Client Red Flag Bingofor Writers and copywriters
How many have you heard? Tap each one that sounds familiar.
Today’s board · 25 Oct
What is Client Red Flag Bingo?
Client Red Flag Bingo is a free BrieflyGo game for freelancers: a 5×5 board of the things difficult clients say — “it’ll be great for your portfolio”, “just one more small change”, “we’ll sign the contract later”. Tap the ones you’ve heard, get your score and a shareable card, and see a practical way to protect yourself from each flag. There’s a new board every day, drawn from over 50 client lines. No sign-up, nothing you tap is linked to you.
Glossary: what a “client red flag” is →Client red flags for writers and copywriters, and what to do
General practices freelancers use — put them in your quote or contract before the project starts.
| Red flag | Practice | How to protect yourself |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000-word test article, unpaid | Paid trial only | Point to your portfolio or offer a short paid test. No unpaid spec work. |
| It’ll be great for your portfolio | Paid trial only | Offer a small paid starter package. If you do work free, cap it in writing. |
| Paid in ad revenue share | Fixed fee | Your fee stands on its own — no discounts for promised future work, no exposure instead of pay. |
| Just polish this ChatGPT draft | Written scope | Price it as editing or a rewrite — say which, in writing. |
| Shorter, but add more | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| Fit thirty keywords in naturally | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Make it sound like us (no style guide) | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Make it punchier | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| Just one more small change | Revision limit | Count the rounds. Extras go on a change order. |
| Twelve people edited the Google Doc | One approver, set hours | Name one person who approves, and state your working hours and response time. |
| Legal rewrote your headline | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| Make it go viral | No guaranteed results | You deliver the work, not rankings, virality or conversions. Say so in writing. |
| Can you guarantee conversions? | No guaranteed results | You deliver the work, not rankings, virality or conversions. Say so in writing. |
| Should only take five minutes, right? | Written scope | Price the deliverable, not their guess at the effort. |
| Can you also design the graphics? | Change order | Every new request gets a short written quote before any work starts. |
| Fifty product descriptions by Monday | Rush fee | Anything faster than your standard timeline carries a rush fee, agreed in writing. |
| Write first, brief later | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Kill fee? What’s a kill fee? | Kill fee | If the client cancels, they pay for work done plus an agreed share of the rest. |
| We ran it through an AI detector | Written scope | Agree up front how originality will be checked, and by which tool. |
| “Paying next week” — every week | Payment terms | Due dates, a late fee and a pause clause. |
| Your name won’t be on it | Credit and portfolio rights | Agree credit and whether you can show the work. Price ghostwriting accordingly. |
| Research is included, right? | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| I’ll know it when I see it | Written scope | Get the brief signed off, with approval checkpoints. |
| Cancels halfway, wants a refund | Kill fee | A kill fee clause covers work already done. |
| $1.50 per article, lots of volume | Fixed fee | Your fee stands on its own — no discounts for promised future work, no exposure instead of pay. |
| Pay per 1,000 page views | Fixed fee | Your fee stands on its own — no discounts for promised future work, no exposure instead of pay. |
| A bestseller! Royalties later. | Fixed fee | Your fee stands on its own — no discounts for promised future work, no exposure instead of pay. |
| Needs SEO. Keyword: everything. | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| White paper by Thursday? | Rush fee | Anything faster than your standard timeline carries a rush fee, agreed in writing. |
| Paid per click, not per piece | Fixed fee | Your fee stands on its own — no discounts for promised future work, no exposure instead of pay. |
| Need it ASAP. Like, yesterday. | Rush fee | Rush fee, in writing, before you start. |
| Won’t name any budget | Tiered packages | Ask for a range, then send tiered options. |
| Can you do a free sample? | Paid trial only | Point to your portfolio or offer a paid test. |
| Feedback from five different bosses | One approver, set hours | One named approver. Feedback arrives consolidated. |
| Ghosts for weeks, then “URGENT” | Client-delay clause | A client-delay clause moves the deadline; keeping the old one costs a rush fee. |
| Changes the brief after approval | Change order | The approved brief is locked; changes go on a change order. |
| We can pay you in exposure | Fixed fee | Quote your rate. Exposure is a bonus, never the fee. |
| “That’s not what I asked for” | Written scope | Keep approvals in writing and quote them back. |
| Unlimited revisions included, right? | Revision limit | Strike “unlimited” and set a number of rounds. |
| Haggles after delivery | Fixed fee | The signed quote is the price. |
| Shorter? Like, five words? | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| Rewrite it, but don’t change anything | Revision limit | Set a number of revision rounds. Extra rounds are billed at a stated rate. |
| Can you also post it for us? | Change order | Every new request gets a short written quote before any work starts. |
| We’ll pay when it ranks | No guaranteed results | You’re paid for the writing, not for where it ranks. |
| Make it sound less like AI | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Use our 2009 brand guide | Written scope | List exactly what’s included — deliverables, formats, quantities — and what isn’t. |
| Ghostwrite my LinkedIn daily? | Credit and portfolio rights | Agree credit and whether you can show the work. Price ghostwriting accordingly. |
| Our CEO wants to add a paragraph | One approver, set hours | Name one person who approves, and state your working hours and response time. |
| Can you translate it too? | Change order | Every new request gets a short written quote before any work starts. |
| No sources needed, just make it up | Written scope | Agree on sources up front — you’re not paid to invent facts. |
Already signed with a red-flag client?
Check what your contract says about payment, revisions and rights — free, in about a minute.
Questions
What is a client red flag?
A sign early in a project that a client may cause trouble later: refusing a contract, pushing for free samples, haggling before you’ve quoted, vague briefs, or “we pay when we get paid”. One flag isn’t a verdict, but several together usually mean scope creep or late payment ahead.
How do I protect myself from difficult clients?
Most red flags are handled by a few habits put in writing: a clear scope, a set number of revision rounds, a deposit before you start, payment terms with a late fee, change orders for new requests, and rights that transfer only on full payment. Each square on the board links its own tip.
Is Client Red Flag Bingo free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it’s free and there’s no sign-up. Your board is kept in the link itself — there’s no account to tie it to. We only keep anonymous usage stats, like how often each square is tapped.
Which boards are there?
A general board for every freelancer, plus boards for designers, developers, writers and copywriters, and photographers and videographers. Each one has 24 squares and a free centre square.
Does the board change?
Yes. Every board draws its 24 squares from a larger pool of client lines, and there’s a new board every day — the same for everyone, so you can compare scores with friends. “New board” deals fresh lines from the same edition, and each edition (Agency, Cheap Client, Payment Nightmare, Worst of 2026 and the profession boards) has its own set. The classics show up on most boards.
How do I challenge a friend?
Finish a board and press “Challenge a freelancer”. Your friend gets the exact same board, sees your score, and when they finish, both scores appear side by side.
Is this legal advice?
No. The tips are general business practices freelancers use. For a contract with real money at stake, have it checked — you can run a free risk check on BrieflyGo or talk to a lawyer.
Just for fun. Tips are general business practices, not legal advice — for a contract with real money at stake, get it reviewed. Last updated .