Writers' Treasure Magnetic Writing,Technical Writing How to Retain Customers as a Freelance Writer

How to Retain Customers as a Freelance Writer

This is a guest article by Indiana Lee. If you want to submit a guest article of your own, be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

As a freelance writer, you are your own business. You have to wear a variety of hats, including marketing yourself to attract new customers. But, that’s only half the battle.

Like any business, one of your biggest goals should be not only to gain new customers but to retain your existing ones. When you’re a freelancer, it can give you a lot of comfort and peace of mind knowing that you’ll have consistent clients each month. It makes your job easier, you’ll be able to rely on a steady income, and you won’t have to constantly go fishing for new people.

The long-term success of your career largely depends on the customers you can keep. So, what can you do to retain clients with your writing services? Yes, it has a little to do with marketing. More importantly, however, it has a lot to do with educating yourself as much as possible.

Attracting the Right Customers

Retaining clients starts with attracting the right ones – especially when you’re just starting out or becoming a writer in a new field. Not all customers are created equally. Some might only need a single job done. Others might need a large project but nothing more. Unfortunately, some clients might even end up flaking out on you halfway through a project, leaving you with hours put in and nothing to show for it.

Setting yourself up for success means working with the right people. If you want to attract customers to your writing services, consider implementing some of the following strategies:

  • Utilizing social media to interact with people
  • Having an updated website/portfolio
  • Making sure your brand/image is what you want to portray
  • Using SEO to boost your digital presence
  • Thinking about partnerships

These strategies tend to be more effective for attracting long-term clients than using some kind of freelance marketplace like Upwork or PeoplePerHour. While there’s nothing wrong with those sites, especially if you’re trying to build up a portfolio, they are often used by clients who only need one or two pieces of work done, and don’t want to build a long-term relationship with a writer.

Doing Your Research

Once you have a few steady clients in your corner, it’s important to make customer service your top priority. They obviously enjoy working with you and appreciate your writing. However, that isn’t always enough.

Consider this – if there was a restaurant in your neighborhood that had some of the best food you’ve ever tasted, but the service was terrible, you probably wouldn’t want to keep going back. So, how can you make sure you’re providing the best service possible? Take a look at data trends and what customers want. Understanding what clients are looking for from a business is important when it comes to making long-term decisions about how you want to run your personal brand.

Need a few customer service tips that never go out of style? Try to make the following your top priorities when working with your current clients:

  • Communicate as much as possible
  • Be responsive
  • Show your value (especially in an overly-saturated writer’s market!)
  • Exceed customer expectations with every job
  • Provide additional services whenever possible

If there’s one thing data trends have shown us, it’s that customers want a personalized experience. As a writer, you have a unique opportunity to provide that with every client, simply by staying regularly connected with them. Don’t be afraid to keep digging for more trends, and adapt your personal business to fit your clients’ needs.

Staying Relevant

As of 2017, there were over 57 million freelancers in the U.S. The pandemic caused that number to spike thanks to so many people losing their jobs or having to work at home. While not all of those freelancers are writers, it’s safe to say that you’ve got some heavy competition in the gig economy.

If you want to keep marketing yourself properly, you have to show your existing and potential new clients that you take your work seriously. A strong portfolio is great. But, with so much competition consistently coming for clients, furthering your education and making sure you have the right “training” for your job will go a long way.

After all, how nice would it look to have an MBA degree as part of your certifications and accolades? Not only can having an MBA look more attractive to clients, but it will help you to stay relevant as your own business. You’ll learn how to sustain yourself and grow, so you can remain successful for years to come. Furthering your education as a freelancer is never a bad idea, especially because so many people don’t. It’s a great way to stay one step ahead of your competitors and learn more about how to manage and market yourself, all at once.

One of the best parts about being a freelance writer is being able to work with a variety of clients. However, it’s so important to hold onto those clients so you don’t have to worry about making ends meet each month. Keep these ideas in mind to attract the right customers, and retain them so you can form a working relationship that lasts for years.

About the author: Indiana Lee lives in the Northwest and has a passion for the environment and wellness. She draws her inspiration from nature and makes sure to explore the outdoors regularly with her two dogs. Indiana has experience in owning and operating her own business. Feel free to follow her on Twitter @indianalee3.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Creative Writing vs. Technical WritingCreative Writing vs. Technical Writing

What is the difference between creative writing and technical writing?

Today, after learning what creative writing is and how to get started in it, we’re going to compare the two of them.

There are writers all over the world in the two categories – and it boggles the mind to hear that millions have been made from both creative writing and technical writing. Some have made fortunes. While some have not made anything.

Enjoyment can be gained from both types, but it’s fair to say that they both serve different purposes. They both have their own do’s and don’ts and they both have their own rules. Both are governed by grammar and style. Both appear everywhere. So what’s the difference?
(more…)

The most confusing grammar mistakes, explainedThe most confusing grammar mistakes, explained

This is a guest article by Umesh Joshi. If you want to submit a guest article of your own, be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

We all enjoy conversational writing and find it very engaging, but at the expense of fractured grammar, it might not be acceptable. So, to help you drill your way to reader’s heart, here’s a quick fix.

(more…)

Demolish your writer’s blockDemolish your writer’s block

This is a guest article by Edwin Henry. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

A lot of people want a magic bullet to either motivate them to start writing for the first time, or a method to get around a mental block. Writers’ Treasure has talked about this before, with Idrees relating his solutions for shaking off stagnation and mixing things up.

There is a romantic idea that inspiration is something that strikes you, and after that light goes off, you’ll dive into your magnum opus and come out the other side with a complete work. The reality is, writing takes work, and if you’re blocked, it feels like that work is impossible to follow through with.

That paralysis can really jam up your creative track and make you struggle to get even a couple of words out onto a page. Especially if you have an inkling of what you want to talk about, but feel kind of stuck on how to achieve it.

Here are the things that have and continue to help me. Some of them are based on when I first started writing, when blocks are powerful things because self-doubt is hard to counter because you may be lacking evidence to dissolve it.

(more…)