How To Find Clients as a Beginner Freelance Brand Designer
Photo by Katie Polansky on Unsplash
How to get clients is the big question for beginner designers & even experienced freelancers.
I never worried much about getting clients. I just wanted to focus on creating quality work to gain experience & define who I am as a brand.
Of course, I set up my brand packages right away, excited to get to work. But even now, I’m still working on building my brand & portfolio more than reaching out to potential clients.
Building your personalized brand is what gets the clients coming to you.
You can start selling your deliverables to the people that just happen to see your reel on Instagram or you can have people seeking you out for your unique services.
So that is my first tip: take the time to figure out who you are & who you want to be online, as a brand.
I created an entire workbook in Notion for myself to work through all the strategies & messaging to relate to my target audience. (Let me know in the comments if I should drop the workbook)
Brands are living breathing things. Businesses evolve & adapt as the person behind them does.
So I suggest creating a workspace to hold all the information necessary to run a brand. Think website copy, brand story & even brand guidelines. Have it all in one place so you can go copy & paste things & edit as you grow.
This is what’s gonna make you stand out. Your unique style & how you tell your unique story.
Once you start talking directly to your clients, they start coming to you.
With that being said
Even if you don’t have that solid foundation, you can do just about anything with a solid portfolio.
But you have to get that portfolio out there. I think most of us start with Instagram but don’t just stop there.
Getting your work on a variety of platforms, even if they’re not your favorite to use, helps you reach a bigger audience.
I’m just getting started on TikTok, I’m weekly uploading to Behance, & constantly pinning on Pinterest.
If becoming a full-blown content creator is not your thing, you can sign up for job boards & other networking sites.
RISE: Showcase your work & network with other freelancers!
ilovecreatives: Everything from job boards, resources, newsletters & more.
Contra: Create a profile to help you work with clients. Set up your services, showcase projects & apply to jobs.
Also
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your local small businesses!
Take a walk around the neighborhood & make note of all the businesses that are in desperate need of a rebrand.
Check out their social media when you get home & consider simply sending a DM or email explaining the value you could bring to their business.
If they say, yes great; if they say no, move on.
Lastly
Don’t forget about your past clients!
Send a quick email asking how the business is doing, catch up a bit & see if there’s anything else design-wise, you could help with.
Offer a promotion or discount for past clients for continuing to use you as their designer. Offer another promotion or discount for any referrals they send your way.
Thanks for reading!
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