One of the issues writers always struggle with is what to charge for their writing. Here’s how I advised a friend recently. She was contacted by someone asking her to guest post for a set fee and wanted to know how to respond to them, as the money didn’t seem huge but she wanted to build up the paid blogging side of her business.

Here was my initial advice on average rates for writing blog posts:

What you can charge for posts depends on your profile and their budget. Small blogs may only pay $15-20 a post, while corporate/big blogs may be anywhere upwards of $50.  So the fee offered (about $30) sits right in the middle. (I also know bloggers who don’t do posts for less than $100-$150 apiece for corporate clients. )

Then I suggested that another consideration should be the work involved in writing the post:

If it’s a topic you’re expert in and you can write without thinking about it too much, then that would be ok (just) for a short post (400-500 words). If you have to write a longer, more detailed post and provide images, upload it yourself and so on, then you could ask for a bit more if you think they want it badly enough.

I followed this up with thinking about how the job sat with her personal productivity:

One way I work out a rate is to think of my hourly rate and halve it because I can easily write two 500 word posts in an hour, if it’s a topic I know inside out. (Update: but most people would expect you to take an hour to write a post and more time for associated tasks, so keep this in mind as well.)

Finally, I provided a short script for a response that left room for a future price increase:

You could also respond positively to the offer and make it clear that you will do it for $30 as an introductory rate, but would want more if it turns into something regular.

I always believe in leaving room for negotiation.

New writers, would this work for you? Experienced writers, what other advice would you add?

It’s taken years, but the world has come round to the type of writing I like to do. When I was in high school and university, my teachers were unimpressed by the brevity of my essays. As a language student (English, French, Spanish) I had to write lots of essays, but invariably I’d be marked down because they were too short.

Academic Writing

Then, as now, I was an excellent researcher, so no-one could find fault with the content. What they didn’t like was that I didn’t expand on it enough. It was considered de rigueur for Arts and Humanities students to write impressive and lengthy papers on any aspect of language or literature.

I never saw the point. The way I figured it was, if I knew the material and had shown that that I knew the material, what did it matter how many words it took me to prove that? In the end, we had to agree to disagree on that one – and since I still managed to graduate with honors, the story had a happy ending.

Journalistic Writing

Once I started working as a journalist, things began to improve. Although my first editor didn’t set strict limits on word count, it was better to write something relatively short so as not to cause problems when doing layout. (At my first paper they were doing paste-up, which probably reveals more than it should about my age!) To go with my well-honed academic writing skills, I learned the 6 Ws and the inverted pyramid and my inclination towards concise writing came into its own.

Writing Web Content

Fast forward to the present, and I’m in a writing world that my teachers did not foresee. Now I mostly write web content. That means I have to keep articles and blog posts short and to the point. Finally, being able to explain something in 300-700 words has become a gift rather than a burden. I’m doing the dance of joy!

(Photo: cathepsut)

Update: Check out the related poll on my Facebook page: what type of writer are you?

Lessons that can help you promote your writing business are all around, if you know where to look for them, and I got a good lesson in how to approach potential clients from the guy who ended up installing our guttering. Here’s what happened.

1. Identify The Need

The guttering guy was doing an installation next door and saw that we had no guttering at the front of our house.

The lesson: keep your eyes peeled for chances to offer your writing (or other business services). When you know how to do something useful, and someone else isn’t doing it, that’s a business opportunity.

2. Make A Friendly Approach

The guttering guy came over and asked to speak to us. Of course we said yes – there’s never any harm in talking to someone. We weren’t able to talk to him right away, but set a time for later that day.

The lesson: Approach potential clients in a friendly manner. Some people are put off by a hard sell or overt marketing, but offering to have a chat isn’t threatening – and could end up benefiting your writing business.

3. Offer Help

Here’s where the guttering guy shone. After our chat, he offered to measure and provide a quote, no strings attached,  which he did within minutes. By this time, we were already impressed by his attitude.

