If you’re a freelancer, then you know that quality communication is an essential part of a successful work relationship with your client. When you start working on a project, it’s good practice to set up some ground rules with the client to keep things running smoothly throughout the process.

It’s worthwhile to set specific expectations for communication so that your work doesn’t get held up and delays don’t arise. This article covers tips that can help you establish better communication etiquette with clients:

Takeaways
Effective communication is crucial for successful freelance client relationships.
Good communication etiquette helps build trust and professionalism with freelance clients.
Clear and concise messaging promotes clarity and understanding between freelancers and clients.
Prompt responsiveness demonstrates reliability and commitment to meeting client needs.
Setting and managing client expectations through effective communication leads to smoother project workflows.
Active listening and addressing concerns promptly contribute to resolving conflicts and maintaining client satisfaction.
Continuous improvement of communication skills enhances freelancers’ chances of securing more projects.

Make It Clear When And How You Are Available

Once you’ve set up your email, chat channels, and phone number, make it clear when you are actually available. Let them know when you plan on replying to their message and if there’s a chance that they won’t hear back from you during your off hours or weekends. Make it easy for the client to contact you by letting them know the best way to reach out with questions or concerns.

And don’t be afraid to tell clients that you need some time away from work in order to maintain your mental health! For example, I let my clients know that I do not work on Sundays because I need a day of rest every week.

Effective communication is key, especially for those who work from home. Our guide on communicating effectively as someone who works from home offers valuable tips and strategies to enhance remote communication skills and build strong professional relationships.

Establish A Preferred Communication Method

You may not be able to control how a client communicates, and you don’t have to try and fix an overly-chatty client. However, there are certain things you can do to encourage better communication.

Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior. In business, it is often referred to as the flow of information between one person and another. Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Communication requires that all parties involved have at least a set level of understanding.

Let The Client Know What To Expect From You

While you’re probably already sending all of this information to your client in an email, the beauty of the communication plan is that it forces you to think through everything in a more methodical and strategic way. And if you send the document over to your client with a request that they read through it and sign off on it, then should miscommunications arise later on, both parties can refer back to the document and be reminded of what was agreed upon initially.

Set A Deadline For Communication Response As Well As Work Completion

Deadlines are key to successful working relationships. If you need eight weeks to complete a project, but your client wants it done by three weeks, there will be conflict. Make sure that you and your client are on the same page about when projects are due. Make sure that the deadline is in writing; this might be in an email or on a contract and then send periodic reminders as the deadline draws near.

Communication should go both ways: clients shouldn’t just expect freelancers to respond immediately to all requests; they should also make themselves available for questions and check-ins during your scheduled work time.

Communication etiquette plays a vital role in any workplace. Discover the significance of maintaining good communication etiquette with our article on the importance of communication etiquette in any workplace and learn how it contributes to a positive work environment.

Avoid Using Confusing Or Colloquial Lingo

When communicating with your client, be mindful of the language you use. Avoid using jargon and acronyms that may confuse the client. Additionally, avoid using metaphors that can be easily misinterpreted by those who are not in your line of work.

For example, if you are a graphic designer, don’t tell your client that they need to “ditch their wireframes” and create “something more visually appealing”. If they’re not familiar with either term, they may feel lost or confused. That’s why it’s best to keep things simple when communicating with clients and use a language that is easy for them to understand. This will help ensure that there are no misunderstandings in communication between you and your client.

Make Sure To Document Important Events And Orders

Have you ever had a situation where your client asks for something, and then several weeks later they say that you never did it? Or even worse, they’re upset that you didn’t do it correctly? What about when your client says you must have gotten the wrong information from them because what you made is completely different from what they wanted. 

If any of those situations sound familiar to you, then it’s time to set up good communication etiquette with your clients. Here are some quick tips on how to make sure that doesn’t happen again:

Document Everything

Write down or type everything. You might think “oh yeah I got this! It’s easy enough.” but two weeks later or two months later when the same thing comes up again, will you still remember? As a freelancer, there’s nothing more embarrassing than saying “I’m sorry I don’t remember” so it’s important to keep track of things like emails, messages, notes and anything else that happens throughout the project with your client. 

This not only keeps you organized but also helps both parties stay focused on their project goals and timelines without having to waste time going back and forth over every little detail.

