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cbecker1983
Community Member

I am having trouble getting any response on here as a graphic designer

I am new to the upwork platform and am having issues getting jobs. I have yet to get one job. I know I am more than capable of doing the jobs I am bidding on. Can anyone look at my profile and point me in the right direction? I love what I do and I would love the be able to get more jobs and help people who need it. 

17 REPLIES 17
joansands
Community Member

Chad - It takes time to get started on Upwork and you are competing against many other people. Your profile looks pretty good to me but you need to have really good proposals where you dwell on what you can do for a client with not much emphasis about yourself.

Chad, I think your portfolio needs more variety. Everything you have in there is dark. How about balancing that with something light and uplifting?
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"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce

Thanks. I do have a few designs I did that are lighter. Thank you for the input! Anything and everything helps! 

Here is the problem... Your profile title...

Graphic Designer

 

Being a graphic designer isn't enough. Too many graphic designers.

 

You need to:

- be something more

- be something else

[or]

- be better

 

Those are your choices.

You could specialize in a particular type of graphic design task that clients are looking for.

 

Or you could do something completely different. You could, for example, drive a septic truck or become a security system repairman.

 

Or you could be not just "a graphic designer" but a highly in-demand graphic designer. Somebody with a long work history and excellent feedback. Somebody who a client wants to pick out a possible set of 30 graphic designers.

Yeah, I totally understand that. I love doing book covers and for some reason that is what I am good at.

Chad - If you love doing book covers and that is what you are really good at, then that is what you should emphasize - like maybe the headline on your profile should be "Book Cover Designer." Then be sure to have some book covers in your portfolio. Also, it is the first two sentences on your profile that are the most important. Those sentences are what will catch someone's eye - and you don't want them to be about yourself but about the great things you can do for someone.

Alright. Yeah I have written proposals outside of here but I wasn't sure on how this community worked considering it just feels like a text message. I will definitely look into more thought out proposals.

robin_hyman
Community Member

Your profile reads like any other graphic designer.  What makes you unique?  Put it at the top as clients see only the first few lines when they do a search.  

 

Don't give up... try, try, try again.  

 

richardrader
Community Member

I had trouble as well when I first started out. I think its just a matter of sticking with it, getting good feedback on the jobs you do get and doing well in the beginning. As of now I get more requests than I could accept. Try focusing on changing key words on your profile around so you can beter rank in Upwork search. Or target a specific area of graphic design that you are good at. That way you may rank for more specific key words (less competitive). Your profile looks good. If you have anything else in your portfolio (even if not done on upwork) I would put it up. I like your portfolio but would be nice to see other projects as the two I see cover the same asthetic (which is very nice btw but a client might have a different asthetic in mind for their projects so showing you have a diverse portfolio might be good.).

Thanks! Yeah I just put up a few different projects that I completed to show a bit of variety. 

Also, Chad, as an editor, it has been my experience that there are many people looking for book cover designers. I think that is probably a good niche to be in rather than general design since Upwork appears to have slews of people in the general category. I suggest putting more book covers in your portfolio and having cover design as the main part of your profile with other design in a secondary section. Just my 2 cents worth.

Joan, you have been such a great help in the last hour! I have already made some changes. I had my book deisgns up and failed to put that in their title. Simple oversite but it may have a big imapact. I also tweeked my bio. Definetely working on getting more projects done and putting them in my portfolio. I have a bunch of proposals out hoping that I get something! 

So, also, Chad, this is what I think your first sentence of your profile should be: "I will make your book cover come to life through the art of graphic design and imagination." That is basically your sentence but it was too buried and not the first thing someone would read.


Joan S wrote:

So, also, Chad, this is what I think your first sentence of your profile should be: "I will make your book cover come to life through the art of graphic design and imagination." That is basically your sentence but it was too buried and not the first thing someone would read.


I agree with Joan...but I am going to judge a book by it's cover and by the book covers you have already done and say I am not sure that statement is Chad enough.  It is very safe way to say it but I am not sure it is your voice and it is not directly engaging, if it where me I might say something like:

A book cover should make everyone who looks at it feel the moment your characters are going through...

 

Except say it your way, not my way.


Chad B wrote:

Thanks! Yeah I just put up a few different projects that I completed to show a bit of variety. 


I think another thing to consider is your rate, I think it is probably too low and at the very least you should consider this from the client search criteria:

Capture.PNG

If a client is looking at that that range, you are on the high-ish end of people willing to work for as little as $10.00.  At the very least you should go to $30.00 (I am not sure if that includes you in both ranges or you have to go above $30.00).  

 

I know the fear is...if I raise my rates I won't get hired...but I am not sure that fear is valid at all.  In your case it might actually be a hinderance having a lower rate.  But it doesn't matter because at the moment what do you have to lose?

 

To me the profile description is about selling what you do, not yourself...clients are not buying you.  You need to write a convincing piece of marketing copy that sells what a client coming to your profile needs.  It needs to be convincing and tight.  Yours is succinct but it is very much about YOU and not about what YOU can do for a client.

 

Write something unique about book cover designs that you know that will really make a client think.  Try to make those first two lines of your description (which is what shows up when clients are searching) speak to what your client's need in a strong and meaningful way.  Don't include anything that someone might used to prejudice against  you, for example you have 5 years experience, is that a lot, too many, average?  How does it help you if the client thinks the want someone with 6 or 3?   What if they don't care at all and now you made them care and they are thinking...is 5 years a lot of experience?

 

In a similar way all your proposals you need to put a lot of thought into what those first two lines say as well.  That's your hook and if you don't say something good chances are the client will never read the rest of it.  I can tell you for a fact they will at least 90% of proposals sent to them will say.

 

Hello, my name is blah blah and I have blah years of experience doing blah and I really hope you will consider me for the project...

 

If you want to be engaged you have to be engaging.  Give them a reason why they should read the rest of your proposal and a reason why they should look at your profile and a reason why they should hire you over dozens of people they could easily be fooled into thinking are just like you.

Mark,

Thank you for the detailed response! I am loving all of the feedback in this community and quite honestly am very surprised with! So great to see everyone supporting each other. I am making changes as suggestions come in. Everything is very much apprectiated! 

 

 

All the best, Chad!

Hang in there, hopefully, you'll get something soon.

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