1. Be fair – offer a clear brief, an honest budget and a feasible timeframe for your freelancer to meet
2. Be open to questions at the start, during and towards the end of the first project. It’s a new working relationship so we thrive on friendly, professional and sometimes patient conversation
3. Understand that we are a business too. We have overheads to meet and a modest margin to protect. We get the bottom line more than most – trust us
4. Words are very personal to the client, especially when we are writing about their business. It is a honour to do so and sometimes you click or you don’t with the first draft on a commission, once its presented. I offer a writing sample to an agreed example brief. Be happy with the angle and tone of voice taken from the outset. Happier client, happier freelancer
5. Share resources, logins – once the commission or project is up and running, trust your freelancer to publish on your site. We know more than most the sensitivity of posting online and that things are generally never fully deleted, mainly cached by the search engines, instead. Don’t panic. We want to see a perfect post as much as you do – not just to get paid but as an addition to our portfolio (with client permission)
6. Please pay on time. If you are happy with the work once completed, please pay your invoice. Many of us are VAT registered now, here in the UK, so need to make timely quarterly returns on our invoices. Many thanks, clients!
7. Recommend us – if you are happy to do so, please do. Many copywriters ask for testimonials which can be vital to help secure new clients. You benefit from the reciprocal promotion on our website in such content such as case studies in our blog when discussing the benefits of working with us or as a beautiful addition to our portfolio
8. Consider both short term assignments as well as more longer term arrangements such as retainers with your chosen freelancers. Once you’ve assembled your dream team, nurture it like the gold that it really is!
9. Enjoy the process. We are on your team and on board with what you need from us. Embrace the creative discussions and delight in the delivery. We do, its why we’re here to serve our target audience for our professional services
10. Network with us – if you have a need for a skill which is not one we possess, allow us to talk to our contact list (in general terms and confidentially, if needs be), you never know who we may know – and they might just be the right person to help you get to the next stage of your own business journey.