Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks

Why Won't Men Stop for Directions & Ask for Help, and What It Has to Do with Your Business

In looking at the sales for the Being a Starving Artist Sucks book I came across an interesting trend I never expected - over 80% of the creative freelancers that purchase the book are women. Wow, never would have expected that.

In gathering feedback from them, I've learned that they are intelligent, determined designers that have had enough of "trying to figure it all out on their own". Instead of hoping they'll stumble on the way to be successful, they said they wanted the shortcut to it. These freelancers are more concerned with their success and their time than a couple of bucks. Many of them after they read it said they'd have paid more for the book.

My fiancée smiles at me and asks, "Well then, are women smarter than men?" I am not sure I have an answer to that. I suppose some are and some aren't. What I did observe is that purchasing a book like the BASAS is like asking for directions on a trip: women are much more likely to recruit help than men. Perhaps it's because of pride or pig-headedness, but men will often drive around and around trying to find their destination instead of asking for help. They could be doing the same thing with their freelancing business as well: driving around and around, hoping to find their destination without any help. Then again, this could all be just a coincidence.

What I'll want to do as things move forward is to keep an eye on it and see what happens. If I find that guys do have a pride issue in feeling like they have to ask for help, I'll want to come up with a campaign around it. I don't know about you, but for me, it's more fulfilling to run a successful, money-making freelancing business you had some help with rather than being able to say you did it all yourself and end up starving.

How to Apply this to Your Freelancing Business:
Yep, there was more to this little story than me trying to figure out the male ego and if women are smarter. Take another look at the post and you see some informal but specific market research steps I took to grow my sales, you can do the same for your business: 

1. First, look at your accounting records, see who's buying from you and try to identify buying trends - look for unusual patterns or characteristics.
2. As you look who's buying from you, try to categorize them so you can easily identify others in the same group.
3. Try to figure out why it is that people are buying from you.
4. Figure out a strategy to bring on more people like this, or attract other people that you haven't been attracting yet.

PS - If you have any thoughts, feel free to drop a comment. Congratulations to Carlos, Matt and Barry, they are the 3 illustrators that will be showcased in the Verbal Judo for Designers book coming out by June of this year. Click here if you'd like to download the rough first couple of chapters. 

The Great Advertisement that Made Me Look Like an Idiot

A good friend of mine is the president and executive editor of a new local paper here in Phoenix. A few days before the first edition ran he let me know that he could bump up the b/w, 1/8 of a page that I'd been paid for to a 1/2 page color if I could get it created and emailed over to him by the end of the business day.

Ah, too good of an opportunity to pass up - I thought. So I set to work cranking out this 1/2 page ad out in record time. I got the ad done at about 4:30 PM, emailed it over to my buddy with even a few minutes to spare. Both my friend and his layout designer commented how much they liked the ad, "...best one in the entire publication." Wow, not only did I get the ad done in record time but people really seemed to like it. I began to thought I pulled everything off - I was wrong.

Actually the ad's not too bad, here's why:

• It builds a case why business owners should call me
• It has a clear call to action
• It addresses the benefits and pain points my clients have
• It shows some before and after work - which has always proven to be powerful

All of these things make me feel pretty good about the ad - they are good signs that the ad will be effective in attracting clients. In fact, these are good points to keep in mind when you're designing  your ads. There's just one problem...scan the ad now and see if you can spot it, don't worry, I'll wait...Click here to view the ad

If you scrolled through the whole ad you probably noticed that I mistyped the word, "branding" at the bottom, instead, I typed, "banding" - nice huh? I do marketing, advertising and banding - maybe I do rubber banding, I play the video game - Rock Band, or perhaps I am a specialist in identifying when colors posterize and band together. Whatever readers are thinking about my screw up, it's probably not good.

I made an easy but big mistake here - yep even the pros screw up sometimes. I didn't have anyone really take a hard look at the ad before I sent it to press, and now I look a little silly for making a mistake.

Make sure you have someone: a colleague, business coach, me, your friend or your dog - have someone look at your artwork before you send it to press, especially when you're rushing to hit a tight deadline (you're of course much more likely to make a mistake when you're in a hurry.) If you don't have someone look at your work you'll end up like me with the best ad in the publication that makes you look like an idiot too. Se La Vi

Case Study for Creative Freelancers - Coming up with a Remarkable Tag Line

Overstock.com is running a lot of ads on the television during the holiday push to build up sales. After seeing the ad about ten times I decided to see what all of the excitement was about - not much in my opinion. But that's not the thrust of this post, what I wanted to go over is the tag line.

