May 3, 2019 09:57:45 PM by Jacqueline P
What did you all think about the webinar? Seemed to make sense, find one thing to specialize in, keep doing the same thing for max money, less time spent and cause you can better predict how long it will take.
First concern though is as a graphic designer, I don't know how often jobs would come up for that one thing, if I go for everything I can do, there's more jobs to apply for. Also clients looking for graphic designers seem to want one person who can do everything, not people who specialize, so if anything I should probably add skills.
I do have one thing I could specialize in, but it's complex and time consuming by nature and I tend to lose out in the long run on those.
How about the rest of you? I know it depends on the kind of work you do. I thought there was a lot of value in the ideas presented, maybe a good discussion here would make it even more useful.
May 3, 2019 10:24:22 PM by Tiffany S
Would it make sense for you to provide full service but target a specific niche, so you became an expert in one area like medical design or retail or....whatever you have a solid knowledge of and tend to like that type of clients?
May 3, 2019 11:02:02 PM Edited May 3, 2019 11:10:43 PM by Wendy C
Jacqueline, I'm going to get a fair bit of push-back but ... I don't fully agree with the niche marketing concept. For someone like Tiffany, lawyer and writer (amongst other talents), who def. has a niche the concept is ideal.
For others, not necessarily. I write across a multitude of categories but never interview for work that requires, for example, specific scientific or medical knowledge. I don't have it. And trying to create and build a brand and marketing communications to peers in either category would be insane.
I do write for a doctor ... but I know babies and how new moms feel > so it really comes down to less niche for many of us and more common sense and honesty.
Based on your profile I'm guessing your love is magazine work ... to me that translates into you can also turn out terrific mag/ newspaper/ POS / flyers / doorhangers / posters / expo illustrations, etc.
So, yes a niche ... but a greatly expanded one.
May 4, 2019 12:17:10 AM by Jennifer M
I can't post my thoughts on the webinar here, but remember she's a sales writer. You can take some general thoughts from her, but there are several things she pushes as a way to be successful that are the exact opposite of how I work.
You have to take what these people say with a grain of salt. You really need to pave your own way I think in freelancing. General ideas are ok, but you have to kinda figure out what works for you.
May 4, 2019 11:16:28 AM by Christine A
Jacqueline P wrote:First concern though is as a graphic designer, I don't know how often jobs would come up for that one thing, if I go for everything I can do, there's more jobs to apply for. Also clients looking for graphic designers seem to want one person who can do everything, not people who specialize, so if anything I should probably add skills.
I'm also in the graphic design category and I used to apply for anything and everything, but I eventually came to the conclusion that it makes sense (for me, anyway) to specialize. It doesn't matter how many jobs you can apply for; what matters is how many jobs you can actually win. It's not a numbers game.
Say you're a client who's looking for a logo, and you get 50+ applications (which all logo projects do). Now, I know how to do logo designs and I used to apply for logo projects all the time. The problem is, there's a huge amount of competition in that particular category; I've only done 20 or 30 logos and I was competing with people who've done hundreds. I would win maybe 1 out of every 100 logo projects that I applied for. Eventually I just gave up because it wasn't a good return on my investment. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that if I were a client, I wouldn't want to hire somebody like me; no, I would want a designer who just eats, breathes and sleeps logos, logos, logos.
I've seen so many profiles in the graphic design category that have the exact same list of skills - "I use Adobe CS and I've designed brochures, posters, annual reports, logos, business cards, letterhead, websites, flyers, books, blah, blah, blah." This doesn't help you stand out from your competitors; on the contrary, it just makes you look exactly like every other designer out there.
I know that Upwork's new pay-for-connects policy has been viewed as a cynical money-making ploy by most, but it really would raise the quality of the marketplace in general if more freelancers paused for thought and didn't apply for each and every single project that they kinda-sorta know how to do. This philosophy is probably what led to the webinar in the first place.
May 4, 2019 10:09:15 PM by Bud S
If you had more than one career before becoming a freelancer, you could definitely showcase your experience and skills in each area. These days, it's not unusual for people to have had more than one career through the years.
May 5, 2019 02:23:29 PM by Christine A
Bud S wrote:If you had more than one career before becoming a freelancer, you could definitely showcase your experience and skills in each area. These days, it's not unusual for people to have had more than one career through the years.
Agreed, but "specializing" doesn't mean that you hide all of your other skills and experiences. When I write proposals for projects like white papers and pitches, I mention that I'm a graphic designer with a background in corporate finance and extensive copywriting experience. That makes me even more of a specialist than if I were "just" a designer.
May 4, 2019 11:43:42 PM by Letizia F
I found her ideas valuable.
However, when she talks about getting paid preferably not by hours/time, but by value, I wonder how do you know how much money your clients make with your work, to define such value? Anybody with experience about this?
Also, I'm not 100% convinced that there are so many clients out there available to wait in long waiting lists... not even among long term clients. Two weeks is the maximum they can wait, in my experience.
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