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Finding Clients As A Freelance Designer
By Dustin Brewer
Expert Author
Article Date: 2007-05-14
There are a lot of ways to find clients as a freelance designer, the one I am going to touch on today is a good way to go about it.
This method will ensure that you get in contact with clients directly because that is exactly what it is. Some designers may be timid about using this method because you have to have a somewhat outgoing personality to do this successfully. There are two very distinct methods to this form of setting yourself up for design clients. I will touch on them both and give some simple ideas to help make the method easier for those having trouble with it already.
The method itself is basically in two parts, the first part is going out and finding local (or not local) businesses or people that already have existing web sites and offering your services. Typically the type of web site you are looking for are the ones stuck in 1998 and appear to be current, functioning businesses. You want to check and see if the web site has been updated since 1998.
The first service you would offer of course is an entire web site redesign that would bring their web site not only into the modern era of web design but also potentially make it standards compliant. This typically means explaining to them that animated GIFs and frames aren't exactly working for them anymore.
The second service would me to touch up their existing web site or talk to them about search engine optimization services. You can also speak to them about business stationary or redesigning their logo it all depends on what you are comfortable in offering them. I would not recommend offering more then 2 things in a conversation though. You can easily overload them and they will dismiss you very quickly as another sales pitch and move on as fast as they can in the other direction.
The easiest way to find these web sites is to either search within Google for local businesses in some manner, typically when I do this I will pick a certain field and add my city to that field and see what all I come up with. It is especially beneficial if you have a field that you like working with or are very knowledgeable with to search for them first. For example if you have an extensive portfolio or knowledge of Real Estate and Realtors you would find all the web sites you can for them and get in contact with them. I will touch more on contacting the client shortly.
Another way for you to locate them is to use Whitepages.com or a similar web site for a local directory, most of them will list businesses by category and list their web site in the listing. You can always do the lo-fi way and open up your Yellowpages directory book and search through it but that really isn't why we are in the business that we are in.
The second method is to find local businesses that do not have a web site and should. Then discovering how you can in touch with them. You have to be careful with this process of course because as you may well know the gas station on the corner probably doesn't really need a web site. You want to typically find businesses with some need to have people find them on the Internet. Locally owned mom and pop restaurants are a great place to start, you can typically lead into menus and other design jobs through these companies. A lot of time they will also have other business acquaintances that probably need your services.
I have found several business directories here in my area that will provide a wealth of potential leads. One of those is contractors, typically contractors will be a part of a larger local organization and that organization will typically have all of their contact information readily available and if they have a web site it should have that listed for you as well. This all is a lot of data mining but if you don't go out and get clients you are going to be in trouble unless you have a strong grip in your market for word of mouth advertising it is going to be tough to get your name out there unless you go to them.
Now for actually contacting your design clients you can use email if you are timid about the situation but you have to keep in mind that you are effectively sending the client spam. The best way to contact them is to call them on the phone and should have the best results because it is easy to delete an email but can be more trying to dismiss a phone call with a person. It is cold calling, which is more or less telemarketing so be sure to be very nice to the client you are bothering them. You can always do both, you can send an email and then make a phone call to ensure that they feel you are serious about them as a client and they aren't just on a list. You want to make the phone call/email as personal as possible to make sure it doesn't look like a form email or a scripting telephone call. Avoiding the telemarketer persona is going to be the toughest hurdle to overcome.
Once you get into the conversation the best thing to do is to setup a meeting with them whether it be at their office, your office (or home), or at a local cafe. Usually the best place is to sit down with them for lunch. If you meet them at their office they are typically going to be distracted by other things going on at their place of business but when you get them face-to-face in front of some food they are going to open up a lot more and be ready to focus on you. You can of course meet them at their office or yours but it is always better to take them out for a meal and it gives the whole situation a sense of personalization that can be easily lost otherwise.
Once you have scheduled a meeting be sure to gather information about their business and industry to be able to speak to some of the things that are going to be beneficial for them and their web site. Making your pitch to generic can lead to extreme dis interest with the client and they will never call you back. If you personalize the pitch to them, their business and their industry they will draw the rest that you are the method to get the job done and the whole person that can do it. Experts say that the client will decide within the first 7 seconds of meeting you if they are going to choose you for their designer. So be sure to make a good impression with them when you first meet, a firm handshake is always a plus.
I will have some more methods to get clients as a freelance designer coming up in the future that will be a little different but once you have done this one (or any of the methods) you have to make sure that you make the client as happy as possible especially if you are just starting out because word of mouth is the biggest and best method of advertising in our industry. The more clients you make happy the better your chances are that they will recommend you to their business associates and friends. There was a study that said each client is worth about 11 more clients, so treat them as such by ensuring they feel like they are your only client to make sure you get those 11 from this 1.
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About the Author:
Dustin Brewer is a web and graphic designer with a passionate interest
in everything that is technology. He currently is the webmaster and
editor for tech filter, a technology news web site, as well as a writer
for Gadgetell-- a similar web site about technology news with a strong
focus on new gadgets.
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