How To Attract Your Ideal Clients
First of all, let’s define who your ideal clients are. An ideal client is one for whom you do the kind of work you want to do, and
Alvalyn Lundgren
design practice
ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
Self-Promotion Tips for Creative Freelancers
Self promotion is the practice of telling potential clients about what you do. With it you build your brand, engage prospects and find clients. As a
Alvalyn Lundgren
Do You Need A Marketing Plan?
Q: As a freelancer, do I need a marketing plan or can I just wing it? A: Indeed, you do need a marketing plan. Marketing
Alvalyn Lundgren
Contracts Protect the Freelancer and the Client
As I write this article I’m in the middle of a contract negotiation involving copyright and licensing of one of my character designs. I worked with
Alvalyn Lundgren
Working Late: 5 Essential Boundaries for Freelancers
From time to time I’ll fire off an email to a client during the late evening or early morning hours. Occasionally, an immediate response comes back
Alvalyn Lundgren
A Philosophy of Branding, Part 1
Of Influence, Time and Trust Branding is a popular discussion in my circles, and in the course of those conversations I gain great insight into perceptions
Alvalyn Lundgren
6 Freelance Contract Mistakes and How To Fix Them
Most problems freelancers experience when working with clients are due to contract mistakes. Do any of these statements sound familiar to you? “I started working
Alvalyn Lundgren
12 Steps To A More Secure WordPress Web Site
Every independent creative professional should have a web site. Hands down, WordPress.org is the most popular self-hosted content management web site framework. Over 50% of self-hosted
Alvalyn Lundgren
Why Design Is Not Self-Expression
If we approach a design solution as an opportunity for self-expression, we’ll miss the point and risk not solving the problem.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Create A Social Media Connection Strategy
When you’re in business, you use social media differently than you do personally. I was an early adopter on many social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Stages of Customer Loyalty
To be meaningful, design needs to connect on five successive levels of significance…
Alvalyn Lundgren
Red Flags: Fire When Ready
Not every client relationship is a good fit, and it’s just good business to separate.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Create A Better Portfolio
Whether online or in hand, your portfolio is the primary means of landing a job or finding clients. Art school graduates have focused on developing
Alvalyn Lundgren
What Kind Of Freelancer Are You?
Did you know that there is more than one way to be a freelancer? Independent creatives — freelancers — can choose a variety of working scenarios
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Use Change Orders To Manage Freelance Projects
When I first learned about the power of change orders it changed everything in my workflow. When I implemented the practice, I actually began looking
Alvalyn Lundgren
10 Proven Networking Strategies for Introverts (and Everyone Else)
Building a business requires connection with people: prospective clients, colleagues, mentors, customers, and sometimes even family members. When we connect, we share information, ideas and
Alvalyn Lundgren
How to Avoid Spam in Your Blog Comments
One thing I really appreciate about using WordPress for my website platform is the multitude of time-saving plug-ins available. One plug-in I really appreciate is Akismet. Akismet recognizes and
Alvalyn Lundgren
Understanding Your 1099-K Reporting Changes for 2022 and Beyond
We’re on a mission to cultivate a business mindset in support of our creative work. If we want to profit from our creative work, we
Alvalyn Lundgren
The Internship Epidemic
It is the responsibility of design professionals, teachers and school administrators to value the next generation of designers so that the profession is respected, appreciated and thrives. Unpaid internships won’t accomplish that.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Job Listings and Special Considerations
If a hiring firm wants to give special consideration to candidates from a specific school, that’s its right. But then it should carry on its notification processes within the sphere of that school’s alumni and career counseling office
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Work With Clients
10 Best Practices For Building Reputation and Relationships When you accept a client’s project, you need to make it your own. While you’re not creating for
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Outreach Steps For Winning Better Clients
Successful freelancing is a matter of finding the right clients in the right places for the right reasons. Every client you take on affects your
Alvalyn Lundgren
7 Things You Must Do To Start Your Creative Freelance Business
With the excitement and anticipation of embarking on a freelance career, we can easily get caught up in the ideas of freedom, of getting paid
Alvalyn Lundgren
What’s the Difference Between Pro Bono and Spec Work?
Is there a difference between pro bono and spec work? If so, what’s the difference? First, let’s compare them. With both, you work for free,
Alvalyn Lundgren