Social proof is the psychological phenomenon where individuals follow the actions of others, believing that those actions represent the correct behavior.

Think about the long lines outside an Apple Store during a product launch. Those lines make us believe that the product is valuable and desirable because so many people want it. The same concept applies to the web where social proof can take various forms.

Your Web Designer Toolbox

Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Web Templates, Icon Sets, Themes & Design Assets Starting at only $16.50/month!

DOWNLOAD NOW

Harnessing the Power of User Testimonials and Reviews

Trust is intangible, yet it can make or break the relationship with your users.

One of the most compelling forms of social proof comes from testimonials. When potential customers see positive statements from those who have used your product or service, it helps ease their decision-making process. These endorsements act as assurances of your product’s value.

In addition to testimonials, other user’s reviews, and ratings can greatly influence prospective customers. Collective user feedback often offers an unbiased perspective on your offerings, making potential customers feel more confident about their purchase decisions.

Boosting Your Online Credibility with Endorsements and Affiliations

An endorsement from a reputable figure in your industry can significantly bolster your brand’s credibility. Such approvals validate your offerings and can set you apart in a crowded market. Your alliances also reflect your credibility. Displaying logos of esteemed clients or partners you’ve worked with can subtly yet effectively boost your brand’s trustworthiness.

Showcasing Popularity and Expertise

Your social media presence can reflect your brand’s popularity. Showcasing follower counts, likes, or shares illustrates your brand’s reach and influence. Your accolades and certifications showcase your commitment to excellence in your industry. These badges of honor provide further assurance of your expertise.

Leveraging Social Proof Strategically

Successful implementation of social proof requires careful planning and execution. Every audience is different, and the types of social proof that resonate can vary greatly. It’s crucial to identify what appeals most to your target demographic. For maximum impact, social proof elements should be placed in high-visibility areas on your website, such as landing or product pages.

Always prioritize genuine content, especially when it comes to user testimonials and reviews. Authenticity not only upholds ethical standards but also strengthens your brand credibility. Affiliations with authoritative figures or organizations in your industry are a testament to your brand’s credibility and should be prominently featured.

Final Thoughts

Social proof, when used right, can turn a skeptic into a believer. It’s more than just showing potential customers that others approve of your product or service. It’s about strategically showcasing that your offerings are trusted, credible, and desirable—thereby nudging users to follow suit. Remember, you can also employ tactics such as time-limited offers, exclusive content, or highlighting limited stock. After all, when users see others seizing an opportunity, they feel the urge to jump on the bandwagon.

There can be a lot of trepidation when it comes to asking clients for a fair rate, but it’s important to remember that you provide a valuable service and that you deserve to be compensated accordingly.

In this article, we’ll walk you through some tips and strategies for negotiating better freelance rates with your clients, so that you can feel more confident and secure in your work. Keep reading to learn more!

The Freelance Designer Toolbox

Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Web Templates, Icon Sets, Themes & Design Assets All starting at only $16.50 per month

DOWNLOAD NOW

Know Your Worth

Before you can start negotiating with clients, you need to have a good understanding of your own value. What are your skills and experience worth in the marketplace?

You can use online resources like PayScale or Paysa to research average rates for freelancers with your skill and experience level. Once you have a benchmark to work with, you can start thinking about what you’re willing to accept.

Do Your Research

In addition to knowing your own worth, it’s also helpful to do some research on the client themselves. What is their budget for this project? Are they known for going above market value or below with their contractors?

The more information you have going into the negotiation, the better. Try to find out as much as you can about the client and their history with paying freelancers.

Ask As Many Questions About the Project As You Can

When you’re first approached about a project, it’s important to ask as many questions as possible. The more details you have about the scope of freelance work, the better equipped you’ll be to give an accurate quote.

Some key questions to ask include:

• What is the expected timeline for the project?
• How many revisions will be needed?
• What format do you need the final deliverables in?
• Will I be working with anyone else on the project?
• What is the project budget?

By getting as much information up front, you can avoid any unpleasant surprises later on.

