Freelance Designer

5 Ways to Make Money Freelance Designing, How to Start in 2021

Make Money Freelance Designer

Freelance designers make a lot of money through their online gigs. If you want to start freelance designing in 2021, but don’t know where to start, you will find this post to be extremely useful. The fact is that there is plenty of opportunity for freelance designers as long as you know where to look.

There is no need to work a full-time job as a designer. Instead, you can make decent money through freelance work. Being a freelance designer provides you with complete freedom over your time and work, which a full-time job will never provide.

To help you get started in freelance designing in 2021, you need to consider the following ways to generate an income.

1. Write

One of the easiest ways to make money freelance designing is by writing about your experiences. Generate traffic for your blog by sharing your thoughts on design topics that you are passionate about. If you have the right skills, you can even write tutorials for high-paying blogs.

As there are plenty of design tools, you can simply make money by writing about them on your blog or working with a Web Development agency. You can establish authority online and leverage it to find work. It barely takes any time to get a website up and going these days.

An easy way to make money from your blog is by allowing adverts to appear. There has to be a suitable network that you can use to generate money through PPC and PPV advertising systems. You can also write guest posts for different blogs to earn an extra income.

If you like writing, you can even write an entire book about designing and make good money out of it. Amazon launched its publishing services to help aspiring writers get started.

2. Stock Graphics

Stock graphics are getting more and more popular by the year. You can sell stock graphics on different platforms to generate a decent passive income. Freelance designers can make good money by selling their products. There is no reason for you to miss out on such an amazing opportunity.

There are various marketplaces where you can sell your graphics, or you can even launch your very own web store. Unleash your creativity and make a name of your own by selling stock graphics online. It is as easy as it gets.

Some of the stock items that you can put up for sale include web layouts, fonts, filters, icon sets, and the like. Anything that you are an expert in, you can capitalize on it. The following markets are the perfect place to start.

  • Theme Forest: It is one of the biggest platforms for buying and selling WP themes and templates.
  • : Make money as a graphic designer with Graphic River. It is an incredible marketplace for selling flyers, filters, fonts, icons, business cards, and other stock items.
  • Creative Market: It is a new platform where you can sell all stock items for quick cash.

3. Side Project

Another great way to make freelance designing is by working on side projects. These tend to be small products, services, utilities, and tools that help solve problems. These tools allow you to earn money. Some popular tools that you can consider a sidebar, 960 grid system, and space box.

As a creative, you should have no trouble thinking up something unique for your side project. It is something that you can work on while you try out other income avenues. You can always look for side projects for some inspiration. They will motivate you to get working.

4. Sell Physical Goods

As a freelance designer, there is no need for you to limit your options. A great way to generate a passive income is by selling physical goods like compilation books, t-shirts, posters, and similar items. 

People are always looking for ways to revamp their wardrobe and life. You can cater to them by selling something cool and unique. Sell items to the masses to create an income on the side. To boost your sales, it is a good idea to set up an online store.

There are plenty of ecommerce platforms that allow you to create your online store in record time. Hence, you must give it a shot. You never know when you might become the next best-seller.

5. Join Design Contests

Finally, you can also make money freelance designing in 2021 by enrolling in design contests. Although design contest websites have been offering amazing opportunities for a long time, not many designers have taken them seriously. However, things seem to be changing fast.

With websites such as 99Designers, you get to male money designing all sorts of things like a postcard or flyer, website, or even a logo. Join the design contest websites to show off your skills and make a name for yourself. You will be amazed by how easy it is to sign-up and get started.

There are countless open projects that you can join for an opportunity to earn money. Although many other aspiring designers are hunting for the same opportunities, you have to try it to earn a decent living. Right now is the time to explore new avenues and figure things out.

Design contests also provide opportunities to work for major corporations or set up your online shop. Once you gain confidence in your skills, you will realize that the sky is the limit.

