by Jodee Redmond

One of our readers sent an e-mail recently wondering about writing samples and what you should share with potential clients. I’ve been giving this some thought and this is what I’ve come up with:

If you know what topic or theme the client wants to hire a writer for, then provide a sample along the same lines. Now, some ads are not that specific about the topic that a client wants you to cover, so check the ad closely for the type of writing the client is looking for and provide them with a sample that reflects it.

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by Jodee Redmond

When you are starting out as a freelancer, your focus is on getting work and building your business. That should always be your goal, but there will be times when you can’t take on any more work or you realize after learning more about the project that you aren’t the right person for the job.

You will need to learn how to say No.

The word No is very small but it’s a hard one to say for many of us. A toddler has no problem saying No to just about anyone and anything, but they soon learn that there a consequences to saying No to people who are bigger and more powerful than they are.

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by Jodee Redmond

Most of the time, your work will run smoothly, and that is what you and your client expect. Every now and then, though, you are going to make a mistake. It’s happened to everyone, myself included. You can make a mistake and still keep your relationship with your client intact.

Just to be clear, when I am talking about mistakes, I’m not talking about a minor error that needs to be corrected in editing. I’m talking about situations where the client didn’t get what he or she was looking for, and you need to get things back on track quickly or risk losing the client.

Take Responsibility for What Has Happened

If I’ve messed up, I admit it. No excuses. There may be extenuating circumstances, but pointing this out won’t change the facts.

Apologize to The Client

If you’ve done something wrong, then you need to apologize. Plain and simple.

Offer to Make it Right

You can’t go back in time and change what has already happened, but you can offer to make amends. I care about the relationships I have developed with the people I work with and I would rather go the extra mile to keep them happy than lose a client.

This may mean redoing the work or deciding not to charge the client for the project. I have redone a project once, and there have only been a couple of times that I have refused to charge someone for my work. Both times the client did offer to pay anyway, but I knew they weren’t happy. My take on it was that if they weren’t satisfied, then I haven’t done my job.

Was this the right way to handle the situation? I’d say so. Each time, I was offered more (and better paying) assignments from the clients involved.

How do you handle a situation with a client where you have made a mistake?

The Law of Attraction (LOA) is a term that is being used a lot lately, it seems. The idea that our thoughts can manifest into whatever we desire most is an attractive one. When I first heard that “Thoughts become things,” I admit that I was skeptical. If it was that simple, I reasoned, why wasn’t I living the life I had always wanted?

Then I read a very simple explanation of how this energy works: Picture throwing a ball up into the air. It always comes back down to Earth – because it must. It doesn’t matter how talented an athlete you are or how much force you put behind the throw; it comes back anyway. You don’t have to be big enough, special enough, or good enough to have the ball come back down to Earth. You just have to throw it. Everything you project out will come back to you, and you have the power to decide to whether you want to attract positive or negative circumstances into your life.

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by Jodee Redmond

You may have heard that as a freelance writer, you should specialize in a certain niche (or a few niches) to achieve success. Choosing a niche to focus on can be challenging, to be sure. I want to suggest that you consider choosing evergreen topics for your niche.

What are evergreen topics? Like the type of tree they are named after, they don’t change with time. Let me explain. There are some topics that people will always be interested in reading about, and they don’t go out of style from year to year.

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by Jodee Redmond

If you want to be a successful freelancer, there are a few lessons you can learn from our fine, feathered friend pictured here. (Isn’t he beautiful?)

Stay Calm on the Surface

As the duck sits on the surface of the water, he presents a calm, peaceful demeanor. This is the face you need to display to your clients. You are someone who understands their needs and can help them reach their goals.

If you send out an application for a gig and you get rejected, just let it roll off of you like water off of our friend’s back. The same goes for nastygrams and general snarkiness. Don’t let anything spoil your mellow (public) mood. [Read more…]