Start High

When you’re finally ready to start negotiating rates with a client, it’s important to start high. Remember, you can always come down in price, but it’s much harder to go up once you’ve already quoted a lower rate.

If the client counters with a lower offer, then you can begin to negotiate from there. But by starting high, you give yourself some room to work with and you’re more likely to end up at a rate that you’re happy with.

Ask About Expenses

In addition to your hourly or project rate, don’t forget to factor in any expenses that you may incur while working on the project. These could include things like travel costs, software licenses, or stock photography.

Be sure to ask the client if they will be reimbursing you for any out-of-pocket expenses before you agree to take on the project.

Be Professional

Throughout the negotiation process, it’s important to remain professional and courteous. This is true even if the client is being difficult to work with.

Keep your cool and don’t get too emotional about the situation. Maintain a positive attitude and be confident in the value that you bring to the table. If you do this, then chances are good that the client will come around and meet you at a fair rate.

Be Prepared to Walk Away

If the client isn’t willing to meet you at a rate that you’re comfortable with, then be prepared to walk away from the project. It’s not worth your time and energy to work for someone who isn’t going to pay you what you’re worth.

There are plenty of other clients out there who will be happy to pay you a fair rate for your work. So don’t sell yourself short just to land a project.

Get Everything in Writing

Once you’ve reached an agreement with the client, it’s important to get everything in writing. This way, there’s no confusion about what was agreed upon and you have a contract to fall back on if the client tries to cut costs later on.

Make sure that all of the details are included in the contract, such as the agreed-upon rate, the scope of work, and the timeline for the project. Once everything is signed off on, then you can start working and get paid what you’re worth.

Include a Contingency Rate

If you’re working on a project that could potentially go over the agreed-upon scope, then it’s a good idea to include a contingency rate in your contract. This way, if the project does take longer than expected, you’ll still be compensated for your time.

Including a contingency rate is a good way to protect yourself and make sure that you’re fairly compensated for any unforeseen circumstances.

Let the Negotiations Begin

Negotiating better rates with your freelance clients doesn’t have to be a nightmare. By following these tips, you can approach the conversation with confidence and walk away with the pay that you deserve.

So often, those of us in the industry talk about what we need from our clients – and that makes sense. But, in order to really serve them, we must fulfill their needs as well. However, it seems like that subject tends to fall under the radar.

With that in mind, let’s explore some things that our web design clients need from us. Some of it may be common sense, while others are a little less obvious.

An Open Mind

Being open to new ideas is a two-way street. Sometimes, clients may approach their website with ideas that are at odds with what we may think.

Just like everyone else, we web designers are susceptible to being set in our ways. Our experiences can lead us to what we believe is the perfect formula for a website. It may be certain design characteristics, or it could be development tools and techniques.

When a client suggests something outside of our comfort zone, it’s natural to become, well, uncomfortable. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean their ideas are unworkable. It may be a case of getting past those initial thoughts and gaining a better understanding of what’s being said.

Of course, not every idea a client has is a winner. But it’s still important to come into each project with an open mind. You could be missing out on something great.

Beyond that, the fact that you truly listened can help to create a solid client-designer relationship as well.

Honest Advice

Listening is only part of the relationship-building process. Honesty is also a key factor.

That applies to client ideas and requests, but it also goes deeper. For instance, providing guidance as to the pros and cons of a feature or functionality. The same goes for pricing and the value received from a particular product or service.

Honesty builds trust and empowers our web design clients to make good decisions. Without that honest advice, project outcomes will likely suffer. Details can be overlooked and money might be spent in the wrong places.

Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to simply go along with whatever a client says. It’s the path of least resistance, and the thinking goes that it’s also a way to finish off a project faster.

In reality, honesty pays off all the way around. When more informed decisions are made, projects are less likely to go awry. Theoretically, it also leads to faster and better results.

A Proactive Approach

Our clients are often experts in their own field. Whether they run a business or non-profit, they’re likely immersed in their jobs. That means they won’t have as much time to devote to their website.

Because of this, important items could slip through the cracks. WordPress core, themes and plugins may become outdated. Site errors may be wreaking havoc on performance and usability. In short, a website can fall into any number of bad situations without proper vigilance.

