The digital landscape is expanding and everyone wants to be a part of it. UX designers are moving from a full-time job structure to a full-fledged freelancing career and making the best of digital resources. As a freelancer, you will get the ability to have control over your projects, working hours, location and of course your charges. But how exactly can you get started?
Below are a few guides and tips that can help you find your way towards your freelance UX career.
Get some experience
For the first few years of your career try working at an agency or any company to gather some experience and create a portfolio. When working with big-name agencies, you can get the opportunity to collaborate with experts, get your hands on high techs and tools, work on projects with bigger budgets, and so on. If you directly move from education to freelancing then you might not have the funds or projects that can give you your earning. This means no work or experience to showcase to your clients, making it difficult for you to find them in the first place.
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Create your own website
Since you are not representing any agency or any company, you will need to create a brand identity for yourself. What better than a website? Showcase your work and create an easy-to-use channel for your clients to reach you.
Keep your portfolio updated
Now that you have a website that is showcasing your projects to your clients, it’s essential for you to keep polishing your portfolio. You wouldn’t want a prospective client landing on your webpage only to find outdated projects and you losing out on the opportunity.
Start with a lower rate
When starting your freelance career you might need to keep your charges a little lower as you will be new in the market and clients might hesitate to pay a big cheque to a newcomer. You can also start collaborating with small companies for small-scale projects or even try working for some sort of NGO to create free websites that can be added to your portfolio. Once you have picked up the pace and have a decent amount of clientele, you can start increasing your charges.
Create networking in multiple platforms
The best way to reach your clients is by letting them know about your presence and capability. You have already created a website and now you just need the world to know about it so here comes the social networking platforms, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You can also try showcasing your work profile on various design platforms like Dribble or Behance. These platforms can act as your client acquisition points so try to be active so that you can address any query or grab that project opportunity.
Avoid on-site work
Often clients request on-site project execution for a very short period. In such cases, you might end up spending a lot of energy in understanding the way everything works at the client’s end when you can deliver the same result from the comfort of your space and mental peace. Big companies or fancy agencies can be an exception since you can always gain some experience and increase networking.
Collect reviews or recommendations
When it comes to purchasing a service from the digital space, we heavily rely on customer feedback and recommendations. It’s time for you to leverage it and use your customer testimonials to attract more clients. Once a project is completed and you have successfully delivered the product, you can request your client to drop in a good word on LinkedIn and on your website. You can then share it on other social media and social networking to increase visibility.
Look out for referrals
It’s time for some word-of-mouth marketing. If you ensure your clients leave with a great product and good experience, they may remember you for the next requirement as well. Not just that, they can also refer your service to anyone within their circle who has the same requirement. Request your clients for referrals as an ending note or email.
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