The lesson: Be businesslike and show the client how you can help. Be prepared to outline your services and provide quotes if necessary. This is  a list of potential benefits. In this case, the guttering guy won the sale because he had pertinent facts and figures at his fingertips. He was able to say what the process was, how long it would take, what materials he would need and how the job had to be paid for. Sound familiar? In addition, he provided a tailor made solution for our circumstances, not a cookie cutter template.

4. Be Ready for Action

The next day, the guttering turned up with his materials and crew and started work and we had out guttering within a week.

The lesson: With a new client, timely follow up is essential to build the relationship. In this case, the guttering guy delivered what he promised and, in the main, stuck to the schedule. So you’d better believe that the next time we need guttering, we’ll be calling him (and we’ll recommend him to others, too.) Isn’t that what you want for your writing business?

(Photo: florriebassingbourn)

Sometimes your online life can be far too cluttered and it can get in the way of writing productivity. I’m feeling a bit like that now.

In part, it’s my own fault, because I love trying out shiny new web stuff and have to do it for one of my blogging gigs. But that means that I probably sign up for more stuff than the average person. Then there are the newsletters and mailing lists.

I don’t see that trend stopping but there’s no need to retain online clutter that’s not working for me any more. Instead, I can make space for more by getting rid of the things I’m not using. That includes:

• unsubscribing from newsletters I don’t have time to read (which is most of them). There are only 2 or 3 that I look forward to.
• unsubscribing from mailing lists I’m no longer interested in (some of which I only signed up for in order to get a freebie or deal on a resource).
• deleting profiles on sites I’m no longer using (a lot of sites that I reviewed but have not stuck with).
• looking through my downloaded ebook collection and seeing which ones I really want to read, then reading them.
• deleting most of the feeds in my feed reader and starting over with only the ones I really look forward to reading.

It’s amazing how all of these things can take up your time (it takes time to click and delete items) and mental space. Decluttering in this way will mean:

• more email in my inbox I actually want to read
• less timewasting emails and newsletters
• more mental space for creativity
• more interaction (online and offline) with the people who add value and interest to my life
• more time to write ebooks and create great resources.

Have you ever decluttered your online life? How did that work for you?

It might sound like a clichéd TV advert, but you really can wave goodbye to your low paying clients this Christmas

I enjoy helping other people.  I don’t get chance to help others as much as I would like to, but I received such a large amount of help when I was first starting out as a freelance writer that I try to give back as much and as often as I can.

I’m pleased to say that the post I made in October, It’s Time To Give Something Back To The Freelance Writing Community, has been well received, as alongside the numerous comments on the post itself asking questions on freelance writing and business development, I’ve received a number of e-mails directly.

Of the questions that I’ve received by e-mail, one that caught my eye in particular was from Susan Hutchings, who asked:

I currently write for a company who pay me £3 for 250 word blogs for various legal firms. I think I can achieve better rates myself but need advice on marketing and obtaining work directly from the web site owners/businesses themselves.

A little over a year ago, I was in exactly the same boat as Susan, producing work regularly for a client or two who whilst quite happy paying me, weren’t paying what could be classed as a respectable rate, irrelevant of how long you’ve been writing.

When you’re in a situation like this, however, you find that you fall into somewhat of a Catch 22 situation – you can’t leave the client behind because you start to rely on the money you’re receiving from them, but you can’t start looking for other clients as you seem to be spending most of your time with that single client.

And although you do become annoyed and frustrated, you end up taking it for what it is and just sticking with what you know.

For Susan and anyone else reading this who can relate, there is a way out of this circle.  It did take me a while to get out of the loop, but with the advice of other freelance writers, hard work and long hours, I managed it and the seven primary steps I followed are as follows.

1.  You need to start writing for yourself

I’ve mentioned this time and time again, but I’m a strong believer in the more you write, the more you find your own tongue and the more you become involved in the freelance writing community, something which was integral to me starting to value myself properly as a freelance writer.