That’s where we can be of service. By staying on top of what’s happening in terms of software, security and industry trends, we can keep our clients’ sites running smoothly.

Be proactive by staying in touch with your clients. If you see an issue, or even the potential for an issue, reach out and let them know. They’ll appreciate the effort and any headaches you’ve saved them. In addition, this helps their organization maintain a good reputation with their audience as well.

A Helping Hand

Not everyone with a website is tech-savvy. For these folks, the learning curve for tasks like adding content can be relatively steep. But a helping hand from their web designer can make a big difference.

Using your knowledge to educate clients empowers them to take advantage of the amazing website you’ve built. That could mean anything from fresher content to fewer support requests coming your way.

Still, support requests go along with the territory – even if we hope they’ll be minimal. When they do come in, offering fast and friendly service is vital. It lets your clients know that you have their back and can be depended upon.

Overall, it’s about being there when clients need us (within reason, of course).

Keeping Client Needs in Mind

Web design projects can be full of challenges. Sometimes, that can lead us to simply focus on the task at hand without much thought of those we are working for. It’s an easy trap to fall into.

But client needs do matter – for a lot of reasons. The most important being that it forms the basis of a partnership. We need each other in order to reach a successful outcome.

Even after the site launches, being there to provide guidance ensures a better relationship – not to mention a well-maintained website. As a bonus, it could lead to repeat business and referrals.

While web design is a highly-technical field, there’s a human element that can easily be missed. But if you can master this aspect of the job, both you and your clients will be better for it.

It’s something we do out of necessity. Most organizations don’t have web-savvy experts on hand. As such, there’s a learning curve for clients when it comes to design, functionality, content management, SEO, maintenance and a whole lot more.

To some designers, this may seem like an extra burden. After all, shouldn’t we just focus on building great things?

While there’s some merit to that argument, there are also a number of reasons why educating your web design clients is worthwhile. Let’s take a look!

Better (and Faster) Project Outcomes

The first benefit is purely practical. Sure, you probably enjoy your job. But no one enjoys a project that seemingly drags on forever. Helping your clients understand what’s involved in the design and build processes can get things moving forward.

Quite often, a project stalls because clients are unsure of how things work. What type of content is acceptable? Are there any technical limitations to what we want to do? There are a ton of potential questions they may have.

Building a website is not like shopping for clothes – clients don’t simply pick out everything they want, then head to the cash register to pay.

On the contrary, a lot of consideration has to go into how a website works, what it looks like and what features to include. Therefore, clients need to understand the basics, along with the pros and cons of these decisions. It affects everything from budget, marketing position to user experience.

Serving as a guide to your clients can make a positive impact, both in getting the project completed and in the quality of the final result.

It Builds Mutual Trust

Having a strong, trusting relationship with your clients is vital. This can create customer loyalty that keeps them with you year after year. And it may also result in some lucrative referrals as well.

But the biggest benefit here is the ability to work together. A relationship that’s strained or very one-sided may make you cringe every time the phone rings or an email arrives. That certainly doesn’t help you do your best work.

When there’s a mutual trust, however, the process can be much more productive. Designers know that, when a client asks for something, they likely won’t tear the whole thing up minutes after you finish it. Why? Because the details were discussed honestly.

Clients, on the other hand, realize that you have their best interests at heart. When you make a suggestion of how to approach a project, they’ll be more likely to listen.

Fewer Support Requests

Every website needs maintenance at some point. It could be a CMS software update or a new feature that needs to be added. They go along with the territory and designers can usually prepare for them.

But it’s those little support requests from clients that can throw off our schedules. The “how-to” questions or the “oops, it’s broken” pleas for help.

These things can happen to anybody. But a client who has a basic understanding of how to manage their website should be less likely to run into these issues. That will hopefully translate into fewer support requests coming your way.

Plus, clients will feel empowered. Seeing someone who may have had initial nervousness around technology learn to help themselves is pretty great as well. They have a newfound confidence and you have the good feeling that comes along with helping.

