Freelance Writers & Bloggers: How to Bill and Get Paid Quickly

As a freelance writer and blogger, I have all types of clients. Some are individual website owners; others are internet marketing firms and I have a few that are mid- to large corporations.

My favorite clients are small business owners (online entrepreneurs, individual website owners, independent graphic design firms, etc.). Why? Because they are the decisionmakers. There’s nothing like having to go through a bunch of red tape to hold up your money. With small business owners, they make the decision, and they usually pay right away because they know what it’s like to have to wait for payment.

As small business owners are my favorite type of client, these are the ones I target in my marketing. Following is an inside peek at how I get paid.

How Companies Pay: The Difference between a Small Biz Owner & a Large Corporation

The vast majority of my clients pay via PayPal (like 98-99%). I have a couple of clients who don’t. One is a mid-size firm that pays by check. The following is why I tend to target small businesses instead of larger corporations.

I bill clients once a week – on Fridays – for all projects completed during that week (I’m rethinking this in light of some recent problems, but that’s another post).

This client gets me out of my billing routine because instead of sending a PayPal invoice, I have to create a paper invoice (which I do in Word) and email it to the account rep. They also pay once a month (instead of weekly), which is another undesirable billing thing.

After I email the account rep the monthly invoice, she then has to have her superiors sign off on it before forwarding it to the accounting department, who then cuts me a check and mails it – from California (it goes to my Georgia address).

Now, they always pay promptly – so this is not the problem. The problem is that it would be so much easier for me if I could just send them a PayPal invoice while doing my regular billing. Then, I wouldn’t have to prepare a separate invoice, wait on a check to arrive in the mail, then go to the bank to deposit it.

Getting Paid Immediately

Most of my clients pay quickly via PayPal. In fact, sometimes before I can log out of PayPal and log back into my email account, I’ve received a payment received notification for invoices that I just sent out. That’s how quick and easy it is to get paid via PayPal.

How to Market for Clients Who Pay Promptly

The whole point of this post is, if you’re a freelance writer or blogger, keep how you’re going to bill and get paid in mind when you’re deciding who your target market should be.

Most larger companies have payment procedures in place that must be adhered to. They’re not likely to change them for you. You’re most likely going to have to fall in line with their payment practices.

And, this usually means a longer wait when it comes to getting paid.

Are you a freelance writer or blogger? How do you bill? How do you get paid?

Written by Yuwanda Black from Inkwell Editorial
Posted on December 9th, 2008 and filed under Making Money
Do not forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for updates

1