whitenoise

We are now halfway through my top ten ways to land a freelance gig! The tip for today maybe short but is still very useful and could be the defining factor on landing a job. So let’s jump right into tip number 5.

TIP # 5: Special promotions

Remember when I suggested signing up for forums and creating a thread to showcase your work? Something else you can in addition to posting really kick ass art is to mention that you are running a special.

I know I know that may sound kind of silly, possibly even whorish. But remember you are selling yourself and sometimes in order to do so you have to make yourself more attractive to clients.

Now there are pros and cons to posting your actual rates, the pro being that the client will know exactly what to expect, however the con is that people will probably undercut you. Personally I don’t believe in posting you actual rates even if it is a special or promotion that you are running. I don’t advise this because odds are people would undercut. Think of it like you are playing poker; the last thing you want to do is show your hand to everyone at the table. This is an instance where I suggest you be paranoid. Very paranoid. Like the men in black are going to take me away in the night paranoid. Got it?

What you can do when running a promotion is to make your offer definite yet subjective. I have provided a sample below.

“Hello all just wanted to let you know I am running a week long special. All commissions will be half off. Please contact me for details.”

See what I did there? I put a time limit on it so that people will feel a sense of urgency, plus I included a really great deal of half-off and did so without divulging my rates. Also it should be noted that if you say you are having a half-off sale then have a half-off sale. Don’t be a cheesy bastard and charge your same rate. All that will do is most likely make people think you are overcharging to begin with plus over time people will find out and then you will be blacklisted.

Ok that does it for today’s tip. I will try and post another one tomorrow but no promises because it is the weekend and let’s face it. The world isn’t going to save itself.