Educating Your Web Design Clients Is an Investment

Educating clients – whether through formal training or friendly advice – takes time and patience. But it is very much worth the effort.

There are a number of long-term benefits. It helps to create stronger designer-client relationships, results in better project outcomes and may even save you a few panicked support requests.

In addition, the potential monetary benefits shouldn’t be ignored. Training clients is something you can build into your services and provide your business with another source of revenue. You can even use group educational events like webinars as a way to drum up new projects.

All told, by educating your web design clients you are making an investment in both them and yourself. It’s something that can benefit every web designer.

Again, that’s why streamlining operations as much as possible is so important. You should be spending most of your work time completing assignments that make money. So, the more you can limit the time you need to spend on day-to-day operations the better. What follows are five tips and suggestions for streamlining your freelance workflow starting immediately.

1. Use a Project Management Tool

If you do nothing else on this list, setting up a project management tool alone will save you a ton of time. Why? Because these tools already eliminate the need for so many other apps and software.

For instance, some tools allow you to add projects, create milestones or tasks for each project, and assign tasks to other people. These tools are also helpful for organizing assignments, creating priorities, and tracking progress. The “at-a-glance” ability project management tools make it easy to see where you’re at on your projects, keep tabs on how projects are progressing, and manage all related files and communication.

The latter point is the most time-saving, in my opinion, because you’ll no longer have to hunt through emails to find that PDF a client sent over as a reference or the login information to someone’s WordPress site. It’ll all be stored safely in one spot for quick-access and reference at any time.

A few popular choices for project management tools include Trello, Asana, and Basecamp. Personally, I use Trello to keep track of my assignments, due dates, article specifications, and client information.

2. Streamline Communication

This ties into number one on our list but it warrants its own section. One of the things that can take up most of your time as a freelancer is correspondence. Responding to messages is time-consuming enough, but add in the actual wrangling of messages and you’ve got a huge time suck on your hands.

Many project management tools include chat or commenting features. However, if you need a live chat option, Slack is always a good choice. This app allows you to create channels for talking with clients and colleagues. With paid plans, you should be able to create dedicated channels for each of your clients. This makes it super easy to stay in touch and to ask questions (or answer them) quickly. It has an accompanying desktop and mobile app as well, so communicating is easy and intuitive.

Basically, if you want to free up some time, ditch emails for good.

3. Create a Project Scope Document for Each Project

Scope creep is a real problem for freelancers. And it happens all too often. You start out on a project with an idea of what it will entail. Cut to a few weeks later and you’re five rounds of edits in with no end in sight. When the scope of a project continually expands, you lose time and money.

To prevent this issue, take the extra time at the beginning of your projects to write up a quick project scope document. After having initial talks with your client, write out what you both agreed the project would involve. Send it to the client for review. Detail the number of revisions you’ll cover before additional fees are required.  After you both agree upon the document’s contents, you can begin working in confidence.

4. Automate Invoicing and Finances

Dealing with the financial part of your freelance business can be super time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be if you use the right tools. First of all, don’t spend hours manually creating invoices each month to send out to your clients. Use templates, for starters. Or better yet, use an invoicing service like FreshBooks, Harvest, or Invoicely to create, manage, and send invoices. In fact, you can configure these services to automatically send your invoices on a given date each month to save you even more time.

All of this financial info is compiled in a straightforward way as well, so it can be exported into your financial tracking software or linked directly to it so the data is updated in real-time without you having to lift a finger.

5. Eliminate Guesswork in Creating Media

A major part of doing work online is creating media. Now, certainly those in the graphic design field will need to create a lot more media and images than those who aren’t. But the need for media and graphics applies across the board. From writers to videographers, the need for stock images and graphical elements remain.

To save time, you can use a reliable source of images for everything. A one-stop shop, if you will. For that, I like to use Envato Elements, which streamlines how I find templates and graphics to accompany articles. With it, I source hundreds of photos, graphics, and media templates, which is a huge time saver for everything from marketing to actual client work.

