10 effective Marketing strategies for designers

I hate to break it to you but actively seeking out and finding clients is something that many designers find hard.  I’m talking about the unsexy and uncreative effort of marketing yourself as a designer out there to attract more clients.

But there are some simple secrets to building a successful and effective marketing strategy for your design career which I am going to share with you in this post. In fact, using these strategies – and a bit of determination – you could grow your brand globally and attract a steady stream of prospects and clients.

1. Create an online portfolio

Online portfolios are the new resumes. Building an online portfolio is the most important designers can take to further their career. Apart from giving you a personal real estate to showcase your work, a portfolio can also set you up apart from the competition. Avoid having just a static website and have something that incorporates a blog where you share your thoughts on projects and design. This has the potential to attract clients from search engine results doing research online

There are countless inexpensive avenues and sites that designers can leverage to build their online portfolios e.g Dribble and Behance . Apart from these, designers should try to build their own custom portfolios. There are many resources available including here on Freepik to help you get started.

2. Network creatively

Obviously, this is necessary if you want to stay up to date with the latest trends and news in the design industry. Network and engage other designers online and locally at events and meetups in your town. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can be extremely powerful and cost-effective networking and marketing tools. Community interaction greatly increases your exposure

3. Take part in contests

Design contests are a great way to market yourself and show off your skills by tackling real design problems. If you get lucky and win any of these awards, showcase it on your portfolio or blog.

4. Forums and design community

Be active in forums and online communities, relevant to your design niche. Engage other members by asking relevant question or polls about design and answering other peoples questions about your creative sector e.g this question on Quora

Don’t forget to add a signature that includes a link to your website. If you can hyperlink the text, even better. Again, anchor your keywords to get the most benefit, SEO wise.

5. Give away free stuff if you can afford to

Have any freebies you can give away? The more you give the more a potential prospect is likely to come across your work and who knows! Create free downloads and resources that help a specific group or niche. Take the example of Design Agency Fairpixel which decided open sourcing its rejected logos so startups can use them for free.

The logos are all free to download, and you get both the finished product (png) and an Illustrator file at LogoDust . Clever, don’t you think?

6. Distribute your work aggressively

Submit your personal design work and art to magazines, blogs and online galleries. Distribute your work through as many channels as you can to get the most exposure. Leverage popular channels to showcase your work and find out how your work can be featured in one. Don’t wait to be discovered, you may actually be robbing yourself and others of a great opportunity. With the right distribution strategy, you work can go viral and make you a legendary designer. Chances are the more your work is shared and spread across the internet, the easier it is to become a recognized and reputable designer, thus more clients will be available.

7. Redesigns and concepts

Redesign or make a concept of your favourite design product and show it off. Redesigns are great when it comes to social promotion and marketing for a designer. Part from showing off your skills as a designer, it could lead to a complete new job. Take the case of a graphic designer offered job with the NBA after redesigning team logos.

He posted all the redesigned logos on Reddit and got the NBA’s attention within four days. The league offered a contract to do some freelance work for social media pages.

8. Become a guest writer

Write a guest post or become a regular contributor for a popular design magazine or blog. There are many publications and sites that actively seek contributions from design experts. This can be a great way to supplement your income and get your name out there. As a matter of fact, you can contribute by writing here for Freepik .

9. Join professional design associations /organizations

Join design organisations such as AIGA. The benefits of interacting with like-minded people and networking are extremely valuable. Participating in design organisations will provide a rich understanding of the field, who’s who in our industry, and give you the chance to speak to inspiring people. The opportunities for learning and growth are tremendous. It’s important to soak up all the possible knowledge and advice on offer; to get noticed and respected by colleagues.

10. Engage design Influencers

Research the people who influence design conversations and engage them. Let them know you admire their work and thoughts in design.

Sending genuine short emails (either notes or a good-looking promo mailer) to people who you admire can lead to many opportunities. Twitter is a killer resource for finding highly targeted influencers in a given industry. Tweet them or share their work on social networks. You never know what doors this might open.

The tips on this list don’t have to take over your life, and you don’t have to bring in outside help. Instead they involve getting into a mindset of marketing as a designer, being smart about it, and being consistent. What other tips do you use to market yourselves? Share them with us, otherwise happy marketing!