Freelance Writing: How Many Regular Clients Should You Have?

This is a tough question for every freelance writer. For me, the worst working scenario is when a few weeks go by and all my work comprises one-off jobs for small clients who never become repeat customers.

It takes a lot of time finding and developing each new client. That means lots of unbillable hours.

My best scenario is to have three to five repeat clients I can pretty much depend on for work each month. Plus one or two new clients who may or may not turn into repeat customers.

That way, if you lose one repeat client, you're not in big trouble. You have your other regular clients, plus some more prospects in the 'hopper'.

>> The two danger scenarios

It is dangerous for you when you have too few clients. I found myself in this situation a couple of years ago. I had one client that was worth over $10,000 a month to me. The result was that they took up a lot of my time and I found myself with very little free time to develop new clients. I had other work, but this one client took up a significant proportion of my time.

And yes, one day I got that phone call and, due to a change in management, I ended up losing their business. Suddenly I had a big hole in my income and it took me quite some time to fill it up again.

Should I have declined the one large client? I don't think so. Not for that kind of money, month after month. But I was always aware of the danger I was in.

The other danger scenario is when you have too many small clients, and too few are repeat clients. As I mentioned above, multiple one-time clients eat into your billable hours.

You need to be honest with yourself about the profitability of each job and client. Every client and every job you do results in time spent on administration, accounting, email and phone calls. Not to mention the time and expense involved in finding that client and job in the first place.

>> Aim for the perfect balance

You'll be lucky if you can do it all the time, but if you can work with a handful of good, repeat customers, that's the best position to be in.

If you have too few clients and don't have the time to develop new ones, take that as a danger signal. You could suddenly lose a big chunk of your income.

If you have too many one-time clients, take that as a danger signal too. You may be working long hours, but not billing a high enough proportion of those hours.

Can we always sustain the perfect balance? No, but we can try.

Nick Usborne is a freelance writer, author, speaker and advocate of good writing. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his freelance writing success site.

tidy up service Glenview ..
In The News:

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.
New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.
A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

Write For Yourself First

It would be very selfless or noble of me to... Read More

Writing With Power: 5 Snappy Rules For Success

Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

So you've decided to crown yourself with a title that... Read More

Common Writing Mistakes - Are These Holding You Back From Writing Success?

During the years that I've been teaching writing and participating... Read More

Break in with Fillers: The Best Market for New Writers

Interested in breaking into writing or breaking into a new... Read More

The Unwritten World Of The Reality Of Letterwriting

You may wonder why I have chosen this title of... Read More

When Getting Stuck Goes Amuck

Many of us have always wanted to write. We have... Read More

Seven Suggestions To Develop a Superb Writing Style

Every writer eventually develops her own unique style of writing.... Read More

Graphology - Unleash Inner Personality & Talent of Child

|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More

Writers Who Consistently Cut The Mustard Do So Because...

Have you ever wondered why certain writers are able to... Read More

How You Can Find Freelance Editing Jobs

Freelance editing opportunities are out there, you just need to... Read More

Plagiarism Through The Eyes Of College Students

Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts,... Read More

The Prologue - When to Use One, How to Write One

What is a prologue? When should you use one? Should... Read More

How To Write A Newsletter

In order to be successful with a newsletter, specialize in... Read More

Screenwriting and Screenwriters ? beyond Syd Field

Without denigrating the work and contribution of Syd Field to... Read More

Ferreting Out Work

FERRETING OUT WORK You keep hearing that there's work out... Read More

Personal Journaling - Strategies To Make It Easy

Recently I was watching the Oprah show and it was... Read More

Five Keys To A Successful Query Letter

Do you know what a query letter is? If so,... Read More

How To Co-Publish For Profits!

The Benefits of Co-Publishing There are a number of publishers,... Read More

The Iniquitous Slip

All the famous writers I heard of could paper the... Read More

Starting a Freelance Writing Career (or How I Sifted Through the Muck and Found My Way)

So, the decision is final. I am a writer.Actually, I... Read More

Friendly Critiques

When a writer is working on their next literary masterpiece... Read More

Dreading the Writing Assignment? Outlines to the Rescue

Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More

The Top Five Mistakes That Companies Make with Regard to Technical Documentation

I've seen it time and again. One of the most... Read More

The Power of Punctuation

Punctuation, when used creatively, is powerful. Note, however, that when... Read More

maid service near Winnetka ..