Time Is Running Out For Creative Freelancer Conference

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Time is running out to register for the Creative Freelancer Conference June 5-6 in Denver. If you make some or all of your living freelancing, this conference is a must! I’ve attended the previous two years and I can tell you, you are doing yourself a disservice if you miss it. Even though I’ve been freelancing for 13 years I’ve still picked up plenty of tricks and tips at each conference that has helped me work smarter, communicate with cients better, and boost my income.

As a bonus, if you take part in their Twitter promotion you’ll save an additional $25 off the registration price. Details here.

(Full disclosure: If you enter my Twitter name (“cedrichohnstadt”) when you register I’ll be in the running to win an free iPad. But I’m not expecting to win so I don’t want you to think that’s why I’m plugging the conference. I would highly recommend it with or without my very slim chances of winning.)

Creative Freelancer Conference Recap

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Last week I attended the second annual Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego. The goal of the conference is to help creative freelancers (i.e. illustrators, designers, writers, photographers, etc.) to improve their business skills, get better clients, and increase their income.

We artsy types aren’t exactly known for our business saavy. One thing you definitely won’t learn in art school is how to market yourself. Or write a proposal. Or network, talk to clients about money, etc. This conference fills a huge need. Each time I’ve attended I’ve walked away inspired and ready to take my career to the next level.

It was also great just to spend a few days with other people who get what it is that I do for a living. Who have the same experiences, the same problems, and we can talk shop without the other person’s eyes glazing over. Freelancing can be lonely at times so I really relish any chance I get to hobnob with my fellow freelancers.
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Facebook For Freelancers?

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facebook

In case you’ve been living in a cave, Facebook has officially exploded onto the internet scene and is now THE social networking site for, well, anyone with a pulse. I’ve been on Facebook for a while now, using it both personally and professionally. While I enjoy catching up with friends and keeping tabs on a few other artists, I’m still trying to figure out if Facebook has any real value in terms of networking-slash-growing my business.

For instance, on Facebook I’m “friends” with dozens of artists (which is obviously good for light networking). Lately I’ve noticed some of them are creating Groups or Fan pages to promote their work. Can anyone explain to me how this works and what the benefit is? If it’s just to gather a bigger list of “friends” to prove how popular you are, I’m not really interested. I got over most of that in high school. But if creating a Group or Fan Page has some real benefit in terms of getting my name out there, reaching clients, and growing my business, then I am *definitely* interested. For those of you who have Groups or Fan Pages, what do people get out of joining your Group? How often do you have to update the Group page? How do you get potential clients to follow you on Facebook?

Let me ask it another way: Have any of you blog readers actually found freelance work or grown your client base through using Facebook? If so, please leave a comment and tell us all about it. I’d love to know how Facebook has helped you as an artist.