9 Ways to Dazzle Your Clients and Land a Steady Stream of Paying Projects
by Dean Rieck

Too many copywriters focus on getting new clients to get new projects. But the truth is that your best source for paying projects is your existing client pool.

It’s always easier and more profitable to work with old clients than new clients. You know their expectations. You don’t spend time marketing, estimating, and following up. And you’re familiar with their products and services.

So, what’s the secret to getting repeat projects?

I want to share nine simple tips for how to dazzle your clients and persuade them to hire you again and again. But first, let me tell you a story about how someone I hired dazzled me.

My wife and I live in a nice, two-story, 4,000+ square foot home. However, the former owners were, shall we say, less than delicate. I don’t know if they gave birth to kids gone wild, threw frequent drunken parties, or housed a heard of restless bulls, but the walls were scraped, scuffed, and dinged when we moved in.

Fortunately, it wasn’t anything spackle and new paint wouldn’t fix. So we made some inquires and hired a local painter named John.

Now, I need to explain that I’ve had a series of horrible experiences with handymen over the years. From the handyman who complained if he wasn’t home in time for Oprah, to the one who billed me for time he racked up talking to his girlfriend about what to get his wife for Christmas, I’ve had some bad luck.

So, even though John came highly recommended, given my unfortunate history, I had serious doubts. No amount of sales patter would convince me that he would do good work or act like a professional.

John surprised me. He was dressed neatly and spoke to us in a friendly, relaxed way. He asked about our preferences and what we wanted done. He also made several smart suggestions for how to paint each room.

As John began two weeks of painting, we watched him work quickly and professionally, making all his paint lines straight and cleaning up after himself at the end of each day. He even did extra things, such as fix two faulty light switches, repair a shower valve that was on backwards, and reduce the bill because the materials cost less than he estimated.

In short, he dazzled us. He did top-notch work for a fair price and left us thinking that we could not possibly hire any other painter.

Is that how your clients react to you when you write copy for them? Do you dazzle them? Do you leave them convinced you are THE copywriter to call?

It’s not hard. All you have to do is follow these nine simple tips.

1. Ask a LOT of questions. This is the key to smooth, successful projects. Learn all you can about the product or service. Discover exactly what your client wants to accomplish. Be sure you understand your client’s expectations so you can deliver effective, on-target copy.
2. Suggest alternate ideas. Top copywriters are more than a pair of hands typing copy. They’re consultants, selling their skill and expertise. If you have ideas, share them. You want the project to be successful, because the more successful your client, the more likely they are to hire you again. You might even pick up a bonus project if the client likes both the original idea and what you suggest.
3. Do your research. Even if you’ve asked lots of questions, there is no substitute for digging deeper and learning about your client’s company, products, customers, and competitors. Clients can’t be fully objective, so you can often discover facts and ideas that your client can’t see or doesn’t think are important. Spend time poring over company literature, past promotions, testimonials, and testing data. Google key words and concepts to discover interesting facts. Pull ideas from your past projects that may apply.
4. Craft crackerjack copy. Do you need to be reminded that the best way to promote your copywriting services is to write well? Give every project your best effort, even small ones that don’t pay a lot. Your copy is your calling card. It should be solid right from the first draft, punchy, powerful, and persuasive.
5. Edit and polish ruthlessly. I once read that Isaac Asimov never edited his copy. Maybe he was a freak of nature, but the rest of us benefit from ruthless editing and heartless polishing. You can’t make it perfect, but with the time you have available, you should slash every word that doesn’t motivate, persuade, and sell. Choose words wisely. Vary the tempo. Compose a pleasing rhythm. You can write long, but don’t blather. Keep it crisp, specific, and full of meaning.
6. Deliver more than expected. They’ll never see it coming. Write more than you promised. Provide two versions. Offer bonus suggestions for improving a past promotion. When you do something valuable and unexpected, you’ll give your client one of those “wow” moments and move up about a hundred notches in their eyes. For example, I recently landed a client who wanted a sales page. Once I started writing, I realized he needed more than I had estimated. So I wrote twice as much as I promised without charging a penny more. The client was so blown away, he chucked his other writers and is now using me to write everything for his rapidly growing health supplement company, which will mean tens of thousands of dollars this year and likely hundreds of thousands over the next few years.
7. Beat your deadline. You must meet deadlines. However, delivering copy ahead of time can make a great impression. There are a dozen things a client has to manage on any project, and submitting your work ahead of time makes life just that much easier. But be careful. If you have two weeks to write your copy, don’t deliver it after three days. That makes it look like you didn’t invest enough time or you’re not busy. It can even set unrealistic expectations for future projects. One or two days early is early enough.
8. Accept changes gracefully. Writers can be defensive. “I slaved over the copy. I massaged every word. And now you dare to change something?” Check the ego. Your client is paying you good money for the copy, so you should listen. If the suggestion is good, you want to act on it. If the suggestion is bad, politely explain why you wrote the copy the way you did. If the client backs off, fine. If not, make the change and don’t bring it up again. No one puts up with divas today.
9. Follow up. This is something many copywriters don’t do but which is essential. A month or so after you deliver your final copy, and after your invoice is paid, check in to see how the project is going. Ask for results. See if there’s any other way you can help. Make yourself available. If results are good, get a testimonial. If results weren’t what you hoped, discuss improvements. Good clients don’t expect perfection from you, they just want you to be professional and give a darn about their needs.

Remember, you have to invest time and effort to land new clients, so you don’t want to be a one project wonder. You want long-term, repeat clients who know you’re the “go-to” writer when they need you.

Dazzle your clients. Keep your clients loyal. Get more paying projects. It’s just that simple.

Dean Rieck is one of America’s top freelance copywriters and publisher of Pro Copy Tips, a blog that provides copywriting tips for smart copywriters like you.

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