Ask any creative freelancer what keeps the lights on and you’ll hear the usual suspects: a killer portfolio and enviable network… perhaps a knack for ideas that win awards. All of these things matter. But none of them will save you if you fail at the one skill that separates those who thrive from those who disappear. And that’s communication.
After more than two decades of running my own ventures, I’ve seen the same pattern play out. The designers, photographers, and illustrators who keep clients for years aren’t always the most gifted. They’re the ones who stay in touch. Who set expectations. Who respect a client’s time as much as their own. It sounds simple, but it’s the difference between a one-off gig and a relationship that lasts for decades.
Silence Is the Fastest Way to Lose a Client
Here’s a brutal truth many creatives don’t want to hear. If a client is chasing you for an update, you’re doing something seriously wrong.
That single email, “Hey, just wondering if you’ve had a chance to look at this?”, is a flashing red light. It means you’ve left them guessing. And when someone is paying you to solve a problem, guessing feels like a breach of trust.
I’ve been on the other side of that silence. It’s infuriating. And it’s why one of our ventures still works with some of the same clients we landed over twenty years ago. We never disappear. Even when a project is delayed, we explain the reason and provide a revised timescale. Nine times out of ten, clients understand. What they won’t forgive is being left in the dark.
Why Clients Need More Than Great Work
Clients aren’t emailing to be annoying. They have their own dead