Once you get your resource materials, you can customize as you see fit. Many use something like Photoshop for this work, but something simpler like Canva is highly effective, too.

Make Your Freelance Workflow Easier

Hopefully you’ve found these five tips useful. With them, you can shave time off your freelance workflow and find ways to simplify how you do business. And at the very least, you’ll be more organized overall.

Best of luck to you!

Just carving out a space of your own can be tough. Then there are the struggles associated with scheduling, communication and trying not to alienate your household. It’s uncharted territory for sure.

But just because working from home is novel to you doesn’t mean you get a pass on productivity. There are still things that need to get done and bills to pay.

Today, we’ll share some tips to help you get the most out of that new home office.

Declare Your Space

The first part of the equation is in finding a place to work. This depends so much on your living situation.

Ideally, you’d already have an office setup or at least a spare room. Even a basement or an attic will do, provided they have the amenities you need.

In these cases, working from home becomes that much easier. A little bit of isolation can be a good thing as it helps you to focus on work without interruption. But this is not the case for everyone.

You might instead be stuck trying to write code at the kitchen table (complete with kids and pets running about). What then?

It’s going to be tough, but you have to make the best of the situation. You’ll have to claim some space for work purposes – at least during working hours. Set some guidelines for others and (kindly) help them understand your needs.

The important thing to remember is that this isn’t going to be perfect. Adjusting to a new working space is a process and will take some time. Eventually, it will start to feel more comfortable.

Set a Schedule, Create a Routine

Because you’re now working in a completely different environment, your daily rituals are bound to be thrown into disarray. The more distractions at home, the more wayward your schedule becomes.

Still, you’ll want to dedicate blocks of time exclusively to getting things done. It may not be the same as what you were used to. You might even have to split your workday into multiple shifts to accommodate children. There’s absolutely no shame in it. Clients and colleagues alike are probably facing similar situations.

Flexibility is going to be key in this area. Staying rigid and expecting things to go exactly as they did in your old office is going to be stressful. Instead, focus on what works best for you and your family. If you have to take a couple of hours off in the middle of the day, so be it.

That being said, look to establish consistency where you can. That means doing the same things at the same time each day, when possible. This will at least get you into a daily rhythm – which is a huge help when you have a job that requires creativity.

Stock up on Supplies

Web design and development can be done from just about anywhere. Yet, transitioning to a home-based office may require some sacrifices when it comes to hardware and software.

If you work for an agency, they may provide you with a powerhouse desktop computer and all the high-end apps you need. Out of the office, you might well be on your own to some degree.

This is actually a pretty big deal. We often set up our workflows in very specific ways. A disruption here means using unfamiliar tools with less-powerful devices to run them. There’s a certain amount of frustration that goes along with the territory.

Therefore, workflow may be the one area where mimicking your physical office makes the most sense. Even if you don’t necessarily have access to the same level of hardware, grab as many of your go-to apps as possible.

The familiarity will help you accomplish tasks without having to search out completely new methods.

Let the Positives Inspire You

Well, maybe you are stuck working on your couch and it’s far from ideal. But what are the bright spots? Perhaps your pet is by your side. Or your little one is drawing you a picture. There are still reasons to smile.

Sometimes, it’s all too easy to dwell on how we think things should be. That doesn’t lend itself to productivity, though.

Instead, look for the good things about your situation – no matter what they are. Something as simple as getting to listen to the music you want can stir up creative energy. The same can be said for taking the laptop out into the backyard.

Working from home is actually a pretty great opportunity. It’s a way to look at things through a different lens. And you may just find out why so many web designers prefer it to a brick-and-mortar office. There’s a certain freedom that you can’t get anywhere else.

This is one of the great freedoms of being a freelancer or part of a small agency. You get to forge your own path. But, how do you determine which way to go?

Some designers will be happy to dabble in a little bit of everything. That means working on different types of projects and perhaps a wide range of budgets.

But others will undoubtedly want to focus in on a particular niche. This can be a bit more difficult to determine – and it’s our subject for today.

Let’s look at some items to consider when deciding where you want your web design business to go.

