As I have said in the past, I enjoy communicating with freelance writing clients via email and telephone. On one side, email is great because it is fast and effective. But on the other side of things, when you use the telephone it is easier to get on the same page. Through my experience, and I think most of you will agree, it is easy to communicate via email. That being said, you need to realize that there are some things to avoid when using email to stay in touch with clients.
It is easy to communicate via email if you provide the right information. If you don’t, you are going to find yourself exchanging email after email for no reason at all. While email is a great tool, it can also be a huge time waster if you let it. To avoid this, use a relevant subject line, and then get to the point in the body of the email. In other words, make it easy for the recipient to understand what you are saying.
While you need to send enough information, you don’t want to go overboard. This can lead to information overload and a situation where the recipient does not understand what you are after. For instance, if you are sending a quote via email make sure you don’t go overboard with other information. This will make it easier on you as well as the recipient. More information is not always better when it comes to email communication.
Don’t say anything via email that you wouldn’t say over the phone or in person. It is easy to hide behind your computer and talk a big game. But if you are not willing to say it in person you should not write it in an email. An example of this would be somebody who has no problem sending angry emails, but would never speak a bad word on the phone with a client. Don’t be one of these people. Keep a friendly, respectful tone with each email you send.
It is easy to communicate via email if you offer the right information and keep an even tone. Do you use this communication tool to your advantage? If you are a freelancer of any kind your answer should be yes.
Do you ever stop and ask why your clients stick around? In other words, why do they rely on you for all their freelance writing needs? This is an interesting question to think about, and one that can help you better understand your career.
In my experience, there are three reasons why clients stick around:
1. Quality. If you offer quality content you are going to keep the majority of your clients happy over the long haul. Believe it or not, there are many so-called freelance writers who don’t offer the best quality. When a client finds a writer who can do the job the way they want, they usually stick with them.
2. Your rates. This is not always true, but if you offer competitive rates your clients are going to stay onboard for the most part. No, this does not mean that you should lower your rates to the bottom of the industry just to attract and hold onto clients. But you should realize that your rates can have a lot to do with whether or not a client continues to work with you.
3. You are easy to work with. Don’t forget about the importance of the writer-client relationship. The way you treat your clients is very important. Even if your rates are higher than the competition, if you get along well with a client they will continue to work with you because the relationship is enjoyable and stress free.
With these three reasons in mind, you should be able to adjust your approach to ensure that your clients come back for more time and time again. Do your best to offer quality content at an affordable price while also being a pleasure to work with.Â
Freelance writers are responsible for every aspect of their career including buying office supplies. If you work a corporate job this is not something that you have to bother with. Instead, when you run out of something, such as printer paper, you either make a request or head to a closet somewhere in your building and reload. Unfortunately, things are not this easy for freelance writers.
While you don’t want to spend too much on office supplies, it is my belief that you should always be well stocked. I hate running out of something that I need, and in turn being forced out of the office during a busy time. For example, you never want to run out of ink for your printer. If you do you will have no choice but to run to the store right away. To avoid this, I always keep a couple of ink cartridges on hand.
The office supplies you need as a freelance writer are not overly expensive. In fact, they can be downright cheap if you know where to shop. As I look around my desk, the supplies I use the most are pens, notepads, sticky notes, and printer paper. None of these items are overly expensive, and most of them will last quite some time.
If you stock up on office supplies once and for all you won’t have to do so again for a long time. In turn, you will always have what you need and will never be forced to leave your office when you don’t have time to do so.Â
