How do I gain customers as a freelance graphic designer?

Question

I have been doing artwork and computer graphics my whole life, and I am quite good at it. How can I make money doing it, without a degree?

Answer 1

I think you should just set up a business. As long as you have a talent which you obviously have, once you become self employed you will see that people will respect you more as a business than a person.

It wont cost that much, especially as you will allready have a computer, (and therefore a place to work from, your home). And I assume you have transport of some kind, even a bike to get you to customers, you can always walk into a pub or restraunt toilet to freshen up before you see your customer after locking your bike outside. Just dont bother spending money on advertising. If you choose to go that route, use the time you have at the start to make personal contacts through word of mouth and through you psycally going around with a business card and handing them in door to door or whatever.

If you have a telephone, why not call them, or fax them, or e-mail them. Or even better, set up a news letter, blank at first with just 1 sheet of A3 paper on it. Seperated into 2 parts each page will be A4 in size and could hold up to 4 sizeable advertisements giving 8 in total. Go around the pubs and restraunts and ask them to advertise their events with your paper, then find someone who delevers leaflets and have them delevered. Or even contact the postal service an ask them to delever your "junk mail" as part of the service. Usuall there is only a small charge for both of these, around $80 per 1000 doors if you go the first route. Getting them printed can be done by your local printer. Overall, if you are smart, the total cost of starting up would be less than $200 or $300. Adjust the sale price of your advertising to make a nice profit and even at $50 per half of an A4 page it mounts up. 8 x $50 = $400. Who is to say you cant do 16 or 32 pages once you begin getting results. Who is to stop you from increasing your cost once you become known for your work. At the start though, keep it inexpensive for your customer but make it just as good as though you were doing top quality work. Just dont go making a loss. Forget about your time spent behind the computer doing the work at the start. Remember, what you are trying to do is get yourself out there to make money later, not now. If you try to make money too quickly, you will get greedy and will fail as a result.

The key is to keep your costs low while using your time wisely at the start, and very soon you will be making a lot of money. I have personally set up 3 people in business using that method, the first one I set up 2 years ago has moved into making a full scale small ads paper and will have her house paid off in 2 more years at her rate of growth. The other two are growing equally well so far.

Answer 2

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the industry. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* The Creative Business Guide to Running a Graphic Design Business by Cameron S. Foote
* The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide for Running a Graphic Design or Communications Business by Cameron S. Foote
* Inside the Business of Graphic Design: 60 Leaders Share Their Secrets of Success by Catharine M. Fishel

Check the source box for an article link.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

Place an advertisement for your design work in newspapers. Have sample work and brochure ready to be sent out.
Make a portfolio of your best work so you can present it to future clients.
Hit local businesses with flyer's that discount their first order.

Just because you can do art work on a computer does not mean you are a graphic designer. I really think you should go for a degree. The process would really hone your craft and introduce you to real design issues like typography and corporate identity. Also through internships, you get to mingle with possible future employers.

Answer 4

Agree w/ Miss Meliss - nobody cares about your degree status, they only care about your portfolio, your references, and what you can do for them.

Put up a clean, simple, no-flash (I hate flash) site, showcase your work. Start bidding on jobs on elance and the other communities. Find online forums where artists hang out, find out how they get business. Find online forums where customers hang out, do a low-key non-spammy introduction, and contribute.

Good luck!
Scott

p.s. contact me when your site is up - I might have need for your services

Answer 5

First of all don't shout that you do not have a degree. Make sure you do plenty of advertising ... with anyone you talk to. Word of mouth is another way.

Answer 6

You can register with a freelance dirctory. Here are some resources for you:

www.guru.com
www.elance.com

Answer 7

hopefully you have a website. if you do then you may want to do marketing online for your website.

here is a link to the best 10 completely free websites to advertise your website.

http://advertisesmallbusiness.com/free-online-ads