Ask for Clarification if You Need It

The best way to get clarification from someone is by asking them questions about their request. If there’s something unclear in an email chain or message thread then ask directly until all questions are answered satisfactorily before proceeding with any work related tasks such as graphics design work etcetera (e;g.). Good communication between freelancers and clients saves time, prevents misunderstandings and builds client relations.

Freelancers can benefit from understanding the dos and don’ts of communication etiquette. Explore our comprehensive guide on communications etiquette dos and don’ts for freelancers to ensure professional and effective communication with clients and colleagues.

Keep It Professional

Don’t over-share. When you share too much personal information, it makes people uncomfortable; it also creates a possible avenue for the client to discriminate against you. Only share what is relevant to the job: your name, how to contact you, etc.

Don’t use abbreviations unless absolutely necessary. Even if it’s more convenient for you to do so, keep in mind that not everyone knows what “LOL” means or what on earth “yolo” stands for (we had to Google it ourselves). So even if your client is an older person who seems like they might not understand these newfangled terms, leave them out altogether and refrain from using them no matter the situation.

Don’t use obscene language or profanity. This one is a no-brainer—there are certain words that we only say when we’re angry or frustrated and should never be used in formal communication with clients. Some of us may have grown up being exposed to profanity regularly, but now that we’re working adults with professional responsibilities, this kind of language isn’t going to fly anymore.

Don’t use informal language or slang expressions (like “ain’t”). The way we speak with our friends and family members should (hopefully) differ from how we speak at work and in other professional environments so the same rule applies here as well; don’t talk like you would around your friends when communicating with your client!

For example: instead of saying something like “I’m really busy! I can send this later today though!” try using grammatically correct sentences such as “Due to my current workload I will need some extra time before I can send this document back.”

Ask Questions

Good communication etiquette in all stages of the working relationship is vital. If there is any time you are not sure, ask questions! It’s better to get clarification through early on, than to have something done that you didn’t want. When asking questions, make sure they are sensible and can be answered easily. Questions like: “how do I do this?” or “what if I don’t understand what this means?”, are not helpful at all.

The client will only be able to answer so much, and too many questions will take up a lot of their time. If you’re stuck on how to word your question, try using Google as much as possible first before asking the client directly. Chances are, your question has already been asked by someone else elsewhere on the internet before and the answers might just be enough for you to solve your own problem!

Set Boundaries

Most freelancers are also busy people with their own lives, and setting boundaries is one of the best ways to make sure that your freelance work isn’t overbearing. For example, if you’re a writer and you want to take the weekends off for yourself, let your client know. Or if you’re a designer who can only work on certain hours of the day, let them know.

If they’re working with other freelancers outside of your time zone or don’t have an expectation for when you have to be finished, it’s important that they know these things up front so that they aren’t surprised later. Being clear about what’s expected from both parties will ensure that neither of you are left frustrated or confused by a lack of communication, which will make it all much easier to collaborate in the future!

Building strong electronic communication with clients and colleagues is essential in the digital age. Our article on 11 guidelines for excellent electronic communication with clients and colleagues provides practical tips and strategies for enhancing your electronic communication skills as a freelancer.

Don’t Micromanage

Micromanaging is a big turn off for freelancers, and a surefire way to annoy your client. It can lead to anxiety for both parties involved, which in turn will make the project more difficult to complete successfully. Avoid micromanaging by hiring someone who is qualified, skilled, and has good communication skills. That way you can trust that they know what they’re doing (and they will tell you if they don’t). Make sure expectations are set clearly at the beginning of the process.

Don’t Do Social Media For Them

Make sure to avoid falling into the trap of doing social media for your clients. Many marketers and other freelancers in related fields have had this problem: a client asks them to do something, but then they end up handling everything in the realm of that particular service.

As a freelancer, you should focus on your core services, and not be responsible for completely running the marketing efforts or communications tasks outside of those services. You can certainly make suggestions to improve the quality of their social media presence, but don’t go overboard with what you’re willing to take on.

Enhancing your communication etiquette can have a positive impact on your professional interactions. Discover 14 valuable tips to improve your communication etiquette in our informative article on improving your communication etiquette and enhance your communication skills in various business scenarios.

Prioritize Your Work

To make sure that the communication process doesn’t get overwhelming, you’ll need to prioritize your work. It’s easy to get caught up in responding to small requests and lose sight of your main job. To avoid this, think about what the most important tasks are for you and do them first. If you’re a writer, then writing is probably more important than reviewing a video someone else created or replying to emails from clients. Do whatever it takes to focus on the most important part of your job first.

