No-Money Marketing Tips for Creative Freelancers
We are always marketing. From the quality of our work to how we talk about ourselves, we are constantly sending messages into the public square,
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ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
Keeping Good Clients: 10 Ways To Build Loyalty
Most freelancers will agree that it’s easier to hold onto an established relationship than begin a new one. And it’s less work to retain a client
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Pricing Strategies for Creative Freelancers
Pricing your creative services is one of the most-discussed topics among freelancers. There is no one right way to price your creative services — there is no industry
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A Freelancer’s Guide To Retainer Agreements
When you work project-to-project, you can experience inconsistencies in your schedule and revenue flow. One way to mitigate those gaps is with retainer agreements. These
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Does Formal Design Education Matter?
Aesthetic sense and talent are raw materials. They amount to nothing without discipline. Education forces you to add skill, discipline and expertise to your talent. And in order to meet project deadlines, you learn to steward your time.
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7 Pointers to Rock Your Social Media Marketing
To begin with, social media is not about selling, but about conversations and providing value. Be knowable, likable and trustworthy. To make the most of
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How to Build Your Prospecting Pipeline
As an independent creative, prospecting is a practical and necessary business activity that needs focused attention to. It requires work to maintain a pipeline of
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Firing A Non-paying Client Is Not Burning A Bridge
From the Freelance Road Trip mailbag: A Freelance Road Trip (FRT) member shared an experience with a non-paying client. The member gave me permission to
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From the Client’s Point of View
From the client’s point of view, there are two crucial criteria in deciding what designer is awarded the project: 1. Does the creative understand what’s
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GDPR Compliance Steps for US-Based Freelancers
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation goes into full effect on May 25, 2018. The internet and blogdom are all abuzz about getting
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3 Things To Do Before The End Of The Year
One of the benefits of freelancing is: You get to decide for yourself what you will accomplish in any given year. You’re able to set
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Listening Is A Design Skill
Listening is related to empathy. Empathy is valuing another’s experience, and keeps the designer from creating something that is self-expressive.
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Show Your Work: How Sharing Your Process Increases Your Value
When a client is looking for a creative firm, process and procedures are not obvious priorities in evaluating performance. The prospect is going to look
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How To Budget For A Design Project
To answer the question, “How much will it cost?”, the question, “What do you want to accomplish?” needs to be asked first. Clients are often in the dark
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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
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5 Stages of Customer Loyalty
To be meaningful, design needs to connect on five successive levels of significance…
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Profit Motive and the Freelancer: You May Be Running A Business If…
A photographer is still in school full time but is already establishing connections for professional work. She is purchasing cameras, lenses and equipment she will use
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Red Flags: Fire When Ready
Not every client relationship is a good fit, and it’s just good business to separate.
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Do Freelancers Need Business Insurance?
One thing that’s great about flying solo as a freelancer is all the freedom you have in who you work with, where, when and how
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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
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Your Website’s Magnificent 7
Like any design, websites are experienced. Your goal should be to provide the best experience to the largest percentage of people who visit your site.
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Is It Time To Get A New Rope?
For freelance creatives facing changing markets and uncertain futures the end of the rope is an immediate reality. When doing what you’ve been doing is not going to work anymore, getting another rope becomes necessary.
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Six Things Freelancers Should Do to Communicate Their Value
The difference between discounting your services for Client A and charging Client B full price is one of positioning and communication. Both of these are value propositions.
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