Written by Tom Ewer of Leaving Work Behind and 2013 Problogger “Blogger to Watch.”
Most experienced freelance writers will tell you that they’d take practically any client when they were first starting out.
Beggars can’t be choosers, right?
I was certainly in that boat — I don’t think I turned a single prospect down during my first six months as a freelance writer.
That approach is completely understandable. The concept of turning down business is something that takes getting used to over time. But in reality, offering your services to all and sundry is not the best way to build a successful freelance business.
Why?
Because by catering for everyone you essentially cater for no one. At least, not to the standard that will land you high-paying work in the long run. To make good money in the freelancing world you need to work with the right clients. In this article I am going to demonstrate why and show you how.
The Perils of Low-Quality Clients
There are few things more dangerous to a freelancer than settling for low-quality clients. For the purposes of this article, a low-quality client can be defined as someone who pays a rate below what would be considered reasonable and offers no non-financial benefits.
You may be wondering what non-financial benefits are.
If you’re a writer I could be talking about prominent bylines. If you’re a graphic designer it might be a well-known client that would take pride of place in your portfolio. If you’re a web designer then it might be a client that has a lot of connections.
My point is this: no freelance business got anywhere by working exclusively with low-quality clients.
If you work with low-quality clients now, you will probably work with low-quality clients in the future. You must take that step up to a higher quality of client — even if it means working for free — in order to place yourself amongst the type of clients you want to work with.
Working with low-quality clients is a triple fail: you don’t get paid much, you feel undervalued and unhappy, and the work takes you nowhere in terms of future better quality clients. Avoid it if at all possible.
Set Your Stall Out
I’ve started by telling you that you shouldn’t work with low-quality clients. That may be a tough pill to swallow, but I’m going to go a step further now and tell you to offer less. That’s right — I want you to target a particular market and aim (if possible) to ignore all other areas in which you might freelance.
As a writer that might be choosing a particular topic (or small set of topics) on which you write. A graphic designer might focus on branding for startup online businesses. A web designer might focus on inexpensive websites for small offline businesses. And so on.
The reasoning for this approach takes me back to what I said near the beginning of this article: by catering for everyone you essentially cater for no one.
Consider it from the client’s perspective. Who would you rather work with and be willing to pay more for: a freelancer who offers a generic service or someone who offers a service that is tailor-made for you? By focusing your efforts into one market you make yourself highly valuable to a select group of clients.
This is something I have done to great effect: I primarily write for clients on the topics of freelancing, entrepreneurship and WordPress (the content management system). I am regularly approached by prospective clients who want to work with me specifically on one or more of those topics, and because of my reputation and experience, they are happy to pay a good price for my services.
Because you are working in a specific field, all of the samples and testimonials that you gather will only serve to strengthen your position. If you market yourself correctly you can become known as one of the people to hire in a particular market. At that point, prospective clients will be coming to you and you will be able to charge a premium rate for your services.
Making a Start
In order to establish yourself in a particular market you will need to be highly proactive. There are four areas in which you will need to focus:
- Branding: you must make it absolutely clear on your website and any other relevant online outposts in which area(s) your expertise lies.
- Samples/Testimonials: should focus solely upon the market you have targeted.
- Pitches: should be written in a way that promotes your specific expertise in your chosen market.
- Outreach: you will need to establish a base of targeted clients by approaching them specifically.
In short, you need to market yourself as the solution to a very select group of clients.
I do not want to make out like this approach to freelancing is easy, because it is not. It is a process that may take months or years but is something that you should always have in mind. You will, however, give yourself the best possible chance by committing wholeheartedly to this approach.
A Caveat
If you are just starting out with freelancing and have a priority to pay the bills above everything else, I am not saying that you should focus down on one market and ignore all other clients under any circumstances. If you need the money then work with whoever you need to. But I am saying that you should always keep your long term plan in mind.
At some point there will come a moment when you realize you are in a position where you can begin to shape your group of clients so that they better represent the market in which you ultimately want to work in. It won’t be an overnight transition, but as long as you keep your eyes on the prize, you will get there.
Tom Ewer is the founder of Leaving Work Behind and 2013 Problogger “Blogger to Watch.” He quit his job in 2011 and help others realize their own dreams of quitting their jobs and building their own online businesses.
