What is a Freelance Retainer?
If you’ve ever hired a freelancer, or even just thought about it, you may have heard the term retainer banded about. As a specialist healthcare and tech/cyber copywriter, I often write about retainers, but trust me, this blog has nothing to do with teeth! Instead, it has everything to do with a certain type of contract between freelancers and clients.
I’m not going to lie, most freelancers prefer retainers. They give us a guaranteed cash income each month until either party ends the agreement. This is important for us, since contrary to popular belief, freelancers work for real money, not exposures. Sadly, exposures don’t pay the bills unless you are a z-list celebrity! Nevertheless, when it comes to hiring a freelancer on a retainer basis, many clients don’t fully understand what it means for them and their business. Having been asked to explain it several times already this year, I thought I would cover it in a blog post.
So, what is a freelance retainer?
A freelance retainer is a legally binding contractual agreement between you/your business and your chosen freelancer. The usual structure of a freelance retainer is the freelancer guaranteeing the client X number of hours per week/month at a set monthly fee. However, I and many other copywriters also offer package retainers based on your content requirements. For example, I have one client on retainer where they are guaranteed 4 blog posts each month, every month, until the contract runs out or one of us wants to cancel it.
Exactly how, when and where the work included in your freelance retainer is carried out is subject to the terms of your specific contract. For example, one of my retainers requires me to deliver two blogs by 15th of every month. When and where I choose to work on these is up to me. Another sees me working every Thursday afternoon for the same client as it fits best with their needs and I am available at that time. However, in most instances, the hours in which your freelancer will complete the work will be dictated by them.
What NOT to do in a freelance retainer…
Every retainer contract is a negotiation between you and your freelancer, so exactly what you can expect from your working relationship will vary. However, unless you have agreed it with your freelancer in advance, it’s not cool to:
- Call or text your freelancer outside of their regular office hours.
- Whatsapp your freelancer, ever.
- Ask ‘can you just take a quick look at this for me, it’s a five minute job’ and expect not to be invoiced. Clue: it’s never, ever a five minute job.
- Expect your freelancer to get back to you right away. They have other clients too. And a life - well we do when we aren’t in lockdown anyway!
- Treat them like an employee. We don’t get the benefits of being an employee (paid holiday, sick pay, pension, cushty gym membership etc) so please remember this! We generally don’t need to attend whole team huddles, and we don’t have a clause that says we need to be available to you at all times in your regular employee’s hours.
- Try and dictate your freelancer’s hours. Most of us are freelance because we need/enjoy the flexibility of working when it is most convenient for us to!
- Micro-manage us. We don’t like it and we really don’t need it. Thanks.
- Tell us about your bunions, your vet’s bills or your looming divorce. It’s awks.
- Not pay your invoices on time. This applies to all clients, retainer or not.
How are retainers paid?
Retainers are nearly always invoiced and paid upfront. The reason for this is that you are securing a space in your freelancer’s diary – a space that they could otherwise use for another client or project. This is standard practice across the industry.
What if I need work above and beyond the retainer one month?
The needs of businesses fluctuate from time to time, so as freelancers, we fully expect that some months you may need more time/services than your current retainer allows for. Every freelancer is different. For me personally, I agree the extra services in writing upfront, make sure I can fit them into the timeframe necessary, and then invoice the extra as an additional payment at the end of the month rather than mixing it up with retainer invoices. But if you regularly need over and above what your freelance retainer is set for, it’s worth contacting your freelancer and renegotiating your contract to reflect these. Otherwise there may come a month where your freelancer isn’t available and can’t fit you in!
Why should my business hire a freelancer on retainer?
Probably the most important question of all: why should your business hire a freelancer on retainer? I generally always recommend retainers for businesses who have ongoing content needs. Hiring a freelancer on retainer means that you will get the benefit of their skills and expertise for the contracted number of hours or pieces of content per month, every month, without having to try and fight for availability with them. Believe me, some of the best freelancers* get booked up weeks or even months in advance, so this is a real advantage. A freelancer retainer also helps you to keep control of your budget.
Finally, a freelance retainer is a great way to build a solid, lasting relationship with your freelancer. When we work with clients on a monthly basis, we get a better understanding of your product or service, your brand identity and your goals. We can and will use this information to add further value to the work that we produce, benefitting you and your business! Want to know more about the benefits of hiring freelancers? Check out this awesome article.
Want to know more about getting a freelance retainer with me? Email me to tell me about your content needs. Got questions about retainers in general? Drop me a message on any of my social media channels - you can find me on Twitter, LinkedIn and even Instagram!
*Who are the best freelancers? I’m part of an amazing freelance community and am fortunate enough to know some of the best in the business. If I can’t help you, there’s a very good chance I know an incredible freelancer who can!