Takeaway – Earn a Living through Freelance Designing

Once you have gone over this post, you will come to know that there are plenty of ways to earn an income as a freelance designer. As long as you are creative and open-minded, you should have no trouble generating revenue.

Focus on trying out different things to earn as much money as possible. You have to give things a try to find what you are good at. It could be something that you never even thought you could do.

Visual Influence

The Influence of Visual Component On Customer’s Purchase Decision

visual component

A good brand knows how to appeal to their customers. Whether through marketing promotions, segmented or content marketing. However, most brands may ignore other components they should be building on. Visual component.

Visual marketing is one of those segments. This kind of marketing has a significant influence on visual shoppers and consumers’ buying decisions. When we say visual, we speak on the various factors that make up a visual component; color psychology, emotional design, branding aesthetics, emerging digital trends, etc.

As a company, you should seriously consider exploring visual influences to attract your target consumers. This article will touch on how your visuals can influence consumers buying decisions.

1. Visual component can promote impulse shopping

Have you ever gone shopping with a full-on shopping list but left the store with more products than you intended to buy? What happened? Why do you think you left the store with products that you probably didn’t need? It could be that the packaging and design drew you in, or the placement of the product was spot on. Whatever drew you in, the visuals played a significant factor.

Impulse buying is one way through which the visual components of your brand can influence consumers buying decisions.

To use this to your benefit,

  • Make sure your product display is eye-catching.
  • Ensure your products are on eye-level with your consumers to give the most visual impulse impact.
  • Use interactive digital displays around strategic locations like checkout lines or specific areas around the shopping location. This will encourage last-minute buys.
influence of visual for selling

2. Product visuals can appeal to your consumers’ emotions

Another way your visual aesthetic can influence a consumer’s purchase is through emotional marketing. Emotional marketing is an excellent way brands can connect to their consumers. Luxury brands use this kind of marketing to appeal to the emotional side of their consumers.

Suppose you want to increase your conversion rate. In that case, one strategy you can try is to use different visual components on your brand and in-store to influence your customer’s shopping experience.

The way you display your products can expertly influence the way your customers react to your products.

Improving your customer’s shopping experience can also work on your customer’s feelings. For example, if your customer has a good experience in your store, they are more likely to purchase your products and push your product sales.

You may also like: 10 Simple Tips for Making A Product Card for Selling Online

3. Colors can impact customers’ buying decisions

One visual component brands use to show their presence in a particular location is colors. While color psychology is not an exact science, there is no denying that specific colors evoke certain reactions in people. Red colors build excitement in consumers. Blue shades are calm and relaxed and can make consumers trust your brand. Consumers are attracted to the positive energy that radiates from yellow colors, etc.

Your brand colors can also;

  • Influence customers’ perceptions of your products and brands.
  • Form the first impressions of a product or brand. Customers can make an instant decision on your product in just 90 seconds. Also, 90% of them will base this perception on the first colors they see associated with your brand.

However, not all brands want to tie down their product to one particular color. In such a case, you can use visual merchandising softwares to help customers visualize your products in different colors.

4. Visual aesthetics can summon nostalgia

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you smell fresh pines, gingerbread, and roast chestnuts? It’s probably the same thing that comes to mind when you see the colors green, red, and gold used together.

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, and specific colors can easily trigger the feeling of nostalgia in your consumers and influence them to purchase your products. The key is to learn how to activate this emotion with your marketing colors.

Here are some ways you use colors to activate nostalgia in your customers;

  • Use holiday-specific colors in your marketing campaigns. You can use it on your TV commercials, product packaging, traditional and online marketing designs, etc.
  • Make use of colors to bring back childhood memories to your target customers.
  • Create a product that looks and feels local with the power of colors.
  • Bring vintage back with the sepia filters and colors that instantly give a vintage feel and evoke nostalgia.
  • Use colors associated with specific emotions to propel nostalgia. For instance, you can use pink or red to bring back the feelings of falling in love, romance, etc. in your intended audience.