Your Tools of Choice

Before you think about clientele, it’s important to consider the tools you want to use in your web design business. This decision is a pretty big one, as it can determine your project workflow and the types of functionality you can offer.

There are any number of established paths here. For example, you might be interested in working with self-hosted content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress or Drupal. Then there are also SaaS products like Shopify, Wix or Squarespace. Alternatively, maybe your sole focus is on progressive web applications that use React or some other popular framework.

Of course, choosing one doesn’t mean you have to push the rest aside. But it is worth mentioning that the more of these types of tools you work with, the more things you have to learn.

To become really well-versed in a platform means that you’ll have to spend time with it, discovering all the different intricacies. There are only so many hours in the day to do that, so finding focus here is vital.

If you have previous experience and happen to like a particular tool, maybe the decision has already been made?

Projects in the Right Price Range

Like it or not, money is a major consideration of any web design business. If you’re a full-time freelancer, you’ll at least want to make enough to cover the bills. Or, maybe you envision yourself with a beach house and a Ferrari. Either way, it requires careful thought and planning.

When first starting out, it’s tempting to take on projects in just about any price range. It makes sense, as you need both money and some beautiful websites to fill out your portfolio. However, it’s not a practice that will sustain your business for the long term.

Over time, you’ll start to see how each project helps or hinders your finances. Some low-end projects will undoubtedly end up costing you if you spend too much time on them.

The ultimate goal is to figure out how much time you can afford to spend on a project at a given price. Then, set a baseline.

For example, you might determine that $2,000 is a good starting point for pricing, provided you spend no more than 20 hours on the project. From there, the price would increase as the amount of estimated time goes up. As an aside, it’s never a bad idea to estimate more time than you think you’ll need – unexpected issues always pop up.

It’s also worth thinking about how many new projects per year you’ll need to book in order to reach your income goals. If you find that it would take 10 new clients a year, maybe that’s reasonable for you. If the answer is more like 20 new clients, well, you may want to rethink your pricing.

In the simplest terms: Is it better to have one $5,000 project or five $1,000 projects? Continually taking on smaller gigs means you have to hustle that much more to earn a living.

These numbers are just examples. In the end, you have to figure out what works best for your business.

Client and Project Types

The final consideration in our guide is figuring out the type of clients and projects you want to work with. These can be lumped together or not at all, depending on your personal preference.

Targeting by Industry or Size

If you’re a designer with inside knowledge of a specific industry, that may give you an edge over the competition. Having worked in the medical industry, for example, could lend itself to building websites exclusively for doctors and hospitals.

The advantage here is that you can become known within that industry and develop a great reputation. Word of mouth can be highly-effective when you have proven yourself and can boast a list of happy clients.

On the other hand, not every designer wants their focus to be quite that narrow. In that case, you may look more towards businesses that can spend within your pricing range. This offers up a variety of different types of clients, which can save you from the boredom associated with doing the same projects over and over.

Targeting by Functionality

Then there are the types of projects you’re looking to book. Again, this can be as broad or narrow as you like. It also ties in with the tools you’ve chosen to work with. If, for example, you know that you want to use WordPress, maybe your preference is to work solely on WooCommerce shops.

Much like targeting an industry, this strategy helps to position your business as an expert in whatever project type you specialize in. Building up your portfolio with successful eCommerce projects, for example, can be a huge advantage in gaining lucrative new clients.

You might also find that working within a specific industry points you in this direction. These clients may have similar needs in terms of functionality – something you can use to bolster the types of services you have to offer.

Defining Your Ideal Client

Understanding the tools, budget range and type of clients/projects you want to work with will provide a great foundation for knowing your market. From there, you can learn to spot the ideal clients who can help your business thrive.

Still, knowing how you want to work and who you want to work with is only half the battle. It still takes patience and effort to get your name out there. But persistence pays off.

Here’s hoping that your journey leads you to where you want to go.

For your web design clients, this is a time of great uncertainty. Some, especially small businesses, may be in a fight for survival.

This is when a website can serve as a lifeline. Business owners can use it as a means to share important information. And, unlike the chaos of social media, visitors will be able to easily find out what they need to know. They’ll also be able to come back time and again to check for the latest updates.

