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Keep Long-Term Freelance Writing Work With This Client Management Strategy — Transcript

by Mandy Ellis · 3,150 words · 430 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00winning a freelance writing client is
0:02one thing keeping that client happy
0:04while you continue to work with them is
0:07another so we're going to manage our
0:08client expectations we're going to set
0:10those boundaries and I'm going to teach
0:12you how to excel through your project
0:15Beyond just being like oh thank God they
0:16gave me some money and work so I'm made
0:19Alis I built a six figure freelance
0:20writing business and now I teach other
0:22freelance writers how to build High
0:23earning businesses they adore without
0:25the overwhelm stress or burnout we're
0:28going to go through seven different
0:29things in this video that you can do to
0:31manage expectations and Excel in your
0:33projects versus kind of you know blowing
0:36it after you signed the uh godra which
0:38happens to all of us we all make
0:39mistakes but I really want you to see
0:41that just signing a client is not the
0:43same thing as maintaining um that
0:45exceptionalism through the project so
0:48number one here number one we are going
0:51to be clear about what's possible so
0:53from the very start of our contract all
0:55the way till the end we are not going to
0:58oversell overpromise
1:00say they're going to be on the first
1:02page of Google or that SEO is going to
1:04be amazing and it's going to do all
1:06these things and um we're not going to
1:08take 100% responsibility for the project
1:11especially when it comes to signing a
1:14client we want to be on the same page
1:15they want to have the motivation to
1:19continue working on that project you
1:21shouldn't be driving 100% of like we
1:24need to keep doing this and content is
1:25important um they should already know
1:27content is important so we want to make
1:29sure we understand that and that we set
1:30expectations with things like being on
1:32the first page of Google so SEO can take
1:353 months or 6 months or 9 months or a
1:37year or even more so SEO is always
1:39changing Google is changing their e
1:41principle now it's two e instead of one
1:44e AI is coming into the mix so we don't
1:47want to make promises about how SEO is
1:49going to work for them and how fast
1:51because it really depends on a lot of
1:53different factors one of those that's
1:55really the most important is the quality
1:56of your content and it resonating with
1:58that audience so you want to be very
2:00clear about what that is and manage the
2:03process versus saying like oh well I'm
2:05just saying it takes 9 months because I
2:07want a three three-month contract be
2:10very clear about how it works and
2:11explain that the next thing too is that
2:14I see this a lot with Runway and wealth
2:16lab students and with writers who write
2:18me every single week from you know my
2:20weekly emails you're not 100%
2:23responsible for the project someone is
2:25not dumping the work on you and then
2:27being like it's your job Johnson like
2:29that's it's not a thing so it's not like
2:31a full-time job where it's just like
2:33it's all your your problem now it's not
2:35like that and even on a full in a
2:37full-time job you usually have other
2:39people on your team your uh mentality
2:43going into your work should be this is
2:44teamwork this is a collaboration we're
2:46working together this is why I think
2:48it's really important to put those kinds
2:50of phrases and words into your LinkedIn
2:52and website to attract those teamwork
2:55style clients and if you want more
2:57teamwork focused clients more clients
2:59who want want to collaborate or work in
3:01a partnership capacity versus just
3:03dumping all the work on you I would grab
3:05my free seasoned veteran cheat sheet if
3:07you go to mandel.com sheet it'll tell
3:10you exactly the types of questions to
3:12answer in your LinkedIn and your website
3:14so you attract those clients who are on
3:16the same page about working together and
3:18taking 50% of the responsibility rather
3:20than dumping work on you so mandel.com
3:22sheet and you'll have some of the
3:24questions that you need to answer um for
3:26your LinkedIn website to attract the
3:28right clients so that you can work in a
3:30teamwork capacity you can work together
3:32to really create fantastic content
3:34you're not taking total ownership of all
3:37these things because you can't control
3:40when a client posts something or if they
3:42do it properly or if they delete
3:44something or if they don't do what you
3:45recommend or you even if you did the
3:48whole project yourself you can't control
3:50what's going to happen you can't control
3:51the outcome so I want you to remember
3:53that this is like at most 50%
3:56responsibility they have half and you
3:58have half and you do your half with the
4:00best Knowledge and Skills that you have
4:02right now and yes as you Excel as a
4:05writer as you grow you will get better
4:07but the deal is like you should not be
4:09in the position of your client just
4:11dumping something on you and if
4:12something doesn't work out or it doesn't
4:14work as fast as they want they just want
4:16to blame you for it like that's not the
4:17deal we don't want those clients we want
4:19clients who assume responsibility for
4:21their part in the process and for the
4:23teamwork atmosphere that we're in number
4:26two here when we're setting and managing
4:28these client expectations and and really
4:30keeping and nurturing long-term work uh
4:33we need to have a contract for that we
4:35need to make sure that we're not ending
4:37up in these situations with scope creep
4:39or that they're missing payment terms or
4:42they don't understand like what the
4:44expectations are we need to make sure
4:45that we are on this Fair playing field
4:48and that means we have a contract from
4:50the very beginning so you're coming into
4:52this work with set deadlines you know
4:54kind of the schedule you have um set how
4:57you communicate with each other you have
