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101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads

101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads
Since FreelanceSwitch started, there is one question that I get asked more often than any other. How can a freelancer find more work and generate new client leads? Well at FreelanceSwitch we don’t shy away from the pressing questions. So as the kicker for a new series on how to get more freelance work, we have put together an enormous list of ideas, ranging from ones that take 10 seconds to 10 days. There’s something for everyone to try and I guarantee there will be plenty of things you never thought of. And now without further ado, here they are, your 101 ideas: Word of Mouth is The Go Enlist your family and friends to spread the word about your services Send out an email to everyone in your address book, announcing what you do, where you are and what you can offer Ask your satisfied clients for referrals Offer free consultations to new referrals Consider a referral or finders fee Love Those Clients Get in touch with past and current clients when you have a new service to offer them Job Boards

Ideas on how to promote yourself offline as a freelance designer Working in this industry, I’ve came across a lot of useful information on how you, as a freelance designer, can promote yourself and your work. This is the first article of a series, and I will start by giving you some ideas on how you can promote yourself offline. In the next article I will compile a list of useful ideas on how you can promote yourself online and to make the most of this environment. It’s true that the Internet offers a lot of ways to promote yourself very easily, from your home computer, at only a click away. Maybe you have already applied some of these ideas, maybe you didn’t even think of some, but I think it’s a good idea to consider all of them. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.Try finding a professional association of graphic design in your city and join it. 27. 28. 29. 30. I’m sure that these aren’t all the things you can do to promote yourself offline.

5 Complimentary Skills to Graphic Design | You the Designer Articles January 7, 2009 In today’s economy competition is rougher than ever and even before this economic down turn I had mentioned how competitive the field of graphic design was getting and how more and more job listings were looking for multi-talented designers. By this I mean many employers want you to not only be a graphic designer, but also a web designer with knowledge of multiple coding language and much more. If you are freelancing from home than you will need even more skills to make the most of your home business so you can bring in as much steady income as possible. Below are some areas I recommend designers branch off into once they have a solid foundation in design. Even having basic skills in these areas will help a ton! 1. Web design is probably the most valuable skill to have as a graphic designer. 2. 3. Online marketing is an essential skill for anyone looking to make the most of their freelance design business. 4. This is an often over looked skill for any business.

Freelance Writing Jobs and Your Freelance Writing Career How to Promote Yourself as a Graphic Designer Becoming a freelancer might be an easy thing however, surviving as a freelance graphic designer is definitely a hard task. At times, you might think that you are a great designer but you are just not getting what you really want or what you surely deserve. In order for a freelancer to survive, you need to get the right kind of business and projects or else you won’t be able to pay your bills. If you want to get projects, you need to reach out to people through proper channel of advertising and marketing yourself. I have seen a lot of people giving the very first suggestion to freelancer to get their business collaterals published. Business cards are not only a great way to give people your contact information but it is indeed a great way to show people your creativity.

Free CV templates - the way to go? Free CV templates are rife on the Internet. It seems like everybody and anybody is offering free CV templates on websites. And the funny thing is that people use them. People look for them, they copy them and paste in their details and fire the CV off to whatever job their are applying for. Is it surprising that the pre-formatted CV you sent to the recruiter didn’t capture their attention? Be original because free CV’s usually aren’t! Your CV is the first point of contact with you have with your potential employer. By using one of these free CV templates, you substantially lower your chances that the recruiter will remember you. You have to be original. So what use are free CV templates? Information! If you are new to job hunting, then knowing what to put into your CV can be hard – even working out how it should look can be difficult. Following up on the analogy of advertisers, it is common practice for advertisers to watch what their competition are doing. Yes and no. Summary

Writers Rates - How To Set Your Writing Rates Answer: First Things First: By the Hour or By the Project? Freelance biz-tech writers can either charge by the hour or by the project. Dig Out Hourly Information From Past Employers What worked for me, having been employed as an editor and marketing writer in a past life, was to use my hourly rate as a jumping off point. Another thing to keep in mind is that your employer provides the roof over your head, your computer system, and all your office supplies. Use Your Hourly Research Once you've come up with an estimate on your hourly rate, you can parlay that into a per project fee scale. You'll want to think about the kinds of projects you'll be asked to take on, and estimate how many hours it will take from start to finish. Speaking of Adjustments… You'll need to continue to adjust your fees, especially as you build more clips and credits. Freelance Writing Rates List For Those Starting From Scratch

