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What to do when client doesn't respond

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by zac439, Jun 10, 2007.

  1. #1
    What have you done when clients haven't responded?

    I trust just about everyone on DP, and will give anyone a chance. I gave one member with a low post count and no iTrader or Reputation a chance, even knowing that it could turn out bad. This person paid me for a few articles, and then requested 10 more.

    The 10 more needed a lot of research, and I ended up spending hours on the job because of the amount of research. Now, I have emailed this person's two email addresses, PM'ed them on DP, and haven't heard from them in a week.

    Should I wait more, or sell them on AC? What have you done in the past?
     
    zac439, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  2. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #2
    Unfortunately, it doesn't always pay to give someone the benefit of the doubt - as it appears you've found out.

    Since you have already e-mailed the client several times and have yet to receive a response, I'm quite doubtful you'll see anymore money from this.

    If I were in your situation I would e-mail the client once more, letting him/her know that if payment doesn't arrive by *insert date here*, they do not have the right to the articles and you will be selling them elsewhere.

    I'm sorry to hear you are in this situation. This is why I do not accept work from clients without AT LEAST a 50% retainer up front.
     
    DeniseJ, Jun 10, 2007 IP
    zac439 likes this.
  3. mstrait

    mstrait Peon

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    #3
    I agree with DeniseJ. If the client still doesn't respond, sell the articles and get the money you're owed.
     
    mstrait, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  4. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #4
    Alright, I'm waiting another 48 hours for a response.

    Any suggestions on where to sell? They are all on car models that are due out in 2008. I'll probably post them on AC if nothing else.
     
    zac439, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  5. serenity

    serenity Well-Known Member

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    #5
    I have found that many clients are very busy. I wait for at least one month before I give up. Some clients travel and may not be where they can answer emails.

    I do however, agree that you should always ask for all upfront or at least half upfront before taking on any project.

    Good luck,
    :D
     
    serenity, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  6. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #6
    I am now selling the articles. A notice should have been given prior to any absences, such as travel.

    Within a month, Google could index the content on their site, or someone they sold the content to may index the content on Google. Then you'd be out of luck when trying to explain you made the content, but can't prove it with a dated page.

    I expect to get my money's worth from the sale, so no worries now. Just lost an unreliable customer, nothing else :)
     
    zac439, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  7. internetauthor

    internetauthor Peon

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    #7
    I'm glad you found a solution. Ironically, I just had a client go MIA (missing in action) for about four months. Only to reappear, pay me the $25 he owed me for a very small piece of work, start talking about a new large project...and disappear again. It's a crazy world out there sometimes... :)

    Rebecca
     
    internetauthor, Jun 10, 2007 IP
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  8. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #8
    Looks like I should have used a little more persistence. The client apparently paid the money to the wrong email address on paypal.

    It is unfortunate, but in the end I am glad I am no longer working with this customer. I have repeatedly emailed this person each day and have only gotten a response today when I mentioned they no longer have the right to use the content.

    Whether it was coincidence, or not, I look forward to finding new customers that can reply to an e-mail within a week's time. (They were on DP on several occasions throughout the week, it would've only took a few seconds!)
     
    zac439, Jun 10, 2007 IP
  9. southwark

    southwark Member

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    #9
    This would seem to be a good reason for creating some sort
    of contract or agreement. It doesn't have to be signed or
    binding but at least when you accept a commission you can
    send an outline which explains the timescale, what is to be
    done by you and by the client and when; and what will happen
    if either defaults.

    This means that when there is a default you can write to the
    client and make reference to this outline rather than having
    to come up with ad hoc scenarios.

    It also makes you appear more professional and, therefore, less
    likely to accept 'amatuerish' non, or late, payments.

    Phil
     
    southwark, Jun 11, 2007 IP
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  10. latoya

    latoya Active Member

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    #10
    Phil, I agree that a contract should be used, but sending out one that isn't binding is a waste of time. If you can't legally enforce the contract, then you might as well not create one.

    I had one client go MIA for months and suddenly reappear and pay me the $15 he owed. That same client then went on to order additional articles from me with no payment problem at all.

    Zac, I'm not 100% sure I even believe the "paid the wrong address" excuse. You say that the two of you have worked together in the past. Paypal keeps a history of addresses that you've exchanged payments with, so your Paypal address should be in the client's history (assuming you haven't changed it). It doesn't matter now, but I just wanted to point that out.

