How To Get Graphic Design Clients (And Keep them!)

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Graphic design client speaking to a graphic designer

Want to know how to get graphic design clients?

From building a strong portfolio to marketing your service, here is what you need to do to score your graphic design dream clients in no time.

Related Article: How To Become A Content Creator And Get Paid $3,000+ Per Month

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

Do you need a Niche?

First let’s make some clarity whether you need to pick a niche or not.

As a generalist graphic designer operating on freelancing platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, etc, picking a niche is not required.

When looking for clients somewhere else, it would be wise to specialize in a specific space, which would make the hunt for clients easier.

How to Pick a niche

To find your niche, you will have to figure out what kind of design work gets you excited and what businesses truly need your work.

Do you love designing logos or you are focused on social media posts designs?

Once you identify your potential buyers (let’s say ecommerce stores or software companies), you will need to identify what type of content do they exactly need. Once you do that, this will help you craft your offer.

For me doing graphic design work for social media business pages is a great idea because this also means working with these clients every month.

If you want to learn how to pick a niche, read my article on how to become a content creator.

Craft your Offer

Once you know your niche, the next step is crafting your offer.

Offer is nothing but: market + solution of their problem through your service.

Example: I help dentists improve and boost their online presence by designing outstanding social media posts.

Your offer is what makes the sale.

And this is because the helps the client realize that you are the potential solution to their problem.

Create your Portfolio (and Possibly a Case Study)

To convince clients, you will need to be able show your skills through your work.

Whether you are using Canva, Photoshop or any other graphic design tool, make sure to build a collection of designs that you can show to your prospects so that they can see if you are a good fit for them.

If you don’t have a lot of experience, consider working on some personal projects or volunteer work to build up your portfolio.

Volunteering is a great idea because it helps you build your first case study.

Case studies are very important and will make a huge difference between you and your competitors.

Canva is the tool I use, and that is because it allows me to deliver outstanding quality work, without taking too much time from me or without requring technical skills.

Here is some graphic design work for a client, easily done with Canva templates.

Graphic design work done for a client

Create Your Website (Not a must)

Having a strong online presence definitely helps in attracting graphic design clients.

This means having a website or landing page that showcases your talent and shows to your prospects what you can do for them.

Make sure your site is easy to navigate and includes samples of your work, as well as your contact information.

You can create a website with WordPress which is a really easy thing to do.

There are free and full tutorials on YouTube showing the entire process of building a website using WordPress.

This one is my favorite.

Finding clients on Fiverr

To learn how to get graphic design clients, Fiverr is a great place to start.

Fiverr is great also because you don’t need to focus on a specific niche.

Once you setup and optimize your Fiverr seller profile, the algorythm will drive traffic to your gig and all you have to do is make the sale when the first buyers message you.

This saves you a lot of time and energy, because people will be reaching out to you and you don’t have to search for clients daily.

I explain how I managed to build our profile and make a lot of sales in my article on how to be successful on Fiverr.

Check that one out to learn how to optimize your Fiverr seller account and your Fiverr gigs.

Find Clients on Upwork

I like Upwork because, differently from Fiverr, here you can create a profile and start bidding on projects that interest you.

There are all sorts of businesses and individuals who use Upwork to find freelancers for their projects, so it’s a great place to start if you’re looking for graphic design work.

I have found some of my clients from my Upwork profile, and I recommend you to definitely consider it as your source for clients as well.

(You can learn about the differences between the two platforms on my Upwok Vs Fiverr article.)

To get started, simply create a free account on Upwork and start browsing through the available projects.

When you find a project that interests you, simply submit a proposal outlining your experience and why you’re the best person for the job.

With a little bit of effort, you should be able to land some great clients through Upwork!

Find clients on Linkedin

If you want to get graphic design clients on Linkedin, you’ll need to start by finding groups that are related to your field.

You can find groups by searching for keywords related to your industry or by browsing the members list.

Once you find a group that’s relevant to your work, you can join it and start networking with the other members.

You can aso search for potential clients by industry or location.

Ideally, you should find business Linkedin pages with 1-10 employees.

Go through the list of the employees and see if you can spot the founder or the CEO.

If you come across anybody you think is a good fit for your graphic design services, send them a connection request.

Never send any message before they accept your request.

One very powerful method I have discovered myself when it comes to finding clients on Linkedin, is by using their tool called Sales Navigator.

Uptown Creation on YouTube has some great videos that can help you learn more on how to get graphic design clients.

You can watch this video from Uptown Creation on Youtube and based on his method, your can build your own system for generating leads and finding new clients.

How to message your prospect

You might be wondering how to message your prospect once you found their e-mail or they’ve accepted your request.

Here a model I myself use:

“Hey James,

Noticed that you are in the [INDUSTRY NAME] space and I wanted to reach out. I help [INDUSTRY NAME] brands [INSERT WHAT THEY WANT TO ACHIEVE] by [INSERT SERVICE YOU OFFER]

I have taken a look at your social media pages and there is something I’d love to show you that can improve your presence and boost your results.

When suits for a 15 minutes chat?“

Send out 10 messages or e-mails a day, for 30 days. Stay consistent. Do not skip even a single day.

You can always use a free Google Chrome extension called Mailtracker, to track e-mail openings and performance.

Other freelancing platforms

Other freelance platforms where you you can find graphic design clients are:

– Freelancer.com
– Dribbble
– Working Not Working
– Toptal

This Wave article makes it easier for you to explore these other options.

How to identify Long Term Clients

When it comes to searching for new clients, ideally you should look for clients who will be wanting to work with you for a long time.

How do you identify them? It really depends on what they need.

If they need logo design, chances are that they won’t need your services anymore once the logo is done.

But if you offer social media graphic design services, they might need you to do work for them every month.

So once again, select your expertise and niche carefully.

This will make it easier for you to know who the clients you are looking for, are.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to get into graphic design, there are a few things that you need to do.

First, make sure your work is of the highest quality.

Second, make sure your portfolio is well-done and showcases your best work. 

Third, you need to learn how to market yourself and your work.

In this article I show you what has worked for me and potentially can work for you as well!

Be persistent and never give up on making your graphic design business flourish.

And if you have any questions, don’t forget to leave a comment, I’ll be happy to help you out!

Eugen Prendi
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