I've been doing freelance web design on the side for several years. But I've only had a few local customers recently... Most of my jobs have been online. As I have recently begun to make web design a potential career path, I am hoping there are some successful designers here who would be willing to share their suggestions on how to effectively advertise locally. I think this is something that other newbies (like myself) can benefit from. So, in short, what advertising methods would you say are best, and which ones should a designer avoid (if any)? Thanks, O
Try different forums posting your portfolio and asking for work. Also there are sites like freelancer/odesk etc.
I'd say classifieds. Local classifieds, in my view, is a way to go. Start with offering your services for reasonably low cost and gradually build it up as your name gets out there. Also, have you seen this forum: http://www.designerstalk.com/forums/ ? And of course you can offer your services on digitalpoint.
To be honest, I've never actually purchased advertising before. Would you mind ellaborating a bit on what classified ads are and why they are useful? I've gotten a few people reach out to me locally, asking how much I would charge for a full project. I usually give them a quote of $1,000+ if the website is to be built up from scratch. This would include the design, coding, WordPress integration, plugin/feature installations, and revisions. Price varries depends on the amount of work involved. I noticed that professionals usually charged a lot more than that, so I thought $1,000 would be fairly reasonable. A local designer also reached out to me who gets a large amount of clients. She doesn't know how to build websites so asked if I would partner up with her, so I said yes! So far, she created one design in .psd format for a client and my job was to code it in XHTML/CSS and integrate it into WordPress. For that, I charged $400, which I thought was decent. Would you say the prices stated above are too high, too low, or just right? I actually have never seen this website before, so thanks a lot for sharing!
Hey Omario, In my opinion, the best place for free local advertising would be Craigslist.org They have a section for web design gigs. You can find people looking for web designers, and post your own ads. If you have some local stores in your area (family owned stores, not corporate owned), you can see if they have a website already, and if they don't, approach the owner and ask them if they're interested. Offer them a discount if they let you put a flyer in their window and a small ad on the website. If you're familiar with the local high school(s) in your area, you should ask them about supporting a club or program. In my high school, we have something called "project graduation", where they allow local companies to advertise to students and parents in exchange for a small donation to fund a school-run after-graduation party. In my experience, people usually trust ads more when they come from the school, and when they're helping their kids out. Colleges are a great place to advertise as well. Find a college with a business school and sponsor an ecommerce/management meeting with a few boxes of pizza. You'll get the added bonus of being able to post ads all around campus advertising the meeting/your sponsorship. If the college has a facebook or twitter (my alumni Rutgers does), you can contact them and get them to post a few messages advertising the meeting/your sponsorship. If you want to do some one on one advertising, you can look at the friends of the college facebook page, and add/talk with people. You'd be surprised how many people invest in trying to make a website. Just think of 'what type of people would need a website created for them' and then find a way to target them. Groups like local bands, day cares, clubs, there are a lot of people who would like to have a website but don't have the skills. If you have any questions, or if the way I worded something was confusing, feel free to ask here and I'd be happy to help
Exactly what the poster above said: craigslist is the way to go. As far as the rates you're charging, I am thinking it's a bit to high as of now. You will find out that some charge quite a bit less, so you will face a tough and fierce competition out there.
Thanks for that qwikad I agree that there are people out there who charge a lot less. I had a website built for $500, though I did the design myself. IMO depending on how much work is put into the design, the price could easily fluctuate. I mean you could spend 5 minutes searching on google for templates, or spend 20 hours custom designing elements in photoshop. Omario, you could also try qwikad.com, it seems to be just like craigslist. Probably not as popular, but its still free, so why not! I haven't used it yet, I just found out about it in ^That guys singature.
Use the online advertising services which works as noticeboard. They are usually created for local businesses. You can setup there city for your audience. Use Adwords when you have some funds. Try to cooperate as a freelancer with advertise agencies.
If you're freelancing your web design business full time then those prices are right. A real client who likes your work and is interested in a professional site built for there business would be willing to pay $1000 plus. Cheap clients who want something for nothing like some of the ones I met in this forum would complain about your prices, those are the types of clients you should steer clear from. The main thing is that you have to make sure you're earning enough money from your business to keep a roof over your head, pay your bills, and have food on the table.
You can go to find your right forums to post your service. And also you can accumulate your reputation by sharing some thing on internet. You can also go to part-time website to sell your service. More ways can help you reach your target easily.
Local message board are always a good place to start. And as well, emails and phone calls do wonders. I know a lot of people aren't comfortable with cold calling or cold emailing, but you'd be surprised how often it works! Grab a before and after pic of the business in question's website (you can do this all with screen shots for free never building anything) and present it to them.
A really pretty business card might help. Also, you could buy a block of text in the newspaper. It depends on how far you want to go, but if you're willing to help a customer start from the beginning, you might do a lot better. Like ^ mentioned, I think many people think about having a website, but need a little nudge in the right direction. If you can get them hooked up with a domain and some hosting, you can then design for them as well. Maybe have package deals that include all that, and be sure to have a discount w/mention of ad/business-card.
Great answer! The thing is most physical businesses don't realize what they do and don't need. They focus on physical traffic, people walking in. They don't realize they NEED the internet attention. It's part of your job to let them know that.
Do you got hustle? Because that's how you're going to get the sales. I just started ImpulsiveLabs.com - I don't know jack shit about design, can't code, and I sold 5 packages this week =) Hit me up and i'll give you some tips to line those jobs up bud =)
Chamber of Commerce Meetings, Lions Club Meetings, other business clubs...join a few and attend the meetings, the open houses, and events...have plenty of business cards. Do a class on web marketing for local businesses at your local library, as a Chamber event, or in association with the largest computer dealers in your area. Explain the importance of website design and an online marketing plan. Give them the overview and sell them the solution. Do another class on "taking your business to a mobile audience". Go to every major computer dealership/service center in town and offer them a commission for referring clients to you. (Suggestion, sit down with their technical staff and offer them a $25 finder fee for each new contract...if the dealership will let you.) Choose 2 or 3 of the most influential "personalities" in your area and offer to do a free website for them if they will allow you to use them as a reference and leave a "classy" ad box on their site. Think of popular coaches, pastors, politicians, business people, or school organizations. Offer to "refresh" websites for an extremely low price for the Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and other prominent business clubs if you can leave a banner on their sites... (Does the Chamber of Commerce allow advertising in their newsletter? Do they need a web marketing column in their newsletter?) Look around your town and choose the businesses you love the best that are struggling to succeed. Contact them and show them how doing the right type of online marketing and web design could help turn their business around, highlight mobile. Of course, if you do all of those...You are going to be a very, very busy man...