Keeping in contact with your clients

One of the biggest struggles I have found being a freelancer is keeping in contact with my clients. Sometimes my clients will go five months before they do another project with me. Over time I have learned I need to keep my name and e-mail address in front of them constantly, so they think of me first when they have a new project they are considering. But how do you do this without bugging the hell out of them? These are busy people, so sending them jokes and ? ˜hi how are you doing?’ …E-mails will only annoy them and damage your reputation. You need to make sure you are a valuable asset to these individuals. Approximately once a quarter I send a link to all my clients (both current and past), regarding new technology that is directly related to a past project I completed.

I also send out e-mails whenever I create a really innovative and successful project. Often old clients will see the new Flash piece I have created, they will like it and want to do something similar. Showing past clients your current work on a regular basis is an excellent way to generate new work. The best way to stay in touch with clients is via e-mail, but I have found a better solution than just using your e-mail client to send out these mass mailings. I use a tool called 12-all, which you can install on your web server if you are savvy. For those who don’t want to do that there is a great service called Constant Contact as well. Both are worth exploring. You can see (order 12-all by clicking the banner below)