Nostalgia marketing is a growing and influential segment of marketing and can greatly influence visual shoppers buying decisions.

influence of visual in marketing

5. Boost brand familiarity with graphic design

Finally, how a consumer perceives your brand is significant to your visual marketing strategy’s success. A visual consumer can observe your brand from your entire brand persona. This includes your graphics design.

The graphic design your brand chooses to implement can determine how well visual shoppers identify your brand and their decisions towards your brand.

Up to 76% of consumers make their purchases in-store, and if your graphic design doesn’t make you stand out, then you have to rethink your visual influence.

Your graphic design includes;

  • Your logo and color scheme
  • The font you decide to use in your design.
  • The quality of your product graphic designs.
  • The contrast and brightness of your design.
  • The theme of your design visuals,etc.

We recommend hiring a professional graphics designer to create visuals that stand out for your brand. Similar to essay writing service reviews websites like Writing Judge for hiring writers, there are many sites for hiring professional designs. With the right graphics, you can boost your conversion rate and increase your product sales.

In conclusion

The goal of most businesses is to increase product sales and build brand awareness. Therefore, as a business owner, you should be using all elements available to you to push your business goals.

Using visual components to influence your customers’ buying decisions and drive sales is a crucial strategy you should explore. Follow the points listed in this article to influence visual consumer decisions expertly.

Covid-19 Has Changed Our Marketing Strategies

5 Ways How Covid-19 Has Changed Our Marketing Strategies to More Smart & Responsible Ones

Covid-19 Has Changed Our Marketing Strategies

Covid-19 pandemic put the global economy on hold. As a result, many small to medium firms closed, while big companies had to lay off some personnel.

However, even in challenging circumstances, the market kept going, and companies continued to advertise their products.

But the virus impacted the marketing field too. It transformed the approach, theme, and requirements because the demands changed.

In this article, you’ll learn five ways Covid-19 changed our marketing strategies to more smart and responsible ones.

1. We Use Social Media More

Before the pandemic, there was a steady increase in digital presence from companies’ part. Nevertheless, during quarantine, most businesses turned to social media to keep being in contact with their customers.

Even the most traditional ones or firms that neglected their social accounts started to update their posts.

This is a great method that revolutionizes marketing strategies. Specifically, in a digital world, users like to be updated by their favorite brands regarding new products and services.

So, the more you stay connected, the better.

Try to keep your socials fresh and updated to the best of your abilities. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Reddit are all great platforms for clients to contact you. Post regularly and involve your consumers through stories, giveaways, videos, and more interactive content.

The next quintessential step is to make your content visible by connecting all accounts. Also, consider collaborating with other brands and content creators.

For example, assume you have an online firm that provides assignments, best essay services, and thesis help. The best move would be to update your socials and connect with your customers. Then, collaborate with different brands and creators to promote your site.

2. We Use Online Services More

Just like social media, online services became more popular during the pandemic. Even restaurants that had no delivery options quickly changed and started delivering to people’s homes. Nonetheless, it was all done through their site.

Some more traditional businesses had a hard time converting their activity to the digital form. On the other hand, accounting sites, best writing services, or HR companies didn’t have to change their ways because they were already 100% online.

For this specific reason, having excellent online services is key. Even if your shop is physical, having an active website can be beneficial.

So, try to make your site user-friendly. Also, add delivery options and an excellent customer support section.

At first, you may encounter some problems, but once your updated website is up and running, you’ll see that it’s easier to attract clients this way.

Lastly, you can try to add a blog, which can be useful at all times to present a new product or to inform users.

3. We Don’t Leverage Sensitive Topics

In the past, aggressive marketing strategies included taking advantage of sensitive topics or triggering content occasionally.

So, for example, some agencies would leverage the pandemic to sell their products at high prices, adding more fear in a climate of uncertainty and panic. Masks, sanitizers, gloves, and other necessary products became expensive, and many companies benefitted from people running to stock on those items.

