Private Clients for Online Freelance Writers

As previously stated, freelance writing opportunities come in several different manners that are apart of two types of income: Active and Passive. Private clients are a large part of active income as they pay directly for your content. Private clients are individuals or companies who are in need of a specific type of content ranging from articles to blog posts to briefs and much more. Websites such as online-writing-jobs.com and freelancewritinggigs.com list available online writing opportunities for freelance writers. Writing jobs for sites are also listed.

Short-Term Private Clients

Short term private clients are seeking a freelance writer to produce one or more articles on a particular topic as a one time occurrence. This is a per assignment type of writing opportunity. But by submitting top quality writing content, the private client may return directly to you for any future writing needs. As with any job, there are terms and agreements to abide by. The terms are clearly defined prior to beginning the assignment and if open for negotiations, pay is negotiated up front. Here is an example of what a private client may ask of a freelance writers.

2 articles of 500-700 words on Mustangs for .10/per word with a keyword phrase of purchasing a Mustang due in 5 days

Many private clients will let the freelance writer know if the pay is negotiable. If the client is on a budget, more often than not, the pay will be set in stone. Also included in the terms will be the deadline and time frame for completion of the assignments.

Long-Term Private Clients

At times, private clients will hire a freelance writer to produce a certain amount of articles over a period of time. Long term private clients may have a general topic in mind but need several different aspects of it over the course of days, weeks, or months. I write for a client who hired me under this type of term. I produce 20 700 word articles per week and am paid a set amount per article. Although the articles fall under one topic, each week I am given several subtopics to produce articles about. Because this agreement was for a set amount of months, I can count on this income every week.

Here is an example of the terms of a long term assignment's expectation.

5 articles per week for 9 weeks on different dog food products with a word count of 600 words for $25 per article

Because the client is hiring the freelance writer to produce 5 articles per week for nine weeks, this is considered a long term assignment. Deadline for submitting your articles is always defined. Some freelance writers choose to complete and submit all of the articles at once, this is up to the client to decide if this is acceptable.

Advanced Payment through Private Clients

Some private clients are willing to pay up front for the assignment. However, this is an exception instead of the norm so don't expect it to happen often. For example, if the private client needs 10- 400 word articles at .10/per word; the client may offer an upfront payment of $400 for the freelance writer's services. There will be guidelines like normal private client terms. However, with this type of payment, caution must always be used. You never know what may happen to prevent you from carrying out your agreement in a timely fashion and this would leave you not only in debt to the client but in direction violation of the assignment terms.

Discussion of Rights

Before agreeing to take on any private client assignment, always discuss the type of rights associated with the purchase of your content. Most often than not, the private client is seeking full rights which means the author will no longer have their name attached to the content. This type of rights agreement is almost identical to ghost writing. There are other types of purchased rights: usage and unique.
With usage rights, the client is purchasing the right to use your article once. The content will still be credited to you and no changes can be made to the content.
With unique rights, the terms are prearranged as to what the client is allowed to do with the content. Normally, the freelance writer is credited for writing the content but the purchasing client is allowed some rights regarding republishing and revisions.

Things to Keep in Mind When Dealing With Private Clients

• Rights: Always know the type of content rights the client is seeking before agreeing to the terms.
• Payment Method: Discuss the form of payment you shall receive for your content: Pay Pal, paper check, etc. This leaves no way for confusion later on.
• High Quality Content: Make sure your content is of the highest quality and follows the general freelance writing regulations such as copyright laws, citing sources,etc. Producing top quality assignments will increase the changes of the client returning directly to you for future needs.
• Meet the Deadline: Always make sure the content is completed and edited for spelling and grammar errors by the assignment's due date. If for any reason you have trouble meeting the due date, make sure you contact the client immediately.
• Pricing: Always set fees in a manner that is both fair to the client and the freelance writer. Never overcharge a client just to make a big payout.
• Don't Overextend Yourself: Private clients are a good source of active income. But be careful never to accept too many assignments. This will over-extend yourself and will both effect your quality of work and reflect badly on yourself professionally if you cannot complete an assignment.