Freelance Writing: Maintaining Good Client Relations

If you have a passion for the written word, freelance writing can be a fun and rewarding way to earn your livelihood. However, as is the case with any freelance enterprise, you’ll need to attract a respectable number of regular clients in order to make a comfortable living. To this end, it’s imperative that you conduct yourself in a professional manner and maintain cordial relations with every client you come across. Fortunately, turning first-time patrons into regular clients doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. Fledgling freelancers looking for effective ways to keep clients coming back should heed the following tips.

Finish Your Work on Schedule

While completing work on time may seem like a no-brainer, a surprising number of freelancers regularly fail to meet deadlines. In some instances, this is the result of forgetfulness. In others, writers simply don’t care. When working as a freelance writer, it’s important to understand that missing deadlines stands to affect a client’s financial bottom line. Shrugging off a due date can have far-reaching consequences, and you’d be hard-pressed to find clients willing to give repeat business to writers who show wanton disregard for deadlines. As such, make a point of treating deadlines with the utmost importance. If you absolutely must miss one, take care to provide your client with as much advance notice as possible. While they’re unlikely to be happy about this, they’re sure to appreciate your consideration.  

Submit Invoices in a Timely Manner

Even if your intention is to be considerate, waiting long periods before submitting your invoices doesn’t help anyone. The sooner a client receives an invoice, the sooner they can process it. Submitting an invoice well past an assignment’s due date is liable to confuse and frustrate a client – and result in a late payment for you. Writers on the hunt for free invoice or estimate templates should download this professional estimate for free.

Be Mindful of Your Attitude

When communicating with your clients, be it via email or over the phone, take care to conduct yourself with the utmost professionalism. Email communication, in particular, can be a bit tricky. If you’re used to speaking with clients in person, adjusting to email communiqués can take some time. For example, it’s easy to come off as curt or dismissive in emails that are short and to-the-point. To help ensure that you don’t inadvertently offend a client, read over every email you compose at least once before sending it. In addition to helping you spot problematic elements, this will help you catch any typos that initially escaped your gaze.

While earning a living through freelance writing can be difficult, it’s by no means impossible. In the quest to turn freelance writing into a career, repeat clients can be your most valuable ally. If you’re serious about turning first-timers into regular clients, you’ll need to maintain good relationships with the people who send business your way. When working to build a steady stable of regular clients, the pointers discussed above will do you a world of good.