Imagine a quiet office space. There are only a few people around – not enough to distract you, but enough to ensure that you don’t feel isolated from the world. Mostly they are freelancers, typing away at their computers.

You like the music playing in the background because it is almost like someone copied your own playlist. The coffee is delicious, there’s plenty of food to choose from, the view is not bad at all…And the best part? The rent you pay is the price of the things you eat and drink.

It sounds good, doesn’t it? I’ve just described at least three of my favorite coffee shops. You might think that working in coffee shops is an obvious choice, albeit not a very convenient one. After all, several other FreelanceSwitch writers made pretty good cases about why libraries make better offices than coffee shops or why co-working spaces are the best office alternatives . But what if there aren’t any co-working spaces near where you live? And most libraries don’t really allow you to eat or drink something around their computers.

So what’s a freelancer to do? Sure, most freelancers, including me, run home offices. But working in one place for a long time decreases productivity, creativity and frankly, it gets boring and lonely.

So every time I need a change of scenery, I take my stuff and go to one of my favorite coffee shops. And if you choose correctly, they can make the most fun and positive office substitutes. Whether you don’t feel comfortable in libraries or you don’t live near co-working spaces (or just don’t want to pay $25 or more for them), here is a guide to what to look for in coffee shops so that they provide a satisfactory office experience:

The quiet hours. I know many people who work more effectively with noise in the background. While I appreciate a little noise, I can’t concentrate with children running around screaming. But many coffee shops have their quiet hours.

If you can detect them, it will feel like the whole place is yours. It will feel peaceful yet social. After all, there will always be a fellow freelancer who is taking advantage of these times, or a ferocious reader who just enjoys his book more with his favorite coffee.
Comfortable chairs and tables. Sofas are lovely, but I personally work more effectively with armchairs and high tables. They are comfy while still providing the feeling of professionalism. Then there is the perk of not getting neck or back pains from sitting for so long.

Friendly staff. Some places are self-service, but you might have found your work haven in a place with waiters. Whatever the case, it is important that they are friendly and don’t give you weird looks because you are spending so much time there or aren’t ordering something new every 30 minutes. Yes, you will be ordering things, but they shouldn’t expect you to spend a hundred bucks every time you are there.

It also helps that there is someone nice to chat to. Just as you like a friendly attitude, most employees also appreciate the friendly customer they can complain to about their nightmare customers.
Taste and price of coffee (and food). I love my coffee, and like many freelancers agree, coffee is also good for productivity and a must-have. I can’t work without good coffee, and it raises my spirits more when the cost doesn’t put dents in my wallet. And I have to admit, I can never make the killer mochas my favorite places do. It’s just not the same.
Fast and free internet. As much as turning off the internet for the sake of concentration and flow is recommended, we still need it for a lot of things. A coffee shop without a good and free internet connection, in the long run, is a no-no.
Vicinity. It really helps if it is a walking distance from your house or at least takes only a short ride. It’s nice to take breaks, but you don’t want to get exhausted and lose a lot of time trying to get there. Time is cash after all.

Other freelancers. If the coffee shop has several of the characteristics I listed above, there will be other freelancers. I actually made a couple of close friends just by saying hi, or answering a question they might have about the place or about anything.

We even started a Facebook group to connect and arrange get-togethers. Recently, both my freelancer friend’s schedule changed, as well as my own. But even though we can no longer work together, we still meet there for the occasional coffee and brainstorming.
Lots of sockets. You will need to charge your laptop from time to time, a it’s frustrating when you need to fight for one of the few sockets with the other freelancers.

So there you have it. Coffee shops don’t need to be avoided by freelancers. With new ones opening every day, it might make sense to try out the independent ones. Unfortunately, franchised coffee shops like Starbucks usually get to be more crowded. And even if you have an office, it doesn’t hurt to get away from it every once in a while.

How about you? What’s your favorite substitute office?

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by pmaguire .

Freelancers have to step outside their comfort zone for a number of reasons. You might be offered a collaborative project with a larger team than you are used to working with, or asked to take on a far bigger project than you would usually, or you want to create a side project, such as writing a book or launching a new enterprise.

Although you are excited about the new opportunity, it can be stressful, even scary, thinking about the implications if something goes wrong, but that shouldn’t put you off taking the plunge.

So what can you do to get a handle on problems that could derail your project, while keeping the risks in perspective?

How will you not let fear get in the way of enjoying your new challenge? How will you plan ahead before you go charging in, full of enthusiasm, only to get tripped up by something unforeseen?

What you need is a bit of basic risk management .

1. Get the risks in perspective

Before you start your project, it’s worth sitting down and brainstorming what risks your project faces, from bad weather, to software problems, to reliance on outside factors, such as other work being completed on time. If you have a team it can be worthwhile sitting down with them: they will have different experiences you can learn from.

Some events, such as a snowstorm disrupting a winter event, might be more likely than others, such as your whole team being affected by illness, but it could still happen. The important thing is that you are thinking of the risks at this stage, while there is still time to plan your way out of trouble.

2. What could you do instead?

The next step is to think of what you might do for the factors that are likely to go wrong. For example, you might want to have a list of back-up caterers for a big event you are organizing, or allow extra time if you are reliant on the weather, or provide extra training to ensure more than one person of your team can use vital technology you are dependent on.

3. To plan or not to plan

Once you have thought through the risks, you can then decide how far ahead to plan. Working through your list of risk factors, you can assess how likely each is to happen. For less likely risks, it may be enough that you have identified them and thought of a back-up plan: as a conference organizer you might have a list of freelance photographers at hand in case your photographer is ill or unable to make the event.

