Here's why you're failing as a designer

So you’ve been putting in hours of work to grow as a designer…

Maybe you’ve even seen major improvements in the quality of your designs.

But for some reason your audience isn’t growing, and you’re still struggling to land any clients.

Trust me, I feel your pain. I had a hard time landing even 1 client when I was first getting started.

But over the last 6 months I truly believe I’ve cracked the code of growing a design business and landing more clients.

And you guys know me by now, I don’t gatekeep anything. So here are the exact lessons I learnt that exploded my design career and started bringing in a LOT of high quality clients.

P.s this guide will NOT be generic and wishy-washy, I want to give you some legit, practical advice for landing clients and making money as a designer. Enjoy!

The two paths to design success

 

The way I see it, there are 2 pathways you can take to land a client: inbound and outbound. 

Now this seems fairly obvious, but most people don’t know how to approach either of these options.

So, an inbound client is a prospect that discovers you and reaches out to you. 

This is mainly through

✅ Referrals / word of mouth

✅ Discovering you on social media

An outbound client is someone who you reach out to.

This is mainly through

✅ Instagram DM

✅ Cold emails

Now the real question remains: which path is right for you?

 

 

 

Landing inbound clients

I’m just going to cut to the chase, let’s talk about exactly how to land inbound clients.

Referrals

Referrals are an extremely powerful method for landing clients. If you do a great job for a client and your service delivery is highly professional, that client is very likely to refer you to other potential prospects. 

But I know what you’re thinking: how will I get referrals if I have no clients in the first place?

Social media discovery

The truth is, growing a large audience on social media is a hugely effective way to bring in new clients.

I get regular DM’s and emails from prospects asking about services and prices etc. after they’ve discovered my profile on Instagram or TikTok.

But the best part is, this started happening when I reached just a few thousand followers. 

Even a few thousand followers on social media can act as “social proof” to show a client that you are serious about your design career.

I’ve written multiple letters about growing on Instagram, so I’m not going to repeat it all here. If you want to know more, here’s my most recent letter on the subject:

https://www.waveindex.com/blogs/letters/how-i-gained-150k-followers-on-instagram

Now, growing on social media is a great tactic to bring in new clients. However, when you combine it with these next techniques, you will absolutely skyrocket your design business.

Landing outbound clients

Here’s the million dollar question: does cold outreach actually work in the world of graphic design? 

The short answer is yes, if you know what you’re doing.

Here are two life-changing pieces of advice that transformed my design business when it comes to cold outreach:

 

 

Pattern breakers

What exactly is a “pattern breaker”? 

When DM’ing or cold emailing a potential client, you need to bear in mind that this person/business receives a LOT of emails every single day.

So if you send the most generic, unpersonalised message, they’re barely even going to read it, let alone reply.

This is the essential idea of a “pattern breaker”. A potential prospect is so used to receiving the same old emails day after day, but if you include phrases or sentences that “break the pattern” within their brain, your outbound message will instantly become more attention-grabbing and memorable.

See if you notice the difference between these two Instagram DM intros:

DM 1:

Hi, I hope you’re well. My name is ___, and I'm a graphic designer. I’m reaching out because …

DM 2:

Hey [their name]!

I just stumbled across your brand while scrolling my feed and absolutely loved the [incredibly specific compliment about a recent promo/product/post they made].

I actually specialize in [specific service relating to their niche]…

The first example is cold and impersonal, and you’re unlikely to get any sort of meaningful reply. However, the second example is warm, highly complimentary and also way more unique.

Your offer

Secondly, you need to make sure your offer is simply too good to refuse.

This is a very common idea in service-based business and even e-commerce.

See if you notice the difference between these two offers:

Offer 1:

Social media content design / 10 Instagram posts per month

Offer 2:

Social media content design / 10 posts per month repurposed across all social media platforms + if you are dissatisfied within the first week, I will give you a full refund, no questions asked.

Regarding the second offer, the client is required to take virtually no risk. If your designs are low-quality or your service delivery is poor, the client can simply ask for a refund.

Now of course, this places the risk back onto you. However when you’re looking for those first clients to kickstart your career, these are the kinds of offers that will allow you to stand out from other designers in your niche.

 

Cracking the client code

Guys I could rant on this subject forever, there’s so much additional advice I want to give you based on my personal experience and past mistakes

That’s why I currently putting together a FREE full guide to growing your design business, so look out for that.

Anyway, that’s it from me!

Love you guys, 

George