Why Generalists Are The Most Successful Freelancers

I've always held the belief that finding a specific niche is one of the best things you can do for your business, so when Erin came along and pitched this blog post idea, I was intrigued. I had never even considered the benefits of being a generalist, or why this might be a better fit for some freelancers. 

If you're in two minds about whether or not to specialize in one thing or be a jack of all trades, read Erin's post below on the benefits of being a generalist! I'll be posting my thoughts on being a specialist soon so stick around! :)

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Today’s popular opinion is that you need to be a specialist. You should invest your time into mastering your niche and becoming an expert. But what if your interests are varied and you consider yourself a multipotentialite? Can you succeed as a freelancer with a vast knowledge and many skills or do you need to hone in on one thing and perfect it?

Good news for those with many feathers in their caps. Being a generalist is a great thing. You should take pride in your varied interests and start promoting yourself as a jack or jill of all trades.

Here are some reasons why the odds are in the generalist’s favor.

How To Do Affiliate Marketing Right To Boost Your Freelance Income

How To Do Affiliate Marketing Right To Boost Your Freelance Income

Freelancing is all about exchanging time for money. But what if you need more money and have no more time to give? That's when you need to start making passive income, and the easiest way to do that is with affiliate marketing. 

My friend and affiliate expert Justine Grey is here today to teach you- my lovely community of freelancers and designers- how to do affiliate marketing right so you can boost your freelance income. Justine has even listed 31 affiliate programs you can join!

Read on for all the deets on how to make affiliate marketing work for you. 

Nearly 6 years ago, as my newborn baby slept in her father’s arms, I sat up in my hospital bed and flipped open my laptop.

23 unread emails

15 project notifications

4 urgent requests

All this since going into labor less than 15 hours before.

At the time, I had been running my freelance business for several years and most of my income sources - including paid writing and client work - required me to trade my time in order to get paid.

This meant I could not take any time off before, during or after giving birth to my second child. The realization that I would not get another paid maternity leave, like I did with my first child as a company employee, hit me like a ton of bricks.

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Building a portfolio that wins you the work you want

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Building a portfolio that wins you the work you want

Does your portfolio attract the right kind of clients? Is your portfolio reflective of your current skill set, or is it outdated? These are questions I want you to consider as you read today's guest post by Hannah.

Hannah is part of Ditto, a creative design and branding agency based here in the UK, and her and the Ditto team have pah-lenty of experience in building a portfolio that attracts the right clients with the right budget. Read on to learn how they created such a successful, money-making, client-getting portfolio!

Nesha xo

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If there’s one thing that’s made winning business immeasurably easier for our branding agency, it’s been developing a portfolio that plays to our strengths and showcases our signature style.

People come to us at Ditto knowing exactly what to expect, and are much, much easier to convert into paying clients since they’ve seen a portfolio full of work that they already love. It gets them excited to work with us and fills them with confidence, overcoming much of the decision-halting anxiety that often plays a part when shopping for a designer (will they understand me? What if they show me something that I don’t like?).

It wasn’t always this way.

Around three years ago, we were a fairly generic design agency that undertook pretty much any work from anybody. We did branding projects, sure – but we’d also do plenty of one-off projects with tiny profit margins. Most of our clients were super-local; we’d design business cards, flyers – even bus timetables. We made money, but business was frustrating and getting clients on board felt like wading through treacle. Uphill. In a snowstorm.

7 courses that will drastically improve your web design business

7 courses that will drastically improve your web design business

I'm sure you've noticed by now that the blog world is going crazy about online courses. I'm right there in the middle of the hype. I LOVE online courses because they're an amazing way to gain new skills and learn from others. 

Online courses give you the opportunity to:

  • Gain new skills without having to go through a college/university course to get them. 
  • Learn from others who have been in your position and can show you how to grow from there. 
  • Learn at a fast pace instead of having to experiment and research everything yourself. 

There are millions of online courses out there for all kinds of people, but let's focus on courses that will specifically help web and graphic designers (like you and I) to grow or improve their businesses!

100 Blog Post Ideas For Web & Graphic Designers

100 Blog Post Ideas For Web & Graphic Designers

Blogging is a very powerful way of getting potential clients to visit your website, become familiar with you, and inquire about your services. 

The reason I started my business was because of my blog (you can read my story here). My business would have been a complete flop without it. A lot of my clients have even told me that the reason they decided to hire me instead of another designer was because my blog posts proved to them that I was trustworthy and knew what I was talking about. 

So, in a nutshell, your blog posts will:

  • Attract potential clients to your website
  • Show off your expertise and prove that you're trustworthy

A question that I often get asked when coaching designers is 'What should I blog about?!'

Because the majority of blog posts in our niche are about business, money and marketing, you may feel like you should blog about that. 

Stop right there. 

If you sell products, courses and coaching based around helping people grow their business and their income then go ahead and blog about those things. But not if you don't.

You're mainly selling design services, right? That means your blog posts should be centered around those services. Your posts need to attract potential clients who are interested in investing in design, so your posts should:

  • Educate potential clients on why investing in design is worth it and what it will do for their business
  • Showcase your skills
  • Show potential clients that you're an expert
  • Show potential clients that you're trustworthy

Brainstorming blog posts can take up quite a bit of time so I've done it for you! Below are a list of blog post ideas that web and graphic designers can feel free to use. These posts are centered around your skills, expertise and services. 

Happy writing! :)

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