All of this can mean a lot of extra work for web designers. And the emergency nature of these tasks can pile stress on top of an already-demanding job.

So, how do you deal with it? Here are some ways to both help your clients and yourself during a crisis.

Try to Remain Calm

It’s really hard to do your job when you feel panicked or overwhelmed. But that feeling is also understandable. Your inbox is full, your phone won’t stop ringing. Anyone would get frazzled in this type of circumstance.

Still, you have things to do. The first step in all of this is to take a deep breath and realize that you’re going to be O.K. You’ll undoubtedly feel stress, but you have the ability to get through the tough times.

It may also help to think about the fact that others are going through the exact same thing. You aren’t in this alone. Knowing that virtually everyone is being impacted can help put things in perspective.

In addition, it’s worth taking a moment to think about how you are helping. The fact that you’re making even a small difference for your clients (and their customers) is something to be proud of.

Organize and Communicate

Clients will come to you with requests to add emergency info – and they’ll want it done quickly.

To cope, you’ll need to come up with a process for handling these tasks. Perhaps it’s first-come, first-serve. Or maybe you want clients to fill out a support ticket to help keep track of everything. Whatever your preference, it’s important to have a way to manage things in a way that makes sense for you.

Then, once you have a process that you’re comfortable with, it’s important to let your clients know. Send an email newsletter out that outlines what you’re doing. Also make mention of how the situation could affect the timeline for getting things done.

People tend to be more understanding of policies and procedures when they know about it ahead of time. Communicating your plan will allow your clients to know what to expect.

Streamline Tasks

While every client’s needs are different, there are probably a number of similarities. If you look closely enough, you might just find some ways to use them in order to increase efficiency.

For example, if all or most of your clients are running WordPress, that’s something to take advantage of. The technical similarity means that you could use a similar process for posting information. It might be a helpful plugin or the use of a feature such as custom fields.

In addition, there might be certain design elements and code snippets that could be reused. Having even a basic template in hand means that you won’t have to reinvent the wheel for each client.

This could be a huge help in crossing items off of your ever-growing to-do list. That, in turn, makes for happy clients and a bit less stress in your life.

Remember the Human Element

Above all, a crisis is a time for people to work together towards a common goal. Web designers have a positive and productive role to play.

Customer service is always a big deal. It’s a defining factor in the success of your business. But it is especially appreciated during a difficult time of crisis. It’s important to keep that in mind when interacting with others.

Handling yourself with professionalism and empathy is the right thing to do. It will also help strengthen your bond with clients.

There will always be periods of time that are challenging. Look at them – not just with concern – but as an opportunity to be your very best.

Which is why I am writing this. Whether you are new to freelancing or have been doing it for years, you will always need to understand the importance of training your clients if you want to maintain your sanity and run a successful business. The old adage that the customer is always right is incorrect, at least in the freelancing context. While you need to keep your clients satisfied, you simply cannot let them determine your processes, the hours of your availability, and other important elements that impact how you produce quality products.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the important tips for training your clients that I have learned over the years, and how taking these steps will positively and significantly impact your freelance business.

Communicate, Communicate, and Then Communicate Some More

The primary tool in training your clients is clear and constant communication. Making sure you communicate everything about how you operate to clients before they have even hired you is key to starting the work relationship off on the right foot. It is also important that everything you have communicated is in writing as well, so you have something to go back to should the need arise to show your clients that you have discussed something previously. So if you communicate via phone, video chat, or some other unwritten method, you should always follow up with a written recap via email for both your records and your client’s.

In order to be sure we have a mutual understanding, I often employ the “drive-thru” method of communication, in which I ask the client to repeat back to me their understanding of what I’ve said to make sure we are on the same page, especially on important points we must agree upon.

In my book, there is no such thing as over communication (unless, of course, you take it to the extreme of annoying your clients). Making sure your clients are always in the loop of what and how things are going will ensure you control the process and keep them satisfied along the way. It should also keep them from feeling like they have to check in with you.

