A-list copywriter | Founder, Get Dangerously Good | Copywriting and Mentorship | Publisher, Copy Insiders and “What’s in Kim’s Mailbox?”
Setting boundaries can save you a heap of trouble when it comes to dealing with clients. I'm talking about things like... 👉 Not jumping when the client says "jump" -- i.e., feeling you must say "yes" to everything, including unreasonable requests... which then leads to even more unreasonable requests... 👉 Taking the quote you're about to give a client and then increasing it by 50% or doubling it (or more), then putting it out there even though you're terrified to do so... 👉 Shutting down bad client behavior the first time it rears its ugly head (and still have a good and profitable long-term working relationship, assuming you want to...) 👉 Spelling out deliverables clearly and fending off "scope creep" at the onset by never giving away anything for "free"... 👉 Always getting paid an advance (usually 50%) upfront before doing a lick of work... even with clients you've worked with before... because priorities can change and you don't want to be left holding the bag... 👉 And countless more client-management tactics that help you run your freelance biz more smoothly. Do these things and an amazing thing starts to happen... You start to develop greater confidence! This confidence grows from staying true to what YOU need to get out of the client relationship. It grows from valuing and respecting yourself enough to speak up or push back when needed. And it grows from how clients start to treat you once you begin setting boundaries and valuing yourself. That's because when you stand up for yourself in a professional and confident way, clients respect you more right from the get-go... and they're much less likely to try any of that stupid stuff or make unreasonable requests as a result. So you can more easily negotiate higher pay, better terms, and avoid client "BS". And you know what else? They may even respect the copy you produce even more. You still have to write really good copy, and get good at it... but if a client is biased towards not respecting you as a professional, they will look for where your copy is failing or coming up short. But when they respect you as a professional, the opposite is true. I'm hoping this inspires you to look at your entire client management process in total. Things like: --How you respond to potential clients and close them --The quotes, time frames, and payment terms you state in proposals --Your contracts: how "airtight" are they? --Your process for working with a client from start to finish --Client follow-up during a project to get feedback and move things along --Invoicing and getting paid --Getting a future project and/or a testimonial or referral Are there "holes" in any of these areas of your freelance business that setting stronger boundaries could help with? Taking the time to examine all of these areas and fixing what's broken will set you up for far greater success in 2023 and beyond. (Hint: so will going to copyinsiders dot-com!) #freelancecopywriter #copywriters
Kim Krause Schwalm perfect post. I'm forwarding this to a friend of mine who does paid ads. She has problems with PIA clients, and I think firing them would free up both her time and sanity to acquire even better and more profitable clients.
A-list copywriter | Founder, Get Dangerously Good | Copywriting and Mentorship | Publisher, Copy Insiders and “What’s in Kim’s Mailbox?”
1yP.S. Like copywriting and freelancing tips like these? go to kimschwalm.com or copyinsiders.com to get more good stuff!