4 Reasons Why a Diversified Client Mix is Essential

I’m about to say something that may shock you. I think specializing in one kind of writing is a bit of a trap. That’s coming from me, a specialist.

If you were taking part in yesterday’s #FreelanceChat on Twitter, you might have seen the topic of a diverse portfolio of clients come up. Someone asked if having so much variety in one’s freelancing days built confidence.

What a great question. There’s someone who’s thinking critically. And it’s a question that should get every one of us thinking about how vulnerable we are simply because of who are clients are.

Yes, I’m talking about going outside of your current box. You generalists are already well-positioned for any market. You specialists (and my finger is pointing at myself, too), your the ones who need to address this particular elephant in the room.

That’s not to say you have to leave your specialty or even stray that far from it. Every specialty area has connections to another and another and …. I write about insurance, but I’ve also written about construction, healthcare, consumer products, safety, cybersecurity, technology, retirement planning, you name it. It happened naturally. One was somewhat connected to another and that one led to two more and so on.

But getting back to the question that spurred this conversation: That writer is right —

[bctt tweet=”Having a lot of different #freelancewriting projects and clients in your orbit builds confidence.” username=”LoriWidmer”]

If you can handle healthcare writing and additive manufacturing writing, when that prospective client asks if you can handle construction, real estate, or even property management writing, you’re not going to hesitate. Well, maybe just long enough to decide if it’s an area you want to write in.

If you’ve done many different things in many different areas, you’re going to have the confidence to say yes — and to say no. That last part isn’t always easy, is it? But if it doesn’t fit, you’re going to feel better positioned to say so instead of trying desperately to find ways to fit it into your current skill set. (Admit it — you’ve done it. So have I.)

Oh, but there are other benefits to diversifying your client mix. Here are some of the ones I think make it worth your efforts:

Diversification benefit #1: if one industry is hit with a recession, you may still have work from the others.

I don’t think any writer would argue how much that point alone makes the case for diversification. Not this year, anyway. As the lid blew off most of our clients’ lives, plenty of freelancers saw work disappear and not yet return. But those with a more diverse client mix are still working, maybe not at the same level as before, but the checks are still coming in. The same thing applies when a client drops out of your orbit — your entire existence is not dependent on that one client since you have others, and you have plenty of areas where you can find new clients.

Diversification benefit #2: you get to expand into new areas, cementing an even better background (and better rates).

This is a big deal. Expanding into a new area, if you do it strategically, could come with higher demand for your services, which means you can raise your rates. One gig I had last year paid $1.50 a word. That led to a bigger job that paid $2 a word. And there were a lot of words, so cha-ching, right? But the last client to hire me saw all of this varied background on my CV and knew I could handle the projects they were going to give me. It pays to have a wider background, it really does.

Diversification benefit #3: you see more evenly paced work (and pay).

Right now I work with eight clients, but not all the time. One client comes around four times a year. Another wants articles every few months, sometimes more often. Two have monthly projects for me, and another has weekly projects for me. The others show up as the need arises. Some of these clients are coming from vastly different areas: ergonomics, retirement planning, staffing, insurance, publishing, and healthcare. Because their needs vary, so will the amount of money I earn monthly — if I worked with just a few clients, that is. By having so many different industries and so many different clients at various times, I’m able to keep work steady and earnings almost predictable.

There will be fluctuations in both work and earnings. Stuff happens, like 2020. My earnings spiked significantly this year because my workload nearly tripled. But I know that’s going to change, possibly by January. So I look to the clients I have and look for hints on where I might like to market next.

Diversification benefit #4: your confidence is up, and so is your freelance success.

Let’s end where we started: confidence. You, writer with a wide array of client industries and personalities, are now more adept at selling yourself, at addressing the client wish list, at handling more types of projects, at mastering a few new areas well enough to have a subspecialty, if you want. Or maybe you’ve done enough content editing or case study writing to be considered a bit of a specialist in that area.

Go forth and sell that, my friend. Because now that you have all the expertise under your belt, you’re not going to hesitate to say “Sure, I do that.” And you’re not going to hesitate when you state your rate.

Right there is the secret sauce that comes from diversifying your client mix.

Now go on, expand that horizon.

Writers, how diversified is your client mix and skill set?
What area can you start marketing in right now? How does it relate to your current area(s) of concentration?