It may seem like a clever move to use an event to increase sales, but in the case of a sensitive issue that affects many people and can increase general distress, it’s better to avoid this type of aggressive strategy.

Nowadays, customers are incredibly mindful about their decisions and always think twice about what brand to choose. So, if you decide to use a pandemic for your profit, the general public will notice and think you’re a greedy business with no morals or ethical code.

Initially, you may notice exponential sales, but once the crisis is over, the public will remember your moves and decide to use a different service for their needs.

Therefore, try to show your customers that you care about them. Let them know what measures you’re taking to protect everyone and prevent issues. Communicate efficiently with your clients and create plans to help them in difficult situations.

The result of this will be a higher customer loyalty rate because the consumers appreciate your dedication.

For instance, suppose you have an essay site, assignment help company, or tutoring agency.

Don’t spam your clients’ email boxes with pandemic-related content that might make them anxious and desperate. Instead, send them one email with a positive and encouraging message. Tell your customers that you care about their well-being and offer them a discount.

4. We Target Our Audience

During the pandemic, consumers needed specific types of services and products. Masks, delivered food, sanitizer, entertainment, and other items were essential elements for quarantine.

The businesses that used smart marketing strategies increased their sales because they offered to help their customers by creating new services and products while informing them. In other words, they targeted their users and adapted to their demands.

This includes shaping a customer persona and defining their concerns and needs. For this reason, consumer analytics is becoming even more vital than it was before.

For example, if your agency is an online assistance site, essay help UK service, or freelance company, most of your users may be 20 to 35 years old. With this information, you can come up with tailored ads, offers, sales, and package deals that suit the clients.

So, if you want to maintain your customers, you might use analytics to create your client persona. Polls, feedback boxes, and rating systems could help you understand what kind of people buy your products.

5. We Now Have a Mission and a Message

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us a vital lesson: in a challenging situation, we must help each other.

Many companies showed compassion through donations, discounts, and by keeping their employees. This helped humanize the market, while consumerism dialed back to make room for more important matters.

Surprisingly for some, these small but kind gestures from businesses and corporations helped them gain more credibility and increased their reputation.

Moreover, brands started to have a more meaningful message or mission, going beyond profit.

Instead, they chose to lead by example. So, they started to provide services and products according to their values and morals.

So, in the case of a pandemic, firms concentrated on helping people through high-quality services and goods. They shifted away from aggressive marketing to reveal a fresh and human side. This, from a promotional point of view, made them even more relatable and appealing to the public, which resulted in high sales and customer fidelity rates.

So, to upgrade your marketing plan, try redefining the company’s values. Show people that you want to help and that you care. Organize charity campaigns an encouraging message to go with your brand.

Don’t be afraid to create new products, and even if your firm is well-established, it’s never too late to change perspective.

Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic changed our lives dramatically. From new safety measures to new products and services. Even marketing strategies changed.

Here are the five new tactics we now use to promote our activities:

  1. We use social media more.
  2. We use online services more.
  3. We don’t leverage sensitive topics.
  4. We target our audience.
  5. We now have a mission and a message.

Making a Product Card Tips

10 Simple Tips for Making a Product Card for Selling Online

Making a Product Card Tips

The buyer journey in e-commerce is critical, yet many online merchants struggle with it. One of the trickiest parts in the process of converting customers using the product card. This highly popular feature serves a deeper purpose than mere aesthetics. It contributes to pleasing customers along the customer journey.

A product card is vital in customer conversion. A product page displays images of items available on an e-commerce website. The product page aims to entice visitors while giving relevant visual and textual information to sell the products.

Why Online Merchants Must Make Product Cards Right

The stats are glaring: only 3 percent of online store visits result in the customer making a purchase. Plus, you likely know of cart abandonment. Sixty-nine percent of shoppers abandon their carts while shopping.

