Turning a One-Off Freelance Writing Client into a Steady Customer

Part of building your career in freelance writing is finding the clients who will pay you to write. Starting out, you may wonder how so many freelance writers sustain a steady income. After all, many of the projects you’ll find are one-off assignments that only cover short-term work needs. The secret to finding continued regular work is converting those one-off clients to consistent customers. So, how do you make that happen? There are a few secrets to success that will help you build a larger base of returning clients.

Be Professional

Getting a client to come back to you for future writing needs starts with creating a stellar experience for the project you’re initially hired for. It may sound obvious, but many freelancers don’t look at the bigger picture when they’re completing their day-to-day tasks. This means that it can be easy to miss some essential steps. Here is what you can do to put your best foot forward and increase the chances of a callback from a one-off client:

Submit your best work.

Clients love to work with writers who submit high-quality work that doesn’t need heavy editing or proofreading to be ready to publish. To be sure that you’re always creating the best finished product possible, make sure you understand the project parameters and give yourself enough time to get it done right. Thorough proofreading is also a must.

Communicate effectively.

Most clients hire freelance writers for work they’re too busy to do themselves. That means they don’t have time to babysit freelance contractors with constant instruction and supervision. However, most clients will still want to get regular project updates. You should reach out to ask questions as needed—and respond to the client’s questions quickly. Be sure that you are available to your clients throughout the duration of each assignment you work on. Keep them updated with short, easy-to-read updates as necessary. A client you are actively working with should never have to wait more than 24 hours to hear back from you.

Turn in work on time.

Missed deadlines are client relationship killers. If a client cannot rely on you to turn in work when it’s needed, then they won’t feel confident hiring you in the future.

Reach Out After the Project Is Over

You shouldn’t wait around for freelance writing clients to come back to you after a project is completed. Once you’ve sent the invoice, send a follow-up message expressing your gratitude for being part of the project and your interest in working together in the future. Even if the client doesn’t have work to offer right now, they may reach out to you first when they do have more content needs if you leave the channel of communication open. It may also help to follow the client on social media (they’ll likely follow you back). Send a message every few months to check in on their content needs.

Think about the Client’s Future Project Needs

You might further increase the chances of continuing freelance writing work with a client if you can offer more specific solutions for problems they have. For example, if you were hired to write onsite pages for new services that a client is offering, and you notice that the pages for their existing services are poorly organized and hard to understand, then you might offer your writing services to rework those pages in addition to the new content. Don’t hesitate to look at the whole of a client’s content needs and offer help in any area you can. After all, a client may not realize that you even offer a specific writing service until you bring it up.

Finding freelance clients is easier than ever with Writers Work. In fact, with our Writers Marketplace, clients come to you directly! You can learn more about this and all of the great features we have to help you organize your freelancing career by watching the video on our homepage.