Turning One-Time Projects Into Repeat Clients: How to Get Long-Term Freelance Clients

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Through the gig economy, you’ve become the master of your own destiny. You can work in coffee shops, by the pool, at the park, or virtually anywhere that inspires you to do your best work. But as enticing as working for yourself is, achieving complete professional independence means maximizing income. And the only way to boost your bottom line is to build relationships that lead to long-term freelance clients.

Want to earn six-figures? Who doesn’t?

And according to Forbes, over 40% of solopreneurs today have done it. While there are many factors that can play into this, including the branding and niche of your freelance business, one fact remains the same – it is far more taxing to constantly be attracting new customers than it is to continue serving the customers you already have.

To maximize your income, you need to keep clients coming back. And delivering the best product isn’t the only factor. Turning one-time clients into repeat customers takes a solid client retention strategy. Here are just a few switzerland cell phone number list tips for how to get (and keep) long-term freelance clients:

1. Develop an empathic communication style.
Client relationships are built on clear communication. And a little communication goes a long way toward both resolving work challenges and meeting expectations, which is just what you need to build long-term relationships with your clients.

Put yourself in the client’s shoes and focus on empathic and honest, but not confrontational communication. Ask for clear instructions and expectations so that you are able to provide deliverables that consistently meet your clients’ needs.

I have several unlikely repeat clients. We started our adventures together with poorly outlined expectations and confusion. But by applying empathic communication strategies, I was able to build trust, demonstrate my level of professionalism, make suggestions to improve the situation. This helped me turn short-term clients into long-term relationships.

Empathic communication not only improves client relations, but it can reduce the risk of ghosting, where clients just disappear without a trace. If your clients like you, they are more likely to respond to your questions, concerns, and requests.

2. Build a partnership.
When you’re freelancing, it’s easy to feel like you are completely apart from the clients that you serve. However, if you show your clients that you’re invested in their success, that short-term relationship can turn into a partnership. Here are a few ways that you can work on building a partnership with your freelance clients:

Find opportunities to make suggestions on the content you are writing or your client’s content strategy.
Demonstrate how you’ve helped them achieve their business goals through performance analytics.
Pass on information, topic ideas, and articles they may want to read related to content in their industry.
Ask them for feedback to show that you are interested in writing content for the long-term.
By consistently creating quality content that exceeds your customers’ expectations, you will be able to turn those clients who are skeptical about working with freelancers into true believers. This can be a breath of fresh air for clients who have only worked with sub-par freelancers who don’t meet their expectations.