Again, it’s vital to provide the customer with a smooth journey to checkout.

The Process

Before you attempt to design product cards, the following questions are important to consider:

  • Who is your target audience?
  • What is your brand identity?
  • What is your color scheme, and what does it represent?

A thorough understanding of these questions will make it easier to design your product cards and, by extension, product pages. Perhaps more importantly, it’ll make for more effective product cards. Let’s review these areas a bit.

Target Audience

Who are you selling to? That’s a critical question, whatever you’re selling. Learn to identify and study your target audience. It’s the critical first step in setting up any successful business.

What are the models that represent your customers? Discover those and write product descriptions using language an audience relates to. A grasp of your target audience is essential to design better product pages.

Brand Identity

What core brand values define your business? Is there an element that separates you from the competition? What’s your brand’s tone of voice? Your brand identity matters for consistent user experience in an assignment service, and to build long-term relationships with customers.

Your product pages should reflect your brand identity. It includes everything from the writing tone to the style and content of images you choose to use. Your design should also reveal what your brand stands for. Is your brand fun and playful, or grown-up and sophisticated?

Color Scheme

Colors speak volumes. A business or brand must pick a color that signifies what they stand for. Banks and tech start-ups use blue, for instance, because it evokes trust.

Your website is a core extension of your brand. What colors are you using across its pages, especially critical ones like the product pages? Your design should remain consistent across the product cards too.

Your color scheme matters a lot when designing call-to-action buttons, headings, labels, and product descriptions.

10 Tips for Designing Product Cards for Higher Conversion

Here are ten solid tips to keep in mind when designing product cards to guarantee higher customer conversions.

#1 – Always Use High-Quality Product Images

Photos are an essential element of product cards. They form the foundation of your design. You must be precise about what you want customers to buy. Your photos should feel like they are almost real.

Better product photos help you persuade customers that a specific product is what they need to buy. So how do you prepare photos to be great for your product cards?

  1. Ensure that every photo is of high quality.
  2. Show multiple views of the product in the photos.
  3. Use detailed images to evoke a personal touch.
  4. Use photos to reveal context.

Related article : 6 Sections You Need To Write In Your Website Design Proposal To Land a Client

#2 – How About Videos?

We’ve talked a lot about text and images. Those are the barest basics for every product card. You can do further optimization by using videos. Don’t overdo this so that your pages can load faster. Your design should be as clean as possible. Videos have one critical limitation – their size.

Work hard to find the balance between quality and file size in a way that showcases all details of the finance assignment help.

#3 – Use Persuasive CTAs

A call-to-action encourages users to become buyers. They include buttons or links that say “Add to basket,” “Add to cart,” “Sign up here,” and “Shop the collection.” Your product cards have one simple goal: to make shoppers click on your CTA.

You’ll miss out on sales if shoppers cannot add products they want to their basket. How then can you make a profit? Here are the top tips for your CTAs:

  1. Position them high up on the product card. A great position is next to the product image, just under the basic product information.
  2. Use a contrasting (not jarring) color to win the customer’s attention.
  3. Make the button large enough to click.
  4. Be as clear as possible in your wording.

#4 – Use Short, Yet Informative Descriptions

Product descriptions give product your images a boost by helping the customer understand the “what” of the product and “why” they should buy it.

Make your descriptions such that they are persuasive and help you sell. Make them sweet, straightforward, and direct.

#5 – Long Descriptions

Sometimes, short descriptions are not enough. To convert better, you can expand on the bullet points in the short description. You don’t need to be a professional copywriter. Thesis writing services apply simple classic structures like PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solve), or 4PS (Problem-Promise-Proof-Proposal). These are enough for a comprehensive long description.

Use this opportunity to address user concerns and highlight product benefits until the price barrier becomes insignificant.

#6 – Leverage Social Proof

Social proof means that others are already using your product, so you want this prospective buyer to enjoy its benefits. Ninety-seven percent of consumers say online reviews influence their purchase decisions.

