HOW TO GET GRAPHICS DESIGN CLIENTS

How to get graphics design clients? It is effortless and straightforward. This article presents various tips on attracting clients for your graphic design.

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No matter how long you have been in the graphics design industry, you will need more clients to make money and become famous. Getting new clients can be daunting, especially as many graphic designers are available.

However, there are many ways you can grow the number of your clients. These ways include knowing your niche, having a rich portfolio, identifying your target market, leveraging social media, participating in contests, asking for referrals, or checking out online sites. This article will explain these strategies and help you advance your graphics design career.

How To Get Graphic Design Clients

Both newbies and those who have been in the game of creating graphics designs can consider the following strategies to get more clients. These strategies include the following:

• Knowing your Niche

Graphics design may sound like the same business or concept, but it differs. There are animations, web design, video game art, product, and package design, branding, environmental design, UI/UX design, publication design, advertising design, information design, and others.

Identifying your niche will help you shift your focus to creating a specific client base. You must know the niche that fits you best; it is better to have a particular area you are excellent than to know little about everything.

Identifying a niche helps you become an expert; your clients will know the exact area you are good in and will always come to you.

You can start by trying out all the niches and developing a general mindset before selecting the area you are best in. There is also an option of becoming a graphics designer who can do most things, but having a specific niche for which you are known is the best.

• Create a Strong Portfolio

A portfolio is like your cover page; it shows your potential clients what you can do and how well your works turn out. A strong portfolio is as important as telling potential clients you are a graphics designer, giving you more chances of winning.

Knowing what a portfolio should have is the first step toward building one. A portfolio should have your proposals and show your experiences, awards, and professional accomplishments.

You should answer some questions in your portfolio – what should be in your portfolio? What results do you wish to achieve by showing your previous works? How will you tell more of your experience of your professional journey?

What qualities should you highlight that will set you above other designers? Answering these questions will help you create a rich portfolio.

Also, Read How to Become a Freelance Filmmaker

• Know who your Target Market is

Your target markets are the audiences and people who will need your services, and they can come from different age groups, gender, occupations, locations, and interest. That means that these clients have different graphic design needs.

The first step towards this is making a list of prospective clients and getting additional information about them and their job requirements. This will narrow your search and guide you toward them.

Understanding your target market will help you know what this set of people expects from you and the motivation behind any job description; this will help you to give them the best.

• Leverage Social Media

Social media are turning from a place to get new friends to a business platform. You can create an account for your designs on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin and post daily your best work.

Initially, you may get few likes and followers, but this should encourage you. Make videos, use trendy hashtags, post on your story and make reels.

Clients can see your posts on these platforms, take note of your abilities and creativity and contact you. There are also many top-rated graphic designers on these social media platforms. You can check their profiles and improve your work.

Reach out to these professionals, start engaging in conversations with them and try to develop a relationship with them.

You can make posts about your work to get more traffic, likes, shares, and comments on your account. People will know about your work and stand out from other graphic designers.

By knowing which social media platform you give more visibility and leverage on it, you can increase your client base this way.

• Take Part in Contests

There are graphics design contests organized occasionally, which is an excellent opportunity to showcase your skills and get more clients.

Each game has judges who can review your work and make corrections where necessary, helping you get more perspectives.

Contests can help you to improve your work and have self-evaluation. If you lose, you can gain popularity and exposure whether you win or lose. During competitions, hashtags are used, and you can leverage this as a marketing strategy.

Taking part in contests will help notice different trends and unique things about other competitors’ designs. You can improve your designs with these developments.

• Ask for a Referral from Clients

Your old clients can refer you to new or prospective ones. When you give your clients excellent and satisfactory work, you can ask them to provide you with referrals or recommend you to others. Let them know that you are available for new clients and jobs.

When your clients refer to recommend you, you should appreciate them. You can even set up a promo for clients who refer or recommend you to others, and you can call this a “referral promo.”

Know that not all your clients will be comfortable feeling their family and friends about you and your job; they may be scared you might give less quality job, or you may not have time for their jobs again.

Let them know that you will provide the new clients with top-notch jobs and still have time to give them your best. Make sure to keep to your word when they get you, new clients.

Referrals from friends, family, and old clients can help you get new clients, build your client base and make more money.

• Use Different Job Boards

There are many online job boards where you can get new clients; these platforms work remotely. You can apply on Upwork, FlexJobs, Behance, TalentZoo, Dribbble, and others.

These platforms allow graphic designers to work freelance and simultaneously use them for many jobs.

You should know that these sites are legitimate and well-paying. These sites work by allowing clients to make payment for the work before hiring; the site takes out their percentage and holds on to your money till the client reports that you are done with the job.

Bottom Line

Getting new clients as a graphic designer can be difficult as many people are in the field, and new skills and talents emerge daily. So, if you are not focused on getting new clients, growing your clientele may not be accessible unless you are famous.

You can tell your friends, family, and old clients to refer you to other people. You can also target your audience, leverage on social media platforms, join contests and build a strong portfolio.

HOW TO GET GRAPHICS DESIGN CLIENTS