Having one steady, high-paying copywriting client is the dream, right?
Well, to be honest, no.
Copywriting is a little bit like investing. Putting your eggs all in one basket leaves you vulnerable to the whims of one company. That’s why diversification is so important.
When you have multiple copywriting clients, it doesn’t matter if work slows down with one or if they go out of business entirely! You’ve got other work.
And going from a 100% full workload to 90% or even 85% workload is much better than 100% to 0%. Think about it: if you’re earning $100,000, and you lose a client that is 15% of your business, you’re still earning $85,000. If you have one client? You’re down to $0.
So, on this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Kate and I are digging into why the allure of one magical client shouldn’t be all that appealing and how to structure your client roster so you’re setting yourself up for a thriving career—not a rollercoaster ride.
And, yes, this means you never stop pitching. Pitching from a place of abundance—when you have clients and income—is much more fun than panic pitching. (Trust me: panic pitching is bad news.)
TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher
Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:31] There is a lot of benefit to working with a long term client. You get to really understand the brand, you get to get expertise in the offers and the brand voice, you get close to the team members and really, understand how they work.
[03:21] Is there anything inherently wrong with a steady client? No. I think the dangers come when you are putting your eggs all in one basket.
[04:50] It’s a lot easier to go from, a hundred percent of your income and your freelance work to 80 percent than it is to go from a hundred percent to zero. It does happen without really forewarning. Especially as freelancers, no business has to give you a heads up. Priorities may change your client, your contact to the company.
[08:16] Just be aware of what’s going on in your business. Be aware of whether or not you’re talking to other companies. Whenever you’re relying on one a company or even in two companies you are in a little bit of a potentially precarious place.
[08:39] If you have it spread a bit more among multiple clients. You have a better base. It’s like investing. The smartest investors diversify. So that if anything goes wrong, you want to leave. It’s fine.
[10:10] Obviously live in the present, do the work that you are doing with your client, but also be aware of the future and where you want to head with your business.
[10:33] Only way to be sure that you have potential new clients coming in is to be pitching potential new clients and also re pitching previous clients. Making sure that you have people coming in.
[11:20] It’s more sending out pitches. Exercising that muscle, not forgetting how to do it, sending ideas to this client, just staying active and really proactive.
[11:58] Once you’ve worked with a client for a while, you need to push yourself to do something different. It’s really easy to get so relaxed that you’re not pushing yourself to produce the best work that you possibly can. That will eventually bite everyone in the behind.
[12:30] It comes up again with creating your portfolio and updating your portfolio. It feels like a really daunting task. If you schedule it on your calendar, once a quarter, once a month, whatever kind of cadence you want. It’s a lot easier to do that and manageable
[16:42] When you have clients still and you’re pitching comes from a place of ease versus, ‘I suddenly have no clients and I really need to pitch’, and then you just kind of tense up. Panic pitching isn’t a good look for anybody.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“When you’re freelancing with one, even two clients that are steady or you have one major, one and a few one-off projects here and there, it’s not much different than being on staff with a company.” – Kate
“I would challenge you to start thinking of freelance in particular of having the opportunity to spread your eggs in multiple baskets.” – Kate
“If you have not been pitching, if you have not been looking for other clients, you’re going to be stuck. So do check in with yourself for your portfolio. I’m going to add clients to my pitch list. I’m going to schedule time on my calendar to check in. Let me send out some pitches.” – Nicki
“Don’t panic pitch. Pitch from a place of abundance when you already have plenty of clients. It’s just that much easier to do.” – Kate
“If you have long term clients, enjoy those long term clients, but keep thinking about the future and making sure that you’re not just set for now. You’re not just set for next month, but you’re set going forward.” – Nicki
Mentioned in the Episode
- Ep. 114: Hate Writing Your Own Portfolio? Use These Tips to Get It Done
- BONUS Laser Coaching: Top Tips for Wildly Effective Pitching
Related Links
- Ep. 204: Dangerous copywriting strategy alert: you can’t rely on SEO for landing clients
- Ep. 61: Juggling Multiple Copywriting Clients
- BONUS: Earning More As a Freelancer than On Staff – Catching Up With Stuart
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