Both business owners and even creative types can come up with the weakest tag lines I've ever heard; Overstock was no exception. Instead of putting some real thought and energy in to capturing a tag that means something, they just pick something that sounds good to them. Bad idea. Creating a tag line that really works isn't like making a fruit smoothy - you don't just put a bunch of stuff in a blender and see what happens.

Overstock's tag is, "It's all about the O". Can someone tell me what this means? I know I am not the brightest bulb on the tree, but for the life of me I can't figure it out. Does this tag mean anything to anyone?

Whether you're developing your own tag line or one for a client, keep in mind that whatever you come up with has to have some meaning to your target audience. Affective tags are just a bunch of impressive words you string together or a clever but empty phrase.

Contrast "It's all about the O", with Secret's (deodorant for women) current tag line, "Secret - because you're hot". Not a fan of the product, but the tag is brilliant. This works on so many different levels:

• Deodorant helps to keep your body cool when it does get hot
• When you're body does get hot and sweats, it also starts to smell, another good reason for deodorant.
• Lastly, and this was the clincher, women want to feel desired and sexy - they want to feel "hot"

This tag is implying that when you use their product you will be the right kind of "hot", not the wrong kind. It speaks directly to exactly what women want, again it's brilliant.

Action Step:
When you think of your own tag line, does it resonate with your target market? Does it specifically address the benefits your clients will get from hiring you? Ask your clients if your tag line means anything to them.

PS - Just wanted to thank Sherry in CA for ordering the BASAS package yesterday, your feedback was extremely helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to share it. No need to thank me for the bonuses - remember I am here to help and serve you.

No Proposal, No Signature, No Work – How Freelance Graphic Designers Can Slow Down Gung-ho Clients

Have you ever worked with a client that was so gung-ho about getting their project started they tried to bypass your whole design process? Before you’ve sent them a proposal, given them a firm quote or even told them what types of payments you accept, they are already heaping examples and ideas on you. If you haven’t worked with someone like this yet, don’t worry – you will.

Business managers and entrepreneurs are often “Type A”, aggressive personalities that don’t like to wait for things. They are juggling a lot of things on their plate and they don’t want to be slowed down by a designer’s process of bringing on a new client.

This poses an interesting and difficult challenge for designers who want to make sure they take the time to ensure they walk clients through their process and make sure the potential client is a good fit before begging work. If you’re one of these types of designers – good for you, you’re being smart.

It’s so tempting to want to please the client and help out in any way that you can, but you have to stand your ground when it comes to ensuring you have a solid, signed agreement before starting work for a client. Clients will inadvertently put pressure on you to bypass your own process in getting a signed proposal before starting – avoid this at all costs because it will bite you in the butt later. I do believe there are times clients will intentionally try to avoid having to sign a contract so they try to convince the designer that there’s no time for it and that they’ll take care of everything after “things settle down".

The bottom line is this – if your client isn’t going to invest the time to wait for you to do things the right way by agreeing to a proposal that will eliminate confusion and misconceptions down the line, they aren’t worth working with. Run like heck.

It’s your responsibility at the professional to kindly but convincingly let the client know that you have a process and you intend on following it. Below I’ve included an example I had with a client who I did one quick pro-bono project for him to show what I could do; afterwards he kept sending me work without have a signed proposal. This is a terrific example of what you’ll find in the Verbal Judo for Designers book, click here to download a couple of sample chapters.

Good to hear from you, [CLIENT NAME], I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.

Sure, I can send over a quick proposal to you this week. I can email the proposal over and we can discuss it on the telephone if you’d like; however, I think it’s better to go over in person, which option is best for you?

Why don’t we hold off on moving forward with anything else right now so you can concentrate on what you’re working on and I can prepare this initial proposal for you? If you like what I have in the proposal and you feel it’s a good fit; we’ll get the proposal signed and we’ll get things started up for you.

What day would be the best day to get you the quick proposal: Wed, Thurs or Friday?
With the schedule you have, when should I expect to hear back from you?

"What program should I use?" If your clients ask, maybe they should let you do it

My buddy Craig comes up with a great quote - I was telling him about a client of mine: he recently asked me, "I am interested in getting my web site started, what program should I be using?"

Craig's response, "If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be doing this by yourself, and instead hire a professional."