You can use star ratings near the product title.

#7 – Provide Accurate Product Recommendations

Once a client views one product or adds it to their basket, you can recommend related products as “similar items” or “Top picks”. Accurate and helpful recommendations are great for securing fresh purchases.

#8 – Be Consistent

Consistency helps customers understand and identify with your brand. Use colors, fonts, image sizes, and an overall card structure and tone of voice that shoppers find to be refreshingly unique to you.

#9 – Make Your Pricing Clear

Many buyers scan the product card for the price before they consider any other features. It’s a good strategy to display prices clearly and early on a product card.

Even if the product is expensive, position it close to the title or near the shopping cart icon or button. This smart design choice works because the customer’s line of sight naturally drifts to those areas, making it easy to spot the price.

Other ways to make the price more visible include:

  1. Use large, unmistakable font sizes.
  2. Make the price stand out with a contrasting color.
  3. Highlight your discounts and show how much the customer will save.

If you struggle to pick out the price on your product cards, revisit your design drawing board. Apply these tips and get objective people to help you test it out. Don’t stop until they say they can spot the price clearly in one glance.

#10 – Oh! Did You Forget the Name?

We had to leave this until now because that’s what happens with many product cards – the merchant forgets to include the name [properly]. It’s not the no-brainer you’d expect it to be.

A name is the first thing the user sees. Similar names can potentially hurt your SEO. Shorter, more descriptive names attract more clicks too.

Content management systems (CMS) use titles as the H1 meta tag, which is especially important for SEO.

Conclusion

Product cards are essential to your e-commerce efforts. But, they require effort and attention. These ten tips will make your product cards stand out, improving your conversions and bottom line.

Image credit:

Tips-for-Designers-When-Working-from-Home-During-COVID19

10 Clever Tips A Designer Should Use When Working at Home During COVID-19

Tips Designer Should Use When Working at Home During COVID-19

COVID-19 has affected all lives worldwide and disturbed daily routines. Millions of workers globally have adopted a “work at home” system that allows them to do their daily job tasks remotely.

For some, this change has been very difficult, depending on their industry and job description. If you, as a designer, has found it hard working at home during this pandemic, what can be done? Here are ten clever tips you should adopt and use to productively work remotely:

Touch up on your digital presence

During COVID-19 lockdown, try to use that time to reflect on your digital presence and if it what you want it to be. Head over to social media channels and scroll through the timeline and see if you’re happy with what you see. Go to your website and go through each page to see what customers experience.  

If there are changes due, implement the best design software to get them up to scratch. Things might not be as busy as before and this affords you enough time to make and touch-ups or upgrades. When COVID-19 lockdown protocols have been done away with, you will come out with a very strong digital presence appealing to customers.

This means a big effort on your side, which needs time and real focus. For a moment, you must plan to outsource your academic writing work to online assignment help. The idea is to remain focused on only one thing to ensure greater success.

Get an effective communication channel

If you work as a team and collaborate on projects, an efficient communication channel is a necessity. Consider using cloud-solutions that have real-time collaboration features for an enhanced working environment. Find a highly efficient tool but one that does not take long to familiarize yourself with.

If you choose to go with collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams or Slack, ensure it has all the features needed. For example, make sure it can accept attachments and other features such as whiteboard functionalities and so forth. Getting one comprehensive communication channel will streamline your workflow and improve remote collaboration on projects.

Reach out to customers

It is understandable that during this pandemic, everyone has his own troubles and anxieties. Maybe someone close has gotten the virus or you are going through financial strain. 

Just know that your customers should not feel this negative energy when communicating with them. Be a ray of sunshine, offer comfort by reaching out to them, and maintain a positive attitude.

If there are orders that will be delayed due to this pandemic, be proactive and reach out to customers before they worry. Open positive communication with customers is what can help you make it through COVID-19 global restrictions.