Adjust Your Communication Style To Theirs

Communication is key in any working relationship. When you start a new project with a freelance client, it’s important to consider how you communicate and adjust your tone as necessary. The best way to do this is to remain polite and courteous, without sounding too formal or impersonal. You also need to be prepared for the possibility that you’ll have to adjust your communication style during the project, depending on what language your client uses and if they understand technical jargon.

The last thing you want is for your client to feel uncomfortable or sound condescending because of the way you speak with them. It’s important that you’re able to effectively convey information and ideas in an appropriate manner. This will only help you build a good long-term working relationship with them along the way.

Final Thoughts

It is important for freelancers to have good communication etiquette with their clients. This is because the client will be trusting you with his/her business, so it is important to be professional. There are a few different things that you can do to ensure that your communication etiquette is as good as possible.

First, let’s talk about meeting deadlines. When you are working as a freelancer and have a contract, it can often be difficult to determine when a project should start and end. The client may provide you with some deadlines, but these will likely be very general in nature. For example, if the project has three major parts, the client might say “you have five days for each part.” However, this does not mean that your work must be completed by this deadline; instead, it simply means that your work should ideally begin at least two weeks before the deadline.

The next thing that you will want to do when setting up good communication etiquette is sending regular emails or making phone calls to your clients on a regular basis. For example: If you’re working on an article writing assignment and need some feedback from the client before making any changes in your writing style, send them an email every week or so just asking how they’re doing and whether they had any feedback on what they’ve written lately (or if there are any changes).

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources to further enhance your understanding of effective communication with freelance clients:

Master Your Communication with Clients and Get Hired to Work on More Projects: Discover valuable insights and strategies to improve your communication skills and increase your chances of securing more freelance projects.

5 Tips to Effective Communication with Freelance Clients: Learn five practical tips for effectively communicating with your freelance clients, fostering better collaboration and successful project outcomes.

10 Steadfast Rules for Managing Freelance Client Expectations: Explore ten essential rules to effectively manage and set client expectations as a freelancer, ensuring smoother project workflows and client satisfaction.

People Also Ask

What Is The Best Way To Communicate With Clients?

The best way to communicate with clients is by using whatever communication platform they prefer, be it email, phone or text messages. Always ensure that you let them know when you have received their communications, and acknowledge where necessary.

What Are The Most Effective Communication Strategies?

The most effective communication strategies include open-ended questions, making eye contact and gestures, and active listening. Being a good listener will make your client feel respected and valued.

How Do You Communicate With Clients Effectively?

Establish rapport before beginning any business discussion. For instance, ask about their day before diving into the meeting agenda. This not only makes them feel appreciated but also gives you a chance to gauge their mood as well as personality so that you can structure your conversation accordingly.

What Are The Five Communication Skills?

The five communication skills are: Listening, Presentation Skills, Verbal Communication, Written Communication, and Non-Verbal Communication.

What Is Good Communication Etiquette?

Good communication etiquette means being polite, calm and considerate. It entails being mindful of your tone of voice and body language at all times. It also means making sure that you understand the perspective of whoever it is you’re speaking to before responding in kind.

How Do You Communicate Effectively With A Client?

To communicate effectively with clients: Use plain English; ask for their opinion or thoughts; give them time to think about their answers; don’t interrupt when someone else speaks; and make eye contact as much as possible when talking face-to-face (or over Zoom).

What Is The Best Way To Set Up Good Communication Etiquette For My Freelance Client?

The best way to set up good communication etiquette for your freelance client is to answer all questions in a timely manner, even if it’s not the answer they want to hear. You need to make sure you’re being clear and honest with them throughout the process so that they continue to trust you as their freelancer.

How Do I Set Up Good Communication Etiquette For My Freelance Client?

The first thing is to make sure you have an email that’s set up for this purpose. If you don’t have one, create one. It’s a great way to keep all of your communications organized and easy to find when you need them.

Next, get your client on the same page as you by making sure they know how you want to communicate with them. This could be by phone or text or email. It depends on who they are and what works best for them. You can also set up different emails for different types of clients (like clients who only want emails, or clients who only want phone calls).

Then, stick to the schedule! If you said “I’ll get back to you by Friday,” then make sure that happens even if something else comes up in your personal life (or theirs). It’s not polite to leave someone hanging without any kind of update on where things stand.