    This why I now require 50% up front and the remaining 50% within five business days of delivery. Late fees are added by the week. I haven't had a single problem with nonpayment since I started doing this.
     
    latoya, Jun 11, 2007 IP
  11. latoya

    latoya Active Member

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    #11
    Phil, I agree that a contract should be used, but sending out one that isn't binding is a waste of time. If you can't legally enforce the contract, then you might as well not create one.

    I had one client go MIA for months and suddenly reappear and pay me the $15 he owed. That same client then went on to order additional articles from me with no payment problem at all.

    Zac, I'm not 100% sure I even believe the "paid the wrong address" excuse. You say that the two of you have worked together in the past. Paypal keeps a history of addresses that you've exchanged payments with, so your Paypal address should be in the client's history (assuming you haven't changed it). It doesn't matter now, but I just wanted to point that out.

    This why I now require 50% up front and the remaining 50% within five business days of delivery. Late fees are added by the week. I haven't had a single problem with nonpayment since I started doing this.
     
    latoya, Jun 11, 2007 IP
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  12. sir_round

    sir_round Active Member

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    #12
    a nice email always works.
     
    sir_round, Jun 12, 2007 IP
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  13. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #13
    What do you mean? I'm talking about when they don't respond...at all...:confused:
     
    zac439, Jun 12, 2007 IP
  14. stilloutthere

    stilloutthere Peon

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    #14
    A nice e-mail does not always work. Sometimes even an upfront payment doesn't mean anything. I'm still sitting on an advance that someone gave me. He was going to e-mail with a list of topics for a set of articles, paid me half for the first one, then apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. I've e-mailed and PMd.

    I've only not been paid once, but I've had a couple of buyers just disappear. I presume they just found someone else to work with. I hadn't delivered anything, or done any work other than e-mail, but it is wierd.
     
    stilloutthere, Jun 13, 2007 IP
  15. ZeroInfinity

    ZeroInfinity Banned

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    #15
    Since asking for upfront payments would just be applicable to succeeding working engagements and would thus act only as a reminder but would not directly address the problem at hand, you could just post the articles on your blog together with
    an explanation on the reasons behind two similar articles being published on two different sites - yours and your "unreliable" client's. Well, only if you can't sell the articles elsewhere, but be advised that you'll be having problems if those who purchase the articles will find the articles already published on your "unreliable" client's site/s - such a catastrophic event would make you end up being labeled a "plagiarist" despite all your explanations about the matter at hand (do take note of the fact that your explanations would just be straight up ramblings for the clients). You would gain the cash you lost together with the time you spent through the compensation you get from selling the articles, yes, but you just might end up losing bluechip clients in the process together with losing your reputation as a writer of original work. Thanks.

    Regards,

    ZeroInfinity
    http://www.grayscaleconsultancyservices.com
     
    ZeroInfinity, Jun 14, 2007 IP
  16. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #16
    He needs to tell the client to remove any articles that were not paid for from his sites. The client has no right to those articles if they were not paid for. The OP has every right to sell those articles elsewhere if he has not received payment for them and hasn't heard back from the client.
     
    DeniseJ, Jun 15, 2007 IP
  17. marketjunction

    marketjunction Well-Known Member

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    #17
    When DeniseJ didn't pay me, I let her work it off.

    ;)
     
    marketjunction, Jun 15, 2007 IP
  18. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #18
    Haha... are you stalking me, Jason? :p I just noticed another old thread where you quoted one of my posts...!!

    ;)
     
    DeniseJ, Jun 15, 2007 IP
  19. ZeroInfinity

    ZeroInfinity Banned

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    #19
     You just missed a crucial point of the argument: the client isn't responding to any of his emails. This means that it is thus expected for the client to not heed requests or even impositions about the articles and the client's rights to publish ONLY what he owns since his most probable purpose is to rip off the writer from his hard work as can be seen from the client's actions or lack thereof - given any theoretical scenario with the values presented by the original post on this thread as variables, this will always be the case. Thanks.

    Best Regards,

    ZeroInfinity
    http://www.grayscaleconsultancyservices.com
     
    ZeroInfinity, Jun 15, 2007 IP
  20. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #20
    I didn't miss the point. I was simply responding to your post about the conflict between people finding the OP's articles on two different websites.

    While e-mailing the client probably won't do anything, I would still do so to let the client know the articles that weren't paid for would be sold elsewhere. If anything, it may make him think twice about posting the "stolen" articles if he knew the writer wasn't backing down and letting him have them for nothing.
     
    DeniseJ, Jun 15, 2007 IP