Note from Jennifer: With many writers concerned about budget cuts and layoffs, I wanted to update today’s post about anchor clients. This is a great way to turn an occasional client into an anchor client. As we continue with uncertainty, clients that regularly assign you work are key to staying successful. 

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I recently told a friend that I needed to find a new anchor client. Then I caught myself.

As I wrote last month, I don’t think that you can just go out and ‘find’ anchor clients. Instead I think that clients turn into anchor clients. That said, I think that when you only take new clients that have ‘anchor client potential’ and then actively work to turn the relationship into ongoing work, you have a much higher chance of having a new anchor client. (And remember, getting a new client is a lot like landing a first date.) So I rephrased my goal to: “I am going to actively look for a new client that I would like to turn into an anchor client.”

It’s easy to say the words, but making sure that the majority of your clients are anchor clients is a bit trickier.

1. Only take clients with anchor client potential.

If you look at the client list of high income writers, they almost always have anchor clients. I’ve said it again and I’ll repeat it many more times, but the trick is looking for clients that are a match for your strengths, personality and skills. Be picky. Make the interview process two-sided. Tell potential clients you want long-term relationships. And actively turn down clients that are not a fit. Most importantly, trust your gut. I really think that the turning point in becoming a high income writer is when you start actively selecting which clients to work for based on criteria other than just rates.

2. Do a small project first.

During the intro call, I tell potential clients that I would like to do a small project first, usually two to four blog posts, to make sure we are a match both ways. They always agree and think it’s a great idea. It also starts the relationship on an equal footing – two business owners working together, which is exactly what it is, not a boss-employee type relationship.

Don’t confuse the small project idea with a test. I’m always paid my regular rate for these and the projects are actual deliverables. However, I think you need to do more than one blog post since it can sometimes take a bit to get in the groove. I usually suggest four posts as a starting point because by that number, it’s almost always completely obvious to both sides if the relationship is a match.

3. Let go clients of red clients. Turn yellow clients to either green or red.

It’s easy to let go of a client that breaks the “No A-hole” rule or when its obvious that you can’t deliver what they want. But it’s the middle ground that’s hard for both sides. I highly recommend following the steps in this post to assign your clients as either red, yellow and green. But most importantly take the next steps of dropping red clients and evaluating yellow clients. If you can figure out how to make a yellow client into a green client, then that’s fabulous. But if not, then turn them as a red client and let them go. If a client isn’t green, then it’s highly unlikely that they will turn into an anchor client.

4. Ask for a set amount of work per month.

I personally think that retainers are not the holy grail, but instead clients that will contract with you for a set number of deliverables a month. So once I decide to keep working for a client, then I ask them if they would like a set number of posts per month. I’ve usually already talked about the idea in our intro call and always position it as a discount for a package for four blog posts per month. But I’ve found that I often have to initiate the conversation at this point in the relationship to set things firm. Otherwise many clients will just keep randomly sending work over.

5. Set up an editorial calendar and a process.

I then make it as easy as possible for the client to keep sending work to me. I set up a time to brainstorm topic ideas with them and create a calendar. This is a little bit more work for me, but I end up way ahead because it means more work that I can anticipate and plan for, instead of random emails with rush blog requests.

I also prefer to do work in batches whenever possible. For example, if I do four blog posts a month for a client, then I like to write all four at the same time and send them through the review process together. I find that I am able to write the posts more quickly when done at the same time because I get in the groove with the tone. Plus when I send them through review together it means less project management and interruptions for revisions because everything comes together. It may seem like not a big deal, but if you add it up over a year, I have found that it ends up being a considerable time savings, not to mention less stress.

Do you have a strategy to turn your favorite new client into a long-term anchor client? Share in the comments what has worked for you, and what hasn’t.