How to Add Value to Your Writing Business

Key Tools for Improving Client Relationships and Sales

Mar 5, 2010
Sharon Hurley Hall

How to Add Value to Your Writing Business - Pfala

How can freelance writers improve their writing business? Providing added value for clients increases the potential for selling additional writing services.

In order to make a success of a freelance writing business and take it to the next level it is essential for writers to add some value. There are lots of ways to do this but it all boils down to helping clients to achieve what they want from the writing that freelance writers produce. A key tool in helping clients to achieve their aims is to find out exactly what they want. It can be difficult to establish this even whether writers talk to clients on the phone, meet them in person or communicate via e-mail.

The Client Questionnaire

One tool that helps is a freelance writing client questionnaire. This provides a good way to get information from clients that will guide writers in producing content, whether it's for the web or for print. A good client questionnaire will ask clients about their typical customer, their competition, how they want to be seen and how people find them. It is also important for writers to establish who clients are hoping to reach with the content and what they want them to do. Finally, it is helpful to find out where the content will be used. Just asking these questions can give writers a good idea of a client’s mindset which in turn gives writers ideas for how to add value. It may also be useful to find out about the client's budget to help with setting rates.

Cross Selling and Up Selling

In finding out what clients want, writers will often find opportunities to suggested related products which meet the clients' aims. For example, if a client has hired a writer to create web content, then the writer might suggest spinning a version of that content to make a promotional article to be published elsewhere with a link back to the site. Knowing the client's aims can also help writers recommend tools that will help them to achieve those aims. While this may not result in an immediate pay check for the writer it will do a lot to improve client relationships and the perception of the writer as an expert.

Writer Availability

Many clients hire writers because they can't do the job themselves yet if writers are representing their "baby" they get nervous about the process. Writers can reassure clients by being available to answer questions and encouraging clients to ask them. In doing so writers will often get additional information that will help them to do an even better job for the client.

Delivery

There’s nothing writers can do more to keep clients happy and to deliver work on time or even early. A good tip for writers is to set their personal deadline a couple of days before the client actually wants the job. Early delivery makes writers look more professional.

The result of all this value added writing is that writers can enhance their reputation and keep their clients happy. That's a winning situation for both sides and should result in a mutually rewarding relationship.

Photo of Sharon Hurley Hall, by Stephen Hall

Sharon Hurley Hall - I am an expert web content writer, with more than 20 years' experience writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. I write ebooks, web ...