Comments on: Should You Give a Writing Discount Now If the Client Promises More Work Later?

By: How to successfully launch your own freelance SEO copywriting business » SEO Copywriting

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 10:00:51 +0000

[…] by how to: define a niche market, ask for a writing deposit, deal with writing revisions, stand firm by your rates, protect yourself with a contract (no matter the size of the gig), and hone in on the services to […]

By: Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:13:07 +0000

In reply to tc.

Good for you! Congratulations to sticking to your guns. I know that it’s not always easy to walk away from a “red flag” potential customer – but it sounds like you made the best move. Well done!

By: tc

tc — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 01:23:41 +0000

I just ‘fired’ a potential customer because he used all of this in the conversation:
-‘need simple work done’
-‘a lot of work your way in the future’
-‘small budget for now, but if you work good you will get more projects’
-‘i need this ASAP’

All the signs of a real nightmare customer.

By: Kevin Carlton

Kevin Carlton — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:32:20 +0000

Ah! The good old “Do this work at a cheaper price and there’ll be more work in the pipeline” routine.

A classic sign of a potential nightmare client if ever I saw one.

Love your idea, Heather, of wrong-footing these prospects by suggesting a monthly retainer.

If they agree, I guess they might not turn out to be such a bad client after all.

By: focuscopywriter

focuscopywriter — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:54:42 +0000

I like the idea of a retainer agreement, but it sounds scary to approach it with a prospect. I’d love to hear how this has worked for others. It makes perfect sense to me, but prospects don’t always think like we do!