How I Started Bringing Clients To My Graphic Design Business
It may be difficult to figure out how to get graphic design customers. A quick Google search can yield thousands of theories, some of which are yet to be tried and some which are out of date.
I became a graphic designer through Blue Sky Graphics’ online graphic design course, and thanks to my online tutors, I have a fairly good portfolio and skills. They gave me all the resources I wanted, so here’s what I did to get a job.
However, after consulting with thousands of freelancers on our site and on free FB forum, I’ve discovered just what happens when it comes to getting graphic design clients.
So today, I’m lifting the lid on what it takes to find graphic design customers, whether you’re a brand-new freelance artist or have been looking for design clients for years.
Many of these strategies have recently been checked and confirmed, either by myself or by actual graphic design freelancers in our culture.
Give them a shot to see if they can’t help you get design customers with your own design company pretty quickly.
Here’s how you should start seeing graphic design clients right away:
1. Register for concept career pages.
Signing up for quality freelance work pages is one of the fastest and simplest ways to get graphic design clients to recruit you, whether you’re looking for local graphic design clients or just remote graphic design employment.
To find graphic design customers, use SolidGigs.
How I Started Bringing Clients To My Graphic Design Business
SolidGigs is an abbreviation for SolidGigs
Time is capital when it comes to obtaining graphic design customers. SolidGigs’ goal is to return your valuable time by browsing through thousands of freelance work postings and providing the best results to you every day.
Furthermore, SolidGigs does not take a cut of the profits (like sites such as Fiverr might). Instead, freelancers incur a recurring flat rate.
SolidGigs offers web design customers for as little as £2. More information can be found here.
Work-from-home opportunities
Flexjobs is our next favourite simple-to-use platform for finding graphic design companies. They still have some awesome freelance design work available in a variety of different categories.
You can try Flexjobs for free here and begin using it to get graphic clients easily if you are attentive.
Workaholic
We may have included any variety of freelance marketplaces like Upwork, but we selected Upwork because it is the largest and most beneficial platform for finding graphic design clients (in our opinion).
It takes a little longer to set up an account before you can start looking for graphic design clients, but the effort is well worth it. Some freelancers (like this guy) make a living solely through Upwork.
Of course, freelancers we’ve talked with have had luck finding customers on Craigslist, hacking Angellist for clients, and racking up clients on Fiverr.
The trick is to figure out which freelancing platforms function for you and then figure out how to get graphic design clients to notice you on certain sites.
2. Go to places where graphic design clients already congregate.
Another strategy to use before learning how to get graphic design customers is to go to places where design clients actually invest their time.
This applies both offline and internet.
If you have a group of graphic design customers in your community who all go to the central Chamber of Commerce meeting once a month? Or maybe there is a great co-working room that holds nearby mixers where several future design clients will catch a drink and network?
Wherever you reside, there are probably architecture clients congregating and networking within 50 miles of you. Attending even a couple of these will help you get your graphic design company off to a good start.
If you’re something of an online go-getter, search for Facebook groups that have the kind of design clients you’re searching for. On Linkedin, make natural relations with future design customers. Or write guest posts for magazines that your potential clients read.
In any scenario, the aim is to stay in front of as many potential design customers as possible on a consistent basis.
3. Make use of cold outreach to find design customers.
Although some contend that cold outreach is no longer successful, I believe it is alive and well. In reality, I still get a TON of new clients by sending cold emails every year.
It’s fairly self-evident. I get clients during the months that I give out cold emails. I don’t receive too many customers while I slack off (see chart below).
Cold emailing for clients is a simple skill to master. It’s also not challenging to learn.
Sure, it can be intimidating, but I’ve put together a comprehensive guide to writing cold emails that convert that will walk you through the whole method.
To obtain concept customers, use cold emailing4. Learn how to get graphic design clients to come to you Instead of coming into a treasure mine of prospective new graphic design clients, learn how to get graphic design clients to come to you.
I have a few close friends who excel at this. Ian Paget, for example, operates a fantastic logo design company where he gets 100% of his new design clients through referrals. Ian no longer has to spend any time looking for customers.
Why is this so?
Since Ian has spent practically years creating an online presence that consistently rewards him with new design customers. When anyone queries “Logo Designer UK,” for example, his website and podcast come up really big.
Pro tip: While tactics like this one might take a long time to implement, they can really pay off. Try combining a long-term approach, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization—what Ian does), with a quick win, such as the tips listed in steps 1 and 2.
5. Increase customer conversions by optimising the portfolio.
My last piece of advice for those interested in knowing how to get graphic design customers is to refine their portfolio for customer conversions.
Although I’ve written lengthy articles on the topic, here’s what you really need to know:
YOUR PORTFOLIO IS NOT A Position WHERE YOU Can SHOW OFF YOUR Job. But quit spending time trying to make it beautiful and pretty.
Your portfolio IS a location where you can turn site users into potential customers. At Blue Sky Graphics, they help you create a strong portfolio by the end of the course and that is some thing incredibly helpful which is why I highly motivate you to enrol in their online course.
So, concentrate on your calls-to-action (encouraging design clients to contact/hire you), stop off-ramps (links that take people away from your portfolio), and for the love of God, just get your design portfolio up and live until you flame out.
