Are You A Buttoned-Up or Buttoned-Down Freelance Writer?
Do You Wear Fuzzy Slippers to Work?
Deciding what kind of freelancer you are can help you define the type of clients and projects that suit your personality. If you can alternate between buttoned-up and buttoned-down, that could be a really good thing. If you can’t, or don’t want to, that can be ok as well. Considering the type of writing work you want will give you the freedom and type of career you want.
Dressing for Your Client’s Personality
Voice is an important aspect of being a writer. Finding the right voice can help you write something your clients will love. Finding the right voice might also be necessary in terms of dealing with your clients in a productive and fruitful way. Some freelancers do well because they’re casual, approachable, ooze with irreverence, talk about personal stuff, and their clients love them. Others reveal nothing about their personal life, and exude professionalism and their clients love them. Where do you fit?
Are you dressing for your client’s personality? If you do, you may develop stronger relationships with them. As a freelancer, how you approach your professional image will dictate what sorts of clients you attract.
There aren’t necessarily black and white lines in terms of how to deal with your clients in general but you may want to consider your voice in your client approach.
Buttoned Up
Positives: Very professional, becomes known as an expert in their field. Often commands higher rates.
Potential Drawbacks: May seems unapproachable. Does not always fit with a client’s corporate culture.
If you’re approaching buttoned-up professionals, you may want to keep your top button firmly in place.
Buttoned Down
Positives: Hip and 21st century. Casual Friday is often the way businesses who use freelancers operate today.
Potential Drawbacks: If approaching corporate clients, you may not be taken as a serious professional. Clients may also think they can pay less because you’re a ‘freelancer’ or because you work from home. Work from home professionals often have a higher overhead than their clients realize.
If you’re approaching buttoned-down professionals, you may be able to be more casual with them.
Note: Casual Friday doesn’t mean missed deadlines, lack of quality, and doesn’t mean they don’t have to pay you a fair wage— on schedule.
Is Your Dress Code Hurting Your Business?
Some of today’s freelancers advertise that they are work at home moms or Dads or that they work in their pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Some of those freelancers have problems getting their rates up. Some joke about working in the buff and swear like a trucker on their blog but still command really high rates. What’s the right approach?
It all depends. It depends on what type of client you’re going after. If you’re going after another solopreneur that works in their fuzzy slippers, buttoned down might be the way to go. If you want to do corporate copywriting for fortune 100 companies, you might want to sit up straight and button up right to that top button.
I worked for GE Capital for ten years but today I’m wearing pink and fuzzy slippers. But I don’t tell all my clients about the slippers. For me, I find alternating from suit to slippers depending on what sort of client or prospect I’m talking to and who I’m approaching works. I don’t typically swear on my business blog but I do try to understand what my client’s personality type is after starting to deal with them and then I button up or unbutton accordingly.
If I’m dealing with a corporate client I tend to avoid the phrase freelance writer and I never ever call myself a work at home mom. But if I’m talking to a small business owner about their SEO, we may discuss our families and the personal connection we make could strengthen the relationship. I try to let the client take the lead and adjust my approach accordingly. It’s kind of like ghostwriting.
Use Ghostwriting Skills to Find the Best Client “Voice”
Versatility is a good trait when you work for yourself. And, if you’re a ghostwriter, you might find that putting those ghostwriting skills to good use could help you exponentially.
Because people often relate to their own personality type, as you get to know a new client, assume their personality type in terms of how you deal with them and chances are, you’ll find the right voice.
So, are you wearing fuzzy slippers today?
(photo: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/prototype7)
You might also enjoy:
- The Value Added Writer
- How To Crack Your Own Whip As A Freelance Writer
- A Freelance Writer’s 2010 Resolutions
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9 Responses to “Are You A Buttoned-Up or Buttoned-Down Freelance Writer?”
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lol I never wear fuzzy slippers but I am frequently barefoot while working. The moment I get back to my desk I kick of my shoes, pull my legs up and cross them on the chair. It’s comfortable and I can keep that pose for extended periods. But my clients don’t need to know that I’m shoeless, or that I might be sitting on my bed instead of in the office, or that I decided to wear a gypsy skirt today instead of a pantsuit. That’s one of the wonderful things about freelancing.
I have found that I tend to relate to clients however they relate to me. When they contact me, if their persona comes across as “strictly professional” I respond in kind with short, to-the-point contacts that deal strictly with business. If they offer up a more relaxed “lets be friends” connection I’ll soften my tone accordingly.
Both sorts of clients are actually good to blend. If I worked for the “strictly professional” all the time I’d get bored very quickly. I’m an Aussie and Aussies are famous for being overly casual about everything. I don’t want to feel “corporate” or “dress for success”. But it’s good to work with clients who are all about the job, who don’t get distracted from it with personal life, and who don’t give sob stories about how hard their personal life is. Equally, I appreciate the deeper connections and friendships I’ve made with the clients who do go there.
It’s good to have a balance between the two.
