So, Your Client Didn’t Pay: What to Do Now

Freelancing is a great way to pay the bills, except when your clients don’t, well, pay their bills. Unfortunately, it is something that happens to nearly every freelance writer at some point: You work your hardest on a project, you get everything in by the deadline, and then you just keep waiting for your invoice to be paid.

If your client doesn’t pay up, don’t panic. There are things you can do to get a client who hasn’t paid to reach for his or her checkbook. These are some of the steps you can take to collect the money you’re due:

Send a Follow-Up

This step is a simple one, but you may be relieved to know that it is sometimes all that is necessary to get a client to pay. Sometimes, things really do fall through the cracks with clients, and they legitimately don’t realize that your invoice hasn’t been addressed or that the due date for payment has passed.

Keep things friendly and professional. Send a gentle reminder by email with the tone that you’re just checking in and want to make sure that there is nothing you are overlooking to wrap up the project. Offer to send another copy of the invoice. Simply sending this follow-up may elicit an embarrassed response from your client, and more importantly, that payment you’re waiting to receive.

Do a Phone Follow-Up

If your client doesn’t respond to your friendly email, you may be right in suspecting that you’re being ghosted. Fortunately, phone calls are a lot harder to ignore than emails. Pick up the phone and call your client. Keep your tone professional, but ask directly about the invoice and when you can expect payment. As a freelance writer, you may not love the idea of being a bill collector, but it’s an important step in running your business.

If you can’t get your original client on the phone, try calling his or her boss. If your client is a small business owner, this won’t work, but for other clients, a call to a managing editor, CFO, or other leader could be the spark that is needed to get your payment. A call to the accounting department can also be a helpful strategy.

Go to Social Media

This is the nuclear option, as it will likely mean you can never work for this client again (although, why would you, anyway?), but a well-worded social media post can do wonders in getting your check in the mail. Tag your client on your social media platform of choice and ask when you can expect payment. Another option is to tag your client in a post asking other freelancers if they are struggling to get paid.

The key to taking to social media to get a client to pay is to keep your message direct, but professional. Don’t badmouth the client or air any details about the project. Doing so could actually hurt your chances of getting paid and getting future business.

What NOT To Do: Go to Court

Going to court over a freelance writing payment is generally not worth the time or money it requires. You could easily spend many thousands of dollars more than you are owed simply for the principle of getting paid. Focusing on new projects is a better use of your time.

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