5 Questions Freelance Writers Should Ask Clients to Clarify Projects (and Keep them as Long-Time Clients)‏

September 7, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I received the following question from a fellow freelance writer:

QUESTION

Yuwanda,

Great post [in response to Freelance Writing Advice: 5 Factors to Consider When Setting Turnaround Times That Will Help You Land More Clients [http://bit.ly/cGFZ9E]].  Thank you!   I don’t know why I thought I had to return an article in 24 hours.  

Question regarding parameters of a project:   What questions should I be asking? Other than asking if they have a specific time frame, subject matter or keyword, is there anything else you routinely ask?

Second question:   Please put me in my place if I am wrong.

I had one business owner ask me to provide my thoughts on an article so she can decide If she wants to order.   Thoughts meaning outline….  Yuwanda, I consider an outline the most time consuming part of writing an article and part of the process.   Needless to say, I haven’t provided any “thoughts” for the article and she hasn’t placed her order.     

Thanks,
M-
******

MY ANSWER: QUESTION #1

In answer to the first question, ie: Are there questions I routinely ask my clients? The answer is yes. Let me start by saying, most of my clients are very clear about what they want. So I usually don’t have to ask very many questions beyond the obvious (clarifying rate and deadline).

For example, a client may email and say:

We’re giving a seminar on social media marketing next month. We want a 10-12 page white-paper like report on social media that outlines the following . . .

So, going in, I know exactly what they want. Barring this, following are five questions I routinely ask clients:

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