want to keep in close contact with the other writer to be sure the project is running smoothly and there will be no issues come deadline day. You may even want to check the finished project before turning it in to your client. If the work is spotty, it’s up to you to clean it up. If it’s not what the client is looking for, you’ll have to either send it back for a rewrite, or take it on yourself. When you outsource, you’re hiring someone else to do your job. It’s in your best interest not to turn in poor work.
It’s OK to outsource, but be responsible…
There’s no shame in outsourcing. However, if you don’t hire the right person, or if you keep it a secret from your client, it can turn a project into a nightmare. Don’t risk your reputation and always be honest with your clients…and yourself when choosing someone else to pick up your gig. If you’re responsible the experience will be beneficial for all involved.
