Freelance Apple

How many times have you looked at a freelancer’s work, and been very impressed, only to get put off by their lack of communication and etiquette whilst working on your project? This happens a lot in the freelancer web design world especially and it’s what prevents many freelancers getting repeat work, or getting recommended by a previous client for a new lead. So, how do you stop this from happening? Well, this article discusses a few tips and tricks you can adopt to always land more clients.

Communication is Key

When you’re working on a client’s project, it’s not good practice to keep them in the dark about their project – after all, they’re spending their hard-earnt cash to get something wonderful developed by yourself. If you’re working on a  mid/long-term project, I always advise you to email each client at the end of the day with your progress on their project (even if that means no progress). Why? It’ll show the client you’re honest, and will push you to do more about that outstanding project that needs work on. I recommend registering to FreshBooks to use for client management and communications as it comes with a built-in mailing system, along with everything you need to management clients whether your a freelance writer/designer or whatever.

Write full, cohesive text

So many times when freelancers are communicating to their clients, especially on instant messaging clients or via email, they fail to type full, standard English (or their respective language). It is paramount that you try to ensure that every sentence is written to the highest standards of grammar, so that you don’t put yourself off to the client and end up portraying yourself like a 10 year old. Be vigilant and consistent with your communications, and all should be well.

Portfolio Selection

A portfolio is arguably the freelancer’s most important sales tool – it shows his/her ability and gives a sense of the freelancer’s style to the potential client. This is why what you show on your portfolio is VERY important in the kind of image you’re  trying to portray. A lot of the time, I see freelancer’s put every bit and bob of work they’ve done up on their portfolio to bulk it up, but in my experience this is an extremely bad move. Clients, like all people of the world, are very critical people, and so if you have some subpar work on your portfolio alongside with your best, they may associate you with that psychologically. That’s why, it’s always best to keep a select few pieces of work on your portfolio, I tend to choose the top 6 designs for my design portfolio, although this value will obviously vary depending on your profession.

A freelancer needs to remember that because he/she is a sole entity, that the companies image depends on their actions and conduct during business, along with their standard of work – so always remember to do things right when it involves your client and it should ultimately it will lead to an increase in your number of leads.

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