Craving Clients Happy

When it comes to attracting and retaining content-craving clients, it’s not enough to just be an amazing writer. What clients really want is fresh, relevant content— and they expect a steady flow of it. It’s easy to see why there’s such a demand for content when you consider all the possible forms of content distribution you can use to get a message to the right audience. To keep your clients happy, you’ll definitely want to develop an effective strategy by considering these tips.
Be on the Same Page with Expectations

A surefire way to keep clients happy is to know what they expect. Don’t make assumptions though. If you’re not sure how much content is expected, ask them. View such conversations as an opportunity to offer advice, insights, and suggestions. And if a client is a little off the mark, tell them why you think more content is needed. For instance, the client’s blog may have posts that aren’t current or there may be room for more engagement on social media accounts. Of course, each client will have different content needs and reasons for their specific desires. Just make sure you’re on the same page with what’s expected.
Reimagine and Refresh Content

It’s not always necessary to start from scratch every time you need to produce content for clients. Explore their existing posts and articles to see which ones received the most attention. If possible, update the content or add fresh insights and data. Articles that are particularly data-heavy, for instance, might be reimagined into an infographic. Or bits and pieces of the data could be sprinkled into a fresh article or social media post.
Stay on Top of Trending Topics

Clients usually like to be a part of tends and hot topics. Do your homework to see what’s trending within a client’s field. Extend your research to include news in related industries, current events, and even pop culture trends (if it makes sense). Also be flexible and open to exploring new ideas and different ways of tying trends back to a client’s brand.
Make Your Content Easy to Digest

Unless your client expects highly technical and detailed articles, you’ll probably be writing for consumers with short attention spans. Keep your clients happy by making content easily digestable to accommodate those impatient readers. Go beyond looking at the text itself and consider how visually appealing it is. Use short, descriptive headlines, keep paragraphs concise, and use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight key points.
Get Inspiration from Comments

Take your cue for the content you should be producing from the people who are already reading, sharing, and commenting on articles and blogs. Use those comments as a guide for the topics you write about or as a jumping off point for related topics. Go a step further and encourage feedback or suggestions in the content you produce for clients, when appropriate (e.g., a simple, “What do you think? Feel free to share your comments,” at the end of a post). Blogs and social media posts tend to leave more room for such interactions.
Maintain Regular Communications

Don’t just wait to be given another request for an article, blog, social media post, or another type of content. Actively stay in touch with your clients. When they’re not requesting anything specific, make some content pitches. Base your suggestions on what you know appeals to them and their intended audience. Also avoid making assumptions if you’re not sure how to approach a specific content request or if instructions are vague. It’s best to seek clarification before you get started with a project rather than making your best guess and hoping the client will like it.
Find Opportunities to Exceed Expectations

Sure, you want to follow your clients’ instructions. But you’ll likely have an opportunity to do more than what’s expected now and then. For instance, stats you were given to use in an article may be slightly out-of-date. Why not find similar ones that are more current? Or do some research to find other relevant facts or stats you can use. Your clients will definitely appreciate the extra effort. And you may be rewarded with more work or referrals.

Finally, clients appreciate good communication skills. So, give regular updates about how you’re coming along with projects, especially ones involving a lot of content. If you have a chance, show examples of your previous work. A client may like something you wrote for another client and request something similar.

Looking for a better way to connect with clients looking for the kind of content you produce? Consider joining the team at ContentWriters. You’ll also benefit from an assortment of useful and convenient resources you can use to build and maintain mutually beneficial client relationships.