Writers and web designers spend a lot of time thinking about how to please clients. But I suspect our clients don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to please us which, in most cases, is squarely our fault. What follows is a manifesto list of requests for all would-be clients, mine and yours, in the New Year to come. Many are obvious, but I think a lot of writers and creatives (especially newbies) spend too much time quietly suffering–and the work suffers as a result.

So even if you don’t show this Wish List to actual clients, read it, keep it, and remember to ask for what you deserve (or settle forever for less). It will make your work stronger and ultimately, make both you and your client more successful.

Dear Client(s) — In the New Year, please:

1. Stop price-fishing. Here’s a scenario: I get an email request through a referral (like a professional association or another client’s colleague) for a quote with the barest of details about a new project. I explain that each project is different, but do my best to quote a number or range of numbers. And then I never hear back–not even a thanks. What?! If you’re serious, negotiate. Better yet, get on the phone and ask questions. But do not, do not, do not waste our time trying to get a quote without so much as a “Thanks for your time.”
2. Don’t withhold payment. If you want more work done, or you’re not satisfied with an outcome, talk to your writer or creative pro. Get on the phone. Me? I love to talk. I can talk for six straight hours about a project. But when you hang onto a check or criticize your contractor (rather than pay) on the due date, you’re fired. Client-writer/designer relationships are a two-way street. This is my livelihood. Try this same stunt with a plumber and see what your bathroom looks like after he “fixes” that “leak.” Lori Widmer has a great post about this called What Doesn’t Wash.
3. Don’t ask for work, and then ask for revisions based on third-party feedback. I’m not the first one to identify this issue in the writing world, but it’s also an issue in web design and other creative work. We labor over a mockup or draft only to have the client show it to an “expert.” (Funny, I thought that’s what we were?) The “expert” wants us to break rules and go back to the drawing board. When the expert is paying me, I’ll gladly work for him/her. Until then, you need to take control of your own business, brand and destiny BEFORE you contract creative. (Lori’s post above mentions this issue, too–and using contracts to nip it in the bud.) The confusion and scope creep this creates is never worth the “extra input” you think you’re getting.
4. Listen. Listening doesn’t just apply to phone calls. It applies to emails, too. If you like email communication, make sure you read replies, suggestions and contracts carefully before tapping out a quickie reply on your smartphone. Being a writer, I take all communication pretty seriously; when I write a brief or create an outline with questions in an email to a client, chances are, I spent at least an hour on it. Please respond in kind. A writer’s whole JOB is to listen–but when you don’t listen back (listen also means “read” in this century), you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Good creatives won’t waste your time with small questions. Just big, gnarly, important ones.
5. Say “thank you.” Some clients never, ever thank their creatives. Like the bosses of Christmases past, they’re too busy for thanks. They tell us about their lives and businesses. They confide in us about their own customer gripes. And we listen. So even if they pay on time, it really stings when they never turn around and say, “Hey you. Thank you.” The thing is, sometimes, it’s really all we need to hear!
6. Never give up. Work really hard. Make your creative partners proud. If you pay me $5,000 over the course of a year for work and then disappear or give up, I’m so disappointed I could cry. I imagine it’s what parents feel when their kids daydream at softball and get whacked in the head by that ONE MIRACULOUS ball that makes it all the way out to right field. (I remember the look on my dad’s face, OK?)  Seriously: I invest a lot of myself, personally and professionally, in giving my clients the tools they need to get from point A to point B. When they linger en route or pout, I feel sad and I want to help. So when I say, “Can I help?” I really mean it, folks. I really do. And so does your writer, creative, web designer or consultant.