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A typical timeline for onboarding a new social media freelancer
Read more: A typical timeline for onboarding a new social media freelancerSomething I have regularly seen from clients is that they hire me on Monday and they expect that I will start posting for them on Tuesday. That is the worst idea ever. In fact, I did that once because the client lost their social media manager unexpectedly and needed someone to start posting right away.…
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How not to get new clients
Read more: How not to get new clientsOver the years, I’ve had agencies and freelancers try to get my clients. They’ve made every mistakes in the book and the message to my client ended up on my desk. More often than not, my client didn’t even see the message. That’s not what you want to happen when you are trying to get…
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On working for free
Read more: On working for freeI’ve been doing social media for a long time and one thing comes up again and again: I keep getting asked to work for free. Sometimes it’s because people don’t value my work and sometimes it’s because people simply don’t have the budget for me. But both times, it’s disheartening. And it’s very rare that…
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How to have a sustainable client relationship
Read more: How to have a sustainable client relationshipThe thing I’ve learned over the years is that there are peeks and valleys during the course of a client relationship. If it’s mostly valleys, then it’s probably time for me to move on. If it’s too many peeks, I’m probably overworking the account. There’s no science here. You just kind of know. But the…
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The different ways you can work with a social media consultant
Read more: The different ways you can work with a social media consultantWhen people think of what a social media consultant, like myself, does, it’s usually pretty straight forward. They think all they do is post on social media. That can be one aspect of what I do, but it’s nowhere near the whole story. If you think you might need to bring in a social media…
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How to keep long-term clients
Read more: How to keep long-term clientsThe one skill I have is the ability to keep clients long-term. Honestly, this is a skill that can make and break your business. Why? Getting new clients costs you a lot of time. I don’t get paid for the meetings and pitches before the contract is signed. In some cases, that is hours and…
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Charging a retainer with unlimited hours
Read more: Charging a retainer with unlimited hoursI remember telling a friend who was doing work for me that I charge a retainer with unlimited hours for clients. Her eyes got huge and she said, “You must get taken advantage of a lot.” The answer is simply that I don’t. Do I sometimes tiptoe into scope creep? Yes, but I’m able to…
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Keep your social media business simple
Read more: Keep your social media business simpleThere is no one who gets more excited about the latest tool than a social media professional. For me, my brain goes to all the new things I could do with it. Here is the problem: It gets really hard for clients when you’re constantly change your business processes because you have a new tool…
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What a social media consultant can’t do for you
Read more: What a social media consultant can’t do for youIt’s not rare that I have a client come to me with wildly inappropriate goals for our work together. I don’t know if they think a social media consultant is a magician. But if I can’t manage those expectations, it’s honestly best for all of us to move on. So if you’re looking to hire…
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How not to be pushy as a social media consultant
Read more: How not to be pushy as a social media consultantWhen you’re a social media consultant, it can be really easy to slide into pushy mode. Your client isn’t making a great decision, so you want to push them to the right one. Your client wants you to give them free work, so you have to push them towards understanding why that’s unethical. These kinds…
