As a freelance writer you will quickly learn that some clients don’t do a good job of communicating their wants and needs. This is not the case with every client, but you are sure to run into your fair share.
As a general rule of thumb, I never start a project until I am 100 percent clear of what is being asked of me. In the past, I made the mistake of starting before I asked questions. As you can imagine, this often times led to a lot of mishaps due to the initial misunderstanding.
Why are so many freelance writers afraid to ask questions? Some think they will look stupid. Others are too stubborn and want to show the client that they grasp everything the first time around.
Regardless of why you don’t ask questions you are making a big mistake. It is well worth your time. You may think that your client will look down on this, but nothing could be further from the truth. They would rather you ask good questions upfront. This way they can be confident that you are moving in the right direction from the get-go.
Sometimes I have questions about a project. Sometimes I don’t. If anything is on my mind, regardless of how big or small the detail, I always ask for clarification. This has saved me many hours over the years, and will continue to do so well into the future.
Open your mouth and ask questions. When the lines of communication are open there is a better chance that both you and your client will be happy in the end.
Everybody wants to “pay less and get more.†As a freelance writer, you will find this to be true more times than not. A client will want to pay as little as they can to get the best writing possible.
Although there is nothing wrong with delivering high quality, timely content, you must make sure that you are compensated accordingly. Along with this, you have to communicate with unrealistic clients to ensure that they know what you can and cannot do for them.
Last week, I had a client ask me for SEO and design work along with five previously commissioned blog posts. While these are services that I offer, there was one major problem: he didn’t want to pay any extra. Instead, he believed that these services should be included along with the content.
As you can imagine, I explained my point of view. Doing all this extra work for the same pay was clearly an unrealistic expectation. And to be honest, it was almost insulting.
Fortunately, after discussing the entire scope of the project he saw where I was coming from and agreed to pay my current rate for such services.
If you are not careful, some of your clients will begin to squeeze every last word (or other service) out of you – without paying the appropriate rate. Obviously, this benefits the client but does nothing for you.
Don’t let unrealistic clients walk all over you. Instead, explain what you can do for them as well as how much it will cost. If they don’t want to pay for the services they require, it may be time to part ways.
After a few months of not taking on new members, I now have one spot available in my freelance writing course. I am happy to say that the member who left is now working full-time. Not only is she succeeding in the area of freelance writing, but has also broke into the “social media marketing†industry.
Are you interested in joining? If so, contact me as soon as possible. I have had quite a few emails over the past month asking when the next spot will open up, so I don’t expect the opportunity to last very long.
Of course, if you have any questions feel free to shoot them my way. Even if you don’t end up joining, I love speaking with other freelance writers.
