Help!!!

[Andy1982]

Hey all,

I'm looking to set myself up as a freelancer, I have an ABN (business number) and registered as a sole trader, I haven't come up with a business name for myself yet though. Anyway, my question is, how should I go about promoting myself to get work? I already have a business card (look below), and working on a self promotional brochure. I just hate walking into places and saying: 'Hi there, I'm a feelance graphic designer, need anyone at the moment?' All suggestions and advice would be very much appreciated!

Andy

[sarah]

Nice cards Andy! Make sure you give them to anyone and everyone you meet. You never know when they might meet someone who needs your services and have your card to hand in their wallet.

Not sure about over there but when I first started out I went along to a few local business networking events, got to know people and hand out some cards. Led to a few projects, and from there word of mouth brought lots more! There are also online business networks you can join and offer your services, www.ecademy.com is one.

All the best,

Sarah

[Andy1982]

Thanks for that Sarah, I've taken all that on board!

Andy :)

[Mute]

People here who know me willlaugh when i say, im a guy of very few words.
In real life that is.

I started off by doing what sarah sugested, went to almost every small, big, weird, popular, whatever graphic design and web related events i could find. At one point i was at like 4 a day lol

Had my tablet pc, site up, some nice cards i designed, a crazy idea here and there like talking t-shirt lol that was very funny, anyway, i had to stand out among all the great designers.

Andy, a word of advice, although i am young, luckely i have worked with really big names, also had the pleasure of working along side Mike of Urbna75 (one of the most well known designers from the uk to date) a few times recently.
YOU CAN NOT hate whatyou do, if walking into companies, handing out a card, and selling urself as "freelancer who wants work' is what it will take, do it, otherwise you will have the hardest time getting anywhere.

Get yourself a site up, instead of a hotmail account on ur cards, have ur personal site up with a portfolio like me when i first started.

Good luck man, and if you need help with anything else, give us a shout

[Toon]

A good web site and a great web presence is essential in this day and age. You need a potential client to site on a SE and type 'colour printing' or 'web design' and usually their location 'Melbourne' (people tend to prefer local). And their you are in the first 2-3 pages of Google, MSN, Yahoo and others. The sites that appear above you are potential competitors and your site has to be more impressive visually than theirs to draw that client in. It's the great balance between aesthetics and function all designers have to strugle with week in and week out.

No. 1 in google for 'web design'+'melbourne' looks like this...




But is viewed by google like this...

http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...&hl=en&strip=1

Have a look at the keyword density and you will see why their number one.
SEO and good design will get you somewhere.

Best of luck.

[Cwilk]

Business cards are like candy....make sure you have them with you all the time and pass them out. We've never had a brochure or anything else, so our company is very different, but the old fashioned way never hurts either....door-to-door hitting up the businesses you might want to do work for. You never know who will want or need you.

[emileee]

Originally Posted by Toon

A good web site and a great web presence is essential in this day and age. You need a potential client to site on a SE and type 'colour printing' or 'web design' and usually their location 'Melbourne' (people tend to prefer local). And their you are in the first 2-3 pages of Google, MSN, Yahoo and others. The sites that appear above you are potential competitors and your site has to be more impressive visually than theirs to draw that client in. It's the great balance between aesthetics and function all designers have to strugle with week in and week out.

No. 1 in google for 'web design'+'melbourne' looks like this...




But is viewed by google like this...

Web Design Melbourne Graphic Design Melbourne Web Development Melbourne Australia

Have a look at the keyword density and you will see why their number one.
SEO and good design will get you somewhere.

Best of luck.

That's really interesting and quite helpful, I don't think people look at websites that way enough.

[Laura Lynne]

love the cards