Your blog doesn’t have to be business related and it doesn’t have to have the goal of providing you with an income directly.  Instead, it should be an outlet for you to write on what you feel passionate about.  If it is something to do with your freelance writing career, great, but don’t worry about it if it’s not – as long as you’re writing regularly, that’s the key point here.

2.  Be interactive

One of the major mistakes I made when I was looking to leave my low paying clients behind was that I wasn’t interactive enough with freelance writing community.

I’d read dozens of blogs and spent hours going through historic posts, but I’d very rarely leave a comment.

When I realised that I wanted to push my freelance writing career forward, I found that as I began writing more, I started to become more involved in the freelance writing community and it’s due largely to this involvement that I’ve managed to develop my career.

Over the last 12 months in particular I’ve met some fantastic people.  Freelance writers, clients, SEO companies, small businesses, large organisations – I seem to have come into contact with hundreds of different people.

Whilst not all of them helped me directly, I took something away from meeting each of them, whether it was a tiny piece of information or a way to completely revolutionise a certain part of my writing career.

3.  Get a social network presence

Although I wasn’t a writer a decade ago, from speaking to others who’ve been writing for years, I understand that you could have been a successful freelance writer easily with only an absolutely minimal amount of involvement with the internet.

With everyone and everything seeming to use the World Wide Web in one way or another in today’s world, however, it’s absolutely imperative that you have a social network presence if you want to climb the freelance writing ladder and leave the low paying gigs behind.

Twitter is the most obvious and popular choice, but don’t neglect LinkedIn or Facebook – and a look at Digg, StumbleUpon and FourSquare wouldn’t go amiss either (there are dozens upon dozens of social network sites out there and these are just the ones that I used to help me increase my rates and move away from the low paying clients).

And if you’re wondering why you need a social network presence, you’ll be surprised at just how many writing gigs circulate around these networks.  I’ve also discovered that a lot of people ask for help on Twitter and LinkedIn in particular, something that could very easily end up with you taking on board a new client.

4.  Start searching the job boards on a daily basis

This might sound like an obvious point to some, searching a number of different job boards, but I remember when I first started my development as a freelance writer, I was relying on just one website to provide me with a daily list of jobs.

This was great to start with, but things move so much faster when you realise that there’s about half a dozen quality blogs and websites out there providing you with different freelance writing jobs on a daily basis.

As a side note, spend some time looking at adverts in full, especially to begin with – there are plenty of low paying adverts out there that are a waste of your time and whilst difficult to spot at first, if you spend the time looking at the different adverts, you’ll soon see a pattern emerging and will be able to eventually skim over the adverts that are likely to be time wasters.

Not something you need to rely on solely, as you’ll find that once you’ve built up some high paying clients and have a broader portfolio you start being contacted for work or you begin to contact certain companies directly, but most freelance writers I know, irrelevant of their level of experience, tend to have a look on the job boards every now and again.

5.  Don’t disregard your low paying clients

My largest client of 2009 went on to be my largest client of 2010, too – on a much improved rate.

To say I was nervous about talking to that client to discuss an increase in my rates was an understatement, even though I’d built up a particularly good relationship with them.

I mulled it over for weeks and after speaking to a few different freelance writers, decided to approach them about it.

And I really didn’t have to have any reason to worry – we not only decided on an improvement of around a 30% increase on the old rate, but they also increased the amount of work they gave me by almost 100%.

I’m not saying that everyone is going to have as great of an experience as I fortunately did, but don’t automatically assume that the clients you’re working with at present can’t afford to increase their rates – speak to them and you might just be surprised at what they can offer.

6.  Learn how to write a query / introduction e-mail

Possibly the hardest thing I learnt – and to a certain extent am still learning – was to be able to write a query / introduction e-mail that was successful in at least receiving a reply, whether it was from someone I was pitching a writing piece to or a potential client who I believed could benefit from regular writing in the form of a blog, for example.