5:00the scope of work in the contract you
5:01have the payment terms in the contract
5:03some people have rounds of revisions in
5:05the contract my contract says I will
5:07write until you're happy with it and I
5:10haven't had that many issues with it
5:11like I've probably had a couple where I
5:13did a bunch of revisions but um I just
5:15ask a lot of questions on calls and I
5:17asked for a lot of examples so I haven't
5:19had to do a ton of revisions but I know
5:22some writers end up with clients who
5:23want like 55 revisions if that's
5:26something that you're worried about put
5:27two or three rounds of revisions in your
5:29cont contract you also need to have some
5:32kind of understanding of where you're
5:34going to communicate how often and then
5:36who's giving you feedback who's part of
5:37the process is it just the person you
5:39talk to on the call or is it also three
5:42other people so we need to know what's
5:44going on and some of these things most
5:46of them need to be in your contract so
5:47we need to have that scope of work
5:49payment terms anything about rights
5:52anything about late payments uh you can
5:54give a general idea like you know
5:56usually my day my uh deadlines are two
5:59weeks turnaround if it's less than two
6:01weeks it's subject to a rush fee um you
6:04can have a late payment fee but I think
6:06for me just working from that contract
6:09really helps you set the stage for like
6:11this is how we're working together uh
6:13you can also put your work hours in
6:15there or when you'll respond to messages
6:17I think that kind of helps but we really
6:18want to be clear about those things to
6:20make sure we're delivering um on on our
6:23work and spending time on our work
6:24versus like fling with all this extra
6:26stuff that that can get W woven in when
6:29you don't have contract number three I
6:32think this is something that even though
6:33you have a contract you need to stay
6:35flexible and adaptable because things
6:37will change your project will change uh
6:39your your client may want to change the
6:41scope of work or they may want to do
6:43this you need to make sure that you
6:45update the contract if you're changing
6:47anything in it don't just be like yeah
6:49we'll just do that you need to update
6:50the contract if you're changing anything
6:52in the scope of work or the payment
6:53terms or anything important uh but you
6:56also need to maintain your boundaries so
6:58clients can change their mind they might
6:59want to swap this thing for the other
7:01that's fine you just need to make sure
7:03that when you have different
7:04deliverables you send a new contract and
7:06get that all ironed out you might need
7:08to make sure everything's in line um and
7:10that you are really being um you're
7:14being helpful to their needs but you're
7:15not like swapping things that don't make
7:17sense or you're like this project is
7:19$10,000 we're swapping it for like a
7:21$2,000 project and then not updating
7:24anything in the contract um so you need
7:26to make sure that you you have don't
7:27have those crazy expectations but you're
7:30still working off of a contract and um
7:33that you still have these flexible
7:35adaptable little things because like I
7:37said things will it's running a business
7:39it's running a freelance writing
7:40business things will change but we adapt
7:42with them with new contracts or new
7:44guidelines or new boundaries number four
7:47we are making sure that anytime we need
7:49a deadline extension um or anything
7:52where we need to change the contract or
7:54address an issue we do that as as soon
7:57as we can uh we we make sure we're using
7:59using direct and kind communication I
8:01think this is really important when uh
8:04you're dealing with a contract change or
8:05a deadline extension you tell your
8:07clients as early as you can but that
8:10you're being direct and clear
8:11transparent honest kind about it uh I
8:14think that really uh is something that a
8:16lot of clients appreciate when it comes
8:18to dealing with um you know working with
8:21freelance writers versus full-time and
8:23it really makes the project uh go really
8:26well number five uh
8:30well sometimes this is hard to do but I
8:33want you to do your best to wow the
8:34client I know sometimes you're in the
8:37middle of just doing a project and
8:39you're like I got to get it done but do
8:41the best you can to wow your client if
8:43they give you an example that you feel
8:44like could do better in terms of the
8:46writing quality do better um if you are
8:50looking at um you know what they want to
8:52do and you think there's a better way to
8:54do it tell them and see what they think
8:56I think for me when I'm trying to overd
8:58deliver but not
9:00um you know overpromise I'm looking for
9:02little opportunities to improve on the
9:05quality of something or the explanation
9:08or the quotes or the research or the
9:10detail uh maybe it's like the images
9:13they're using or the design I'm looking
9:15for little things that I can do in there
9:17um that will really help them have a
9:20better uh have a better piece of content
9:23and then it's also a better sample for
9:24me so I know that sometimes it can be
9:27really difficult to wow your client but
9:29I want you to look for those
9:31opportunities when you look for those
9:32opportunities you usually end up
9:34succeeding somewhere along the line
9:36there usually ends up being a client who
9:38gives you a great testimonial or you end
9:40up with a Great Clip or you have
9:42something where it very clearly is overd
9:44delivered and they want to keep working
9:45with you they keep building that
9:46long-term relationship they refer you
9:49all that good juicy stuff that we want
9:52number six okay if your client say
9:54something nice about your work thank
9:57them and ask for testimonial so remember
10:00that your clients don't have to say
10:02anything nice they don't ever have to
10:03compliment you they don't ever have to
10:05do anything nice but they will and when
10:07they do make sure that you thank them
