Risk and Reward: How Taking Risks Helps Your Freelance Career
Risk. It’s a small word with big impact. Taking risks involves change and the unknown. We’re not all that comfortable with either concept. I was
Alvalyn Lundgren
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ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
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
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.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Which is Better for Self-Promotion: Email or Mailers?
Self-promotion is an ordinary and necessary aspect of doing business as an independent creative professional. Unlike social media marketing, self-promotion campaigns are targeted to contacts
Alvalyn Lundgren
Stepping Out: How To Get Unstuck
Creativity requires action and effort to actually make something. We can mull over our ideas all we want, but to make a difference, at some point
Alvalyn Lundgren
3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid
Because pretty much everything runs on design and other forms of visual communication, the role of the visual communicator (designer, illustrator, photographer) is more in
Alvalyn Lundgren
The Value of the Design Brief
Recently, I met with a start-up business. As we discussed the scope of work and began putting the design brief together, it became clear that
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Inconvenient Truths About Freelancing
Transform the inconveniences of freelancing into opportunities for your personal and professional growth.
Alvalyn Lundgren
4 Onboarding Steps For Successful Client Relationships
So you have a brand-new shiny client that you’re excited to be working with. You’re looking forward to helping them achieve their goals. They’ve accepted
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Reasons Why I Can’t Be Your Designer
I wish I hadn’t said, “Yes” to certain design projects. It’s not that the projects were a problem, but something about the clients’ approaches, actions or expectations
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Pay Yourself As A Freelancer
Paying yourself as a freelancer is often as perplexing as how to price your services. To simplify it, begin with the knowledge that there are
AlvalynCreative
Using LinkedIn Profinder To Find Freelance Gigs
This article was updated on February 8, 2017 by the author. Being always on the lookout for new client opportunities, I thought I’d give LinkedIn
Alvalyn Lundgren
Set Goals, Not Resolutions
Have you made resolutions for the new year? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to change? Where do you see yourself
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Manage Your Brand
In Part 1 of this article I focused on what a brand is, and the visual and conceptual components of an effective brand. Brand is
Alvalyn Lundgren
Green Scheduling: 6 Tips for Sustaining Your Creative Time
Design your time. Time is wasted when we do the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s easier to keep your time boundaries and your well-being intact if you plan ahead.
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 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
How Do I Know If I Will Be Successful At Freelancing?
A student asked me the same question I asked my teachers: “How do I know if I will be successful at freelancing?” After 35 years
Alvalyn Lundgren
Designing For Non-Profits
A significant percentage of my clients are non-profit enterprises. I have had many opportunities to design campaign materials, annual reports, and graphic assets for non-profit
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
The 4 Seasons of Creativity
While, as a freelancer, you absolutely must focus on your business and develop killer business skills, you also need to guard and nurture your creativity.
Alvalyn Lundgren
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
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Limiting Lies Freelancers Should Stop Believing
Successful soloism is about 80% mindset and 20% mechanics. I’ve learned from experience that you can get the mechanics right, but still not be thinking right. Much of what holds us back as creatives and independent business owners is our mindset.
Alvalyn Lundgren
7 Places to Find Freelance Clients Online and Offline
One of the huge differences between a salaried worker (a W2-based employee) and a freelancer is that freelancers need to always be looking for work.
Alvalyn Lundgren