No matter how much success you have had as a freelance writer, there is a good chance that you have been asked for a refund at least once. This is usually not the case with magazines, but more so with web based clients. The question is: how do you deal with refunds? Is this something that you believe in, or do you tell the client no way? I know some freelance writers who are willing to give full refunds, others who will only give a partial refund, and some who feel that they do not owe anything if they completed the work as detailed. As you can imagine, this is a touchy subject and can be difficult to deal with.
Personally, I will give a refund to a client if they have a good reason. For instance, if we are not seeing eye to eye on a project, I will give a refund to get out from under the situation. That being said, it all depends on how much time I have put into the project when things begin to go downhill. In other words, if I am almost done with the job I am not going to give a full refund just because the client decides that they no longer want to move forward. Instead, I try to explain my situation and work something out that is mutually beneficial. After all, you never want to get into a confrontation with a client; even if they are offending you.
Since most web clients pay via PayPal, you need to watch what you are doing when it comes to refunds. The nice thing about PayPal is that you can easily refund an entire payment with one click of the mouse. That being said, if you refuse to send a refund a client may open a dispute. This has happened to me one time, and since it was only for $200 or so, I simply sent the money back. I felt that this was better than dealing with PayPal’s dispute resolution system and risking my account being frozen.
My best advice is this: deal with refunds on a case by case basis. It is easy to say that you do not offer any sort of refund, but there may come a time when you should. If you address each situation separately, you can always ensure that you do the right thing.Â
This post is meant to be a quick reminder for all of you guys and gals who have forgotten about past clients. If you are going to be a successful freelance writer, you should follow-up with past clients from time to time. This does not mean that you should bug them once per week, but doing so every so often will definitely work to your advantage.
By following up with a client you will be able to take advantage of many benefits. First off, you may find that they need more content and by following up at the right time you won yourself another job; this is always a great feeling. Additionally, you always want to stay fresh in the mind of past clients who enjoyed working with you. They may not have a need for you right now, but as long as they remember you, you will be in line for future work.
This is a short post, but one of utmost importance. No matter how big or small the client, always follow-up with them from time to time. Remember, it only takes a few minutes to send an email!
From day one of starting my freelance writing career, I have had a plan. In fact, this has been a way of life for me for quite some time. No matter what I am doing, whether it is my career or anything else, I like to have a plan in place. When it comes to your freelance writing plan, you need to make sure that you include the right details. After all, this is more or less the roadmap that you will follow as you move forward with your career.
First and foremost, your freelance writing plan should clearly outline your goals. I have both short and long term goals in mind at all times. For instance, your short term goal may be to earn a certain amount of income by the end of July. Since you only have a few weeks to reach your goals, you will be forced to deal with them right now. On the other side of things, a long term goal, such as an annual income number, takes devotion over several months. As you can imagine, it can be difficult to stay on pace with your freelance writing plan month after month. But if you are to succeed at this career, you need to do so.
Your freelance writing plan should also include detailed information on the markets that you want to break into, as well as how you plan on achieving this. It is one thing to say that you want to begin to write sales letter, but another entirely to have a marketing plan for achieving this goal.
Perhaps most important is the fact that your freelance writing plan can change over time. This does not mean that you should change things around everyday of the week. But you should feel free to tweak your plan if you feel that it is necessary. Even with a lot of experience, I find my plan changing from time to time; this is something that I have become used to.
If you do not have a freelance writing plan how do you know where your career is headed? To stay on track and ensure that you reach all your goals, you need a concrete plan that will outline future moves. Â
