Freelancing Is Easy! (And Other Myths)

Many graduates have been faced with the dilemma of pursuing a career in video games/film as an artist at an established company, or taking on the challenge of freelancing. Unfortunately, there is a caveat... freelancing is at its core a business. And most of us did not go to school for business. The purpose of this post is to shed some light on what we "don't" know about business upon graduation, so that we do know what we can start learning and researching for the path we are best suited for.

There are three main phases of freelancing: Client Acquisition, Client Management, and Client Retention. You'll notice that none of these things seem to allude to the skills of exporting in Maya, or use the word "topology". This is because most of the clients you will acquire will have absolutely no idea what those things are, and they honestly don't care. They are looking to pay someone to take care of these things for them, which is exactly why we should be looking at this all from their perspective. Starting with acquisition.

Client Acquisition

The process of acquiring clients is going to be the absolute most difficult part of freelancing. It is what starts the process of paying your bills and keeping you working. Unfortunately, many of us have some gaps to fill in our skill set in order to accomplish this, namely marketing. Marketing is the strategy that one can use in order to acquire more clients. Without marketing, it is impossible for anyone to know you exist. Marketing can be anything from replying to a job posting to shoving your logo sticker on a guy's face as he walks past you on the street (I am not endorsing this tactic by the way). The amount of marketing you do in the beginning (and continue through your freelancing) will ultimately determine how successful you are.  Here are some basic strategies I have used and observed in my experience freelancing.

Portfolio

You should absolutely have a place for people to check out your work. Most students graduate with a portfolio or a website, which is essentially that. You need to have something that clients can visually look at to imagine themselves hiring you for their vision.

"You need to have something that clients can visually look at to imagine themselves hiring you for their vision. "

Call to Action

On this website, there should absolutely be some sort of "Call To Action". This is a marketing term for something that the clients can take action on. Asking for a quote or leading them to your contact info is your way of starting the conversation and getting them in touch with a real person (you). A real person makes for an easier transition from them saying "I like this work" to "that person was nice, I want to that person today". The easier you make it for them to contact you, the better. A big button that says "Contact me for a quote!" is a great way to do this or you can also simply put your contact information on the header/footer, of every page to make sure that it is as easy as possible (without being annoying) for them to just ask questions about your rate, work ethic, schedule, etc.
Note: If you do something like this, you had better be crucial about your response time as not to discourage them from moving on before you got a chance to answer.

Know What You Are Best Suited For

Many clients will use all subsets of skill terms interchangeably. You and I know that a graphic designer is actually VERY different than an illustrator in terms of technique, style, and results, however, a client may be looking for either of those, when in reality, they need a concept artist. Putting "Game Artist" at the top is very vague, but your work can do the talking. My recommendation here to to be clear about what you do in your work, and let SEO (Search Engine Optimization or the keywords you have embedded in your website) grab the attention of people searching for a lot of other terms.  
This technique is debatable as I have heard many opinions about how to market yourself. But the purpose of this initial vagueness is to get them asking questions and let YOU be the one to tell them you are not right for the job, rather than letting them make the assumption up front.

Know The Trends

Anything you can do to stay ahead of the other artists is going to put you at an advantage. Knowing that many clients will post on Craigslist, seeing that Tumblr is an easy way to scroll through work, and knowing that ArtStation is a popular portfolio showcase are all important factors in getting noticed. Another very hot topic right now is the fact that many artists are making money off livestreaming on Twitch and similar platforms. Research how other artists are getting noticed, or if you are working with other artists, ask what they did to get their clients or get their name out there.

Never Enough Networking

Networking is another great way to market. Finding local meetup groups or industry mixers is a great way to keep your marketing fresh. Of course, always have business cards with you, but at least talking to people and getting an idea of what they are looking for will keep the emails rolling in. I have found many opportunities while networking, and most of them were opportunities I wouldn't have searched for in a million years. Talking to many people can also give you an idea of what other work is out there besides video games and film. Turns out, many products, health care providers, mobile platform developers probably need someone with your skills at some point. And if not, they know someone who needs your skills.

Tracking Your Marketing

Keeping track of all of your marketing techniques is a must. Whenever you update your work, you should have a list of places where you need to upload it, or a list of websites that you post regularly on in order to get your resume and work out there. Slacking on this has absolutely no excuse when Google accounts are free, and they provide spreadsheets. By simply inserting a link to the site and a date of when you last updated, you will maximize the amount of marketing content you get out there when you develop a new portfolio piece AND reduce the amount of time you spend on marketing. I know you would rather spend time on the actual work instead.

