Throughout your freelance writing adventure, you’ll find that consulting and writing are two essential skills every freelance writer should possess.

Prospective clients often expect you to provide solutions and new methods to improve their businesses and drive more leads – meaning that combining writing and consulting makes you more likely to land the gig and get hired.

Providing extra value does not necessarily need to be requested by your clients.

In fact, you should take the initiative and prove that you’re valuable enough to close the deal and grab the client’s money.

Plus, you should keep in mind that the extra value you give must be considered as a part of your services, not something you expect to get rewarded or paid for. This is what clients are most attracted to, as they need to see you as an expert who can do these tasks easily and can be relied upon on to build a profitable business.

The secret behind adding value that’s free of charge to your freelance writing clients is that it sets you apart from the competition and marks you out as a true professional.

And the good news is, you needn’t be Jeff Bezos to find something additional to give your prospect clients. It’s more of a psychological trick than a business technique.

Nick Darlington, freelance writer and co-founder of WriteWorldwide proved how effective providing extra value is in his case study, “How to Land High-Paying Freelance Writing Jobs Online, Fast”:

Here is how the client responded:

See?

After brainstorming a few ideas, Nick is on his way to being his client’s #1 freelancer!

Today, I’m going to tackle the best suggestions you can give your client as a freelance consultant and writer.

#1 Idea: Offer Discounts 

Who doesn’t like discounts?

Luana Spinetti, a non-native English freelance writer we’ve recently interviewed at WriteWorldwide, attracts freelance writing clients by offering discounts for startups and non-profits. She also offers a 10-15% discount on invoices sent out by pre-existing clients in March/April and December to celebrate Easter and Christmas.

 

Studies show that offering discounts can dissuade prospective clients from hiring or looking for other freelancers, as it gives them a sense of urgency to hire you and use your services.

One of the most effective discount types that high-profile freelance writers such as Bamidele Onibalusi use are quantity discounts. They encourage clients to order more services, which turns out to be more lucrative and will give you more financial security. For example, “Order four e-books and get a 25% discount for the first two posts,” or, “Order eight blog posts and get the 9th for free.”

You can also experiment with other discount tactics such us BOGO (Buy One, Get One) and Percentage or Dollar Off.

#2 Idea: Create Blogging Strategies

HubSpot has revealed that businesses that blog generate 67 percent more leads than businesses that do not and receive 97 percent more links to their website.

Many freelance writers, including myself, offer content strategy as a paid service.

If your prospective client intends to go all-in on writing services and order several per month (i.e. 8 to 16 blog posts monthly,) crafting a blogging strategy will be beneficial for both your business and your client’s.

Content strategies usually focus on posting articles consistently to drive more organic traffic with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), which will guarantee more recurring work for your business.

In 2015, HubSpot published a step-by-step guide to creating a successful blog strategy. You can use it to create a blogging strategy for your client.

The guide covers some key points to building an SEO-friendly online business such as ranking in the first results of search engines by optimising websites to rank for specific focus keywords and promoting blog posts using inbound marketing techniques.

It’s worth mentioning that using reliable resources and studies such as HubSpot’s might be an x-factor to convince freelanc writing clients to order your services, this is especially true for blog posts.

#3 Idea: Send Them Business Tips

Whether it’s an email, a PDF, a free guide, or anything in-between, sending free business tips regularly to freelance writing clients can help them improve their business results.

To make sure your business tips pay off, include practical SEO, social media management, and content marketing related business ideas, alongside other general information such as tools and plugins to increase sales (i.e. affiliate programs, discounts, etc.)

For example, if your client owns an e-commerce store, you can propose installing a pop-up to collect e-mail addresses in exchange for coupons and discounts.

#4 Idea: Give TLC (Tender Loving Care)

Every freelance writer prefers working on long-term projects that give them financial security.

Giving freelance writing clients TLC can make your relationship more friendly than it is professional. A happy birthday LinkedIn message, a chat on Facebook or Twitter, or an invitation to an industry event (for local clients) can make your client more satisfied and positive about working with you.

In addition to the positive energy you refresh them with, freelance writing clients will be more willing to recommend you to their business acquaintances and rely on you to work on future freelance writing projects.

Also, one way to do it is asking your clients if they’re happy with your collaboration and what you can improve on. Here is a live example by Nick Darlington:

#5 Idea: Leverage Your Own Social Media Network

To get the most out of your social media network, do not just publish your articles without getting noticed by your client. Instead, offer to share the published work you write for them with your social media audience to help them grow their business by bringing new customers and getting extra traffic.

With dreams of landing long-term clients and making it as a freelance writer, gaining your client’s satisfaction is a must. Unfortunately, most writers limit themselves by providing their services without any extra help.

But you don’t need to make that mistake.

You now understand what makes freelance writing clients happy to work with you. Are you ready to start working with a client for the next ten years?

Then what’s holding you back?