two freelance graphic designers networking

Truth be told, there’s never been more ways to network your graphic design freelance business.

 

There was a day when the “ad men” ruled the roost. A freelancer didn’t have a chance. It was all “in house” and it was all at the big agencies.

 

Well, the times have changed and we’re glad to be in business, freelancing, right now! There’s so much possibility and, hey, we’re creatives… so we thrive in possibilities!

 

We’re going to tell you about some of the “gotta do” and “baby steps” for freelancers wanting to know how to get graphic design clients. Note that we didn’t say “advertise your services!”

 

It’s not about that anymore. We’re online to build relationships, supply chains, reciprocity, win-wins… we’re networking! That’s how you build a business (and, coincidentally, how you advertise, market, and sell!)

 

And if you want to learn even more about networking so you can get more clients via word of mouth, we share our must-have networking script in our Freelance Level Up Kit online course.

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The Right Networking Methods for Graphic Designers

Don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you that you have to blog to get freelance clients. Isn’t that freeing!? (And, yes, if you want to blog, you can… check out our recent article for more ideas: The Most Effective Ways to Promote Your Graphic Design Business.)

 

There are so many great ways to network now, we’re going to shortlist our “Top 5” for freelancers, graphic designers, and brand designers. Here are our top 5 recommendations:

 

  1. Being present wherever your ideal client is hanging out (where’s your target audience?)
  2. LinkedIn
  3. A select social media platform
  4. Active on various social media… pointing towards your website
  5. Community events (where’s your target audience?)

 

Did you notice an opening and closing theme on that list? It’s the critical question: Where’s your target audience? Do you know?

 

Or, do you assume that your “target audience” is every living and breathing business owner, manager, decision maker who needs graphic design services?

freelance graphic designer wearing an orange beanie

(Horrors, no… that’s too many and you can’t handle that level of interest, believe us! The sad irony is, without narrowing your target audience down, you’re more likely to starve than be over-run with clients.)

 

So, we mean what we say: there is a “right” way to go about this networking thing. The platform isn’t critical (notice that our Top 5 list only mentions one platform specifically – LinkedIn – and even that one might not be the best choice for you, depending on your target audience).

 

Are you a bit puzzled about who your target audience is supposed to be? Let’s start here. You can’t go where they are, if you don’t know who they are!

 

Your target audience is your ideal client. Let’s try focusing on some basic questions:

  • Who do I want to work with?
  • What industry?
  • Who have I worked well with before?
  • What projects do I love?
  • What is a wise industry choice for my area?
  • Who are my favorite clients?

 

Answering these questions will lead you directly to your conclusion: your ideal client.

 

 

Once you have a general description, it’s most helpful to create a profile of an individual. Go back to the questions one more time.

 

Specifically, who is the decision maker you identify when you think of the real answers to these questions? Not generalizations, but the person giving the green light to your service proposal, signing the contract, and cutting the cheque to pay your invoice.

 

Okay, maybe you have a couple of people in mind now. It’s likely that they are current or former clients, people you know by name. Ask yourself some specific questions about them:

 

  • What are they like (personal characteristics, demographics, location, etc.)?
  • Where do they hang out (on social media and at community events)?

 

You now have a much firmer conceptualization of your ideal client (your target audience). Write down what you just figured out. Try to create one person (an avatar of your ideal client). You’re going to use this information to help your networking… and your business’s sales and growth!

freelance brand designer talking on the phone

What you just did is called niching down. If you stick to our advice and focus on this ideal client, your freelance graphic design studio can (and will) grow.

 

Don’t miss the point here. You might end up with clients from many backgrounds and industries, but you will focus your networking (and marketing, advertising, selling, client vetting process) on your ideal client’s profile.

 

Think of it this way…by niching down, you’re going to attract what you are focused on.

 

If you’re looking for zookeepers because they are your ideal client, you’re not going to have to figure out what every hotel, restaurant, hair salon, bank, law office, online retailer, chiropractor and milliner (they make hats) wants from a graphic designer.

 

How tiring that would be! How could you ever become the go-to expert getting word-of-mouth referrals? It just won’t happen.

 

You know the saying, “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Don’t let that be your business. Niche down for success!

 

Niching Down While Networking More

Niching-down will help define your networking. Let’s go back to our Top 5 list of networking recommendations for freelance graphic designers.

 

If you know exactly who your ideal client is, you can begin to guess where they will be and how you can reach them.

 

This isn’t rocket science. It’s basic water flow. The river will take the path of least resistance, as it runs downhill. Be that river. Take advantage of the natural flow.

 

You know who your ideal client is. And you’ll be able to figure out where they are likely to be (online and in-person). Be there. Be in the river, right there, with them. And, if you don’t know… do a bit of research.

 

It’ll be easy research. Find a couple of your ideal clients among your completed projects and think it through… where are they? (Or, better yet, call them – network and catch-up – and ask them where they are!)

 

Now, go there.

 

We included LinkedIn in the Top 5, as so many professionals and decision makers from so very many industries are on LinkedIn right now. The social media landscape (including LinkedIn) comes primed for targeted searches. You can search for your ideal client and connect.

three freelance web designers

Cold-connections are a bit tricky, but just remember that you’re looking to “network” first, not sell. No one wants direct and pushy cold-calls anymore, so don’t try it. You’ll hate doing it and they’ll hate hearing it.

