Businesses can find writers everywhere.
Finding good ones who do what they say they’re going to do, on time, without hand-holding, and deliver results…that’s much harder.
There are a lot of good writers and copywriters, but a lot of them aren’t good at prospecting, marketing, and selling. So they don’t get the best clients, or the ones they deserve.
Much easier to learn how to write than to learn how to sell yourself. So that’s the first problem.
The second problem is that a lot of writers over-value themselves. We all see people making more money than we are, and we think, “Hey, I should be charging more.”
So we do, but in some cases, it’s not warranted. The writer doesn’t have the skills and the ability to deliver the kind of results that his fees would indicate.
So the client either hires that writer and is disappointed in having to pay so much for lackluster quality, or…
The client settles for less, for less money, and is also disappointed because that lower-priced writer doesn’t have the chops either.
It’s a rare thing for clients to match up perfectly with someone who gets their voice, brand, message, audience, and service/product, and nails it on the first pass, at a fair price to both parties.
Ideally, we should get paid what we’re worth, no more, no less, and the client should get what he’s paying for, no more, no less.
When there’s an imbalance, someone gets frustrated or angry. Not fun.
What’s the solution?
Find clients where you are.
Don’t aim too high and get in over your head where you can’t deliver. The client won’t be happy.
Don’t undervalue your services and charge too little because those clients are easier to get. YOU won’t be happy.
Find clients where you are, that match up with your level of experience and expertise.
Actively pursue them with consistent marketing efforts, so you always have a lot of prospective clients to talk to.
Then you can do the “sifting and sorting” to decide if you and the client are a good match for each other.
Don’t let them decide if they’re going to “pick you” as one of many they’re interviewing.
You do the selecting, and let them know if it seems like it’s a good match. Bring them into your world. Set your fees at a fair price, enough to pay you well for what you do, but not so high that you can’t deliver on what you promise or where the client won’t be happy.
Find clients where you are, connect with them in a genuine way, develop a good working relationship, and you’ll have clients who want to continue working with you, month after month.
You won’t need to strong-arm them into some “retainer contract” or “retainer agreement.”
They’ll work with you because they like you, because you “get them,” and because you deliver.
Relationships over Retainers.
It’s going to be an ongoing theme in the Cafe this year.
Want to find out exactly how you can get the clients you deserve? Clients that pay well, don’t shop around, and stick around, month after month?
