People say that the most difficult part about being a freelance writer or an online business owner is collecting money. Whilst there is truth in that, I think there is something else we have left out of the list of ‘things we should do/know but don’t do/find out‘.
What our clients think about us, that is.
Yes, it is true that hearing the truth will, sometimes, give us a heart attack. The heart rate accelerates at the thought of asking, ‘What do you think of me as a freelance writer?’. What if they hate you? What if they think you write like a ten year old? What if they think you should have not used so many ‘…’ or the stuff that you have written and delivered were not plumped up enough? So many ‘what if’s and no answer.
So, go get them. Be brave. Soldier on. You can take it…be it good or be it terrible.
Ask the client how did he or she find you? Through the website, from a friend or from another freelance writer? How was your response rate? When you ask them questions like this, it shows that you care about the level of service that you are providing…which says a lot more about you when compared to others who couldn’t care less about what they, as clients, think. Another thing to ask them is to get them to rate your professionalism as a full-time freelance writer. I know you hate having to ask them that and then wait there, shaking like a dying leaf on a near-dead tree, but you have to know! Were you professional enough in dealing with the project they gave you?
And of course, when people hire freelance writer like you and me, there is the much dreaded question….did you deliver on time? Time is of essence with a lot of people and if they have given you a deadline right from the start, you need to ask them if they were satisfied with the turnaround time. The good news is, you, more of less, know the answer to this one via email and looking at the calendar. The bad news is that you may not like what you hear.
There are other conventional questions that a freelance writer like yourself should ask your client but I think, personally, what you should ask is this too – did the client enjoy working with you on the said project. What is their level of happiness or satisfaction? Are they happy enough to work with you again? Will they EVER in this lifetime mention your name in the face of someone looking for the services of a freelance writer?
Granted, people who respond to your surveys are people who are either frustrated with you or someone who is exhilarated with what you have delivered to them. It’s a matter of finding out how many of them are happy and how many are majorly disgruntled with your services.
Last but not least, there are two other things that I think should be asked. One, if they had suggestions for future improvements. And two, would they consider giving you a testimonial (a positive one, OK?) for your website. There you have it…my personal list of things I would want my clients to rate me in.
