On the Internet, as in the physical world, reputation is everything. Because most of your clients won't be able to see or talk to you directly, their opinion of you will be based on the service you produce. If your services are low in quality, it takes nothing for them to spread word of this across the Internet, and as you would expect, this can hurt your sales in the long run. The good news is that there are many websites on the web where you can increase your reputation in a manner where others can see it.
Two of these places are message boards and the freelance job sites. As you get work through these places, be sure to get positive feedback from your clients. As you continue to get positive feedback, it will become easier for you to get projects from others, since you are now seen as being reliable.
Most importantly, once you've achieved a certain level of positive feedback, you will then be able to begin requesting advance deposits from your clients. As in the physical business world, word of mouth will play an important factor in your ability to succeed over the web.
One reason why you will want to avoid both perfectionists and cheapos is because these type of clients are often shady, and may give you unfair reviews based on the services you've done. It is crucial that you weed out these type of clients in advance so that you avoid wasting time and money, as well as putting your own reputation as risk. With these types, disputes are almost guaranteed, and the last thing you need is for them to post negative feedback for you on the web. Avoiding them is the wisest strategy.
As your reputation grows over the web, so will your sales. Word of mouth is a tool that is just as effective over the web as it is in the physical world, and you will often find that many of your clients will refer you to other people they know, and these people will become clients as well.
However, regardless of how hard you work, or how skilled you are, there will be times when you will have disputes with even the best of clients. How do you handle these situations?