I started off by writing an e-mail that in hindsight was far too long and then I moved onto the complete opposite, providing too little information in my e-mails.

I’d then get frustrated and rush my initial contact, sometimes getting a few details wrong or making a spelling error and then after a few days of cooling down, the whole process would start again.

It took me a good few months to find a way to introduce myself and explain what I was contacting the person for without any of the mistakes I’d made previously.  I did get there in the end and although my method isn’t perfect – some people just don’t want to reply – it’s successful enough for me at present.

And if you’re wondering what method I use, there really is no secret – I give a brief introduction of who I am and why I’m contacting them, follow it up with some more details of how I could help or what I could do, give a little information of my relevant experience and then sign off – easy to digest, informative and – hopefully – interesting.

7.  Plan your day

There’s no two ways about it – planning your days and weeks is going to be the key to your success as a freelance writer.

You need time to progress and develop as a writer and if you don’t plan your time, you’ll find that you do a lot of nothing, when you could be working and developing.

For those of you who’ve read my posts here at Get Paid To Write Online or elsewhere over the last year, you’ll know that I still carry out some corporate work that isn’t writing.

The reason I’m mentioning this here is that before 2010, I would go to my corporate job, work eight hours a day and then come home, watch a bit of TV, write a bit, send a few e-mails, surf the internet, have dinner, watch some more TV and go to bed.

Although happy at the time, when I realised I that I wanted to move my career as a freelance writer forward, this all had to change and I needed to be more strict with myself.

I would go to work, come home and write for an hour or two solidly.  I’d then spend some time checking my e-mails, reading blogs and interacting with the freelance writing community before heading down for dinner and then carrying out more networking and finishing off or getting ahead on any pieces of writing.

I was working 70 hour weeks and whilst I enjoyed the work, it wasn’t easy and I made a few mistakes personally that I had to fix immediately.

The planning and hard work did pay off and whilst I do keep finding myself working 70 hour weeks – I haven’t left the corporate role just yet – it’s always for a good reason and I know that the hours I put in are all working hours.

Becoming a freelance writer who can charge respectable rates isn’t something that’s based on luck and it’s down purely to how hard you’re willing to work.

There are plenty of progression opportunities out there and tons of writing jobs available, you just have to know where to look, who to talk to and how to ensure you are always moving forward in the industry.

Image:  SolYoung (Flickr) – I thought we needed something a little festive seeing as it’s less than two weeks until Christmas!

As a new freelance writer, it can take a while to find good sources of writing work. If you’re new to the game, how can you tell the difference between sites that offer below-minimum-wage gigs and those that give you a great chance of earning a living from writing. Even with the best search tools, it can take time to wade through hundreds of job listings, so why not save yourself the hassle and check out this list of the five best places to find writing work.

Writer’s Bridge

The Writer’s Bridge aims to bridge the gap between freelancers and the publications they are querying, helping them by providing a regular idea bank of possible stories and even helping with the pitching and querying process. I don’t know another service like it, which is why it’s at the top of my list of top writing jobs sites. For a measly $10 a month, you get all that plus a daily list of job leads collated from a range of writing newsletters, saving you the trouble of reading them yourself.  As a final bonus, there’s a growing Writer’s Bridge writing community on Facebook and a blog providing writing advice.

Freelance Writing Gigs

This award winning freelance writing jobs site, now owned by SplashPress media, sifts through the jobs on offer to find the ones that are likely to be genuine. There’s also a minimum payment threshold for jobs posted on the site. That means writers who get gigs this way are much less likely to get scammed and much more likely to pick up paying, long term gigs. Anything that looks too ridiculous or scammy is weeded out before you get the list, preventing you from wasting time. There are hundreds of writers who make this their first port of call each day, not only for the job listings but for the valuable advice on running a writing career that’s available from a talented group of writers.

