Every piece of communication that you have with you clients or customers should be used as a branding opportunity so that you’re memorable and are able to stand-out from the pack.
While that’s not a problem when using your blog, email, or social media, your branding may not be as obvious when it comes to invoicing. But, your invoices are just as capable of becoming a marketing and money machine if you add personalization to your invoices.
Here are 10 Ways To Add Personalization To Your Invoices
1. Mention Your Client By Name
“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language” – Dale Carnegie.
Apparently, Carnegie was onto something since it’s been found that hearing your name lights up an entirely different part of our brain than any other word or phrase. Mentioning your client or customer by name is one of the simplest ways to personalize an invoice, as well as grab their attention since it shows that there’s an existing relationship.
If you want to get really personal, don’t forget to include your name in the comments section. Writing, “Thanks for the payment, John” is definitely more personal than a generic, “Thanks.”
2. Add Your Logo/Headshot
Adding your brand’s logo helps to separate your invoice from rest of the desk full of documents that your clients are thumbing through. More importantly, you’re 3x more likely to get paid if you add a company logo to your invoice.
If you’re a freelancer, you probably don’t have an invoice. And, that’s perfectly fine. Instead, show your beautiful face so that the client can put a face to your name. It also can humanize your brand and build trust between you and the client.
Just remember to use either a professional headshot, like the one you have on LinkedIn, or one that’s appropriate. A picture of you drunk-as-a-skunk isn’t the most professional option, nor one that you want to promote.
3. Match Your Brand’s Colors and Fonts
Essentially every invoicing software or template allows you to customize your invoices by changing the color and font of the invoice. This allows you to further brand your invoices so that they’re easily recognizable. For example, if you’re a landscaping company and you have lots of green throughout your website, social channels, business cards, and logo, then you should consider adding some green to your invoices.
4. Showcase Your Skills
If you’re a freelance writer, then your invoice should be free of any grammatical errors and full of wonderfully written language. If you’re a graphic designer, you should create your own invoice templates that amaze your clients when they open-them-up.
Another way to showcase your skills is by including a sample of your work, such as a picture. If you’re a dog walker send a pic of you and your furry friends. If you’re a baker, send a couple of images of you making some delicious baked goods.
5. Find Your Voice
Every brand has a voice. And, even though is an important financial document, you can still show off your personality. If your brand is more casual and quirky, then don’t be afraid to show that part of your personality in your invoices by selecting an off-the-wall template or cracking some jokes.
But, if you’re a professional, like an attorney or accountant, you should probably lean towards a more on the formal side.
6. Know Your Customer’s History With Your Business
In the comments section, you could make special mention of the history between your and the client or customer. For instance, your message could be; “Tim, thanks for letting us serve all of your bookkeeping needs for the last six years. Here’s to hoping for six more!”
It’s a small and personal touch that can go a long way since it demonstrates that you sincerely care about their business.
7. Send Invoices In Your Customer’s Local Language/Currency
If you have customers in different parts of the world then send invoices in their local language or currency. Again, this is a small and personal touch that proves that you’ve taken the time to learn more about them personally. If you think that this is too complicated, invoicing platforms like Due allow you to send invoices in your clients’ language, automatically.
8. Hook Your Customers Up
You can also use the comments section to give your customers a little present to thank them for their business. This could either by a discount on future work, a coupon if they refer your business, connecting them with another freelancer they might need to hire, or a link where they can download a white paper for free.
Just remember that whatever you determine to give you client should be something that is valuable to them. For example, if you’re a photography you may not have repeat customers every month. So a discount on future work may not be that appealing. However, a referral program could encourage your customers to spread the word to their network.
9. Learn More About Your Clients/Customers
Knowing some personal information outside of the business relationship that you have with the customer is another way to extend a personal touch. Let’s say that you invoice them on May 15 and you know that their birthday is coming up on May 21, you could simply wish them a happy birthday in the comments section.
If you don’t know much about your customers, ask them some questions in the comments section or include a survey so that you not only know how to connect with them in the future but also how to address their pain points.
10. Convey Your Thanks
Finally, when thanking your clients in an invoice share with them what you have learned from working with them. Explain why you enjoyed working on this specific project and tell them that you’re looking forward to working with them again in the future. It may not seem like much, but it shows that working with them was more than just a paycheck.
Conclusion
Personalizing your invoices doesn’t have to be overly complex thanks to invoicing software. Sure. It may take you a couple of extra minutes, but when you’re able to build and strengthen the relationship that you have with a client or customer, the faster you’ll get paid and the more likely they’ll support your business in the future.
