Building and maintaining a good relationship with clients is critical for freelancers. Some freelancers have never spoken with the majority of their clients directly—they strictly communicate by email—and this works for both parties. Some set up phone or Skype conversations. Some go out for coffee occasionally. No matter the situation, what’s most important is that both freelancers and clients understand what they expect of each other and communicate. That goes for the big things—the content that’s needed, rates and deadlines—to small things such as a client’s style or desired voice and image preferences.
Mridu Khullar Relph, a freelancer based in India whose clients are located in the U.S. and United Kingdom, likes to have regular phone calls with clients. She has found that potential clients with whom she communicates via phone or Skype are more receptive to her story pitches and there’s a better chance they will respond to her emails.
Mridu Khullar Relph
“I think it comes down to human nature—we want to work more with people we know and like and phone call, and Skype conversations, especially video conversations, really work in building that personal relationship,” she says, adding that clients will remember a face, voice and personality. “I can never get myself to be serious over the phone, so I often end up becoming pretty friendly with most of my editors during our first couple of conversations and having a laugh.”
Another way to keep your editor relationships healthy is to put in a little extra effort to make your clients’ lives easier.
For example, Debbie Abrams Kaplan, a freelancer based in New Jersey, says her Web-based clients sometimes need images to go with stories she writes.
Debbie Abrams Kaplan
“Even if they don’t ask, I almost always ask those I interview for headshots or for related images that we can use with the piece. It makes my editors’ jobs easier, and it saves everyone time later looking for appropriate images to accompany the story,” she says.
Besides always providing art, Kaplan adds that she also lets her clients know if she sees her articles mentioned in the media, and she publicizes them on Facebook and Twitter, tagging the client as well. On top of that, she has set up online alerts for the topics she covers and she sends ideas along even to clients who don’t require pitches. She finds they appreciate the information.
“It shows I’m staying on top of the topic, and gives them story ideas as well,” she explains.
Other ways to keep the freelancer-client relationship healthy and happy include:
- Meeting deadlines. If for some reason you can’t meet a deadline, provide as much notice as possible to the client, letting them know when you plan to deliver.
- Send a card around the holidays showing your appreciation, saying that you look forward to working with them in the new year.
- If you’re going to be traveling to attend an industry conference and you’re in a city where some of your clients are located, set up meetings ahead of time to discuss future story ideas. Invite your client out for coffee or lunch occasionally, and offer to pay. Bring a list of new story ideas to pitch, and discuss in person. Ideas—and caffeine—will surely be flowing and result in a productive conversation.