 

Go relationally. Be interested. Tell your story. Build a professional connection. Use social media exactly how it’s designed to be used, after all!

 

Again, if you look back over our Top 5 list, we think you’ll agree that, with your ideal client always in mind, it will be fairly self-explanatory what you need to do next. We’ll just give you a few words of wisdom, from our own experience discovering the secrets to networking.

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Don’t Try to Be on Every Social Media Platform

No one can keep up that pace. You’ll burn out and you won’t have a great presence anywhere (mile wide… half an inch deep!).

 

Pick the platform that is the best intersection between your ideal client (they are there) and your own ability to keep your content on the platform relevant and fresh (you enjoy being there, too). That’s the platform you want to focus on.

 

Get Your Website In Order

All your networking activity needs to point potential clients somewhere. That “somewhere” is your website… which will feature your well-curated and stunning portfolio!

 

Be Active

If you know where your ideal client is, then you need to get involved. Networking without involvement is called a wallflower. You don’t get clients by watching others! Talk, engage, participate, comment, help, provide information, build relationships… network!

two graphic designers

Chain Reactions are Exponentially Powerful

At an awe-inspiring tipping point, your freelance business will experience two things:

 

First – you’ll become a go-to expert for your services within your ideal client’s circle.

 

Second – your networking efforts will start producing their own results, without any additional effort from you.

 

The first condition is akin to active sales. You go out, you do the work, you reap the sales.

 

The second condition is more like passive income. You go out, you do the work, you reap the sales, and the work keeps on working after you’ve already stopped working on it, and you reap more sales!

 

Networking benefits from the principles of amplifying feedback loops… exponential growth. This is the secret of something that goes viral.

 

But it doesn’t have to be a tweet or a TikTok – viral things are, generally, in the air and unseen. They just keep quietly reproducing. They look more like effortless magic or luck than a flashy, staged event.

If you consistently put in the effort, the chain reaction down the line will be both incrementally and exponentially powerful. You’ll reap in ways you couldn’t have foreseen, except that you knew, if you keep doing A, you’ll get B, and C to Z could begin to show up, too!

 

It’s not magic, in fact. It’s just logic! Growth is fundamentally organic, viral, and a chain reaction!

 

Be yourself as you network. Sure, we all put our best face on for others, but think about what reaches out and touches you. Talk like that. Be like that. Share like that. Maybe that means being professional and showing no gaps. Maybe that means self-deprecating gap-showing. Maybe it’s something in-between.

 

In business, this is called “passing the sniff test.” Be real. Others can tell when you are. After all, you can tell when you’re assessing others’ networking, communications, and advertising.

 

Don’t be that person who thinks you can fool others. Just be yourself. Up the game on your services and your business professionalism… don’t cut corners. Then be yourself.

 

Others will notice. Your ideal clients will notice. Your freelance graphic design business will grow.

brand designer working at a coffee shop

Networking Brings Amazing Results

Intuitively, you always knew that running your own freelance business would mean you’d need to sell your services. We’re glad to let you know that it’s as easy as… networking effectively and running your business in a ‘best practices’ way.

 

We have learned so many lessons. And we learned them all the hard way. Really, we didn’t think it was fair if we learned all of this, built our own freelance graphic design agency, and then watched a new crop of freelancers struggle in the same ways we did.

 

We aren’t into that hazing, paying-your-dues way of thinking. We believe in standing on the shoulders of giants.

kady sandle freelance course bundle

We wrote down everything we learned, both during our ah-ha moments and our struggles. We put it all together in one place for graphic and brand designers who are trying to start or grow their freelance business. We’re proud of our scrappy success story: we went from a one-woman show to a thriving branding agency!

 

We want to share all of this with you in our Money-Making Freelance Bundle. You can enroll in our online course and find out how to build your own freelance success story.

 

If you’re not sure how to take your dream and turn it into a profitable freelance business, we can show you step-by-step. Start your journey with us today!

web designer with curly hair

Before we sign off, how about one more tip from our networking experience?

 

If you niche-down, find where your ideal client is hanging out, and focus your networking efforts, two more amazing things will happen, as the exponential power we talked about in this article takes effect. Here they are and they will super-charge your business’s revenues:

 

1. Your Clients & Networking Connections Will Talk About You

They’ll have an opportunity and you likely won’t even be in the room. But they’ll remember you and they’ll speak well of you and you’ll have website hits, phones ringing, emails arriving, and sales growth… by word-of-mouth!

 

2. You’ll Have a Season When You Can Grow More

Maybe it’ll be a lull (we all get them!) or a time when you’ve expanded your team and want to increase your client roster. You will be confident and well-prepared to reach out to your current client base with some relational, feel-good, win-win networking.

 

You’ll spread the word that you have capacity, and you can ask your happy clients if they know anyone who could use your services. This is how you’ll receive referral leads.

 

You’re ready to go. Business is waiting… for your brilliant, amazing, project-catalyzing freelance services! Get started with your networking today.