The Top 10 Web Design Skills You WILL Need! Here are my top 10 web design skills that you WILL need to master to become an effective web designer. If you’re serious about mastering web design and marketing, check out the Pro Web Design Alliance. See how Jordan benefited from the course forum and Google hangout sessions to make his and his clients’ sites better. Look at Jordan’s site and the testimonials from his clients here. Your priorities may be different (and my priorities may be different a few months down the line). And I’d add that you don’t need all these skills in any particular measure to make it in web design. #1. I’m convinced the #1 most important skill for a web designer is the ability to use words effectively. If you can craft a series of web pages into a conversation that communicates what you need to communicate, informs, and calls your visitors to take the actions you want, your web site can be a great success, even if it’s graphically plain – hey, even if it’s ugly! #2. How can you develop this ability? #3.

8 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Concentrating “Music helps me concentrate,” Mike said to me glancing briefly over his shoulder. Mike was in his room writing a paper for his U.S. History class. Mike made a shift about every thirty seconds between all of the above. Do you know a person like this? The Science Behind Concentration In the above account, Mike’s obviously stuck in a routine that many of us may have found ourselves in, yet in the moment we feel it’s almost an impossible routine to get out of. When we constantly multitask to get things done, we’re not multitasking, we’re rapidly shifting our attention. Phase 1: Blood Rush Alert When Mike decides to start writing his History essay, blood rushes to his anterior prefrontal cortex. Phase 2: Find and Execute The alert carries an electrical charge that’s composed of two parts: first, a search query (which is needed to find the correct neurons for executing the task of writing), and second, a command (which tells the appropriate neuron what to do). Phase 3: Disengagement 1. 2. 3. 4.

BOOK WRITING HELP, FREE BOOK PUBLICITY, and SELF-PUBLISHING ADVICE FOR BOOK WRITERS How to Promote Your Design Business on the Cheap Ah … the life of a freelancer. It’s not enough that you’re creative and technically savvy. No, you have to be a clever businessperson as well. No matter how talented you are, when starting out you probably won’t get clients unless you pound the pavement for them. But you likely don’t have the time or money to engage in any sophisticated advertising campaign. Fortunately, these days there are plenty of ways to market your business for little to no cash. Twitter Twitter definitely has its haters – not everyone wants to hear you describe your lunch in 140 characters or fewer. Facebook Unlike Friendster and MySpace, Facebook hasn’t shown signs that it’s going away anytime soon. Foursquare and Gowalla These are location-based social-networking games that allow players to “check in” with their phones at businesses, public places and homes. Yelp Yelp certainly has its detractors, but whatever your opinion of the site, it pays to at least monitor your business profile. Postcards Conclusion 705 shares

20 Creative Resume Designs Which Will Amaze Any Potential Employer A great showcase design post of some truly creative and inspiration CV designs which im sure would blow away any potential employer. The post focus on creative designs which make use of creative layout and designs which focus on colour. We would love for you to share within the comments your favourite designs from the post 1.My Resume 2.Creative Resume I Designed for Class 3.Creative resume – Francis 4.Creative resume – Michael Anderson 5.Creative resume – Chuckdlay 6.Creative resume – Sean Mcnolly 7.Creative resume – Jolie Odell 8.Creative resume – Suyjoy 9.Creative resume – Mari Rybak 10.Creative resume – Gregg Dizzia 11.Creative resume – Tudor Deleanu 12.Creative resume – Pau Morgan 13.Creative resume – 3-D resume 14.Creative resume – Sofiane 15.Creative resume -Katie Rennar 16.Creative resume -Martin 17.Creative resume -Adam 18.Creative resume -Anna Yeina 19.Creative resume -Doni 20.Creative resume -Doni

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