About Freelance Writing

Anne Wayman has been collating lists of writing jobs on About Freelance Writing for years. There’s a daily update on what’s available and somehow she always manages to have a couple of opportunities I’ve not seen anywhere else. Anne’s approach is slightly different. Instead of weeding out the low paid jobs altogether, she lists them separately, so that people who don’t mind taking jobs in that category – or new writers looking for experience – can check them out if they want to. Anne’s site also features advice for writers – and she’s a veteran in the business, so is worth listening to.

Freelance Switch

If you are into other types of freelancing, such as designing the stuff that you write, then Freelance Switch may be more your style. The site has a job board featuring opportunities for all kinds of freelancers. The only catch is that it costs $7 a month to subscribe. On the plus side, jobs available through this site pay pretty well, so the cost may well be worth it. While you’re on the site, don’t forget to check out the Freelance Switch blog which has posts from a huge team of experienced writers.

Problogger

You might be wondering what this well known haven for professional bloggers is doing on a list of writing sites, but bloggers are writers too, and the Problogger site has one of the best job boards around. Almost every blogging job worth having seems to show up on this site at some time, and it’s absolutely free to access the opportunities, which are updated regularly.

With these sites alone, you could soon have a well paid writing gig – so what are you waiting for?

My writing business has changed a lot since I started freelancing. Then, I did lots of one-off jobs for a wide range of small clients, getting many of them through copywriting agencies and the occasional job board posting or ad. Now, I work for a few bigger clients, and many of those have come to me via word of mouth and referrals from other people who have been happy with my work.

One of the advantages of having this type of client is that it makes for a more stable and reliable income. I know that each month, unless something major happens, there’s a basic amount that will be coming in – and I can always increase my earnings by taking more work for a couple of clients who offer regular single item jobs (like resumes).

Of  course, that only works when the clients pay up on time. Most of them do, but then there are the others. I’ve been lucky enough not to get stiffed too many times in the last five years. That’s because I ask for a 50% deposit on all work for new clients and keep that up till we have established a relationship of trust. But it’s after that point that things can go wrong, especially if your client runs into financial difficulty.

Case Study One

One of the sites I blogged for a few years ago (I won’t say which one, as it’s now under new management and it wouldn’t be fair to the new owner) started off as a good gig, where the owner always paid in arrears, but on time, promptly on the first of every month. So when he was a couple of days late one month, I didn’t panic. I figured he was on vacation and would pay when he got back. After a while, though, so much time had passed that I realised that there had to be another reason. After several weeks he finally responded to my email, saying that he’d had a health problem (read ‘an addiction problem’) and had no money but would pay up when he got on his feet. I’m still waiting.  One of the problems I had in this case was that I didn’t have all his contact details. That was a $500 lesson. It’s something that’s now at the top of my client questionnaire.

Case Study Two

In the second case, I was writing for a publication that operated like a print magazine. In other words, you invoiced and got paid once you had delivered the articles. That’s the way it works, and they weren’t going to give a deposit to suit me, though they did make a one-off good faith payment at the start.

I feel a bit sorry for this client, actually, because the recession hit and the client’s advertising income (which basically funded the publication) dried up. Big companies moved from 30 to 90 day payment and the client’s ready cash disappeared. The only trouble was, the client still owed me money and tried to persuade me that I should hang in there a bit longer. I did the maths – had I waited another month, the client would have owed me double the amount, with even less prospect of paying me. So I got out, and the client has paid the debt in increments, though some is still owing. The lesson I’ve learned is to only work on that basis for a bigger, well established publication and to make sure it’s not a big part of my income.

My writing career is a constant learning experience and there’s nothing to make you learn like not getting paid. I have to be honest – the missing money isn’t hurting me financially, it’s just the principle of the thing. I did the work, I should get paid. The big lesson is that even when you do everything right in managing your career, random events can affect the bottom line.

