#AskAFreelancer: Sara Miller Shares Her Experience With Freelance Graphic Design
As a freelance writer creating content for freelancers in general, my information can be a bit one-sided. I try to offer lots of different examples, but ultimately I only have experience working in the writing field. Today, for #AskAFreelancer, I am sitting down with Sara Miller a freelance graphic designer and blogger. If you are interested in finding freelance graphic design clients, check out this post as well as the podcast Sara did on Offbeat Grad with last week’s freelancer Samantha Tetrault. I hope you get a lot of applicable advice from this edition of #AskAFreelancer whether you are a graphic designer, or not.
You have a super interesting niche helping nonprofits and trade associations. Is there a reason you picked that specific clientele?
I fell into this niche by accident! I have one big client I work with that is an association management company, which is a pretty specific type of work environment. There are usually a lot of voices involved in finalizing any kind of work they need from me, and there can be a lot of last minute things. So, having experience in that area is really important when nonprofits and trade associations are looking for contractors.
Over your time as a freelancer, you changed your name from Norman Street Designs to working under your name. Was there a specific reason for this transition? How did that decision impact your freelancing career?
This is a very recent transition for me! When I first started, I had hoped to work with more creatives like bloggers, artists, creative writers, etc, so my sort of whimsical name and branding fit them. After graduating college and really looking to expand my freelance business, I wanted something more adult and more professional. This also had to do with my niching down to nonprofits and trade associations. I really needed something more professional to do this. I can't really say how it's impacted me just yet, because it is such a recent transition!
You have some amazing testimonials on your site. Do you have any tips for freelancers on gaining testimonials as they grow their business?
Ask for testimonials when you wrap up work - especially if you had a really great experience with a client. Just make it part of the offboarding process. When you send their final files, ask them directly if they would mind writing a testimonial for your website. And, if you have an ongoing client, where work never really wraps up, just ask at any point you feel comfortable. It really is as simple as asking any client that you have a really good experience with!
Graphic and web design are so visual. How do you tap into what the client wants, so you don't need all the revisions?
This can be really difficult! And I have a few things I want to address in this question...Graphic and web design are very subjective. And often times, your client doesn't quite know what they want or what the best decision is. My friend Sam of Samanthability sent me an article a while back about how freelancers need to remember to explain their choices to their clients when you deliver files to validate the work and make it more likely for the client to accept the work as is, without a bunch of crazy revisions. This is great advice and has helped me.
At the beginning of a project, it's important to ask a lot of questions and get all of the information upfront. Knowing what questions to ask is quite the learning process! You need to ask about style preferences, colors they may or may not want in a design, what their goal is with the design, and more. I often ask for samples of what they want and samples of what they don't want, so that I can get an understanding of their preferences. I also find working with clients long term (on multiple projects) on visual projects to be really great, because you get a feel for their preferences and ultimately need less revisions.
Beyond preventing revisions in regards to getting your client what they want, it's also important to prevent the necessity of a bunch of revisions in order to protect yourself! This means, writing a cap on your revisions into your contract. For me, this is typically 3 rounds of revisions, rather than allowing endless revisions. When people know they will be charged more for additional revisions, they are more likely to really consider their feedback to you and what exactly they want. Frankly, if you allow endless revisions, there are some clients that just won't ever be happy because they don't know what they want. But, asking questions upfront and explaining your decisions can help with this.
You are the self-care queen. What advice would you give to new freelancers who are trying to build their client-base up while also practicing self-care? How do they take care of themselves when it seems like they could always be working on something else?
Set healthy boundaries! That's the first and most important thing to do as a freelancer. When I first started I was working ridiculous hours and not taking care of my self. So, setting boundaries is essential. These boundaries are rules you are setting for yourself, that you must follow. Some examples:
Set specific working hours and stick to them. If you don't want to bind yourself to an exact schedule, set a limit to the number of hours you can work per day or per week.
Say no to clients you know are not going to treat you well. Over time, you'll figure out red flags for crappy clients, when you see them, run, don't take the clients you know won't respect your boundaries and won't treat you well. This is so critical to your mental health.
Don't give out your phone number to clients. I have found that clients often expect freelancers to be available to them 24/7, not giving out your phone number, lets you have a personal life and keeps them from getting in touch outside of "office" hours.
Take your email off of your phone. This is helpful for keeping your mind off of work outside of work hours.
Along with your freelance business, you also have a blog and a new podcast. What tips would you have for adding more to your plate without the overwhelm?
This comes back down to setting healthy boundaries. And honestly, I'll admit, I'm not the best about not taking on too much. But, knowing yourself and what you can handle is really important to this. I am trying to balance my freelance business with my blog and podcast by setting specific hours for each project. I also recently purged my task list, meaning I eliminated tasks that weren't necessary, and delegated others. I also recently hired help for some tasks so that I can focus on the tasks that directly bring in money.
What are your freelancing goals for the next few months? Where do you see your freelance business as we go into 2020?
Honestly, my freelance goals are just to bring in more money to live off of in combination with my blog and podcast. I am married, so I do have my husband's financial support, but would love to contribute more to our living expenses. I see my freelance business expanding to additional clients in the nonprofit and trade association world, but I am also focusing a lot of my time on monetizing my blog and podcast. Basically, I'm juggling all these things and trying to create multiple income streams.
About Sara Miller
Hey! I’m Sara Miller. I’m a twenty-something blogger living in Austin, TX with my husband, Max, and my dog, Norman. I founded my blog, Sara Strives in December 2015, during my freshman year of college. Over there I talk about lifestyle topics and mental health in a realistic way. I discuss similar topics on my podcast, Me, Myself, and You. Besides my blog and podcast, I am a freelance graphic and web designer, and occasional social media manager.
If you would like to be featured on #AskAFreelancer, email me using my contact page for more information. I am always looking for more awesome freelancers to interview and spotlight for this text-based interview series.