Hiring a strong freelance writer presents a daunting challenge for any business owner, especially one unfamiliar with the intricacies of the web. However, as the poor, downtrodden wordsmiths on the other side of the proverbial stick, we naturally have a skewed perspective on the matter, seeing only the stubborn and ungrateful customers we sometimes take them for.

But their biases can hurt your business if left unchecked.

To succeed as a freelancer, get inside the minds of your prospects and see the industry from their point of view. Address concerns before customers bring them up (many won’t have common sense) and you’ll dramatically improve your acceptance rate. Empathy separates you from the pack.

So what concerns are at the top of a client’s mind when hiring new writing assistants?

1. Poor English

Oddly enough, a large proportion of freelance writers online don’t speak or write English very well (and yes, I mean English content writers). I know it sounds absurd, but ambitious third world citizens (mostly) looking for new ways to earn extra money decided that writing articles in English was a perfect fit.

Don’t get me wrong: I congratulate anyone looking to improve their situation, but there are much more sensible options for these people, like web design or secretarial work, for example…

“Professional” writers often submit articles filled with grammatical errors, misspellings, and awkward phrases, causing tremendous frustration for clients. Many more experienced buyers even state in their offers that they only want UK or US writers, although the statement rarely deters foreign writers from bidding.

Deal with the issue by being forthright when you offer jobs, declaring your status as a native English-speaking writer born in the US or UK. Why let them wonder? After all, being an English-speaking writer in a market invaded by non-English-fluent writers creates a huge advantage in your favor.

I wish I was kidding, but this is the actual market condition.

Also, include your address and location on all freelance writing profiles, as well as on your website. If, like me, you run your online writing business from the road, keep a home address for this reason. You can even get an online number with an area code of your choice through Skype.

Of course, I explain on my website that I run my business from multiple global locations, as I don’t want to mislead customers, but the extra steps taken to maintain a US presence reassure them.

2. Fake examples

These same non-native writers sometimes rely on bogus examples to avoid the challenge of, well, lacking English writing skills. They steal these sample articles from other writers or, in other cases, may even pay a better writer to provide them (usually without telling them the purpose).

So when you show them a client’s work and it appears to be written by another author, that raises a big red flag. So, never use examples that are posted elsewhere under another name, which might be the case if you ghostwritten them for a previous client (by the way, you can’t use ghostwritten articles as examples without permission).

Also, when you submit articles to directories, the publishers publish them on their own sites (since that’s the goal). But if a potential customer searches for your sample article, finds it in another location, and doesn’t take the time to read the resource box, they may have the wrong idea.

For added peace of mind, let customers know you’re available to chat on Skype or over the phone; they might not accept the offer and honestly I’d rather they didn’t as it eats up my time but the disposition proves they don’t have anything. hide.

3. Failure to meet deadlines

Clients deal with many writers who cannot meet deadlines to save their lives. For whatever reason, lateness is a defining characteristic of wordsmiths: even high-paid writers push deadlines until the last minute.

I personally declare in all offers that I understand and value the need for deadlines. Expressing your confidence goes a long way, and when emphasized enough in marketing materials, punctuality offers a great unique selling point.

Keep your promise by delivering items a day or two early for the first few jobs, and as you build trust with customers, their worries will ease.

Not to mention, word of a trusted writer spreads fast.

4. No experience

Being a qualified writer does not qualify you to write on behalf of every client. Many clients would rather find a good writer with experience in their niche than the best writer out there. Always tailor your offers specifically for each job: Don’t use a soft template offer without customizing it first, unless the job description doesn’t give any clues about the topic at hand.

Bid for jobs in niches where you actually have some inside knowledge and explain why you are the right candidate for the job; sell yourself When you hit the bid, your prospects, upon discovering you, should express their excitement at the fortune of finding the perfect candidate for the project.

Specialize in a few select niches and become the perfect candidate.

5. Lack of editing

Anyone who has written an essay for a high school English class can tell you the drastic difference between raw writing work and a final draft after a few revisions. But the cheapest content writers don’t take the time to edit their work, and I can’t say I blame them either.

They just don’t have time to edit their work when they’re writing 10 articles an hour just to make a halfway decent living.

If you miss any typos—and I mean any—in your offers or prospecting emails, the recipient will run in the other direction. A serious businessman hiring a writer does not overlook carelessness in this department.

Take a fine-tooth comb to everything you send, including your company website, and treat these materials like your most important work.

6. Plagiarism

Other online writers have the audacity to pull articles from the internet and submit them to fill orders, somehow thinking they won’t get caught eventually. However, I guess there are few resources on the web, so they benefit until the show ends, and then move on to the next sucker.

To address the concern, tell prospects that the articles are guaranteed by Copyscape. Don’t assure them that you check every article on Copyscape before submitting, because they might wonder why you would doubt your own work.

Perhaps the best thing to say is something like, “Of course, all items will be 100% original.”

However, instead of flagging a risk and worrying them, maintain a strong online presence. Spread your name all over Google. Go online to get your name out there and build a web presence people can trust.

7. Lose your money

New clients are also afraid that a writer will simply run off with their money, and are therefore hesitant to pay for work upfront (writers, on the other hand, worry that clients will spend them in payments). Any reason to hesitate can become a reason to never pull the trigger…

As mentioned above, establishing a full web presence helps alleviate these fears, but other steps may be required.

For example, suggest using Elance’s escrow for the first two jobs until you establish some trust. You can also use credibility indicators such as the Visa and PayPal logos on your site to indicate that it has been approved by credible third parties; not exactly the case, but the use of these logos gives “implied credibility”.

8. Making profit

Finally, never forget a client’s number one concern when hiring a freelance writer online. Paying good money for high quality items represents an investment and they want that investment to show a return.

Work on language in your offers and emails that reveals your understanding of the commercial nature of your transaction and the goal of making a profit. Make it clear that you know they want traffic, conversions, and profit from your articles.

Note: However, don’t promise these things because you can’t control how they use your work.

To go further, offer upsells and cross-sells designed to help your customers achieve their goals. These plugins not only communicate your investment-oriented understanding, but also significantly increase your revenue per item, often with little extra work.

Again, nothing goes further to reassure a prospect of all of the above concerns than building a strong online reputation and leveraging that reputation for credibility purposes.

Go above and beyond with every customer you get and always ask for feedback and testimonials. Put those testimonials all over your website and launch an extensive marketing campaign to spread the word about your business.

Of course, you need to land a few clients first to build that reputation, but by understanding why your prospects are hesitant to hire you, an unknown writer can confront their concerns and address them verbatim in the first place.