How far you need to plan will depend on each risk factor, and it is up to you (and your team) to decide how much time and resources to commit to covering your back in case of problems.

For the more likely risks, or for factors that are essential to the success of your project, you might put more time into initiating the plan: you could contact your back-up freelancers to check their availability, or work extra resources into your budget to ensure that you are covered in case of breakages, non-working equipment or needing spares.

How far you need to plan will depend on each risk factor, and it is up to you (and your team) to decide how much time and resources to commit to covering your back in case of problems.

In many cases, the simple process of setting time aside at the planning stage to think through problems that could crop up further down the line can go a long way to helping you feel more in control of a project. You’ll be less likely to panic if things do start to go wrong.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Foxtongue .

I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now. I’m on deadline for our biggest magazine issue of the year, grades are due for the college class I teach, I’m in two weddings this summer, my husband is interviewing for a new job, we may have to move for husband’s new job, and we’re expecting our first child at the end of July. Oh, and my house is a mess, my lawn needs to be mowed, and I don’t have a free weekend off until the baby arrives.

Does your life sound anything like mine? I bet, for many of you, it does.

Summertime is supposed to be fun, leisurely, carefree. But every time I flip the calendar page on May, my life turns to chaos. There is so much going on during the warm summer months that it’s hard to do it all. And even when you do say no, it’s easy to get stressed out. And boy, am I stressed out right now!

Stress in vast quantities and for long periods of time is not good for our bodies or our minds. That’s why, even though I have so much stuff to do, I’m taking a week off in June for vacation. I have to. If I don’t, I know myself—I’ll get sick .

But what do you do when you can’t take a vacation right away and a day at the spa is just too expensive? Here are some tips on how to relax to keep yourself on track and on task:

Do Nothing, Literally

I mean it. Even if you have 10 minutes to spare in your otherwise hectic day, do nothing. Close the door to your office, turn away from your computer screen, shut your eyes , and just breathe. If you can, and it’s a nice day out, go outside and sit (or lay) in the grass for a little bit. This change of scenery can recharge you more than you know.

Stuck in traffic or waiting for the subway? Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths instead of catching up with Words With Friends on your iPhone. Unplug yourself, even if it’s just for a few moments, and be calm. Put some relaxing music on your smartphone or iPod—I prefer classical music or something instrumental without words—and pop on your headphones.

Take a Walk

I dare you to go for a walk and not feel better afterwards. I’m not sure it’s possible, unless, of course, it’s raining out.

Getting away from your current environment gives your mind something new to focus on, plus even a little bit of exercise provides endorphins that elevate your mood. —TheDailyMuse

The great thing about taking a walk is that it can be as short—or as long—as you like. Plus it doesn’t cost anything.

Aerobic exercise of any kind has the power to calm jangled nerves and improve bad moods. And when it’s done every day, it can enhance self-esteem and combat depression. Indeed, research has shown that a brisk 20- to 30-minute walk can have the same calming effect as a mild tranquilizer. —Prevention.com

Do Something For You

If you don’t make time for something you enjoy, no one else will. Sure you’re probably tempted to run errands with an extra hour in your day, but is it really going to make you feel better in the long run? Your errand will be done, but you’ll still be stressed.

Schedule time in your week or month to do something for you . Maybe it’s a beer-making or yoga class or maybe it’s a night out with your friends. Be proactive about creating this time for yourself and stick to it no matter what. Doing something you enjoy is a natural stress reliever—and it makes you happy!

We all go through spells in our life when we feel overwhelmed. For many freelancers, it is a way of life. Learning how to deal with it can be a challenge, but it’s a challenge worth taking on.

What are some ways you relieve stress in your life?

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by xilius .

If you’re a freelancer or if you sell a product online, you probably use email to find new prospects. Even in the age of Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, email remains an excellent way to generate serious sales online. You’re probably fully leveraging your copywriting skills already to write great emails.

Here are four tips to make cold-calling via email more efficient:

Find Email Adresses with Rapportive

Find the email address of anyone using Rapportive — even that elusive CEO.

Many a time, you’d want to pitch the person occupying the highest position in an organization’s hierarchy. but the problem is you know only his name and not his email address. You might try Googling, but that doesn’t always work. Some websites even ask for money to reveal email addresses of CEOs and the like.

Here’s a quick tip to guess and verify anyone’s email address using Rapportive . Rapportive is like the Gmail People Widget on steroids. Once you type an email address in the ‘To’ field of the compose window, Rapportive immediately fetches information about that person from LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, then puts those details in Gmail’s sidebar.

If you find someone by the name Steve Cook but you don’t know his email address, you can guess it by trying these first name + last name combinations: steve@domain.com, cook@domain.com, stevec@domain.com , scook@domain.com, sc@domain.com. Type these in the ‘To’ field, and Rapportive will display appropriate details for only one of these email addresses and for the rest, only a gray avatar will be shown.

You can then conclude that the address for which relevant information was fetched is the right address, and discard the rest. The email you should be pitching to is this email address.

Pretty cool, isn’t it? Let’s say you’re pitching some startup founders from AngelList. You’ll find names of the founders there, but not their email addresses. In that case, you can use Rapportive to verify their email addresses .

Canned Responses and Text Expanders

Save time and send more pitches using Canned Responses and Text Expanders.

If your primary way to generate sales is via email, chances are you’re sending dozens of them everyday. Typing them out is going to suck a lot of time and is only going to cause a lot of pain. Why not save those pitches and place them in your email using just a few mouse clicks instead? That’s where Canned Responses by Gmail comes to the rescue.