Hysterical...thanks Craig.

PS: I also received an email from Natalie over in the UK, she was trying to decide which eBook to purchase for her company, here is a list of questions that might help. Good question Natalie, thanks.

Why Do Creative Freelancers Spend More Time Surfing than Selling?

Through a mutual friend, I met a freelance graphic designer from CA late last year. He was going through some tough times with his business and just didn't think he would make it. My friend thought I might be able to provide this guy some insights, so I gave him a call.

In first talking with the designer I wanted to learn how and where he was investing his time. He mentioned on an average day he gets up and checks out online job postings, visits a few blogs, jumps on the message board and see what's going on there, visits Adobe's site to see if someone's posted some helpful tips and finishes off by checking the local news and sports. Wow, that's a lot, "How long do you surf a day?" I asked. He responded with "2.5 hours a day." Wow, that's a lot.

Let me ask you, other than entertainment and a couple of pointers you pick up on blogs, message boards, has any of that time helped you to grow your business?"

Silence. Then in an uncomfortable tone he replies, "I don't know, I suppose it probably has a little bit." The truth is, no it really hasn't helped his business grow much at all - and deep down he knows it. That's the trick with surfing, and looking for free information - it feels like you're doing real work that will grow your business and make you successful, but you're not. 

Let's look at this mathematically, ask yourself, "Do you spend more than 1 hour a day on message boards, surfing, tips/tricks web sites and even blogs?" Let's say you spend 2 hours a day and that you are making the bare minimum at just $25 an hour for your time - the opportunity cost for you surfing a year is $12,500.

250 days @ 1 hr a day * $25 hr = $12,500 

Could you imagine what you could do if you invested in 1/2 of that time selling and marketing to your clients? How much time during your day do you devote to selling, to surfing?

So if selling can grow a business and surfing tends to let money slip away, why do freelancers spend more time surfing on the internet rather than selling to new or existing clients?

• Surfing's more fun and it's easier.
• No one is scared of surfing.
• You can surf in your pajamas.
• Surfing feels like working and making progress...although you're really not. You can trick yourself into feeling, "I am investing my time wisely by getting my name out there", or, "I am doing research by reading free articles that will help me be more successful." Neither are going to make you overly successful - I know, I tried this strategy years ago.
• There is no fear of rejection while surfing.

 The bottom line about surfing rather than selling:

• If you do more surfing than selling you'll end up starving.
• If you don't like selling, freelancing isn't for you.
• Surfing isn't work (most of the time), it's playing around, and it's not going to put bread on your table.
• Playing around is fine, after you get your work done.
• If you devote more time to selling than surfing you'll make a lot more money.
• You won't find the secret to success by skimming the web for free information.

Marketing and Advertising on the NOT So Straight & Narrow - Should You Do It?

I received a few comments on the blog over the last week that really weren't comments at all; they were advertisements for an online training company - I won't bother mentioning their name. I certainly don't have any problem with companies advertising, but what pisses me off (and most of the general public) is when questionable business owners, marketers and advertisers pretend that they aren't advertising when they really are.

Unfortunately, these types of questionable marketing and advertising techniques aren't all that uncommon. It begs the question, "Just because you can do something, does that mean you should?"

For example: pretending to be gathering information on the phone when in fact you're trying to sell something, telling people they've won something when they really haven't, and yes, adding comments to a blog that are really advertisements, are all ways you can add to your bottom line (in the short run).

Should you resort to these types of tactics to build your sales?

Well, that's a personal call every company (and creative freelancer) has to make on her/his own. For me, I think people are generally pretty smart, and they can see a scam coming a mile away. When people see unscrupulous, dishonest marketing & advertising they typically ignore it, complain about it or tell as many as their friends to avoid it. Imagine that - people don't like to feel like they've been taken advantage of, or tricked!

Hey, as freelance professionals we're all aware of different ways to manipulate people into visiting our web site or calling us on the phone, but these approaches are more likely to build "bad will" rather than building our businesses. You're going to find other companies and freelance designers out there that will do just about anything to get people in their door - don't buy into this garbage, in the long run it doesn't work.

If you really want to make a success out of yourself, treat people the way you'd like to be treated, be honest and be fair - you'll sleep better at night and you'll probably end up making more money anyway.

In wrapping this post up, I wanted to share a nice success story I received on Thursday from a freelancer who purchased the BASAS printed book, "I think your book so far is great. It addresses all the issues that we graphic designers face. I'm looking forward to reading about how to incorporate marketing know-how/strategy into my work. thanks, you did us all a great service!" Thanks Patti, and it's my pleasure.

