It’s short. It only has two letters and one syllable.
You’d imagine the word “no” would be easy to say. After all, it’s the 56th most common word in English.
However, the difficulty isn’t in its pronunciation but in the emotional charge it holds. Most people think it’s a negative word.
I’ve discovered that saying “no” can have a positive impact on your career as a freelance blogger.
Unfortunately, the word “freelance” often comes with misconceptions attached, too.
To some clients, “freelance” means you don’t have set working hours, so you can be at their beck and call 24 hours a day. To others, it means you work for yourself, so you’ll be glad for the money and take on any old gig they send your way.
Until recently, I would’ve been anyone and done anything a client wanted, simply for the sake of avoiding upset. But saying “no” makes better business sense.
Here’s why:
No such thing as “mate’s rates”
Despite what my Facebook profile says, I can count my close friends on the fingers of one hand. But when I first went freelance full-time six months ago, I suddenly found myself sitting with my socks and shoes off, counting how many broke “friends” I had who wanted some writing done for next to nothing.
Going freelance is even more reason not to offer “mate’s rates.” Being self-employed means being responsible for your own income; working for less than you’re worth doesn’t help pay the bills or keep you swimming in shiny new laptops.
Setting professional boundaries with friends when you’re a professional freelance blogger is essential. Without those boundaries, you’ll find yourself buried under a heap of financially unrewarding projects.
The promising trial period
We’ve all been there.
Slaving away on that “little test assignment” only to find that it wasn’t quite what the client was looking for… yet it was somehow still good enough to be used on their blog anyway. (If this ever happens to you, stand up for your copyright — it’s not legal for a client to publish your work unless they’ve bought publishing rights from you or you’ve given them permission to publish.)
Saying “no” to these trial assignment offers can be tough. On the one hand, they could lead to a series of well-paying gigs; but, on the other, they could prove fruitless and an expensive waste of your time. (And, sadly, the latter is far more likely).
Reading between the lines is a valuable skills for any freelancer, and sometimes all you have to base your decisions on is your instincts.
In most cases, writing anything for free as a professional blogger is a bad idea, unless it bears obvious benefits. More often than not, if a promise sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Carrot and stick
Every now and then, we find ourselves working on projects where the client changes the article assignment halfway through. Or, more frustratingly, after you’ve completed the first draft. On such occasions, the only self-respecting thing to do is draw their attention to the original contract and show how you’ve achieved what they initially asked for.
Explain that you’re more than happy to write a new blog post, but that they’ll need to pay for your extra time.
In most cases, I find that clients are completely fine with this and acknowledge that they’ve moved the goal posts and therefore need to pay accordingly. And in cases where clients refuse to pay for extra work, at least you’ll have that 50% deposit you asked for to fall back on, right?
If I were to guess the words most commonly uttered by a client, it would be “and just one more thing…”
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been guilty of saying this myself on occasion when I outsource work! But the important thing to remember is that more work should mean more money — unless the “one more thing” is a minor adjustment you agreed to do for free beforehand.
The true power of saying “no”
Saying no to a client isn’t as scary or bridge-burning as you might think.
On almost every occasion I’ve uttered that dreaded syllable, it’s led to positive things.
First and foremost, saying no can change a client’s perception of your value. It provides you with an opportunity to sell yourself and be paid what your time is worth.
It can also help you establish your professional reputation.
Consider the best freelance bloggers in your field. I’m willing to bet they didn’t become authority bloggers by writing for free. Once you start putting your foot down on unreasonable client requests, you’ll start to position yourself as one of those pro bloggers at the top of their game — confident, in demand, and worth every penny.
As well as the obvious time and productivity benefits of standing your ground with clients, saying no can also reduce your stress levels.
Personally, I hate feeling overwhelmed. And last-minute contract changes, working on uncertain promises and unreasonable client requests all make me feel like this. Whereas a little a bit of pressure can be a good thing, I usually produce my best work when I feel relatively secure.
How to say no gracefully
There’s a certain etiquette to saying no to a client.
Though replying with a one-word answer will certainly get your point across, it will almost definitely burn your bridges for future projects.
So, how exactly do you politely decline a request made by a client? In my experience, crafting a short and uncomplicated reply usually does the trick.
Here’s a suggested email template you can use to relay your message clearly while still showing your gratitude:
I’ve learned that although saying no can be difficult, in most cases, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
So the next time you’re asked to work for free, wrestle with scope creep, or otherwise meet unreasonable expectations, remind yourself why your client came to you in the first place: they wanted your knowledge, your skills, your expertise, and your talent — all of which they presumably don’t have themselves.