Go to Gmail Labs from the Settings, and enable ‘Canned Responses’. Use the new compose window to type out your pitch and click on Canned Responses under the subject field, and hit ‘New Canned Response’ in the menu that appears. Give it a name and save it!

The next time you’re pitching someone, just hit the appropriate name for the Canned Response from the pull down menu and voila – the text fills the email body instantly. All you have to do is hit send. Setting this up doesn’t take more than a few seconds of your time but it could save you hours every week.

You can also save more time by saving frequently typed replies as canned responses. If you advocate keyboard purity, then try an automatic text expander like Lifehacker’s Texter or PhraseExpress . Instead of typing the same paragraph all over again every time you have to, all you have to do is type a few keystrokes and the entire message will expand automatically.

Time Your Email Pitches Using Boomerang

You don’t want your pitch to be seen right when your lead is sleeping, right? Your leads might be living in time zones different from yours, and you might want to time your email pitches appropriately so that the chances of them being seen are higher. You may not be awake when there is day time elsewhere, so Boomerang comes to the rescue by letting you schedule messages in Gmail.

After installing Boomerang in your browser, you’ll notice a new ‘Send Later’ option next to the Send button. You can use it to schedule messages for later. You can either choose between a few hours, a few days, a week or even schedule them to be delivered accurately at a specific time. A new label ‘Boomerang Outbox’ stores these messages until they get sent.

Use this feature to schedule messages for higher opening rates and conversions. You can buy Boomerang Pro to schedule an unlimited number of messages.

Ditch Clunky, Standalone CRMs for Streak + WriteThat Inside Gmail

If you’re doing sales, you probably fight with a CRM tool everyday to add and update appropriate contact details and additional information pertaining to new leads, potentials and deals. This consumes a lot of time, and you often have to switch tabs to feed tons of information into your CRM.

Enter Streak , a nifty little CRM that integrates directly into Gmail. You can track any customer via Streak by grouping emails together inside a ‘Box’. You can then watch the deal flow through the sales pipeline and track all your deals in a spreadsheet inside Gmail.

In addition to this, you can do a few more things with Streak: schedule messages, send reminders to yourself about a deal, and even expand text inside the compose window by typing phrases.

WriteThat takes the pain out of contact management by updating contact details automatically by reading email signatures. It’s another add-on that you have to install for Gmail but it’s worth it.

Is one (or more) of your competitors copying your idea? Congratulations! You are not alone.

As the co-owner of a niche publication, I look at copying as the best form of flattery—I have to! If I spent hours upon hours stressing out about having my ideas copied, I’d go crazy. I’d probably throw in the towel. But I don’t.

You will never create a solid career for yourself by worrying about who is stealing your ideas. —cbsnews.com

I watched this great video on how to deal with copycats on Entrepreneur.com . It’s not long—not even three minutes—but there were some great takeaways.

The first thing to realize is that no matter what it is that you do—be it a publisher, software designer, or a marketing professional—you have to come to terms with the fact that you do not own the market. There are hundreds, nay, thousands, of people out there in the world who do what you do. There are very few unique ideas—and when there is one, copycats are right around the corner.

So what do you do? Ignore them, unless you have a ton of money to shell out in legal fees. Ignoring is hard, so when you are ready to be proactive, here are some ideas on how to beat the copycats and strengthen your brand:

Sell Yourself Better

Being a good salesperson isn’t easy. For some, it comes naturally. For others, not so much. Stop stressing out about who is ripping you off, worry about selling yourself to your clients. Get out there and show your clients what you can do for them. Market yourself and your ideas in ways your competition isn’t. Show your clients why they should hire you for the job instead of someone else .

When we’re selling ads in our niche magazine, we work hard to illustrate how we are different from our competition. Here’s a conversation my business partner had at a recent conference:

Magazine Publisher: So, I see XYZ has put out their own wedding magazine. You’re going head to head with them?

My Business Partner: No, actually, XYZ is going head to head with us.

The magazine publisher smiled and said he liked my business partner’s response. She went on to explain to him why, even though we cover the same topic, our publication is completely different than those published by our competitors. She had examples of everything from content to ad sales strategies to distribution down pat—she was ready for her spiel . He was impressed.

Highlight Your Expertise

Let your experience speak for itself. Take advantage of seminars and conferences where you can learn new techniques that matter to your niche. These professional development opportunities are a write off for your business, so get out there! You will have the opportunity to meet new people, hear about new ideas, and even (gasp!) copy some of those great ideas and implement them into your own business.

These opportunities are especially important if you have a specialty. You want to become the expert in your niche so you have leverage when competing for jobs. If you are savvy about the latest technology, techniques, and trends, you will be that much more of an asset to your clients.

Focus on Your Client

For many freelancers, building relationships are the building blocks to their careers. And building those great client relationships takes time and effort.

Someone might be able to copy your ideas, but they can’t copy your relationships with your customers.

I was watching a rerun of The Office last night where this exact problem played itself out. If you aren’t familiar with the show, the main character, Michael Scott, decides to leave his current employer, Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, to start his own paper company. The Michael Scott Paper Company opened in a quasi-closet/bathroom in the same office space as Dunder Mifflin, and Michael Scott started stealing his former employees’ clients one by one. He offered them better prices and better customer service, and he was successful. So successful, in fact, that Dunder Mufflin bought out his business.