Good Client or Rotten Client - How Freelance Designers Can Tell Before They Accept the Project

When considering a new car you kick the tires, you look under the hood. When you consider buying some fruit, you smell it and you squeeze it. But when you’re considering on whether or not to work with a client, how do you know what to look for?

I doubt that squeezing a client or trying to look under their hood would be considered good business practices, or acceptable no matter where in the world you live. Still, the client is looking you over in deciding whether to hire you or not, shouldn’t you be looking at her/him trying to decide if you want to work with them?

If you’re wondering what criteria I look for in decision whether or not to work with a client, I’ve included a quick sample below.

The client:

• Is excited about the project, rather than feeling, "I guess I have to hire a freelancer"
• Has done some homework in finding the right person - they’re engaged in the process
• Seems genuine and friendly
• Is expecting good results from the project. She/he is expecting this project to help their business grow.
• Is looking for someone to come along side them, consult them and advise them instead of, "I have a project that just needs done, can you do it?"
• Trusts their freelancers because she/he knows they aren't an expert in this field. No closet designers.
• Sees the value of what an expert marketer and designer can do for their company. Instead of seeing their project as an expense, they see it as an opportunity to grow their business.
• Understands that sure, you can try to do everything on your own but savvy business people (including freelance designers) know that building a team of support professionals is much more effective than trying to do everything yourself.

What do you look for in your clients? If you haven't identified what you're looking for, how do you intend on finding them? Take some time today and tomorrow and think list out what you're looking for in a client - it'll make it a lot easier for you to determine if you've found the right one as you meet new people. Avoid kicking clients in the shin and or squeezing them to see if they are good - no matter where in the world you live, this approach probably won't be appreciated :)

New Books, They are On Their Way:
Hey thanks for passing the blog along for others to read, as well as the additional comments - both a really appreciated. I am working feverishly on getting the books, Verbal Judo for Designers, and From Zero to Graphic Design Hero - Getting Your First Clients ready for distribution as quickly as possible.  If you've ever been frustrated by difficult clients, or you didn't know how to handle a tough situation and felt like you were taken advantage of - Verbal Judo for Designers was written for you! And From Zero to Graphic Design Hero - Getting Your First Clients, well this is pretty self explanatory...the 5 page, step-by-step marketing calendar has gotten some good reviews so far. Look for these to become available at the end of the first quarter this year.

Anatomy of a Potential Client Blowing off a Freelance Designer

Bringing on a new client is a lot like collecting a past debt, the longer it goes without any action, the less likely you'll get the result you want. Below I've included actual excerpts from emails this prospect sent me. Use my example below as a blue print to help you identify when a prospect is doing this to you. 

11/29
You are definitely a good fit and the pricing is within line. Talk soon!

12/6
I haven't forgotten you. Got a little sidetracked with some deals I'm working on with my investment group. I'll get back to you before the end of the week. 

P.S. If you haven't done so, take a look at my very generic website. Would like feedback from you on how we can improve. Thanks!

12/14
Donna,
Here is Jeremy's contact info (prospect lists my contact info)

Observations to Note:

A) There's way too much time between when the client received the proposal and now. Inactivity is a bad sign (holiday season or not)

B) The prospect keeps reassuring me that this is kind of a done deal; she just hasn't gotten to it yet. But you'd have to ask yourself, how long does it take to read, sign and fax a contract? By the 6^th this deal's starting to smell bad.

C) How funny, on the 6^th of Dec, the prospect looks to get even more value out of me by analyzing her web site for free - while dangling the carrot that "she'll be getting back to me".

D)  By the 14^th the deal is completely gone. Since this prospect was referred over by a mutual friend, she's trying to save face by pretending to send me a referral. The prospect feels guilty, so this is her way of feeling better about stringing me along.

Wrap Up:
I wasn't heartbroken nor was I surprised by the way this panned out. The woman actually flaked out on our first meeting, I did give her another chance and she was late to that meeting, so I had a strong suspicion she'd flake out here - and she did. The phrase, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck" comes to mind.

Essentially this prospect was showing me all along what type of client she might be, so I wasn't surprised in how this ended. Sure, I could have forced the issue, but investing more time in a flaky, noncommittal prospect wasn't worth it for me.

