Working With International Clients: The Digital Setup Writers Need
These days, a freelance writer in a little town can apply for tasks in Berlin, Singapore, and Toronto within a week. That's one of the advantages of freelancing, although not the only one.
These days, a freelance writer in a little town can apply for tasks in Berlin, Singapore, and Toronto within a week. That’s one of the advantages of freelancing, although not the only one. However, it’s followed by a list of small troubles that not many people warn a newcomer about in advance. For example, how will you get paid if your client banks in a different currency? Will it be hard to respond to your client if it’s midnight in their time zone? What if you work from an unfamiliar coffee shop and suddenly need to send some confidential information?
This article will discuss the digital setup that makes working with international clients easy and seamless for a writer. You’ll see that none of these things requires you to have much experience or technical knowledge. It’s enough to choose a couple of useful tools and develop a few good habits.
Getting Paid Without Losing Money on Exchanging Currency
First of all, payment can be quite tricky and lead to unpleasant surprises. It’s impossible to pay a freelancer from another country via your bank account. If the setup you use isn’t right, the percentage taken for currency exchange and other fees can be really high.
There are a few services you should know about. Wise is popular among writers because it uses the mid-market exchange rate and shows you the fee upfront. Payoneer is a good choice for those writers who get their orders through large platforms and marketplaces since they can pay you directly using it. PayPal is the most widely used, but the currency conversion can be more expensive than with other services, so compare the options before choosing.
Here are a couple of habits that can save you money and prevent trouble:
- Discuss in advance who will cover the transfer fees, and include them in your rate.
- Have a small balance of the currency you get paid in most frequently, and exchange your currency when the rate is good rather than the minute your money comes.
It also helps to keep your client payments in one account. This will make your work much easier at tax season and if a client wants to have a payment history.
Working Across Different Time Zones Without Being Silent
Many freelance writers face problems caused by different time zones. But it’s usually not the time itself. The main issue that causes problems is silence. If a client writes an email at 9 a.m. their time and receives no answer for fourteen hours, they may think you haven’t seen the message because you were asleep.
The solution lies in a combination of a tool and a habit. First of all, download a world clock app or browser extension that allows you to see two or three time zones at a glance. This will help you to stop doing the calculations in your head. Second, when scheduling the meeting, use scheduling tools like Calendly, which converts the time automatically so that no one schedules a meeting for 3 a.m.
The habit is more important than the tool. Explain to your client when you are usually at work and how fast you reply to messages. A brief sentence like “I’m usually at my desk between 9 and 6, Vietnam time, and I answer messages within one working day” eliminates almost all misunderstandings. Once they know your schedule, silence will no longer seem like ignoring them. You will also have the ability to find a small period of overlapping time when you and your client are usually at work. Use this time for everything that requires a conversation.
Using Communication Tools Which Your Client Uses
You can have the best samples of your writing, but if a client has to learn how to communicate with you, it will cause lots of problems and waste lots of time. The main idea is to meet clients where they already work.
E-mail communication is typical for professional work, but it’s still worth organizing it properly by using folders or labels for each client. Also, lots of teams work in Slack, so being skilled in it is a real advantage. For sharing files and drafts, Google Docs is the easiest common tool, which can be opened, commented on, and edited inline. When you need to organize a project, use tools like Trello, Asana, or Notion to share a workflow.
Video calls will help you to bridge the gap left by text communication. A call at the beginning of your cooperation will build trust faster than many professional e-mails and will help to clarify expectations before starting to write. Don’t make your call sophisticated; just make sure you have good audio, a stable connection, and a quiet room.
Protecting Client Files and Accounts From Everywhere
Cooperation with international clients is usually associated with frequent traveling. Working from different coffee shops and coworking spaces will allow you to work from anywhere, but it increases the risk of losing the confidentiality of your clients’ materials.
Start with client accounts. Use a password manager like Bitwarden or 1Password to make sure each client login has its own strong password, and turn on two-factor authentication where it’s available, especially in the case of e-mail and cloud storage. One reused password can become a reason for exposing your clients’ work that hasn’t been published yet, and that can break the relationship forever.
The thing most writers forget about is their internet connection. It’s convenient to use public Wi-Fi networks at hotels, cafés, and coworking spaces, but you can’t be sure who else uses them or if the connection is secure. You’ll definitely get into trouble when you log into the client content management system, open the shared drive with your drafts, or send an invoice containing your bank information.
A VPN, the virtual private network, will help you to overcome this trouble. It encrypts the connection between your computer and the Internet, so even on an unknown hotel Wi-Fi network, your traffic will look like a mess to anyone who tries to intercept it. For a writer who works from different places, it means that you can open the client account from an unknown Wi-Fi without the fear of being watched. Just turn on the VPN before connecting to something unfamiliar and use it during the entire session. It’s a small habit that helps to protect both your reputation and your clients’ trust.
Creating Contracts and Sending Invoices Professionally
Professional documents prove your professionalism. A simple contract with the scope of work, the rate, the deadline, and the payment terms can save everyone from vague misunderstandings that appear during the final stage of a project.
To prepare such documents, you don’t need any legal skills. Most writers use a template for each new client and sign the contract using Dropbox Sign or DocuSign. For sending invoices, use Wave or the invoicing feature of your payment platform. They will allow you to send clean, numbered invoices, set a due date, and remind your clients of it.
Don’t forget about the different tax rules in various countries. Working from abroad can change your responsibilities, so it’s better to have a consultation with an accountant who understands how to deal with freelance income.
Bringing Everything Together
Working with international clients used to be a privilege of large agencies. Now a single writer with a laptop can do it easily, provided that the basis is right. Be sure you use the service that will not take too much money while exchanging the currency. Be clear with your schedule, so that silence won’t seem like neglect. Meet your client using the tools that they are familiar with. Protect your clients’ files and accounts as securely as your own.
All of these things require some time, and you don’t have to have everything ready before the first project. Choose one thing to improve, do it, and move on to the next one. Very soon, you will be able to forget about these things because your setup will be working in the background. You will spend all your time on writing.