Sure, it’s a television show and the premise is pretty unlikely—but it could happen. I’m sure there are freelancers out there that have had clients follow them from their full time job because they enjoyed working with them; their relationship was with the employee , not the bigger business.

Customer service can make all the difference in a tight and struggling job market. There are a multitude of freelancers on the market looking for work who are qualified. What is it about you that is going to make you stand out? Your relationship with the client can make all the difference.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by xilius .

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at an introduction to freelancing and contracts. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

Dear Freelance Switch,

I am writing to you to request advice and tips on the following below:

How does a freelancer set up their business?
What tools and systems are needed?
How do you market your freelance business?
How long do you spend each day on finding customers and how do you find customers?
How do you stick to your goals and achieve them?
How to meet deadlines?
How to be an organized person?

Some of my questions might sound too basic or simple to answer. I have become disabled and I cannot do full office hours. My profession was Microsoft.net Developer.

This is a big block of questions, most of which have been answered over the years on this site. I know searching back through the archives is overwhelming, though, so this seems like a perfect opportunity to pull out some of the best posts on FreelanceSwitch for these questions:

Setting up your business: A Comprehensive Guide to Starting Your Freelance Career
Tools and systems: The ROI for Project Management Tools
Marketing: Build a Better Freelance Business with Strategic Branding
Finding clients: Go Forth and Sell and How to Leverage Inbound Marketing to Make Clients Claw At Your Door
Goals: Starting a Freelance Business in 2012: Planning Ahead

Deadlines: Dealing With Procrastination
Organization: Getting Ready for Next Year–Now

Question 2

I’d like to know how to handle contracts for clients. Is it necessary to use a service like Signature Confirm or can you use a template and email it? How binding are they like this? Any other relevant info about contracts would be greatly appreciated!

I allow my clients to digitally sign contracts, though a lot of my clients prefer to send in hand-signed contracts. Officially, a digitally-signed contract is just as binding as any other kind of contract. But if you were to wind up in court, a digitally-signed contract can be a little harder to deal with, because they aren’t entirely common yet. Using a service makes it a little better, because there’s a third party vouching for the signature.

Provided you’re doing a good job of vetting your clients and making sure that you’re getting at least part of your payment up front, you’re not that likely to have to deal with small claims court. That means that digitally-signed contracts shouldn’t be a problem.

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been hearing about some pretty serious social media snafus that have been so bad that people have lost their jobs over them.

Whether your Facebook page is set to private or not, nothing is ever really private on the Internet. It’s not just high school and college kids who have a hard time understanding that—it’s grown ups, too.

If you are like me, you have a personal Facebook page as well as one for your business. I have a LinkedIn page and I tweet using my business handle. Keeping your personal and business lives separate on social media sites can be hard, so here are some ways to make sure you are putting your best foot forward, instead of in your mouth.

Be Respectful

If you gossip or complain about your clients on Facebook or Twitter, it may very well get back to them. Even if you don’t use their names, people are savvy. No matter how difficult a client is, there is no reason to complain about them on social media sites. Complain to your spouse, your mom, or a friend in private. You’ll be able to get your frustrations off of your chest while still looking professional to the outside world.

Count to 10 Before You Respond

Social media can be challenging since your reactions can transfer straight to your fingertips without stopping at your brain. As a result, your emotional response rushes onto your screen without a second thought. This feedback can be hurtful to others and cause unanticipated repercussions, either immediately or in the future. —Ragan.com

This is a lesson I have learned over time. The same thing goes for an email or phone call response. Before you shoot back and really let someone have it, sleep on it. Perhaps you are misinterpreting something or there was a miscommunication . Before you start a war of words, that can’t be taken back once it’s been published in a message or on your Facebook timeline, give yourself time to simmer down. You may come up with some great ideas on how to handle the situation when you give your emotions some time to chill.

Even with the best privacy settings, your message may get found by people who don’t appreciate your commentary. Besides, who wants updates from someone who complains a lot? —Boston.com

Treat Your Networks Separately

It’s not unusual to have personalities across several social networks and a burning desire to give the same information simultaneously to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Don’t make this an automatic thing. —Boston.com

You can link your Facebook and Twitter pages together so you are sending the exact same message to both…but that can be a turnoff. People use those networks differently, so they should be treated differently. Sometimes 140 characters isn’t going to cut it for a Facebook status update.

Personally, it’s a turn off to me to see the same content posted in multiple locations. I hardly ever post my business stuff to my personal Facebook account, because that’s not where it belongs. Plus, it turns my friends off, especially the ones who have “liked” both my personal and professional pages. You don’t want to alienate your followers.

Update and Promote Accordingly

Constantly asking someone to retweet something you posted on Twitter or sharing it on their Facebook wall should not be overdone. If your content is good, it will be shared.

You can blog, tweet, or update your Facebook page as often as you want . I try to update my business page about three to four times a day. But you should note that people “unfollow” noisy tweeters. Even Chris Brogan, who provides strategic business advice for companies, says he gets unfollowed all the time because of his tweeting style .

It’s probably okay to promote something 4x a day on a social network, so that you hit all the time zones appropriately. In the last hour, you can always give it a couple more pushes, but that’s about it. —Chris Brogan

Help and Promote Others

If you help and promote someone else, chances are they are more likely to do the same for you!

Social media isn’t a solitary endeavor. It’s about the community and paying-it-forward. —Ragan.com

Chris Brogan agrees, and has some great tips on how to give in order to receive:

Promote others more often than you promote yourself. My long-standing measure is 12:1. (If it doesn’t work at first, it’s because maybe you’re not sincere in your promoting of others).
If you’re writing about a client, add (client) to the tweet/post/update.
Your cause isn’t always our cause. If we don’t want to help, don’t badger.

