How confident are your clients in your ability to do the job?

While confidence is something that you can create and establish once your client gets to know you, you’ll be able to charge higher rates and convert more prospects into customers if you can inspire confidence right from the get go. Imagine if everyone who visited your website was immediately confident in your skills and abilities.

Put Yourself In Your Customer’s Shoes

When people, especially small business owners, hire a writer it can be a nerve wracking experience for them. They’re paying you, someone they’ve probably never met, to write material for their business. They’re paying a stranger to represent their business.

As a writer and business owner there are several steps you can take to make your client feel more comfortable with the process. You can inspire confidence.

#1 The “See Through” Business

Transparency helps your prospects feel comfortable. People are wary and they don’t want to be scammed or spend their money on an inferior product or service. Help them feel secure by publishing all of your general fees, policies and procedures online. That way your prospect knows what to expect from working with you.

They also get the impression that you’re a professionally run business that takes your clients and services seriously. You can present your rates and policies in many different ways. You can include an inquiry form on your website that automatically sends new inquires an email with all the details.

Publish an FAQ page on your website too. You can create separate rates and policies pages for your blog or site. And of course it never hurts to overlap and make your information available in a few locations.

#2 Share Your Expertise

Strive to continuously learn about your niche industry, your target audience and writing styles and trends. The more you know, the more you can share and help your customers. When you share your knowledge with your customers they realize you are a provider they can trust with their business.

Share not only in conversation both online and off but also consider sending clients tidbits of information as you find them online. For example, if you are a copywriter for the health and wellness industry and you come across a relevant marketing case study you might email the case study to a few clients.

#3 Set Higher Rates

This may sound like strange advice because writing is a competitive field. However, when you set your rates too low, your clients may not expect much from you. Set your rates a bit higher and they get the impression that you know what you’re talking about. Of course you have to back up those rates with customer service, quality writing, and a solid knowledge of the industry.

These are just three steps to inspire confidence. How you communicate, your professionalism and of course the quality of your writing all play an important role in attracting and keeping top notch clients. The more confidence you inspire in your customers and prospects, the easier it will be to build a solid writing business that fits your needs and goals.

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Posted under Articles and Tips, Build a Better Business