There's often a large misconception among aspiring freelancers either coming out of design school or learning on their own about what clients are really looking for.
Not having a clear idea of what your clients really do...and don't care about is like trying to pin the tail on the donkey - blindfolded of course, in a room the size of a football field.
Kind of a crazy example of this would be to tell clients that you are a star track athlete, you've sung with Creed or you're the only one in your group of friends that can down a frosty in 30 seconds (in the hopes they'll be so impressed they'll hire you) - both nice accomplishments, but your client isn't going to care about either of them.
When freelancers are unsure about what their clients care about they end up wasting a lot of time talking about and promoting features/benefits in marketing that are not only ineffective, but are largely ignored by clients. Here are the top 9 features/benefits that freelancers care about...that their clients don't.
1) Where you got your art degree
In over 10 years as a freelance designer I've never had a client ask me where I got my degree from. Maybe in the 90's it was a big deal, today it's irrelevant - if you can do the work, you can get hired.
2) If you're Adobe Certified
Back in the late 90's I remember this being kind of a big deal - nice idea for Adobe to build revenue, but it never caught on...at least for the few hundred clients I'd worked with. Simply put, they didn't know about the certification and they wouldn’t have cared anyway.
3) How much you express yourself through design
Clients don't care guys...harsh, I know but clients don't care about your creativity, how you express yourself or how you give all to your artwork. By the way, they don't care about mine either - if it doesn't benefit your client, they don't care about it.
4) How many awards you've won
In 2007 I was asked to be on a panel of judges for the AMA's Spectrum Awards. Essentially design companies paid a fee to have their designs critiqued and ranked by the 10 of us on the panel. Some firms submitted several entries (to ensure a better chance of winning). Awards aren't going to hurt you, but to think that clients are outright looking for design firms that have won awards that most people have never heard of is a mistake.
5) How many fonts, backgrounds, textures, brushes or other goodies you've collected over the years
From just observing message boards, blogs, twitter and other social networking sites over the years I've noticed that designers are beyond "in to" getting free goodies, they're obsessed with it. Some freelancers dedicate a couple of hours a day posting where these goodies are, the rest are busy trying to download them all. Goodies like awards are nice, but clients aren't going to be dazzled by them.
6) If you have an office
There was once a time when having an office was a big deal, it added a tremendous amount of credibility, those days are all but over now. People have less time, want to save on fuel, and they know that there are thousands upon thousands of home based businesses now. I've only had a handful of clients inquire why I didn't have an office. I replied, "I could have one, but then I'd be passing along the overhead to clients like you, probably isn't worth it, is it?" That quieted them up quickly.
7) Whether you're a team of 20 or it's just you
This one reminds me of freelancers doing their best imitation of a puffer fish. Freelancers often pretend to make their company look bigger than it really is, the idea being that a client would be more impressed with a larger company. It's silly. The more I understood that clients hired me because of ME, I downplayed the whole "big corporation" image.
8) If you're using the most up-to-date version of Photoshop
I've never had a client ask what version of Adobe's CS I had, they don't care. If you ever get someone to ask you this it'll be rare and in most cases it won't be a deal breaker unless that has an unusual circumstance.
9) That you're creative
This one's a tricky one, so I've saved it for last. Clients do care if you're creatively ONLY SO FAR as if it will help them achieve their goals. If your projects look nice but you don't have any data to prove that your designs actually bring in money/customers for your clients, you're going to have a much tougher time finding clients. No, I am not saying creativity isn't something that clients don't care about, but designers way overestimate its importance in attracting clients.
I think you suck at graphic design, that is why you starve. Really how many legit, successful designers try to sell an ebook?
Posted by: Mike | September 23, 2010 at 09:37 AM
Why would you allow this retard post on your blog??? He's a total asshole.
Posted by: Sara M | October 05, 2010 at 08:15 PM