The graphic design market has a lot of lucrative job opportunities for those eager to work in this creative industry. According to IBIS World, this market is currently worth $45 billion. Apart from being lucrative, the job opportunities provided in this sector are also plenty.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that every year, around 25,000 new graphic design jobs become available in the US. This shows that skilled graphic designers will always be in demand. Apart from these job openings, many designers go on to work freelance, which is a well-paid field in its own right.
According to Glassdoor, freelance graphic designers earn around $46,012 every year. With sufficient skills and experience, many of them go on to earn upwards of $100,000. However, the journey to becoming a successful freelance graphic designer isn’t an easy one. Apart from enhancing one’s skills and portfolio, what many designers must do is brand or market themselves. Otherwise, they’re likely to miss out on several potential clients.
If you’re eager to become a freelance graphic designer, self-branding is a must, and in this article, we’ll walk you through a few tips that can help you out in this regard.
#1 Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
To create a compelling personal brand, you must first understand what makes you unique as a graphic designer. Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the factor that differentiates you from other designers and defines your core strengths and skills. Reflect on your design style, expertise, and personal values to identify the aspects that set you apart.
Are you an expert in minimalist design? Do you excel in creating stunning brand identities? Are you passionate about eco-friendly design? Do you make the best restaurant menus in the area? These are all potential USPs that can become the foundation of your personal brand.
Remember, your USP should resonate with your target audience and align with the type of clients you wish to attract. Emphasize your USP in your portfolio, website, social media profiles, and any promotional materials to establish a strong and memorable presence in the freelance graphic design space.
#2 Create a Professional Search Engine Optimized Portfolio Website
Creating a professional portfolio website is a critical step in self-branding. It should not only display your best work but also represent your personal brand identity. That means apart from highlighting your work, the site also needs a unique logo that will be the identity of you and your brand. The site also needs to have your contact details so that interested clients can reach out to you for commissions.
You must also ensure the best search engine optimization (SEO) practices for your website. Without a proper SEO strategy, your site might not show up on search engines. Even if they do, it won’t be ranked on the first page of different search engine rankings.
If you’re not sure how to generate organic traffic by implementing a successful SEO strategy, don’t hesitate to work with a third-party SEO service provider. Their experience and skills will help you make your website more SEO-friendly, which, in turn, will allow it to be easily discovered through search engines.
According to SEO Inc., a good SEO strategy is all about finding the right balance between content and search engine marketing. Ensuring all this on your own will be a tedious task, something you can’t commit to if you’re already working on several freelance projects. Thus, turning to professional SEO service providers to help you out with this will be the best option here.
#3 Leverage Social Media to Amplify Your Brand
Your website will do most of your branding for you, but to grow a fan following and increase your visibility, you must take to social media as well. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are, of course, good places to start. They can also act as contact points where potential clients can get in touch with you and commission you.
However, for branding purposes, graphic designers find platforms like Dribble and Pinterest more suitable. The communities across these platforms are far more vast compared to Facebook and Instagram. Thus, it’ll be a wise move to focus most of your branding there and use Facebook and Instagram to appeal to potential clients.
#4 Network and Collaborate
Networking is a powerful tool for freelancers, and collaborating with other creatives can open doors to new opportunities. Attend design events, workshops, and conferences to meet industry professionals and potential clients. Engaging in meaningful conversations and sharing your knowledge can help position you as an authority in your niche.
Collaborating with other designers or professionals from different industries allows you to tap into new markets and broaden your client base. A well-executed collaboration can also be an excellent marketing opportunity for both parties involved.
When choosing potential collaborators, ensure their brand aligns with your own to maintain brand consistency and authenticity. Such collaborations become easily possible if you’re regularly posting on Dribble, Pinterest, and Instagram. Being regular means other like-minded designers are sure to come across your work at some point, and they might be interested to learn from you or even collaborate if your styles match.
Conclusion
Becoming a successful graphic designer takes a lot of work. As you can tell from our discussion above, becoming skilled and building a strong portfolio is only half the work. The other half is branding yourself, which often seems to be the most difficult task for designers. However, as long as you stick to the self-branding tips we’ve laid out for you, you can easily market yourself as a talented freelance graphic designer and be successful in this field.
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