Ghost Clients: How to stop disappearing acts

Every October, I’m reminded that some ghosts don’t just haunt Halloween. No, they also haunt designers’ inboxes as well. “Ghost clients” vanish without a word, leaving half-finished projects, unpaid invoices, or just silence where there should have been collaboration. It’s frustrating, but preventable if you set the right foundations.

I’ve had my fair share of hauntings. Those clients who are visible and vocal at the start of a project, full of energy, ideas and urgency, only to quietly fade into oblivion when you have questions or need approvals.

It’s confusing and frustrating, and can lead to resentment with thoughts like ‘Why can’t they answer my email as quickly as I do theirs? Where have they gone?!’ In those moments, when the doom ghost of despair takes hold, I fantasise about changing careers: ‘That’s it! I’m becoming a grave-digger. At least those ghosts still show up.’

The truth is, ghosting happens for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s genuinely beyond the client’s control: a family emergency, a company restructure or budget cuts they’re embarrassed to admit. But often, it’s simply because the boundaries, expectations and outcomes weren’t clear enough from the start. When briefs are vague, clients fade into the ether.

“That’s it! I’m going to become a grave-digger! At least those ghosts still show up.”

Here’s what I’ve learned about ghostproofing and staying sane when the specters slip through.

1. Set boundaries in writing: Avoiding ghost clients early

Clarity is your first line of defence. Outline timelines, milestones, and responsibilities from day one in writing. Not just over the phone. A strong contract isn’t about mistrust; it’s about mutual understanding. When expectations are clear, there’s less room for things to drift into the fog.

Your contract should include:

Project scope and deliverables — What exactly are you creating?
Timeline with specific milestones — When do you need feedback? When are drafts due?
Client responsibilities — When do they need to provide content, answer questions, or give approvals?
Communication protocols — How will you stay in touch? What’s the expected response time?
What happens if things stall — How long before the project is considered paused or cancelled?

A spicy lesson learned

When I first started out, I didn’t know better and was eager. Maybe too eager, in retrospect, which can be its own kind of blinker.

A new client, an Indian spice merchant, came through a trusted referral for a new website. I drove out to Hertfordshire to meet them: nice house, nice family, warm chat around the kitchen table about a new website. They didn’t have an office. But, then again, neither did I.

Back to London I went, full of enthusiasm, to craft conceptual pages showing the visual direction — rich photography, warm earthy colours, sophisticated typography, and a considered layout. I could almost smell the ingredients through the screen. The feedback was positive and gave me the impetus to start coding: I just needed the go-ahead to proceed.

Silence.

The scariest moment wasn’t the silence, it was realising I had no contract.

I told myself they were busy. A side hustle, perhaps? Maybe this was the side hustle!

I sent a polite email. Nothing. Waited a week. Another email. Silence. A month passed. Still nothing. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have a contract or the confidence to blindly send a final invoice. So I just shrugged and chalked it up as “well, it happens.” Maybe not quite in those words; I was annoyed with them and with myself. No, all I had was good faith and eagerness. Had they signed an agreement, I could have waived it under their nose (or their solicitor’s). Instead, I walked away. They had won. But, crucially, I had learnt something.

That lesson? Never mistake enthusiasm for protection. If you want more information about this, consider IPSE freelance resources which cover contracts, late payments, and setting clear terms. I wish I had known this when I started out.

Pictured: From cumin to contracts — my first lesson in boundaries had a surprisingly aromatic beginning.

An honest admission: I still don’t have formal contracts with some of my long-term clients. We’ve worked together for years, and a clear quotation and mutual trust have carried things just fine. But that’s the irony; I write about good boundaries while still learning to strengthen my own. The real takeaway is that even seasoned designers need to keep their ghost-busting gear in working order.

2. Don’t haunt the ghost: What to do when clients go silent

When a client goes quiet, resist the urge to keep chasing. There are often mundane reasons behind radio silence: holidays, illness, workload, or just bad timing. A polite follow-up or two is fine. But beyond that, constant emails or calls only drain your energy. Move on to more productive projects (or simply step away for a walk). Stewing in a cauldron of frustration helps no one, not even your inner witch.

Here’s my three-email rule:

Email 1 (Week 1):
Friendly check-in. “Hi [Name], just catching up on the logo concepts I sent last week. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy to jump on a call if that’s easier.”
Email 2 (Week 2):
More direct, acknowledge they might be busy. “Hi [Name], I know you may be busy. I just wanted to follow up once more on the logo direction. I’ve got [specific date] blocked to move forward with revisions once I hear from you.”
Email 3 (Week 3-4):
The project pause email. “Hi [Name], I haven’t heard back and respect your time. I’m going to pause the project for now. When you’re ready to move forward, just let me know and we can discuss next steps and timeline.”

After that, I don’t just move on and forget, I close it off properly.