The Lessons

1. Make sure you have full contact details for every client.

2. If you have clients who pay in arrears, make sure they don’t represent too big a chunk of your income – and be rigorous about collecting payment on time.

3. Know when it’s time to end the relationship and get out; don’t be sweet talked or pressured into continuing to deliver work you’re not getting paid for.

4. Remember to consider the effects of random happenings and chance events on your writing income.

Are you plugged in to a network?

We all hit a bit of a lull in our freelance writing careers. For some, it’s not a massive problem as they’re fully prepared. For others, however, the dip can seem like it’s going to be devastating.

Fortunately, if you fall into the latter group, there’s one thing you can do to ensure any loss of work is only temporary – network.

I’m by no means an accomplished writer and compared to some other writers you probably know of, to all intents and purposes I’ve only just started my career.

But whilst I may not be at the peak of my career, I wouldn’t have got to the stage where I am today without networking.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’ll always be networking to some extent. It might not be on a major scale and you might not even think what you’re doing can be classed as networking, but unless you’re sat in a room without interacting with anyone, you’re going to be carrying out networking of some form.

The problem that a lot of writers face, however, is that they don’t understand the real importance of networking and just how beneficial it is, especially when they’ve hit a dip in their freelance writing.

When I first started freelancing, I used to read blog after blog, taking in all of the information and whilst I gained a lot of knowledge this way, I made one major mistake – I very rarely left a comment.

At the time I didn’t think much of it. Things were ticking over quite nicely and whilst I wasn’t making a fortune or becoming particularly well known, I was content with how things were going.

Then 8 months ago I had a bit of a…moment. An epiphany. A light bulb moment. Call it what you will, I realised that I wanted to carve out a career as a freelance writer and I really started to network, particularly with other writers.

I started off by commenting on some of the primary freelance writing blogs (thinking back now, if I’d left a comment on every blog post I’d read, there’s a good chance I would have been known as a freelance writer a lot sooner than I was) and setup a Twitter account to add the writers I had discussions with on blogs.

I then decided one day I’d just e-mail one or two writers directly. I wasn’t asking for work and I wasn’t sucking up to them, I simply said hi, introduced myself and explained that I liked their work and just wanted to network with them.

I was lucky enough to strike up a good relationship with one of those writers and it led to two regular gigs, as well as referrals to some of their own clients to use my services.

I continued networking on a regular basis and I still do to this day. I even still contact writers directly now and again if I haven’t spoke to them before, just to say hi.

If you’re going through a bit of a dip at the moment or you simply want to prepare yourself should you be faced with a drop in your writing work, get out there and start connecting with other writers.

Don’t be afraid if you don’t know them or haven’t talked to them before and don’t think that just because they’re making a full time living from writing they’re not going to want to talk to you because you’re only just starting out as a writer or you aren’t as popular as they are.

From my own experience, freelance writers are arguably the friendliest and most sociable bunch of people I’ve ever come across and – truthfully – I’m yet to meet a writer who has been unhelpful, arrogant or just plain rude.

There’s masses of writing work out there – you’ve just got to remember that it’s not often going to come to you. Start networking with other writers, get your name known and you’ll soon find that your workload picks up once more.

Image: saschaa (FlickR)

Google Tools for Writers

I sing the praises of Google’s Google Alerts tool regularly. It definitely makes my job as a freelance writer and a professional easier.

What is it? Google will let Google account holders set up an instant or periodic notification system that tells you via email about certain keywords appearing online with links.

Here’s how I use it in my writing career:

Tracking a Name

By setting a Google Alert for a name, particularly my name, I can see when websites mention that name or when articles get indexed.

My Websites

I have set an alert for some of my more focused website addresses. This way, I can see references to the site on other pages as well as see when I’m getting indexed and this helps me track my search engine rankings. I find this much faster than combing through my site statistics.  (I still do that but this way I see quick alerts daily or even instantly)

Writing Job Alerts

If I want to know about newly listed writing jobs in general or about specific types of writing jobs, I can set an alert for Google to tell me about new listings.  This could help me uncover opportunities pretty quickly and delivers job postings to my email box rather than my having to dig for them through job boards.