It’s okay to follow and like your competition on social media sites, too. It’s also a good way to keep up to date on what they’re doing. I like and follow all sorts of other magazines on my professional Facebook pages, and I’m always flattered when other publications follow me on Twitter and the like. It means I’m doing something right and worthwhile!

Do you have any social media etiquette tips to share? We’d love to hear them.

A career in Freelance Illustration is much more than drawing pretty pictures. While as much as you’d like to spend the entire day sitting in front of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or your other favorite tools, like most freelance professions is is more about selling yourself, keeping your portfolio fresh and all the admin work we love to hate that will define your success as an illustrator.

There are many different things you may wish to consider when thinking about entering into professional illustration, such as:

The purpose of your illustration: Illustration itself covers many different areas. While drawing pretty pictures maybe one aspect, you need to be specific in your objectives.

Are you wanting to illustrate for advertising campaigns? What about book covers? Maybe graphics to accompany news and magazine articles? Maybe graphics for a cocktail menu? How about diagrams for medical journals? And there are also illustrations for packaging? These are just the tip of the iceberg of the many avenues you could go down in finding a niche illustration market.

The medium of your artwork: Sometimes the purpose of your illustration can depend on what medium your artwork will be rendered in. For instance, is the work going to be displayed on a CD cover? If so, maybe an illustration within Photoshop/raster based work will be fine. However if the work is going to be displayed on a billboard and you’re going to need a high resolution graphic, perhaps looking at vector work in Illustrator is what you need. If you’re unsure of the key differences of these mediums, check out this article on What is Vexel Art? , which goes into what raster and vector art is.

Client vs Stock: There are several ways you could earn money as a freelance illustrator. The most obvious is via clients who commission you to create a tailored piece of artwork to their specifications. However there is another way you can earn money with illustration and that’s selling your illustrations via stock websites. There is a huge benefit of creating illustration stock and that is that you don’t have to deal direct with clients. So if selling yourself and hunting out clients isn’t your thing, then maybe this route is something you may want to consider.

To find out more about this check out these articles on How I Make $2,000 Every Year Without Doing Very Much and the follow up article 9 Tips for Creating and Maximizing a Steady Income Stream by Selling Stock .

Agency Representation: Illustration agencies act as a third party. They market your work through the relevant channels and are great for getting those household name clients. Bigger companies tend to target agencies due to the variety of talent on their books, experience and convenience.

The benefits of being represented is that they will can handle contracts with clients and can help negotiate larger fees. However, they don’t do this for nothing and they will take a commission percentage from your fees. They may also ask you to cover costs for promoting your works to directories and marketing opportunities. For more, check out the article on Computer Arts: Finding an agent .

Advice from Talented Freelance Illustrators

I’m going to introduce you to five talented Freelance Illustrators. They’ll tell you how they got into freelancing and what advice they can give you on getting started in a career in Freelance Illustration.

Cristiano Siqueira

How did you get into freelance illustration? Were you employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, if so did this help? How long have you been freelancing in illustration?

I got into freelance illustration by some pressure of clients, a good pressure actually, they always said that my illustrations were good and they always asked me to include some kind of illustration works in the design jobs. I worked as a Graphic Designer for 5 years, as a regular employee, in different studios, creating packaging and print design. So, after some time and with the support of a few clients, I decided to leave the job in the studio and try a freelance career in Graphic Design, working from my home for these few clients that supported my decision.

At first time, I didn’t know that I would be able to keep a freelance life just with illustration, but, job after job, I realized that my illustration work was, actually, the work that the clients were looking for the most. Then, I started to show my work to clients with more potential to explore and use illustrations on their projects. I built a gallery on DeviantArt (I still didn’t have a website portfolio) and I sent to some publishers, agencies and such. So, the first illustration jobs started to happen, mostly books and illustrations for packaging design and then my freelance illustration career really started out.

It happened in 2005. I consider as the start of my freelance illustration time, the day I got the papers and authorizations to offer services in illustration. So, I have almost 7 years in this field.

Are you represented by an Illustration Agency? If so, how did you go about being represented? Do you think it’s important to be represented by an agency when you’re a freelance illustrator?

I’m represented by Erika Groeschel. She is an Independent Agent. I really appreciate the way she works, with a closer relationship, with clients and the illustrators represented by her. We started to work after initial e-mail contact. Erika found my works and she sent me an e-mail with a proposal.

We talked about it and we did a deal, so we started working. I never thought about working with representation, but now I think it’s important. This way the illustrator can be focused in what is really important, the work, the creative work and the excellence of the work, while the agent is focused in other parts, such as: the selling, pricing and contracts. Also, agents or agencies in different countries can help the illustrator to expand his commercial field

What advice do you give people who are seeking to make the switch to freelance illustration?

My main advice is to have a few clients before jumping into the freelance world. Use the time as an employee to get and acquire clients. It’s extra work, it can make your nights a bit short for sleeping, but this is the only way I found to not get into the freelance work without any guarantees. For the first year it’s important to have a few clients with constant jobs to do. So, with a more consistent portfolio, it’s time to find more clients on your own

Another advice is to know the clients for your work, for the kind of work you do. Make a search, talk to the people, see their needs and try to make an easy solution for them. It’s usual, in the start, for the freelancer to be a kind of “fireman” and be called just as urgent support. Once the clients get more confident with your work, better work starts to come in.

