Freelance Talk

On the other hand, if you define your freelancing business as a fairly priced, highly skilled and experienced alternative to the competition, with all the benefits that an individual can give and a corporation cannot, your clients will come to you with the confidence and trust that you deserve.

Does the fact that I work much faster now mean that I should charge less for what I do? No. If anything, I should be charging more (I’m able to meet tighter deadlines than I was before).

Does this mean I should undercharge for my work because it comes natural to me? No. I price my work based on the value it brings to my client.

A renowned painter once told me that he “didn’t sell art by the square inch.”

The following questions can help you evaluate whether you should follow a trend: Is this guru/advisor qualified? Is his or her experience typical? Is the advice practical? How much will I have to spend? How much time will it take? What benefits can I expect to receive? Have others successfully followed the advice? What else can go wrong when following the advice?

Then, if you have the time, put in a little extra effort to deliver a day early. Odds are, this will make an amazing first impression with your clients as they will be comparing you to designers they have worked with in the past who probably never attempted to beat the due date and might have even struggled just to finish by the agreed upon deadline

One easy way to blow your clients away is to stop emailing them simple jpgs of whatever you’ve created. Instead, throw the jpgs on a nice background, toss in their company logo and spend a few minutes creating a quick writeup for each concept. Present your thought process and logic behind everything you create. You’d be surprised how few designers put in this extra effort and how impressed many clients will be with it. Beyond simply making a good impression, this technique helps you sell your ideas to your clients. A simple static thumbnail leaves a lot of interpretation hanging in the balance. This could result in a complete misunderstanding of what you were trying to accomplish and ultimately an unchangeable dislike for your design. However, if they see that you’ve thought through the concept, they’re more likely to accept the design or at least make suggestions without destroying the integrity of the idea.

Beating deadlines, over delivering, answering calls and emails at all hours of the day and night, and coming through in a bind are things that your client should know are optional actions you perform to make sure they’re completely satisfied with your service. These methods should be noticed and appreciated, not abused

Do you finish your tasks on time? Is your work always your absolute best? Do you show professionalism and courtesy in your client communication?

Maybe you don't understand good design? Oh wait. I read you regularly. I know you don't understand good design. You're still thinking about things as pretty or not, not well designed or not.