Hey! So I am a freelance writer and I hire writers to complete personal projects for me when I simply don't have the time or have writers block. Today ... I went hunting for a freelance writer ( found one ! ) .. I contacted three people ... two were from the states like myself and one from India. I asked for two things within my PM; a price and a turn around time. Only one of the three actually answered the questions within the first message I sent. I'm referring to the freelancer from India. Not only that but this person actually thanked me for contacting them. My point is ... I run my business the same way as the person I'm about to hire. Saying thank you should be a normal thing... I mean seriously, shouldn't you be thankful for those that even consider hiring you? Another thing I admire about this person is that they understand my questions and answered them directly instead of making me fish for the answers. I dislike when people make me ask the same question again and again. For example if I want a quote for a project -- the last thing I want to hear is " my rates start at $1 per 100 words" I want to hear the total amount. So here's my advice for new and old freelance writers. 1. Customer service matters. Saying Thank you is the polite thing to do. Those that hire you don't have to hire you so remember that. 2. Answer the questions they have ask directly instead of going around the question. If you forget to answer the question be sure to say sorry. 3. Instead of referring clients back to your thread for answers , just provide quotes when they ask. It's faster for both parties. 4. Don't request a ton of details about the project when the basic information is enough. --- I.E do you really need to know the name of the website you are going to be researching data from or is it more important to know the topic and the word count? I do hope that my story and the advice helps those that need it. I speck from both sides of the line so I understand how these tips effect clients and how they can really build your freelance writing business into something truly perfect. So few people remember just how important customer service is -- hopefully this is a good reminder. Thanks and have an awesome day!
Thanks for your tips and reminder If I am allowed to add to your tips will say: A reply to the employer that declined your offer. Refrain from using slang or jargon in replies.
YES I completely agree. I dislike when people reply to my quote request with "ur" instead of "your" I mean come on.. you are suppose to be a writer!
I have never given any sort of quotation on the first email from a new prospect. I've never had a prospect provide all of the information so that I can determine the full scope of their project, how much research I will need to do and how long it will take me to complete their project. As to your 4 points... 1. I agree that any writer should thank the prospective customer for the opportunity. 2. Not every question a prospect asks can be immediately answered. For example, can I write a 2,000 word article on apples and how much would I charge? Sure I can write 2,000 words about apples. When do you want it? What's the depth of research you want? And how much source material will you be providing? It also depends on whether or not you will do the initial keyword and competitor research. Do you want an article on apples in general, the history of apple growing, diseases of apples, the varieties of apples and where they are grown, etc? 3. Agreed. The writer could easily say something like, "As I stated in my thread, ...." 4. Topic and word count may be enough for the content spinners and rewriters. But, I want to know the site I'm writing for. How else can I ensure what I write matches the overall tone and language used? How else can I ensure that my content fits within the overall SEO strategy being employed on the site? If you have a particular site that you want me to use as a reference, I certainly do want to know what it is before I provide a quotation. How else am I supposed to determine how long it will take to write your article(s)? I would also be interested in evaluating the factual accuracy of the proposed source. And, I would definitely want to ensure that you are not requesting that I infringe on someone else's copyright. BTW, I hope that you informed the other two writers that you hired someone else.
YMC, Yes I provided a good amount of details within the quote request. I explained the general topic, noted that research would be provided and that no extra research would be needed. Keywords would not be important. Either way if a writer doesn't have a question answered -- they could ask specifically just like you did right now. Instead the writer I'm referring to just said " send me details" that doesn't help me one bit because how am I suppose to know what details you require in order to give me a quote other then " My prices start at ... " The project was for a new site so the tone wasn't super important and I provide a good number of examples of the style I'm searching for when I actually hire the work to be completed. It's perfectly fine to not give a quote in the first email but it's also important to consider the questions the prospect asked in the first place. If you need more information to give a quote then ask questions instead of saying " Send me more details." Sadly, that's the statement I get and it drives me nuts because I have to reply with " What kind of details are you looking for?" Then the person normally says something like " Send me all the details about the project." Honestly I have no intention of telling a could be employee about the project until I know they aren't just making me fish for answers and honestly want to provide me with a service. Not only that this writer was super arrogant as well. The last thing I want to have is someone who thinks they can over power me -- the one who is paying them. I may be a women but no one can over power me... The writer I'm referring to knows they didn't get hired. I already informed the other of the three I'm about to give a different job as well. Great points as always YMC!
Somehow, I knew that you probably gave far more information than most prospective clients do. I answered the way I did, in part, to ensure that new writers understood that they should be asking questions - the right questions, and not throwing quotes around without enough information. I hope you didn't think I was attacking you specifically. I've not hired any writers but several of my clients have shared the idiotic responses other writers sent them. I suspect some of the replies you received are due to the folks who simply hire the first person to respond to their inquiry. I know many writers have automated and canned replies to initial client inquiries for that very reason. Personally, I would rather be the writer who takes the time to actually answer the questions asked, consider the project and ask questions of my own, even if that makes me the last to reply. Besides, I figure anyone hiring based upon who replied first is probably not going to be a good client in the long run anyway.
Oh I knew you won't trying to attack me -- like I said you provided perfect points that I forgot to even mention! Haha.. I get idiotic responses often from people who apply to jobs all the time. I remember a few months ago a writer sent me a message via Odesk that said " Ya, i can do the job if u need it. thx." I was shocked! I think I laughed for an hour. It's nice to see both sides of the world. I think we both have been doing this for a few years and understand the field isn't just based on how fast you can reply or how cheap your price is but it's based on so many different factors. I do hope that those new to this field actually take the time to learn how to interact with clients better and thus build a steady living. Keep up the good work YMC!