What is it about some clients that makes them think a freelance writer should work for peanuts, and take on responsibilities way beyond the scope of the assignment?
Sad to say, but in most cases, it’s us. The freelance writers, who fail to stipulate the terms of our agreement properly before beginning work. We’re also often all too eager to please, and stretch the boundaries of what we will and won’t do just to keep the client happy.
Your clients, understandably, want to keep their costs down. You, on the other hand need to maintain a livable working wage. Striking the balance between providing good quality content and meeting clients’ expectations, and not being taken for a ride can be a challenge, to say the least.
Clients will almost always come up with ideas to improve their business that involves extra work for you. In the early stages of the relationship, it’s tempting to agree to small changes without charging extra, because you want to make a good impression. If you’re not careful, though, your client will assume you are happy with the current rate, and expect you to take on more and more work with no additional payment.
Once you have got into this situation, resentment builds. You feel put upon and taken for granted, and when you do broach the subject, your client may be taken aback, and react defensively. They may even use the fact you’ve agreed so readily in the past against you.
The best way to avoid this situation is to be clear and decisive upfront. When you take on a job, have the parameters set out clearly in writing, and state that additional work will incur additional charges. Then comes the hard part: stick to your guns.
The first time a new client changes the brief, let them know that you would be happy to oblige, and remind them of your agreement. Let them know how much extra work is involved for you, and how much extra this will cost. Yes, some might balk, and even threaten to find another writer. Most will either accept the additional fee or negotiate a smaller increase.
My advice for dealing with those clients who threaten to dump you? Although it’s tempting to either cave in and do the extra work for free or tell them where to stuff their job, neither is going to help you in the long run. Instead, point out that they hired you to do a specific job, and that as agreed, alterations to the job are subject to rate negotiations. Remind them, in their own words if possible, how happy they have been with your previous work.
Then explain if you take on additional work at no extra cost, you will have less time to devote to the existing work, and the quality will inevitably suffer as a result. Ask if they would be happy with this lower quality work, or if there is any part of the job you are currently doing they would like you to neglect in order to do the additional work without extra time input. Suggest maybe some of this work could be contracted out to someone else so that you can concentrate on the important areas.
Make it clear that you value your time, and that you care about the quality of your work. You are not being unreasonable, you are being professional. After all, you have standards you want to uphold.
I have had many such conversations with clients over the years, some of which have resulted in the simple, repetitive tasks being passed on to other freelancers (or even back to the client) while I was able to concentrate on writing copy and content, and very few of which have not been amicably resolved. When you are writing under someone else’s name and suggest that their demands are going to reflect badly on them, it tends to make them rethink.
On the few occasions where a client has refused to listen to reason, and repeatedly threatened to take their business elsewhere, I’m sure you can imagine what my reaction has been.
If they don’t believe their business is worth the additional time and cost, who am I to disagree with them?
