The more clients that you gain the more work you are going to be presented with. And this holds true with much more than writing related tasks. More clients also means that you will also need to spend more time on customer service. While there is nothing wrong with this, you need to make sure that you are ready for what you will be facing in the future.
One of the most important questions to answer is: how much time should you spend with each freelance writing client? Many freelance writers believe that every client should be treated the same, but I am not one of them.
Here are three ways to decide which clients should receive the most attention:
1. Which clients give you the most work? It goes without saying that a client that offers daily work should get more of your attention than one that only sends a few articles your way every so often. This does not mean that you should ignore others, but you definitely want to spend the most time with regular clients that make up a large portion of your income.
2. Deadlines often times determine how much time you spend with a client. For instance, some editors that I work with are always in touch, sometimes more than once per day, as a deadline closes in. The reason for this? If they do not receive the completed feature from me they are going to be in deep trouble. For this reason, they like to stay in touch, and in turn, I spend time with them to ensure that everybody is on the right track.
3. Simply put, some clients demand more attention than others. There are many reasons for this. Some of them need help because they do not know what they want. Others know what they want but are always adding additional work. You will find out soon enough that some clients will let you do your job, and others like to stay in touch and more or less micromanage.
With the three details above, it will be easier for you to decide which clients need and deserve the most time.Â
As of late, more and more clients have been asking me for help. In other words, they know that they need some content but are not exactly sure of how to move forward. Does this sound familiar? If not, you will more than likely encounter this situation sooner or later. The fact of the matter is that not every client knows what they want. And since you are the professional, they may lean on you for guidance. Are you ready to lend this sort of help?
Some clients need a bit of help, others much more. For instance, it is not uncommon for a client to ask you for a list of topics that suit their website and then to write the articles based around them. This is easy enough, right? In other cases, a client may want more than just a list of topics. They may want a total “plan†that covers everything from topics to types of articles and much more.
Should you charge for this guidance? This all depends on what you are being asked to do. I never charge clients that need help compiling topic lists or other related details. That being said, if things become more complex and in-depth, I may explain the situation to the client and ask for additional payment; these times are few and far between. If you are faced with this situation, and it will take up a lot of your time, do not be afraid to negotiate with your client. Most of them will understand that you are putting in extra time, and will be more than happy to pay you for it.
If you are asked to be more than a freelance writer, you should consider what you can bring to the party. By acting as a consultant you will be able to offer more benefits to your clients while also having the ability to earn more money.
No matter what type of marketing plan you have in place, there will probably come a time when you lose confidence in it for one reason or the next. The question is: what are you going to do when your marketing plan stalls? Are you going to give up, or will you make the necessary changes to ensure that your freelance writing career continues to move in the right direction?
Here are three tips that you can quickly employ if your marketing plan is letting you down:
1. Pinpoint the problem. What was working before that is not working now? In addition to answering this question, you will also want to consider what has changed. For instance, you may conclude that you are not generating nearly as many leads via query letters. This may be the case for a number of reasons including the letter you are using, the target market, and in some cases, downright bad timing.
2. Your marketing plan should not rely on only one method of lead generation. Some freelance writers only attempt to generate work through cold emails. Is this a good way to find new clients? It can be. But you should not rely solely on this method. Instead, make sure that you are always using at least three methods of generating leads.
3. Crank up the heat. Your marketing plan may be stalling because you have let up a bit. If you are only make two cold calls per day, double this number and see where that gets you. In many cases, all it takes is a bit more hard work to see your marketing plan producing results once again.
If your marketing plan begins to stall, use the three tips above. They will help to get you back on track to generating more leads, more clients, and more income.Â