Vincent Rhafael Aseo

How did you get into freelance illustration? Were you employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, if so did this help? How long have you been freelancing in illustration?

I had a day job back in 2008 as a multimedia artist in a company and everything was fine, but I felt the need to go my way, so I got into freelance web design and Illustration.

I then realized I can’t juggle them both so decided to focus more on illustrations to have more time creating personal projects and it’s been 2 years now.

Are you represented by an Illustration Agency? If so, how did you go about being represented? Do you think it’s important to be represented by an agency when you’re a freelance illustrator?

Nope, everything was self initiated/promoted. I think the success of being represented by the agency relies heavily on their background and such.

How do you go about gaining clients?

Its all marketing online and connecting with the right people, the trick is really to be visible on the internet and not wait for clients to drop by.

Start self-initiated projects for clients you want to work with and send proposals.

What advice do you give people who are seeking to make the switch to freelance illustration?

Freelance illustration requires as much marketing as it requires talent. It’s going to be hard at first, but if you know how to handle your clients well enough, then they will come back and new ones will follow. If an opportunity does not exist then create one.

Helen Huang

How did you get into freelance illustration? Were you employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, if so did this help? How long have you been freelancing in illustration?

I have been freelancing in illustration for the past four years. It started when I was approached by a few clients after they saw my illustrations online. Art community sites like DeviantArt and Behance are really good places to showcase your artwork and attract potential clients.

I was not employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, but I did have plenty of illustrations that served as my portfolio. I think a portfolio speaks louder than a resume, especially for freelance illustration.

Are you represented by an Illustration Agency? If so, how did you go about being represented? Do you think it’s important to be represented by an agency when you’re a freelance illustrator?

I am represented by Lemonade Illustration Agency. Two years ago, my freelance career started to grow fast and I told myself it was time to find an agent to handle the business side for me, so I can focus on the creative side. I researched online and filtered my options down to a few agencies that I think might be a good match for my style. Most agencies have contact info and a submission section on their site. I reached out to the agencies with my online portfolio. And the rest is history.

I think to join an agency or not is a personal choice. Some artists would rather not deal with clients directly, especially when it comes to discussing money. In that case, working with an agency would make your life a lot easier. Agencies know how and where to promote you so industry people can find you.

They handle all the business side with clients, so you can focus on art. However, they do take commission from the work they get you. So if you have enough work and are good at dealing with clients, then you don’t necessarily need an agency.

Do you still seek clients outside of the agency (if your contract allows)?

I am currently working full time at an interactive advertising agency. I am not taking an active role in finding clients at this moment because of my busy work schedule. Among all the freelance jobs that come to me, I only take the ones I really like. That’s a luxury to have when you can pay bills from other sources.

What advice do you give people who are seeking to make the switch to freelance illustration?

Build a strong portfolio. For freelance illustration, the portfolio is more important than a fancy resume. Keep your portfolio fresh with quality new work.

Consider an illustration agency. When you just start out in freelance illustration, agencies can be a very good resource to have and help you grow in this business. Take a look at agencies and figure out if you should work with one.

Svetlana Makarova

How did you get into freelance illustration? Were you employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, if so did this help? How long have you been freelancing in illustration?

I have been a freelance illustrator since April 2009, and I started drawing illustrations in March 2006.

I got into freelance, because I decided that it was the perfect time for that. The main job I had at that time was connected with web design and I just began to feel myself not in the right place, so decided to give freelancing a try.

But I must say that web design definitely helped me in my current occupation. First of all, it gave me great input in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and also experience in communicating with clients. I was involved in web design for 3 years, before that my jobs were connected with management and translation\interpretation from Russian to English and vice versa, which again was very helpful in terms of communication with clients, business correspondence, and great practice in the English language. For me now, this is a huge plus because I can work with clients from the whole world.

If you’re not represented by an agency, how do you go about gaining clients? If you’re with an agency, do you still seek clients outside of the agency (if your contract allows)?

You know the main thing about gaining clients is to showcase your works as much as possible on different specialized web sites (i.e. DeviantArt, Behance) and of course have a personal website. I remember only 2 cases when I turned to clients myself offering my services as an illustrator, and that was in the very beginning of my illustration career. Now clients either find my works on the web or I’m being recommended to them by other clients or illustrator friends.

What advice do you give people who are seeking to make the switch to freelance illustration?

Expose your works as much as possible, take part in different illustration competitions, so that people get to know about you.

And the main thing of course is make your work better and better!

Jared Nickerson

How did you get into freelance illustration? Were you employed in a similar field prior to freelancing, if so did this help? How long have you been freelancing in illustration?

About 7-8 years ago, I was working in a regular office job. I started doing desktop wallpapers and offering them for free download as practice. I would regularly receive feedback from the general public, and this helped me slowly improve and develop a style.

Slowly, from there I started to build a fan base. From that point, I started to collaborate with other artists and get involved in various projects online. Eventually, I started to do freelance projects for smaller clients and it grew from there. Once I realized I was making more money and spending more time doing illustration, I quit the day job and started freelancing full-time.

Are you represented by an Illustration Agency? If so, how did you go about being represented? Do you think it’s important to be represented by an agency when you’re a freelance illustrator?

I’ve never been represented by an agency. I’ve been contacted a few times, but never found a good fit. I’ve done a lot of single projects with firms and agencies, but I’ve never officially signed with one. I’m not opposed to signing with an agency, but I like to have direct contact with the client and creative control. Most larger companies don’t deal with artists directly, they almost always go through firms. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with good representation, if it’s to everyone’s mutual benefit.

How do you go about gaining clients?

