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[Pasan Premaratne] In our previous video, we decided that the best source of clients

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if you're new to freelance writing are your personal contacts.

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Now let's assume that we have found this hypothetical client from among our contacts and are about to embark on a project with them.

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The initial meeting you have with a client is very important, and it sets the tone for how everything will pan out—

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the project, the workflow, and the relationship you eventually develop with your client.

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In the first meeting there are lots of things to cover. But before we get into any of that, let's spend a little bit of time talking about attitude.

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When you meet the client for the first time, it's up to you to set the right tone.

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Come off as too nice and certain clients might walk all over you—taking a long time to get back or not even paying your fee.

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Be too rigid or too aggressive and you might turn the client off.

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The point of freelancing is not to just get work done so you can get paid.

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If you approach it that way, you're going to see the client as a hindrance and just something in the way of your check.

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If you view your goal as delivering the best experience for your client and you so that you gain mutual benefit,

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then you will have a long and happy life as a freelancer.

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There are bad clients, no doubt, but the best freelancers and those who are happy in their craft

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are those who have learned to make the best of every situation.

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All right. So let's go back to talking about that first meeting.

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What should we go over with our client?

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Well there's quite a bit, so let's break it down into the following sections:

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client goals, the target audience and detailed feature requests, and administrative stuff.

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Not all clients are a match made in heaven. It is your job to make sure that your client is a good fit for you.

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With our first few clients, we may not be able to pick and choose like we want.

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But as you get better and seek out work, you need to make sure that this is a project you want to work on

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and this is a client that you want to work with.

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There are many ways you can figure this out. But the best way is to ask a series of questions.

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These questions make it easy for you to understand the clients goals,

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and they're short and simple enough to include as a questionnaire on your website, email to your client, or even ask in person.

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When preparing for this part, do a bit of research. There's plenty of generic questions out there that apply to all clients.

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In fact, I've included a list in the downloads below.

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Other than that, do some research on the clients themselves to get a better understanding of what questions to ask.

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What excites you about this project? This is a great first question to ask because you can immediately figure out what the client's vision is.

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A lot of clients find it hard to explain the project expectations and goals, but by framing the question differently and getting them excited,

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you can start to understand the motivations behind the project, any problems with existing solutions, and what their desired outcomes are.

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Next ask them to tell you briefly about their company. What does the company do? What products does it sell?

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Or if you're not working for a company, ask about the entity behind the project, whether it's a person, group, or organization.

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Get a feel for the company and the culture within.

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Great websites communicate this culture of the company. But before you can design for that, you need to understand what it means.

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What problems does the business solve?

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Understand what problems the company is trying to solve with its existing products or services.

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The aesthetic and feel of the website, as well as its functionality, needs to be in tune with the problem that the company is solving.

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Next ask them what makes their product better than those of their competitors?

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All websites are selling something, whether it's an actual product, service, or whether it's you and your persona.

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The website is meant to highlight why you or the product is better than anything else out there.

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In order to do that for the client, you need to know what the unique selling points of the product or service are

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or what the company's competitive edge is.

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Only then can you do a great job of highlighting it and making the website serve its purpose.

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Ask them why they want this website. Ask them to describe their goals.

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Websites aren't just something you get done because it's nice to have.

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They cost time and money to set up and more time and money to maintain and update.

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So they should serve a specific business purpose.

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Find out the reason you will be creating the website. What goals does the company seek to achieve through the website?

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Is it to increase sales, brand awareness, or customer interaction?

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Each of these warrant a different design with different objectives.

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Understanding these goals can help you plan your solutions.

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Those questions should serve as a good starting point when exploring your client's goals.

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For more questions check out the list I've provided below.