Before I started writing on a freelance basis, I had various corporate jobs, with one of them being running a crime reduction partnership. After running it for several years, I soon realised that perception was (and is) everything (the prime example of this is that we carried out an annual survey that was sent to all town centre properties. When we first started working, there were around 30 homeless people in the town and the consensus was that begging was a big problem. Three years on there were no official homeless people living or begging in the town centre, yet the businesses still saw it as a large problem).
I’ve carried this realisation over into my writing career and realised that as long as my clients perceive that I’m either a ‘button up’ or ‘button down’ worker, what I honestly am doesn’t particularly matter.
Naturally, I’m a ‘button down’ worker. Even when working in the corporate world I brought a somewhat relaxed approach to it (and did literally never fasten my top button!), but importantly I knew when it was needed to push my tie up further so it appeared that my top button was fastened and this is something which I still know and do today.
For example, I have some clients who I am extremely friendly with. We talk about each other’s personal lives, partners, children, holidays, etc and it’s just like working with a friend (except they don’t expect “mates rates”!). Conversely, I’ve also got several clients who work for multi-national companies and are very formal. In these instances, whilst I push my tie up to cover my open top button and speak in a more formal tone, I’m no less friendly than I would be with a less formal client – it’s just that the friendliness level is different.
This is a really good post, Dana. I enjoyed reading it and it should be one of those posts that someone looking to start a career in freelance writing (or any type of freelancing in fact) should read first, as being able to swap between ‘button up’ and ‘button’ down can be a really, really useful personal tool.
Dan Smith´s last blog ..Arm your small business with help from BizAmmo
Thanks @Dan & @Rebecca
I love it when blog posts inspire such detailed feedback.
Some days I dress more professionally for work because I actually feel more professional when doing so. If I have a client meeting on the phone I always make sure I’m dressed as it helps me feel more “ready”. But…it’s wonderful to lay on the couch with the laptop in my yoga pants, too.
I often sit cross-legged at the office chair as well. Not real ergonomic when I’m sitting here for 12 hours though. LOL.
I had a client that was 100% business only with for 2+ years. There was an ice-breaker moment a few months ago, though, that had us both let our hair down and now he’s a totally different person with me. I like the relationship better now. But, I also know that some relationships are better when 100% professional.
Thanks very much for your replies.
Dana
This is a very useful post for me right now. I’m in my first week of writing as a freelance, with a blog in the baby stages, my personal blog is very separate and very button down.
I’m not at the stage to have to represent myself to anyone yet so I can think about this a little.
Walker´s last blog ..Wednesday Words
Best of luck with the growth of your baby blog, Walker. Glad you found the post useful.
Cheers,
Dana
Dana´s last blog ..Demand Studios Now Hiring Canadian Writers and UK Writers
I am more of a button down writer right now. I have been writing contents for my clients for the past two years, without even thinking that I have to make myself approachable online. Now, I have my own blog, (started just a week ago lol) and I am trying to make myself more reachable.
May be after a while I will be able to approach corporate clients and become a button up writer. However, I have to admit that it is real difficult for international writers(I am from India).
Hi Dana,
I think I must be a button sideways kind of guy. I do a little of both up and down.
I gauge my client by the initial interaction with them – email, phone, whatever. Some are more uptight, and I wear my professional face and voice for them. Some are more human with a sense of humor, and I’ll be a bit more laid back with them.
Your point about dressing the part is a good one though. A while back I worked for a company and had to do a phone interview for an in house position. Even though we were in the same building and it was a phone interview, I wore a suit and tie. Did I get the job? But of course.
George
George Angus´s last blog ..Read An E-Book Week
I like to think of myself as a buttoned up freelancer with a splash of color thrown in! For example, at networking events, I prefer to be overdressed rather than underdressed, but since I like to show my personality through my clothes I wear bright colors. I find this helps people remember me. In large crowds after everyone does their elevator pitches, I’ve had people say to me, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, the writer in the purple dress!”
This also translates to how I deal with clients; I think there can definitely be a balance, and that one can be both professional and have a lot of personality. Like George mentioned, it’s possible to gauge a client, read their language and adjust to their needs, but I think it’s also important not to take is so far that you’re losing what makes you you.
We’re never going to be able to please everyone, so it’s best to focus on pleasing the audience that’s right for us. I recently rebranded my entire website, and while at first I was afraid to show too much personality for fear of turning off “buttoned-up” clients, I realized that the kind of client I’m trying to attract would appreciate what I’m offering and how I’m presenting myself.
I like the casual style and I like clients who are casual. If I wanted to wear a suit, I would have gone the corporate direction.
I rarely wear fuzzy slippers, period. I do sometimes start work in my house shoes while that first cup of coffee wakes me up, but then I have to get dressed. Sometimes, dressed for me is my oldest, rattiest jeans–but I’m comfortable and I write better when I’m comfortable.
This was a great post. I have to admit that I cringe when I hear the phrase, “Work from home in your pajamas.” Jammies are for lounging and sleeping–not for working. LOL
Thanks for sharing!
Patti Stafford´s last blog ..Where Has Language as We Knew It, Gone?