Being A Dream Freelancer

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Yesterday I talked about the qualities of a dream client. Most client projects are a two-way street, so now I’m going to focus on all you freelancers out there. Here’s a few suggestions for how to make sure every project goes as smoothly as possible. Following these guidelines will also help you gain a great reputation, get good referrals and earn repeat business.

1. It’s not about you, it’s about the client. This should be obvious but its easily forgotten. The client isn’t there for you, you are there for the client. Everything you do needs to be focused on the client’s needs and how you can best serve them. You can’t always please everyone, but you should sure bend over backwards to try. Your goal should be to make the client look good for hiring you.

2. Ask questions and listen carefully. Gather as much information as you can about the project and about the client’s expectations. If you are unsure about something, ask. As the project moves along, keep asking questions. Listen carefully to the answers. Take notes. If you aren’t sure about something, repeat back what you think the client is trying to say so that they can correct any misunderstandings. The more you learn about the client’s needs and expectations, the easier it will be for you to help them.Read More

Being A Dream Client

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As a freelance character designer I’ve worked with a lot of clients over the years: big ones, small ones, established companies and young startups. Most have been terrific and I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of really great people. Still, despite the best of intentions not every project runs as smoothly as it could. Even after eleven years of freelancing I still occasionally work on projects that get bogged down by miscommunication, misunderstanding, and avoidable delays.

If you hire freelance artists, or are thinking of hiring one soon, here’s a list of friendly tips on how to help things go smoothly. Of course project delays and difficulties aren’t always the client’s fault. Tomorrow I’ll turn the tables and give some thoughts aimed at all you freelancers out there. For now, here’s some tips on being a “dream client”:

1. Give the freelancer as much information about the project as possible. The more info the better. Who is the target audience? What is the project trying to accomplish? Is there a certain style or tone you are after? How will the art be used? Will it need to be enlarged or reduced? How will it fit into the context of the larger project? A lot of these are questions the freelancer should be asking you, but if he doesn’t you should offer the information anyway. There’s no such thing as too much detail.Read More

Marketing Mentor

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Marketing Mentor is an excellent website and blog for freelancers run by Ilise Benun, a consultant who specializes in helping creative professionals do a better job of marketing themselves. Her blog posts are short, direct, and very helpful. For a sample, check out her recent posts “What does it take to be your own boss?” and “Hourly rates and salaries”.

Last year Benun teamed up with Peleg Top to present four excellent webinars through HOW Magazine (which you can still view online, for a fee). Benun also offers some very helpful resources for sale on her website. Her mp3 entitled Interpersonal Skills for Introverts really helped me do a better job at networking at some recent events, and I’m currently getting a lot out of her book The Art of Self Promotion.

If you are strapped for cash her website also offers plenty of free resources worth checking out and an email newsletter, Quick Tips, that always delivers helpful insights about self-promotion.

I don’t meant to sound like a commercial for Marketing Mentor (no, I’m not getting paid to write this.) I’m just genuinely impressed and I want to help spread the news.

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Why Have A Blog?

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Designer/illustrator Clay Cantrell writes:

“How important do you feel a blog is as a part of an overall business model for a freelance visual artist? Does it make good business sense, or do you think that only other artists read them, as opposed to potential or current clients?”

This is an excellent question, one I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. My blog has been something of an experiment, and frankly I’m still undecided as to whether or not a blog is a worthwhile way to promote myself and my work.

I started getting serious about my blog in July ’07, posting five times a week and making efforts to publicize my blog on other websites. My readership has steadily grown; I currently average about 700-800 page views every weekday, and I’m very flattered that so many people are interested in what I have to say. I suspect most of my readers are other artists who will never hire me, but I know for a fact that at least a few are art directors or past clients who have a serious interest in me and my work.

Nevertheless, from a purely financial standpoint my blog so far has been a bit of a disappointment. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. But then again, I’ve only been working at it seriously for about eight months. Everything I’ve read about blogging describes it as a very slow and gradual build towards success. Blogging is not for the get-rich-quick crowd. So I’m planning to hang in there a while longer and see what happens.

I’ve read about freelancers who started a blog and before they knew it job offers from readers were pouring in (this is more common among freelance writers than artists, which makes sense). While I’d love to say that I’m one of them, that has not been my experience. I can count on two fingers the number of job offers I’ve received in the last six months as a direct result of my blog. One fell through, the other was actually a writing gig for which I made decent money.Read More

Keeping A Morgue Or “Swipe File”

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As a freelance illustrator I often use reference photos for my work. Not to copy or trace but to study in order to help me understand the subject matter as I draw. My friend and fellow illustrator Tom Richmond recently wrote a good post on the proper role of reference photos when creating a piece of art. He compares it to a writer using a thesaurus, and warns against relying too heavily on reference imagery so that it becomes a crutch.

When I was in art school the internet was brand new and there was no such thing as Google, much less Google Image Search. Back then we were taught to scrounge old magazines from friends, relatives, and recycling centers so that we could pour through them and rip out photos of anything and everything we thought we might be asked to draw someday. We were taught to organize them into what was called a “swipe file” or a “morgue”. Over a period of several years I eventually filled two-and-a-half filing cabinets with photos.

Google has made much of my “morgue” irrelevant, but not all of it.Read More

PayPal For Freelancers: Pro’s and Con’s

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When I bill out a project, my experience has been that most clients prefer to pay me the old-fashioned way by mailing in a check. However, as the internet continues to make things more convenient some companies are beginning to embrace online options as a way to pay for outside services like freelancing. And more and more freelancers are beginning to offer their clients the option, via PayPal or through their bank.

There will probably come a day in the not-too-distant future when paper checks are a thing of the past. Paypal could be the wave of the future. But before you jump on the Paypal bandwagon, weigh these pro’s and con’s:

Pro #1: Speed and Convenience. You can get paid in days rather than weeks or months, and it saves you having to drive to the bank and wait in line to deposit a check. If you work with clients overseas, getting a fast payment that is automatically converted into US dollars sure beats waiting for a check to be mailed half-way around the world.

Pro #2: Clients Like Convenience. Even though most clients will still prefer to pay with a paper check, the fact that you offer them a convenient online option shows that you are committed to making their life easier. Your clients will be grateful and will appreciate that you value customer service.

Pro #3: You May Appear More Professional. Ultimately your professionalism is determined by the quality of your work and how you treat your clients. But little extra touches like Paypal can help you appear more organized and tech-saavy, which may add to your professional cache.

However, there are drawbacks every freelancer should consider.

Con #1: Loss of Income. Paypal takes a small percentage of any payment for themselves (usually 2-3%), which for a large project can add up to tens or even hundreds of dollars lost. Personally I do use Paypal for small payments (i.e. accepting tips from blog readers or selling copies of my downloadable sketchbook), but I try to avoid it for client projects for this reason. However, you may feel differently.

Con #2: Easy Come, Easy Go. Paypal has one set of rules for the sale of tangible items (i.e. books, CD’s, etc.) and another set of rules for “intangibles” (i.e. freelance services). If for any reason a client is unhappy with your services (regardless of whether the cleint’s expectations were reasonable or not), Paypal makes it very easy for the client to get his/her money back, no questions asked. This story from FreelanceSwitch.com (a great blog for freelancers, by the way) should serve as a warning to any freelancer thinking of using Paypal to collect client payments.

I’m sure the day will come when we will all get paid online. But for now, be sure you are aware of the benefits and drawbacks before you offer Paypal as an option for your clients.

EDIT: FreelanceSwitch.com lists some alternatives to Paypal.