Promote Yourself
Another great way to get the clients you want is to let them come to you. The best way to do this is make sure your work is in their face everyday. This means writing press releases on a monthly basis to showcase your recent projects, updating your website consistently with your new work, writing articles for industry pubs that your client reads, submitting to awards and competitions that your client recognizes, and even having a blog that teaches clients how you can make their jobs easier.

Have Promotion Materials
There is nothing more discerning than meeting a contact from a client that you really want to work with and having no business card to give him/her your contact info. So what do you do, you end up writing your email on a napkin, or index card, or some other random piece of paper. Instead, make sure you always have business cards on you and a promotional packet or two. The best promotional packets tend to be little flip books that can show the client exactly what you do, how you do it, and why you are the best fit for them. href=”http://www.flickr.com/do/more/”>Flickr has a great flip book you can purchase that pulls the pictures directly from your account, or if you want more creative control, href=”http://www.lulu.com/”>Lulu Publishing lets you self publish your own books. (more…)

As designers we often have a hard time putting on our sales cap and going out to get new clients. The harsh reality is that if you are a freelancer or own your own studio then you need to make sales an important part of your daily activities. When trying to get a new client it isn’t just about getting a name and phone number, rather, the more important thing is that you truly understand what the client needs and how you can fulfill that need. Here are 10 things that I have found helpful to keep you focused and help you keep getting new clients and projects on a continuous basis.

Make a Wish List
You can’t really find the clients you want to work with until you know who they are. Make a wish list of the types of clients you want to work with and be as specific as possible, including things like the projects you would like from that client. Good examples include:

Family Run Catering Company looking for a new identity
Micro-website for HBO Espanol
Website and banner ads for Sean John clothing line

Feel free to update your wish list throughout the year. At the beginning of each month I refine the list and look at who I have gotten in the previous month and who I would like to add.
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I’ve always been a fan of Sessions’ classes because they can help many aspiring designers make that jump into the industry with guided lessons from real design professionals. So once you’ve broken ground into the design world you’ll need to start thinking about how the business side of the industry works. One of the most important things that you’ll need to determine for the projects you take on as a freelancer, or as a principal in a design studio, is “when is a project good for me to take on”. The following blog post is an excerpt from a worksheet I have put together, which helps me determine whether a project will be good for me financially, professionally, and emotionally. One thing to note, these questions should be answered before you write a proposal, typically at the new business meeting or initial phone conversation.

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