Most of us have a client or two that pays lower than the rest. Often it’s a client that we started writing for when our rates were lower and have just been on auto pilot. Or perhaps it was a gig we picked up during a slow period when we needed money and just never dropped it.  With consumer publications, this was typically not an issue because you had to pitch each story so didn’t typically get locked into a rate or lower paying gig as often.  But with content marketing writing and trade publications, this is relatively common.

Writers will often tell me that they are looking for higher paying gigs, so that they can then drop their lower paying clients. I then say that I have found that it is much more effective to drop their lower paying client even if they don’t have a replacement waiting in the wings. I have gotten the most horrified looks when I utter this statement. But this is the thing, if your schedule is filled then it is almost impossible to make the time to look for a higher paying client. Plus, you don’t have a strong financial reason to do so if you are still earning the same amount of income.

This is the thing, every.single.time. I have done this, I find a much higher paying client in a short time because I am now motivated to replace the income and have the time to devote to marketing.

Here is the five step process that I follow:

1. Make a list of all of your clients and calculate the average hourly rate you earn for each one.
2. Determine what percentage of your overall income that each client represents and write it down as well.
3. Start at the bottom of the list and look at each client. Find the lowest paying client that represents 20 percent or less of your overall income. If you drop a client whose makes up a high percentage of your income then it can adversely affect your finances. But I have found that 20 percent is about the right balance of making you hungry enough without making you stay up at night stressing about paying your bills.
4. Send an email stating that their pay rates no longer fit your business goals. You can either then ask for a raise or let them know that they will need to find another writer after a specified date. If you go for the raise, I have found that the more specific you are in asking for what you want, the better. I have found that when I tell clients that a decision is based on my business goals, I have never gotten pushback or a negative respect. Everyone understands that running a business sometimes means make tough decisions. If you get a raise, then go to the next lowest paying client on your list and send another email.
5. Ramp up your marketing efforts to find a new high paying client. Make sure that you know what hourly rate you are targeting and do not accept a client lower than that rate. The most important thing is to market daily and remind yourself to make time for marketing even when you are busy.

Here are some past posts for ideas on finding new clients:

• How to Find 100 (or More) Potential Content Marketing Clients
• 5 Steps to Finding Brands in Your Content Marketing Niche
• Using LinkedIn Part 1: Targeting LinkedIn Job Postings
• Using LinkedIn Part 2: Finding Companies Creating Content

What has your experience been with dropping a client? Any tips that have worked well for you?