Most of my clients contact me via Behance or my official website. This is often achieved through word-of-mouth or exposure on various blogs, DeviantArt, BloodSweatVector, Twitter, Facebook, etc. which all in turn lead clients to my website or Behance portfolio.

What advice do you give people who are seeking to make the switch to freelance illustration?

I give this same advice all the time: take business courses. You need to know how to market yourself and deal with clients on a professional level. You’ll also need to know how to run the business, bookkeeping, etc. unless you plan to hire someone for that. In most cases, you need to know the business and marketing side of the industry. This is where many artists fall short. They have the artistic skill and the software know-how but no idea how to use it to their financial advantage.

Also, be financially prepared for the freelance world, being self-employed there is no “guaranteed money.” One month can be an incredible month, and the next you can make only $500.

Be prepared for the ups and downs. Once you release your work online, be open to critique. People have different tastes, don’t expect to make everyone happy.

Personal Experiences

I’ve gotten into freelance illustration by accident. I’ve always seen it as a hobby and written tutorials about vector art in my spare time. The traffic gained from creating tutorials have given my illustration work an priceless boost and has opened doors to several opportunities.

Getting paid to write tutorials has enabled me to quit my 9 to 5 desk job (which wasn’t design related at all!). The illustrations in my tutorials have mainly been created to help enhance the variety and appeal of my portfolio, so I’ve not had to sacrifice too much time with friends and family (as you often hear horror stories of).

I’ve been given the opportunity to write for several websites and they have helped me begin creating a client list, which in turn has given me credibility when approaching new clients for illustration work. It’s been a great route to get into illustration.

You just have to look at talented designers such as Justin Maller , Fabio Sasso , Ryan Putnam and Chris Spooner to name a few, that sharing your knowledge and resources within the design community is an effective way of getting your name out there.

Further Freelance Illustration Advice

So if this has peaked your interest, where to go now? Well you’re on FreelanceSwitch and there are a multitude of articles on jumping into a freelance career here. Specifically, check out the following:

A Comprehensive Guide to Starting Your Freelance Career
Freelancing 101 – The Basics
Kick Starting a Freelance Business… When You Can’t Afford to Fail
Like Pulling Teeth: 5 Steps to Freelancing Success
Start Out Right: Avoid These 3 New Freelancer Blunders

There are many articles out there which can give you different kinds of advice on freelancing within the illustration and design field. One of the best collections of links I’ve come across can be found over on Computer Arts .

I write regularly for another Envato website, Vectortuts+ where I have written some articles on this subject:

Using Social Promotion for Online Exposure of Your Art
Your Portfolio, Starting Out with a Low Budget

All that’s left for me to say is: Good luck in your freelance illustration career. Enjoy drawing, creating, and read up on freelance business to boost your success!

Graphic credit: Some rights reserved by yuanden .

Want to make money on that app you created? You’ll have to spend money and time on marketing your app outside of app stores for success, according to a recent study conducted by App-Promo , a mobile app marketing company.

The First Annual Developer Survey was created to help understand how developers are really doing with their mobile apps.

I don’t know about you, but the amount of apps on the market is overwhelming! It seems everyone has an app these days. Perhaps you have made a business out of developing these apps for clients, or you are a client who is thinking about hiring someone to create an app for you— this post will help shed some light on the industry.

The study found that most developers are developing apps for the Apple iPhone (58%) and the iPad (54.5%). Nearly 49% of them developed apps for Android users. Most of the developers are pricing their apps as free (35.2%) or at $0.99 (30.7%). They are also employing revenue models outside of paid apps, like advertising . Because, really, it’s about making money.

The top 10 app categories in order of popularity include:

Games (not surprising)
Utilities
Productivity
Social Media
Entertainment
Business
Education
Lifestyle
Photo and Video
Music

“There is a lot of hype and excitement in the media around mobile apps. But the reality is that not everyone is winning big with their applications.” —App-Promo

Here’s where the numbers come in—the important ones that hit you where it hurts…your pocket.

80% of developers are not generating enough revenue with their app to support a standalone business.
59% are not earning enough money to break even with the development costs.
63% have had their app downloaded 50,000 or less.
68% have earned $5,000 or less to date from their app.
52% had set aside $0 for marketing and spent less than 5% of their time promoting their app.

This study found a direct correlation between the rate of success of an app to the amount of money and time spent on marketing it, which, as app marketers, must make them very happy. Nearly 12% of the developers surveyed made more than $50,000 in revenue, broke even with development costs, and made enough money to support their business. What did these people have in common? About $30,000 in a marketing budget for their app and spent, on average, 14% of their time marketing their app on their websites, social media outlets, press releases, paid media and reviews, and price promotions.

The days of creating an app and it going viral are pretty much over. Sure, when apps were new and there weren’t very many of them, that was much easier. There are over 500,000 apps available in the Apple App Store.  And more are made every day! How do you expect people to find YOUR app in a sea of half a million?

If you don’t have thousands of dollars in your marketing budget, don’t despair. There are ways to market your app that doesn’t cost much, or anything at all.

Make a Video

The video doesn’t need to be anything overly fancy (though it wouldn’t hurt to add a bit of pizzaz), just setup your digital camera and record yourself using your app. Talk your way through the screens and make it clear why your app is worth downloading. —TutsPlus

A video is the best show and tell for your app. And it’s easy to make! Keep it short and simple, and have fun. Your excitement and passion conveyed in the video will help convince a viewer to check it out.

