by Leo Wiles
07 December 2016
I’ve been reading one of those freelancing guides which suggests keeping in touch with clients regularly via newsletters. I’m not sure my clients would be bothered or whether it would actually annoy them and yet I’m wondering if this is something I should be doing this time of year? What do you and Rachel think? W
Before Facebook there were those grandiose edited family newsletters that would land with a thump at Christmas time depicting said smiley family hiding their real angst (think inner turmoil, divorce, death, disease, kids in trouble with the law etc), under the guise that all was shiny and well in their corner of the world.
As you may have gleaned I am not and never will be a fan of the end-of-year circular … and the same goes for ANY annual newsletter you intend to send to your client base. Why? Well, firstly I think it sounds a bit stuffy. Secondly, I’m drowning in email over here (like everyone) and anything pre-Christmas that isn’t going to make my life better is immediately trashed. And thirdly, a one-size-fits-all type of missive, sent to clients who may be completely different, isn’t going to make anyone feel particularly special or singled out.
I think it’s a better gesture to send a hand written Christmas card, or better still, a bottle of bubbly (as long as you know the recipient didn’t spend a few months in rehab this past year) could make the difference between you being top of their mind when they’re commissioning next.
The greeting: Choose your salutation carefully. I have always erred on the side of formality, using Dear so-and-so, rather than adopt a chatty ‘Hi Jamie!’ or ‘Greetings Bill’ or some other derivative. Rach however, who has a much warmer chummier writing style than I, would be perfectly at home with an informal greeting.
The body: Okay, here is the bit where you really need to drill down to why you’re writing to them in the first place. Do you thank them for their custom? An awesome commission that changed your life? Are they your biggest client? Then a little more love and appreciation may be called for. I would also ask about them, or reiterate what you know by wishing them well with their child’s first Christmas / ski holiday in Austria / renovating their house. I’d also let them know what you’re up to. Not the new car and awesome new Netflick series you’re mainlining, but the wow factor about winning an work-related award, or just finishing up a diploma in videography at night school.
The conclusion: Yours truly, Sincerely yours, Happy Christmas, I look forward to working together in the new year – take your pick.
How do you keep in touch with clients at Christmas?
I think this is great advice, Leo! I know when I’m busy, any emails I can skip through are gratefully trashed. I can’t imagine going back to being a busy editor, already mentally checked out on a tropical island somewhere, enjoying a newsletter.
A handwritten card and pressie if you can afford the splurge is a really nice way to go, and that’s certainly what I’ll be doing for my best clients.
Thanks for all your great advice this year, ladies! It’s been so helpful every week to check in and get some very sage advice on how to live the freelance life — it’s given me more confidence to go full-time knowing there’s such an amazing little group of powerhouses here waiting to answer the trickiest of questions.
Shucks thanks Erin.
It makes a real difference to Rach and I too when we receive those queries.
Because when someone’s brave enough to reach out they highlight issues that we have all probably faced at some point in our career and it stops us all feeling like we’re in it alone. L
Thanks Erin! That’s so nice to hear.