Fake It (At First)

Mockups are a great way for clients to visualize their work with your skills. If you are an artist of any sort, there are many products that your work could end up on. For instance, modeling can be anything from a prop in a medical simulation to a 3D printed statue to a board game prototype to a miniature building that architects use to plan part of a city. With each project you do, you should expand the possibilities of catching any client's eye. Even if you didn't ACTUALLY make a board game, mocking it up cleverly to give the illusion that you CAN is the key. I am not saying that you should lie, however, you should do a lot of work up front to shut down the questions they have about whether or not you have the ability to model and render something for their product.  

A good example is when I was part of a Kickstarter for an Indie Game, one of the rewards we advertised was an Art Book for the backers. This Art Book did NOT exist in its physical form (yet), but a little photoshop work made it very clear (and attractive) that backing us at that reward level would give them quality from a professional.  

Shop Them

Part of marketing is going to be shopping your clients as much as they are shopping you. Experienced freelancers know that if a client takes a week to get back to you, there is probably going to be some frustration on your end throughout the process. Bear in mind that these clients are a TIME SUCK and may not be worth saying "yes" to. A good audiobook that I like to recommend for this concept is "Book Yourself Solid" and in there, the author goes over which clients will actually lose you money if you work for them. When first starting out, this may not be the case, but in the future, it will be something to think about as you develop the skills you need to acquire better clients.
Lastly, just because you have clients, doesn't mean the marketing is over. You should always keep a check list of things you need to do for marketing as things slow down with your current clients or if you need to take a break while rendering. Marketing WHILE you have work is what will close the gaps in your employment. The more you can discipline yourself to not procrastinate on this one, the less worries you will have when you look at your bank account.

Client Management

I wish I could say that the business stuff ends there and you can put your headphones back on to rock out to Maroon 5 while re-topologizing a sexy bantha in spiky armor. But no. Keeping your clients happy is going to be a chore at first, and a breeze after your first few clients. I have outlined some of my best business practices below.

Be Prompt

This goes back to answering their first inquiring email all the way through letting them know you received the last payment. Being on top of the communication is imperative to keeping the trust between you and your clients. This will sometimes mean that you are more prompt than they are, which can be frustrating, but totally worth it. If there is a Skype call, have your microphone tested a half hour before. If they are expecting a response from you and you are unable to assess the new contract until a lawyer friend looks at it, let them know it will be a day before you can respond. These sort of communications will keep the clients from wondering why they bothered to hire you in the first place (which can happen if you lag on communication).


"These sort of communications will keep the clients from wondering why they bothered to hire you in the first place..."

Be Prepared

Research your clients and past projects if you can. When they first call you, have some mockups ready for what you were thinking when they told you their initial problems/visions. The more you can surprise them, the more they will want to keep working with you. Providing them options is the best way to seem prepared. "Oh hey, I already drew up some ideas on your dog character you mentioned in the reference images, but I also took a look at the prequel you had on your website and thought adding a dog bone to his collar would be more appropriate". Clients love that stuff mostly because they are hiring someone to be creative for them and want to see that someone is thinking about that.

Be Organized

No one likes working with someone who is constantly searching through their email or can't seem to find the only file they have been working on for the client's project. Have your emails labeled or in folders according to the client that hired you, and have your files saved in one place with folders that are labeled. 100GB of Google Drive space is four bucks a month, so you have no excuse for not having a place to be organized. Also, if you want to go the extra mile, keep track of each client in a spreadsheet. When they first contacted you, a link to the contract you signed, etc. You can contact them later during marketing fun times to follow up on how well the project did (maybe link the award it won back to your website!), ask them to refer a friend, or ask them to write a review to put on your site. All of these things can easily add up and move your from "recent graduate" to "experienced professional" in no time at all. 

Be Convenient

This is somewhat of an overlap from the previous one, however, it is important to point out that clients already have a million things going on to get their projects off the ground. Anything you can do to be more convenient than what they have is a plus for them working with you (and being excited they chose you). See that they have been sending a lot of files to you through email? Send them your Dropbox link and tell them it is the latest technology and will make their lives easier. Waiting for them to send you a contract? Tell them you already have templates ready to go if they want to just tweak that instead. Find they are calling you a lot to give you feedback? Recommend a tool that they can use to quickly highlight or circle the areas that need improvement (or even have client access to software that does that already, like Concept Share). This is literally "Customer Service" at its finest. Anything you can do for them is going to give them a glowing impression of you and your work ethic.