10:10and ask for testimonial so when we're
10:14asking for the testimonial we are saying
10:16hey I um I usually have kind of like a
10:18format hey would you you know thank you
10:20so much for the compliment on my work
10:22would you be willing to write two to
10:23four sentences as a testimonial about
10:25what we worked on together the goals for
10:27the project or the work um how how I
10:30helped you um any results or wins that
10:33we've gotten or things that you're
10:34driving towards like kpis or goals um
10:37and then why you would recommend me to
10:39other companies like yours so that way
10:41you have a very specific way to ask for
10:43a testimonial but we're going off we're
10:46piggybacking off of them liking the work
10:48the other thing you can do too is
10:50mention that you you know go off
10:52referrals hey my business thrives on
10:53referrals would you be willing to
10:55recommend me to other businesses like
10:57yours or other business owner or uh
10:59other you know businesses uh other
11:01people in the same position as you or
11:03something like that so whenever someone
11:05says something nice make sure you thank
11:07them make sure you're not just like oh
11:09no I'm just a writer like whatever make
11:10sure you thank them and you use that as
11:12an opportunity to ask for a testimonial
11:14and referrals it's it's a really
11:16important thing number seven if
11:18everything's going to if you cannot
11:20communicate with this client if you're
11:22not on the same page if you can't figure
11:24things out and you're getting a ton of
11:26edits which we all have got gotten or
11:29things are just not working out it's too
11:31challenging it's just not the right fit
11:33drop the client this is why we have our
11:35contract in the contract you'll have a
11:37clause that'll say hey um a client or
11:41freelancer you know gives 15 days notice
11:43to cancel the contract some version of
11:45that so this for me is really useful
11:49when you're in a situation where you
11:50have a client where you're like trying
11:52everything you know how to do and they
11:54still don't like it or they want
11:55something different that you can't
11:57provide or it's just not a a good fit we
12:00always want to have an out in our
12:01contract so if you ever want to do this
12:04you would invoke the out but you would
12:05say something like it sounds like we're
12:07not quite the right fit for each other
12:09or we're not on the same page when it
12:10comes to this content so it seems like
12:13uh we should end our contract and you
12:15can so so that you can find the right
12:17writer for your project so you would
12:20want to say something about like Hey
12:21we're not the quite the right fit or
12:23we're not on the same page or it seems
12:24like we're missing each other um so
12:27maybe it would make sense to end the
12:29contract so that you can find the right
12:30writer for your needs we want to kind of
12:33combine those things together so that
12:35it's clear we want to end the contract
12:36but also that like we're just not this
12:38is just not working and I think that
12:41I've used it before uh where it's just
12:44this challenging situation where you're
12:46not on the same page or you don't like
12:48the same things in the content or
12:50they're giving you all this feedback
12:51where you're like what are they even
12:52talking about so worst case you would
12:54drop the client but when you're managing
12:56the expectations or building
12:58relationships you still want to be
13:00building relationships with the right
13:01clients for you you don't want to just
13:03like build relationships just to have
13:05them this is someone where like if they
13:07referred someone to you you wouldn't
13:09want to work with them no matter how
13:10much money they gave you so you want to
13:12be really particular and it's okay to
13:13drop clients you're going to end up
13:15getting rid of clients or firing them or
13:18what dropping them throughout your
13:19career it happens even if you try your
13:22best even if like I said you know you
13:24try to wow them and you do a couple
13:25things it's just like um the way that I
13:28always talk about it is like you have a
13:29party bus and the party bus has all
13:31these amazing snacks and drinks but that
13:34person is like ew I don't like any of
13:36these things and you're like what these
13:38are amazing and they're like slushies
13:39are gross and you're like no but there's
13:41pretzels and they're like I'm allergic
13:43right it's that whole like it's a whole
13:44thing so when you get on this party bus
13:47and they don't like the party bus we
13:48should just they should just get off the
13:50party bus and we can go find someone
13:51else who is you know happy on this party
13:54bus so I think when we're o overd
13:57delivering but not over PR promising I
13:59think these are really important things
14:01when we're clear we have contracts to
14:03rely on we're making sure we still have
14:05some flexibility and adaptability as a
14:08freelancer we just make sure we update
14:10the contract and expectations uh we ask
14:12for extensions if we need them but we're
14:14clear and transparent and honest with
14:15our communication um and we take little
14:18steps to like really thank our clients
14:20when they're nice to us because they
14:21don't have to say nice things they don't
14:23uh and we we can have that as an
14:25opportunity to get a testimonial or
14:27referrals so I hope that this is been
14:29helpful so far and next time we're going
14:31to be talking about how to actually
14:33handle feedback and revisions this is
14:35something that I think is very critical
14:37in the writing process we need to know
14:39how we're taking this feedback when you
14:41should drop feedback and when you should
14:42really incorporate it how to handle it
14:44gracefully all that good stuff that
14:46comes with really building long-term
14:47relationships with the right people so
14:49we're going to go over that so I hope
14:50this is helpful and I will see you in
14:52the next video

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