If you look at what this prospect is doing (or not doing) rather than what she's saying, it's quite clear that she's not interested. This is a good point of wisdom for all freelancers that have difficulty predicting what their prospects are doing, "Watch what they do, not as much what they say."

In all fairness, this woman isn't a bad person - she's actually pretty nice. In all probability she intended on hiring me, but something else came up and she just didn't want to tell me it wasn't a good fit. This of course can be extremely frustrating for designers, so if you get nothing else out of this except, remember that prospects do this often so it's your responsibility to ask for a "Go or No Go" answer by a specific date or commit to a "move on" date in your head.

If your prospect doesn't respond within your time frame stop agonizing and wondering about them, let them go - they are most likely not interested.

Focus your attention on someone else who's willing to step up and want to work with you.

Housekeeping Note:
I received a nice email from an illustrator looking to work with me on the Verbal Judo for Designers project, "...any designer who doesn’t at least read your blog is definitely missing out on some significant stuff." Thanks Sherman.

You probably have friends or colleagues that might benefit from what's on this blog, if you're enjoying it please pass the URL along so others can benefit from it as well. Oh, and if you know an illustrator that  might be interested in working with me, have her/him check out the link above.

What Happens to Freelancers that Can't Write Gooder Than Others?

I hope you got a chuckle out of the title...I hope you also know it was a joke :) Of course my riting, rithmatic and reading is good! Anyway, this email conveniently dropped into my Outlook inbox last week, I wanted to quickly share it with you (sadly, the freelancer who typed this email up wasn't trying to be funny):

"Hello,
Could I please get a stats up date. I not not heard from you... Whats going on?  I have not received the 2 payment for the package or for the cater as of today. I have all of the vender calling asking about there payments. Please call or e-mail."

I'd like to think most freelance contractors have a pretty good handle on sending well thought out, proofread emails, but not always. In fact, this one came from a freelance professional (though not a graphic designer) that's been in the business for over 10 years. While this email didn't lose her the job, it certainly made us think a few more times before we decided to work with her. See how many mistakes you can count in these few sentences...I lost track after seven. 

Okay beyond dwelling on poor grammar and poking a little fun at someone, below are a few lessons you should keep in mind when communicating with your clients:

• Use the client's specific name rather than a generic salutation. Just putting "Hello..." looks like spam. People like to hear and read their own name, as long as it's not done in excess.
• Use spell check, for goodness sake, use spell check - it doesn't cost anything extra! For an extra layer of protection, you may even want to drop the text in Word to see if it finds a grammatical mistake.
• We all make spelling and grammatical mistakes - in fact I may have a few minor ones in this post, just try to cut them down as much as possible. Take a few extra seconds to check things over before you hit the send button. To avoid looking like an idiot, I'd think it's worth it.
• It's easy for your brain to read what it thinks it's reading rather than what's actually been typed out. It sounds crazy but because the ideas typically flow from one sentence to another it's easy for your brain to omit words, misspell words, etc. There is a trick around this though: instead of reading your sentences from first to last. Read the last sentence first, and move towards your first sentence. This is a clever trick writers have know about for years: it breaks up the flow of one sentence to another and makes it easier for your brain to clearly evaluate one sentence at a time. Try it out, it works!   
  

I am certainly not a grammar wizard - never have been, but over the years I've received some appalling emails from freelancers and illustrators applying to work with me. Seeing these errors suggests that the freelancer who wrote them is either lazy or just not that bright. Sadly, neither might be the case, but that's what is being communicated, so that's what will perceived.

Do you proof your communications before you send them? Would you benefit from going back into your college grammar books and revisit some things? For most freelancers, the answer is, "yes".

I do know employers that will tear up your resume if you have any mistakes at all - ouch! And while in the freelance world that might be a little harsh, having loads of spelling and grammatical mistakes in your proposals or initial emails to a potential client certainly won't help you.

Action Item All Freelancers Should Take On:
We're a week into the 2008 already and I know everyone was excited about starting a new year and telling themselves that, "This is the year I am going to make it!" This is a great thought so hang on to it, but you'll need more than to just think positive thoughts to be successful.

• Do you have a plan on how you'll make it and become successful this year?
• What will you do differently this year that will make your business successful?
• Are you really willing to do what it takes to be successful, or are you just hoping?

It's only the first week of the year (so you have a week or so to decide), but before the year gets rolling make a decision in your mind and heart if you're going to do what you have to become successful this year, or if you're just going to hope.