Know Your Contracts

No one likes getting stuck in a contract that they don't understand, misread, or simply didn't realize they signed up for "that". Get your contract to a notary or have a friend look over it to make sure that you aren't wasting the client's time. They could be asking for something that you aren't willing to do. By this same token, make sure that the contract is fair for you and your timelines (why I recommended having your own templates). Having them pay once up front (usually a percentage of the total) lets you know that they are serious, and then they can pay you either incrementally for your time or at the end when they have considered it done. There are other indications that a client is serious (have a contract ready, a script done, investors, etc.), but that is a topic for another time. And of course, clients don't understand the impacts of "revisions". Outlining how many they have up front will save a lot of time negotiating later when they "still don't think the green looks right on that bow tie". Forcing them to make a decision and stick to it in the contract will keep you sane.

Know Your Laws

I have run into friends that have been underpaid or the clients have fallen off the grid before the final payment was made. You have a legal obligation to fill your end of the bargain, and when you do, they have a legal obligation to fill theirs. Reminding them of this usually solves the problem, but if it doesn't, the justice system has your back.

Do NOT Miss A Deadline

This is a huge show stopper and will prevent any of your clients from recommending you, and even give them legal justification for not paying you. Don't commit to something you can't do, and if you can't do it, communicate that as early as possible so they don't feel like they have run out of options last minute. If for some reason you can't deliver something to a client, you can ask them for an extension, but you should use this ticket as often as you ask your parents to pay for your strippers. Time management is key, and allowing for family emergencies, last minute vet visits, or forgetting that Super Smash releases this week should be allowed for in your time estimates. If you give yourself a cushion, and they understand you have other clients, you should be able to negotiate with them.




And lastly...

Do Your Work, And Do It Well 

If I was falling behind, I have asked friends to help me in consulting, tech troubleshooting, and sometimes even mocking up some art to get it to the clients faster, but I never missed a deadline I committed to. Afterward, I will usually research what I was unable to do (or why I was so slow at it) so that next time, I knew exactly what to do to become less dependent on other people. Eventually, most of what was asked of me became second nature and I was able to navigate more effectively, and identify what the client was really asking for.

Client Retention

Keeping your clients happy is going to be the key to finding more work, as they will want to come back to that awesome artist that launched their first indie title. Find a way to keep in touch with them through their endeavors, and ask them if they have any business associates that need an artist when things get slow with them. You'll find they would be happy to recommend someone that they know will love working with you as much as they did.


"...you can always set up a referral agreement with other artists that you trust to keep at least some cash rolling in."

Referral Agreements

Even if you find yourself too busy to say "yes" to everyone, you can always set up a referral agreement with other artists that you trust to keep at least some cash rolling in. When I began working for studios again after freelancing, I found that clients were still contacting me after I had begun 40 hour work weeks (and no time for new clients), so I set up referral agreements with my friends that could complete the work in my absence. There is no reason why you can't continue to make money off of that hard work you put into your client base and marketing efforts. Setting up a

contract with friends that you can refer other clients to is a great way to do that. Essentially it is saying, "Hey Julie, I don't have time to make a card game for this client, but if you need a gig, I'd be happy to give you their contact info for 5% of whatever they pay you". This sounds a bit weird to some people who have very little business experience, but this is a very common practice in many different industries. It keeps clients coming to you for when you end up out of work again, and it solidifies a network of people that may be able to conversely find you work in the future.

Public Endorsements

Again, like mentioned before, proving that you are a professional can come from recommendations or public endorsements. Your client says you did a great job? Ask them to put it in writing and if you have their permission to post it on your website under "Happy Clients!" Anything you can do to add to your proof that you are a professional will really make you stand out over the other artists.





That's about it for my recommendations on freelancing in a nutshell. Are you still with me? One last note before I sign off.

Not everyone is cut out for freelancing. Freelancing as an artist is best described as a balance between art and business. If you find yourself either completely unmotivated to do the business/marketing work up front, or simply that you think it is too much work for your taste, there is no shame in simply sending out resumes until you get a solid and stable studio contract. Freelancing is really hard, and frankly, it can be quite scary at times. Luckily, there are entrepreneurs that started their own studios and are ready to hire artists just like you!

If however, you find you want to give this a shot, there are options out there besides just being unemployed and poor until you get your first gig. I know many freelancers that leverage their talents elsewhere (barista, bartender, IT, etc.) and then work on the one or two projects they have for clients on their days off. This may be your only option until you build a clientele or get enough gigs to support yourself outside of that side job. Some freelancers will actually save money for workshops and lessons to hone their skills during the down times. Regardless of what they do, the most important thing YOU can do is identify how much work you are willing to do for either path and take action on it. The end goal is to choose the path that pays your bills and keeps you happy. Period.

I hope this was insightful. Feel free to comment and let me know if you have questions.