Writing Project Research

I set alerts for topics and keyword phrases that I have regular assignments for.  With many clients in different industries who rely on me to write with authority and knowledge about their industry, Google Alerts helps me do that in a way that saves me on research time. I can set file folders up in Gmail to save information to read later and that way I don’t miss important news or information about a topic.

My Articles

At times I’ve set alerts for article titles of mine  or articles I write for customers that I wanted to track online. I once found an instance of plagiarism that I was able to deal with swiftly thanks to Google Alerts.

Alerts can be set and turned off as and when you need them. Google has some great tools for writers. I also use Trends, Adwords, Google Docs, and am starting to dabble with Google Buzz. What’s your favourite Google tool?

While economic cutbacks may have benefited many freelancers there is one consequence that is not so welcome — when your client has a cash flow crunch and can’t pay you. What do you do in a case like this? Here are some ways to work out your next course of action.

Need to chase payment from your writing client?

Are you sure the client can’t pay?

Make sure that it really is a case of inability to pay. Some clients are just forgetful and your invoice may be languishing in an inbox or in-tray somewhere. A friendly e-mail reminder ought to do the trick if your invoice has slipped off the radar, and it’s the first option to try before moving to tougher measures.

Is the client new?

If a new client fails to pay up, then you can cut your losses without too many regrets. Freelancers should always take a deposit from new clients. This is part of establishing a relationship of trust and will make sure that your client won’t disappear and leave you out of pocket.

How much are you owed?

If the amount is a small one, you might be able to let it ride for a while. If there’s no chance of you ever receiving payment, then perhaps it’s best to write it off and move on. This is not an option that I like as my view is that if I work for the money I should get paid. However, sometimes the amount you are chasing is less than the amount you would make if you took on a new client instead. Do a cost-benefit analysis and work out whether chasing payment is worth your while.

Is the client established?

If you have had a relationship with a client for a while, then that’s where it gets tough. One option is to continue to work while hoping that things will improve. The downside of this option is that within a short time you could be out by thousands of dollars and the prospect of getting paid may be no nearer.

Another option is to explain to the client that you can’t continue to work until at least some of the balance owed is paid. If your client is holding out on you, this might work, but if the client really has no money, then this option won’t help you get paid. In fact, depending on the business your client is in, your failure to deliver content could kill any chance the client has of making money and being able to pay you.

Set up a payment plan

Perhaps your client will be open to staging payments so that you get some of what you are owed. An initial payment as a show of good faith might help you feel better about continuing to work. This is a good option when you want to retain the client relationship and the client has always paid up on time in the past.

Legal options

If you are completely ready to write off the client relationship then you can consider suing the client for the amount owed. This means burning your bridges, as there won’t be any trust after taking this step. You may not even get paid, though you might get a legal judgment that says the client has to pay you once money comes in. And don’t forget that a protracted legal battle may cost more than you are owed. As a first step, consider naming and shaming in a bid to get the money owed to you.

What I’ve tried

In the past my solution has been to stop work on the client’s project until I receive payment. That worked well when I had a lot of clients paying small amounts. However, now that I have fewer clients who pay larger amounts, that’s not such a great option. In some cases, it might be better to take a long view and keep the client relationship going. The only trouble with that is that if you have more than one client like that, your own financial stability is seriously threatened.

Another option I’ve tried has been to reduce the work I take from any one client, so that my client portfolio is better balanced. Unless I have very bad luck, I should get paid on time most of the time.

Which option is right?

To be honest, no option is exactly right. The choice you make will depend on the client’s history with you (if the client has always paid on time but is having a temporary difficulty then you can afford to be understanding provided there is an end date), and how much money is owed.

How have you handled this situation in the past?

(Photo: shaghaghi)