Hi, this is Anne for Graphic Design How To, and today I'm going to give you 6 tips about
freelancing.
So let's get started.
Number 1: Don't be afraid to cold email companies.
A lot of people just don't do this.
I was kind of surprised.
I had an agency job for a couple years, and only one guy reached out in that whole time.
And even though our styles didn't match... the style of the agency and his work style...
I was super impressed that he was able to find out what our email addresses were and
email us.
And he did this about every three months, and
if he had been in our wheelhouse, we probably would have hired him.
I don't think there are a lot of people doing this.
So it's a good way to get your foot in the door.
Number 2: And this one seems totally obvious, I understand.
It's probably annoying, but it needs to be said.
I was so surprised, but, do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do
it.
So, as a freelancer, the company I worked for, it used a project management software
where we could see what the other freelancers were doing.
And it was so common that people wouldn't hand things in on time, or they would do like
half a project - whatever they'd gotten done by the deadline.
And, that is just so unprofessional - our project manager had to reach out to them and
say, 'Hey, where's this project?'
So if you can just do what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to
do it, you're so far ahead of the game, it's amazing.
If you do have to be late on a project, I mean, things happen.
And you're not going to hit every single deadline for the rest of your life.
If you know you're not going to hit a deadline, go ahead and email them as soon as you know
that.
They will really be thankful that you gave them a heads up about it.
A lot of places are willing to work with you.
OK, number 3: If you're doing the same type of work for a client over and over again,
go ahead and set up some templates for yourself.
It helps your client because you're faster, and it helps you because you don't have to
take the time to click the same things over and over again and...and set up these documents.
A good example of this is, let's say they want a brochure, and they want it at 300 DPI
with bleeds every time.
You can set up a print preset for that, or you can set up an action to always export
the same way every time.
And it just saves you a few clicks, and it helps you, and it helps the client.
So do templates for sure.
OK, so number 4: If you can, work a full time job and do freelancing on the side.
That really eases the pressure, and it helps you to build a client list before you
jump 100% into freelance.
I've always held a full time job until recently, and the few months that I did not have a full
time job and I was doing full time freelance work was
slightly stressful, to put it lightly.
So if you're the type of person where that kind of thing doesn't bother you, feel free,
but know you're going to have some slow months and plan accordingly.
Number 5: Creative briefs.
I really think if you're working with individuals, you really should have a creative brief.
All that really is, is a sheet of paper that says, you know, what is this project?
What colors do you like?
What fonts are you leaning towards?
What look and feel is right for you?
And provide pictures or anything... just everything about the project, so you don't have to go
back and forth with the client all the time.
And the client is thinking, 'Why didn't they just ask us at the beginning?'
So, creative briefs are really important if you're working with individuals, especially
those who don't know what they want, which is the case a lot of the time.
If you're working with companies, I don't find that you really need a creative brief.
A lot of times, they'll provide you with a creative brief of what they want, what they're
looking for, and their style guide, look and feel, and all of those things.
So number 6: Try to work for companies as opposed to individuals, and there's a few
reasons for this.
Number one, companies tend to know exactly what they want.
You don't have to guess all the time, like you do with individuals and show them several
different options to try to get a positive response from them.
Companies 'get' design, and what I mean by that is, they're around design a lot.
They probably have other freelancers besides you.
Individuals, a lot of times... they think they know,
but you know, as a designer that their idea probably won't work very well.
A good example is, 'Can you take this 3D image and put it in
the middle of my logo, like, let's say, someone's face, in the middle of my logo?'
That kind of thing...it just doesn't work very well.
Designers get that.
Companies get that, but individuals a lot of times, just don't understand that.
Another reason you might want to choose a company over an individual...they're also
used to paying people on a regular basis.
Individuals a lot of times aren't used to paying people, so they tend to forget that
they owe you money.
And so you have to reach out to them and say, 'Hey, do you remember that project I did a
month ago?
Do you think, you know, you could pay me for that?'
And I don't really like doing that, so companies for me are the way to go.
I've almost completely given up on doing individual freelance, but you have to start somewhere.
And I understand that.
I totally worked with individuals, and I still work with individuals every now and then.
But I do prefer companies.
So that is my six tips for freelancers today.
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Thank you so much!!!
This is Anne for Graphic Design How To.