If I’ve already invested time and delivered part of the work, I send a final invoice for the stage completed to that point. Chasing clients who’ve disappeared rarely brings them back, but invoicing sets a clear boundary: the work happened, and it has value.

Nine times out of ten, if they’re serious about the project, that final invoice or pause notice will either prompt a reply or give you permission to stop wondering.

A key insight

Ghosting isn’t always personal. Sometimes people get overwhelmed with projects outside of yours (spinning plates) and disappear rather than face what’s unfinished. By giving them an easy “out” with a pause email, you make it easier for them to re-engage when they’re ready and have the headspace to focus again. It’s not ideal, and it can derail that creative rhythm you were in, but it keeps the door open.

A pause notice and/or final invoice has power. It ends the guessing game.

3. Get a deposit: Your best defence against ghost clients

Nothing protects your time like an upfront payment. Asking for 50% at the start of a project isn’t audacious; it’s professional. It signals commitment from both sides and gives you peace of mind that your time is valued.

I used to feel awkward about deposits. Wasn’t I showing a lack of trust? Wouldn’t it scare clients away?

Then I realised: any client who balks at a reasonable deposit is waving a red flag. Serious clients understand that your time has value and that starting work requires commitment. A deposit filters out the time-wasters, the ‘just exploring options’ crowd, and the people who haven’t actually secured budget approval yet.

Beyond protecting you financially, deposits also protect you psychologically. When someone has paid you, they’re far more likely to stay engaged. They’ve made an investment, and they want to see it through. The clients who ghost? Often they’re the ones who never put any money down. Without that financial stake, the project never becomes corporeal enough to prioritise.

When someone has paid you, they’re far more likely to stay engaged.

4. Remember what’s really scary: Unpaid work

Unpaid work, or even late payment, is the true horror story (late payments cost the UK economy an estimated £11 billion* a year). Protect yourself with clear payment terms, staged invoices, and polite but firm follow-ups. Professional doesn’t mean passive.

Late payments are so normalised in creative industries that we’ve almost come to expect them. I mean, imagine if your internet provider didn’t get paid for three months and cheerfully kept providing service. It’s absurd. Yet somehow, designers are expected to be endlessly patient while chasing invoices.

Clear payment terms: 30 days from date of invoice issue.
Reminders: Automatic or not, send a reminder a week after the 30 days.
Late fees: Consider introducing a late fee with new clients (established ones with good payment history maybe not so much). This could be 5% after 7 days, another 5% after 14 days, for instance.
Know your legal options: For unpaid invoices, you have recourse. Depending on your location (I’m in the UK) and the amount owed, you can pursue small claims court, use a collections agency, or involve a solicitor. Many clients will settle quickly once they receive formal legal correspondence — something like a Letter Before Action (LBA) is often all that’s needed, and it won’t cost the earth.

The hardest part is staying firm without becoming cynical. You want to trust clients and build good relationships, but you also need to protect yourself. It’s a balance which gets easier with experience.

*Source: UK Government “Late Payments Research – Impact on the UK Economy” (2025).

You want to trust clients and build good relationships, but you also need to protect yourself.

5. Ghosting goes both ways

It’s worth saying: ghosting isn’t just a client problem. Suppliers do it too.

I recently made an enquiry about SEO services. No response. Nada. Not even a “thanks, but we’re not taking on new clients right now.” Just silence.

It reminded me that ghosting can be a two-way process. No matter the enquiry I receive, I always respond—even if I can’t help. At minimum, I’ll point someone in the right direction. It costs nothing to be courteous, and yet the silence from some suppliers is deafening.

Imagine if both parties ghosted each other. Two spectres, endlessly circling, waiting for the other to speak first. Would the world fall silent? Or would projects simply evaporate into the ether, never to materialise at all? Actually, they are probably just right for each other: a perfect haunting.

The lesson applies both ways: respect people’s time, acknowledge their outreach, and don’t leave anyone wondering if their message disappeared into a black hole. Whether you’re the client or the supplier, basic communication shouldn’t feel like a supernatural phenomenon.

Basic communication shouldn’t feel like a supernatural phenomenon.

A final word — Why ghost clients don’t have to haunt you

Ghosting isn’t about bad clients so much as weak boundaries. With clarity, deposits, and the confidence to move on, you can keep relationships respectful (and your sanity intact).

Over the years, I’ve learned that the clients who ghost aren’t usually trying to be malicious—they’re just disorganised, overwhelmed, or unsure how to handle the situation. The best thing you can do is create systems that prevent ghosting in the first place, and have a clear plan for when it happens anyway.

Because it will happen. Even with the best processes, someone will eventually vanish on you. But when your boundaries are strong, your contracts are clear, and your deposits are secured, it’s an inconvenience rather than a catastrophe.

The only ghosts I want to see are in October, not in my inbox. 👻