Freelancing....Need Advice!

B

BagABrandDesigns

New Member
Hi all,

I am 21 years of age and I've been working on a side project called Bag A Brand Designs which im hoping will open the door for me in the future to leave my current full time employment and become a freelance graphic designer.

I would love to get your advise on how to increase peoples interest into Bag A Brand Designs, and what is the most effective way to get clients. I've create a website Home - Bag A Brand Designs which I would love for you to have a look and give me any feedback and advise from your experience.

Thanks
 
My first impression is that the site itself is very dated looking and not particularly creative/interesting. This is a natural result of using a WYSIWYG site builder. It's also very wordy, and the typography is also very dull. Take a look at other freelancer portfolios for some creative examples of what people are doing (though not my site, it's not finished :icon_biggrin:).
 
Thanks for your advice! I was very limited with the website builder I used, have you got any recommendations for a decent website builder but at low costs?
 
If you're serious about going freelance, you'll need to be willing to invest in yourself. If your site is cheap, then so is your business image and you'll struggle to convert clients.

I'd recommend looking at getting a simple site built by a developer, modifying a template, or using a content management system (CMS). Self-hosting Wordpress is a popular option and it's a relatively easy platform to use, but it's not the best CMS by far. You can then buy a premium theme that includes functionality you want, or just use a free one.
 
There are so many super cheap/free logo companies in India, you're never going to make any kind of living from this level of 'logo design", and if I'm honest I don't think that's a bad thing. Regardless of your ability as a designer, the basic concept of your business is to churn out cheap logos without any of the real work that goes into creating a brands identity.
 
If you are selling 'eye-catching designs' then get an 'eye-catching website' and build a business around quality not cost. Try Wordpress and Woo themes to get you on the ladder.
 
I quite like the MudFuel branding. Get more examples like that on your site, and as stated above don't go for the cheap logo, stationery style site. Leave that to printing dot com, which aren't very good in my opinion anyway. Go for a good honest freelancer style site. Showcase your work, use Wordpress or similar blogging software and continually add new posts such as the latest design you are working on etc. You'll find your feet through word of mouth, so get networking on twitter etc. Good luck.
 
When I started 11 years ago I got a regular flow of project work by driving traffic to my website using a combination of seo, online networking and social media. I still do that now to drive new business. It's one way of doing it, but it does very much work.

If you decide to do it that way, it's about putting in many hours of online marketing work in every single day -as well as having a website that impresses visitors once they land on it, with a good portfolio. It's about being consistent and relentless with your marketing, and you will see results.

Read my guide to building up lots of traffic; DIY Search Engine Optimisation

Amanda
 
Agree with Paul, site could be more creative i know web is different and to learn code is a headache. I taught myself html/css using dreamweaver but avoid the design visual approach and get into the code it keeps the site clean and more professional. I would suggest like Paul get wordpress and maybe purchase a good developed theme shell, themeforest has good quality wordpress themes very cheap. Choose one and get into the code, edit and adapt it to your needs. Wordpress is easy to pick up, has lots of plugins and a massive depth of users to help with problems.
 
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