9 Ways to Keep Your Clients Happy in Freelance Writing
In freelance writing, your clients keep the ball rolling and they are your main source of income, especially if you are working full time. You need to keep them project after project as well as you want new ones to come and stay to expand your potential for a “captured market.” This is one of the best ways to get a steady flow of work coming to your desk. This can translate to a lot of money that you can look forward to.
The only way to keep your clients coming back is to keep them satisfied with your performance. Everybody loves to receive quality products and services which are delivered at the right time in return for their money. This should be your guiding principle in order to develop ways to keep your clients satisfied.
Here are some tips to keep your clients happy:
1. Knowledge is power.
The first thing that you need to show to your client is your knowledge of the stuff you’re doing. This will help you to understand what your client wants you to deliver. This will also make you confident enough to discuss details, offer suggestions and win their trust.
2. Take time to know your client.
Your client is your most valued contact in you profession. You should know them in order to understand what they want – it holds the secret of what can make them happy. You will know your client by talking and listening to them. Ask them relevant questions, and take notes of their responses. Visit their blogs or websites to gather more information about them. All these can help you to deliver the product or service that hits the button.
3. Ask for their participation through feedback while the project is ongoing.
Most clients want to give their inputs while the project is in progress. This will help you to avoid making revisions later after the project is finished. It can also help to give you an opportunity to know each other on a personal level.
4. Document your work.
Documentation is an easy way to keep track of your work and to update your clients about your progress. This will show professionalism and it will give them the idea that you are doing your job seriously.
5. Make realistic goals but deliver more.
Big promises are hard to keep and they are prone to be broken. You should avoid making promises you cannot fulfill. This will only frustrate your clients and it will have a bad impact on your reputation and career. Make realistic goals instead and work to accomplish and deliver more. An example to this would be the way you deal with deadlines. If you submit a bid on a project that you can complete in five days, tell your client you can finish it in seven and work to deliver it after four days.
7. Communicate with your clients as often as possible.
As a freelance writer, you are not required to report regularly as a regular employee does. But this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to connect with them. You should communicate with your clients as often as possible; they should know the status and progress of their project.
8. Make proposals for additional projects.
There are instances when you see something you can do to help improve your clients’ business, only they are not aware of that need, or they don’t know you can do it. You should let your clients know all the services you can do and offer those to them. It’s a way of letting them come back for additional projects.
9. Offer discounts to repeat clients.
Establish a good business relationship with your clients by offering them discounts on succeeding projects after the first assignment is completed. Another way to let your client come back is to offer him a discount on his next project for each new client that he refers to you.