Tackle Social Media

Create a newsletter, Twitter account, and/or Facebook page and allow customers to join/follow/like in your app. —RayWenderlich

Use your social media prowess to create hype around your app. Use the logo wherever you can—your Twitter and Facebook profile photo, for example.

Get Reviews

Peter Swain of Always On Message suggests sending demos and screen shots to as many review sites as possible. He says there are about 400 good ones out there.

Use your network to create, or have someone else create, a blog post about your app. Sure, you can tell everyone how awesome it is, but it’s good to have others tout your product for you, too. Sometimes it’s more believable.

Plan Your Release Date Wisely

When do people get new devices, like tablets and smartphones? The holiday season, of course. Mobile app marketing platform Fisku reported that in January 2012, users downloaded the top 200 free iOS apps 6.79 million times a day. Holy cow! If you can plan your marketing strategy to build a buzz around your app around the holidays, you could see a significant increase in downloads.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by xilius .

Are you sick of seeing job ads for blogging that only offer $20 a post or less? Scanning the online job boards, you might think there are no good-paying blogging gigs.

But there are. I know because I’ve earned as much as $300 a blog post, and often get north of $100 a post .

What makes the difference? It’s all in the type of client you’re blogging for, and the type of business they have.

What sort of clients pay more for blog posts? Here is my guide for sleuthing out a better class of blogging client:

Ad-Click Model vs Lead-Generation Model

Most low-paid blogging offers come from online-only companies or content mills. These businesses all have the same way of making money: ad clicks.

The problem? This model doesn’t work well for most of the people who try it. So they don’t have a lot of money to spend. Even when the sites are able to attract big traffic, the strategy may not be profitable .

Instead, look for companies that sell a real product or service, usually in the physical world.

Their model is also reliant on throwing a ton of quickie, keyword-loaded content on their site, to drive traffic and create lots of pages for the ads. Because they need large numbers of posts with this strategy, each post can’t pay much.

Instead, look for companies that sell a real product or service, usually in the physical world. For instance, they sell cars, or insurance, or in-person consulting services. They are looking for blog posts that will draw in new leads and get them to join their email list, so they can sell to them later and turn them into customers.

Companies that pay for various forms of lead generation understand the value of a sophisticated, well-written blog post. When there’s a direct correlation between your blogging and their ability to build their marketing list and generate new revenue, companies are happy to pay a decent wage.

How can you connect with successful companies? Target companies you’d love to blog for and scan their company job board online for openings. Or reach out to them directly with a phone call or marketing email introducing yourself.

Complex Topic vs Easy Topic

Unsurprisingly, the pay is better for subject matter not every writer could tackle. For instance, at one point I got $125 a post to blog about surety bonds . On the other hand, blogging about pets or gardening is unlikely to pay well, because legions of writers can do it.

Companies that sell a sophisticated product or concept need a writer with industry knowledge. If it’s a sector where it’s hard to find a writer with experience, rates go up. It’s simple supply and demand.

Big Company vs Little Company

When it comes to writing clients, bigger truly is better. Three reasons: First, bigger companies tend to already understand the value of promoting their site, and usually have a web development budget.

They’ve also worked with freelancers already, so you won’t have to train them how that relationship works. Finally, in the great scheme of their substantial marketing budgets, $100 a blog post is small money. By contrast, ask a solopreneur or small shop owner to shell out that kind of money for blogging, and they’ll look at you like you’re crazy.

To get familiar with big companies near you, read your local paper’s business section, or your local business weekly. Watch for news about growth, acquisitions, and new funding — all likely situations where marketing budgets are growing.

Expensive Product vs Cheap Product

Without exception, well-paid blogging gigs I’ve had were for high-ticket products, usually marketed to an audience with a high annual income. The more money the product or service sells for, the harder it is to make that sale — and the more that company has to invest in marketing to bring in more leads.

Track Record vs Startup

In general, better-paying blog clients have been in business a while. When you research the company, you’re able to see it has a great reputation — you can find testimonials from customers and notices of awards they’ve won in their industry. When you ask your writers’ network , you can find writers who’ve written for this company before, and had a positive experience.

The exception is well-funded startups that have received venture-capital funding (which is a tiny fraction of all startups). In my experience, these rare, plucky newcomers spend like the Fortune 500 — because it’s someone else’s money. Flush startups also need to quickly grow their business to satisfy those investors, so they often spend more to get fast results.

Mass Job Board vs Niche Job Board

If you’re looking on Craigslist for a great-paying blogging gig, I’ve got some bad news — it’s probably not on there. Established, well-heeled companies don’t usually place free ads on Craigslist, because they don’t have time to wade through the 400 resumes they will get. They’re also not skulking around placing blind ads.

Good prospective clients place ads on job boards where a select audience of the right sort of writer will read it — for instance, on the job board of a professional association for healthcare, technology, or science writers. Also look for job boards where companies have to pay to be listed, as they do on LinkedIn .

Have a Blog vs No Blog

Many aspiring paid bloggers waste time pitching websites that don’t yet have a blog, and try to convince the owner to start one. That’s a tough sell.

First, you’d have to convince them a blog would drive traffic to their site. Then, that the blog would get them good quality leads. Then, that you are the blogger they should hire. Next, they’d have to learn to install blogging software…you get the idea. This is too long of a row to hoe.

The sweet spot for prospects is when you find a company with a blog — but it hasn’t been updated in months. That means the company understands blogging could help their business, but has discovered it lacks the in-house talent to keep the blog going. That’s the perfect opening for a freelance writer.

Where have you found good-paying blogging work? Leave a comment and let us know.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by italianestro .