How To Onboard A New Client: For Bloggers + Creatives

Happy Friday you beautiful babe. Thanks for coming back! This week’s post fell on a Friday – it’s been a crazy week as usual. Y’all know I’m working on a new schedule for myself so that I can fit everything I need to do! I love being busy though – keeps me on my toes : )
Today I want to talk about what it means (in my opinion, obvi) to be a blogger. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an aspiring full-time blogger, you have a lot of different things to think about. My first blog took off 8 years ago. Shoutout to blogger.com! I love blogger. I had no idea what I was doing, and I’m so glad that I continue to grow as a creative and blogger.
One important thing I wanted to talk about today is how to properly go about the onboarding process with a new client. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a product or a service – you should (in most cases) have a contract! If it’s one thing I learned – always have a written agreement, especially when it comes to long-term work. Trust me on this! I recently found myself in a situation where I took on a group of clients through a company without a contract. I was so excited about the job, and was so ready to get started. Work enthusiasm is great, but you have to make sure you set things up the right way. Long story short (I will share details in my IG stories. I don’t want to disrespect any parties involved), I ended up not receiving pay for the work that I did. It was my choice to basically say “forget it, it’s ok,” because it felt like a big hassle.
I know sometimes when a client hears the word “contract,” they may feel hesitation. (not all, but some). Some immediately think of things like “legal,” or “non-negotiable,” but a contract should not feel intimidating. First thing I want to mention – if a client refuses to work with you because they don’t want to sign a contract – then you’ve already dodged a bullet. Having a contract simply means that you both have a CLEAR understanding and agreement for the service that they are paying for. Also, let me be clear, I’m mainly speaking from a freelancer perspective. So if you provide anything from social media management to a physical product, please have some sort of written agreement. This will save your ass in the long run. Legally, you should be compensated for the work and time that you put into each client – regardless of their arguments. Now of course, you have to deliver what you promise, but in many service based businesses, there will always be difficult and demanding (unrealistic) clients. That’s just part of the deal! But knowing this ahead of time can save you a major headache later.
There area handful of contract templates on google and through google docs. Create your own – make it cute if you wanna! Add a personal touch, and make the contract feel inviting to your clients. Explain to them that this is simply a written agreement for both of you, so that you’re on the same page.
If you have any further questions, or need help setting up a contract, please reach out to me. I’m always here to help.
Thanks so much for reading. I absolutely love you! See you next week babes,