ArticleMsDesign.com » Web-design » 6 Methods Used by Web Designers to Find Clients
There's a lot of competition for the web design work that exists, and this means that many designers have a hard time finding enough clients to keep them busy. If you are a freelancer or independent designer, you may benefit from these 6 tips.
Most likely you will have some periods of time where you are very busy and unable to take new work, and there will be other times where you are in need of new clients. This article will discuss some of the things you can do to reduce the situations where you are in need of work.
1. Market Yourself with an Effective Portfolio Site
Probably the most important asset to a freelancer or small design firm is the portfolio site. Most potential clients will judge you based on what they see from your portfolio. That includes both the work that you have done for other clients and the design of the portfolio site itself.
For many designers, the portfolio site is the single most significant source of leads. In this case, the site is always working to promote your business whenever a potential client is on the site.
2. Give Visitors An Easy Way to Reach You
As people are visiting your portfolio site, some of them will want to contact you to find out more information about having you design their site. It should be as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you, or you may lose visitors and clients.
In most cases, a portfolio site will have a contact form that visitors can fill out to have someone get in touch with them or to request a quote. Another common approach is to list the designer's email address on the site. Whatever you choose, make it easy to find.
3. SEO Your Portfolio
Many potential clients who will be looking for a designer will be searching for one through Google or another search engine. If you're going to go to the trouble of designing a quality portfolio site to get their attention, make sure that it is optimized for search engines.
4. Include a Blog on Your Site
As you visit the portfolio sites of other designers you will probably notice that many of them are also using blogs on their sites. Blogs are effective for designers for a few reasons. First, they help to give you a personality and allow you to connect with potential clients.
Second, they are great for building links to your site and increasing the number of people that see your portfolio. Third, blogs tend to draw more search engine visitors than a portfolio site by itself.
5. Get Referrals from Clients
When you have completed a project for a client, be sure to ask them if they have any friends or contacts that may benefit from your services. Potential clients who are referred by someone they trust will be much more likely to hire you as compared to average visitors at your portfolio site.
Staying in contact with clients is a good idea. Even after the work has been completed you can still touch base with them occasionally to see if they need your services or if they have referrals.
6. Take Advantage of Design Job Listings Online
There are a number of online job boards that list design and development related jobs. Some are full-time positions, some are part-time, and others are freelance opportunities. With many of these jobs you will be able to work from any location since you could design from your home office.
Article Source: ArticleMsDesign.com
Steven Snell has seven years of experience as a web designer. One of his sites includes a list of job opportunities for web designers
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by: Steven Snell Total views: 73 Word Count: 605 Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 Time: 5:58 AM 0 comments
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