Establish Your Business Hours

Early on in my freelancing years I learned that most clients hiring freelancers expected them to be available at all times, day and night. I would receive emails or phone calls from clients at odd hours and on weekends, with follow-ups (sometimes frustrated or annoyed) if I did not respond within what they deemed was a timely manner. The best way I learned to keep this from happening was to make sure all clients had a clear understanding of when I would be working and available, and when I would not.

Establishing your business hours and communicating them to your client will easily be one of the most important things you can do in training your clients to work with you. Make sure they understand that if they try to communicate with you on the weekend, they will not receive a response until Monday morning, for example. Explain up front the exact hours that you work in order to avoid any confusion or cause any frustration on their end. Help them to understand you are just like any other business in regards to times you are “open” and “closed”.

Define Your Process

In opening discussions with a potential client, I’ve learned to make sure they understand the process I will be taking them through, step by step, start to finish. For example, I tell a web design client exactly how the mockup phase of the project will go, and an estimate of how long it will take, followed by the same in regards to the development phase. I explain the payment requirements. I do everything I can to make sure they have complete clarity about a process they either have never had experience with before, or, if they have, is likely different than their previous experience in some ways.

This step ties in with the first one – communication. In fact, all three steps are closely linked. Establishing and keeping lines of communication open throughout your project will always benefit you and your client. Controlling those lines of communication will allow you to steer your clients and their projects toward successful completion.

Start Implementing These Steps Today

If you aren’t already, you can easily start using the tips I’ve shared right away.in your freelance business. Whether it’s web design, graphic design, writing – whatever your business is – you and your clients will greatly benefit. Start training your clients and I am confident you will see the improvements immediately.

For more articles and tips on freelancing, be sure to check out our collection here.

All photos courtesy of ShotStash.com

Print Peppermint is a diverse team of creative professionals that provide refreshingly creative print services and more, including logo design, business card design, T-shirt design, and many more graphic design services in-house. They can design what you need printed for you, or you can use one of their several online tools to do it yourself. Pricing is affordable and both their products and customer service receives outstanding reviews.

What Makes Print Peppermint’s Printing Services Stand Out?

For starters, they are a business run by creative professionals (like you). They understand what creatives need and want to help them represent and promote their business in a way that is unique. They hand-proof every single order, no matter how large or small. And they support their products with a 100% money-back quality guarantee.

Want to kick your business cards up a notch? How about die cut, spot UV, square, plastic, foil, embossed, or letterpress business cards? Print Peppermint printing services include all of these options and more. Check out some examples below.

How about sending your clients stickers of your logo in a thank you card so they can help build your brand awareness by letting it be seen on their laptop, bike, phone, or car bumper? Print Peppermint can print the stickers and custom greeting cards to help you accomplish this, with stickers in many shapes and sizes printed on durable weather-resistant vinyl.

Eco-Friendly Printing Services

Unlike most print companies, Print Peppermint prides themselves on choosing green alternatives. They use environmentally responsible papers, inks, and coatings, and recycle waste materials. Utilizing soy-ink, which also allows for brighter, more vibrant colors than petroleum-based ink, they endeavor to make their process as efficient as possible.

Exceptionally High Quality Paper and Materials

Print Peppermint only uses premium, high-quality paper that is durable, writable and scratch resistant, and everything is offset printed at an incredible 500 lines per inch screen depth. This means your printing services needs will be the absolute best you can find anywhere. You can choose from 100% Cotton, Soft-Touch, Triplex Layered, Clear-Frosted Plastic, Onyx Black Suede, Recycled Kraft and many more standard offerings, or they can custom order any other kind of stock you may desire.

Great Printing Services, Great Design Services, Great Company!

So when you are looking to get printing done for your business, or if your clients ask for recommendations of where they can fulfill their printing needs, we at 1stWebDesigner.com strongly encourage you to give Print Peppermint a try. We know you won’t be disappointed, and more importantly, your brand will stand out in the crowd.

Want to learn more about Print Peppermint? Be sure to check out their website, read their blog, and learn what they have to say about graphic design and photography.