What to do when a Client goes missing
If you work as a freelance writer long enough you will eventually have a client go missing on you. They are here one day, asking you questions and communicating, but gone the next. While this is not very common, I have faced this situation a few times in the past.
When a client goes missing it can be very frustrating. This is particularly true if you are in the midst of completing a job for them. For instance, you may be halfway through a task and looking for some final direction before finishing things off. Worse yet, you completed the entire task, sent it off to the client, and are now looking to get paid.
The best thing you can do is attempt to contact the client the same way you always have in the past. If you usually communicate via email, use this method; the same holds true for making a phone call. Of course, you may have to change your contact strategy if it is not working. There is nothing wrong with checking in with a client on the phone if they go missing. After all, you are doing a job for the client and need them to be accessible.
Unfortunately, there may come a day when a client goes missing and never returns. In my experience, if this is to happen it will be when payment comes due. I completed a feature article for a client in early November 2009, but have yet to hear from him since. This is despite the fact that I have called and emailed several times.
When a client goes missing there is not much you can do. Just hope that they are temporarily out of communication, as opposed to gone for good.