Implement office ethics

Working on top of a kitchen countertop might not be an efficient way of getting work done. It is true, working remotely means that you stay at home but do not feel the void of not being at your office.

You can do this by creating a workspace that mimics a real office with a chair, desk, and all material needed. Set a work schedule and stick to it, do not be disturbed or deviate from it. If you have a family, discuss with them that you’re not to be disturbed before a certain time.

Upgrade the skills you have

You might have a lot of time on your hands during COVID-19 lockdown. To constructively fill that time, try to upgrade the skills you have to become more skilled and be of great value at work. There are many options to explore, especially with studying online. 

Right now, there a lot of online courses related to designing you should consider taking. Think about learning how to use a more advanced designing tool to be more productive and efficient.

You can also watch YouTube video tutorials that show practical steps to take when improving design skills. To help you get through some of the coursework, you can even get in touch with the professional writers at best writing services.

Create designs in support of combating COVID-19

Social media and websites are sharing a lot of sentiments about this pandemic and you can consider joining them. Brainstorm creative ways to share important points about the spread of COVID-19. Find ways to weave in the design skills you have and creating awareness about COVID-19.

Perhaps, you might consider creating designs or infographics to share on social media about precautionary measures to take. Some designers have decided to make their designs humorous by making memes. As a creative person, try to find a unique way to spread awareness about this virus.

Touch base with colleagues, team members or employees

Since you do not see each other daily now, try to schedule virtual meetings with colleagues, team members, or employees. Discuss how you can continue collaborating efficiently when working at home and review milestones you’ve reached.

Set a clear scope of what still needs to be done and how it will be accomplished. Do not focus solely on work but also discuss personal details like how this virus has affected your colleagues or employees. Make casual conversation before and after meetings to keep that spirit going on and employees and colleagues happy.

Avoid using a lot of tools

It is true that tools can help streamline work exponentially but then if you overdo it, they can become a distraction. Trying to master and commandeer a lot of software programs at a time can be very inefficient and lead to shrinking productivity.

Try to minimize the number of tools you use to be only essential and absolutely necessary tools. You can minimize the tools by choosing comprehensive ones that cover a wide range of services needed. Getting more tools will mean more time training on using them, limiting time to do the work that needs to be done.

Work at times when you are most productive

If you work alone, try to draft a schedule that is more flexible to yourself. Work when you are most productive, even if it late in the night or very early each morning. Of course, this might be a problem if you work as a team because your schedule might not align with theirs.

In this case, just use normal working hours instead of working in a disorganized way. To get the most out of those working times, schedule the work to prioritize important, large or complex projects first. Afterward, you can then work on other smaller projects.

Take care of yourself

Under lockdown, restrictions continue taking care of yourself because this will reflect in your productivity and quality of work. Take enough time to get a rest and workout at home or under the recommended regulations in the state or country you are in.

Eat healthily and keep a positive attitude to be more productive during this pandemic. Taking care of your body will maintain the brain mentally strong to deal with this adversity with a clear head.

Final thoughts

During COVID-19, there are a lot of changes you have witnessed and one of them is working at home. Designers need to continue working as they were doing at their normal office by setting up a dedicated workspace. They should also have a fixed schedule to follow through and sequence their tasks accordingly.

If you work alone, consider drafting your schedule to be dependent on the times you’re most alert and productive. Do not forget to take care of yourself during this pandemic and keep a positive mindset.

Crowdsourcing Platforms

20+ Crowdsourcing Platforms Where Freelance Designer Get Their Jobs (Part 1)

Previously we’ve discussed about places or websites where designer & artist can sell their vector arts. It called marketplace, or creative market where designers & artists earn money by selling artworks and buyers come to find and buy creative arts they upload. The digital artworks can be resell many times and designers or artists can make money with it as a passive income. In contrast to it, crowdsourcing platforms provide the native way or the active income method on making money, which is still the #1 choice of freelancers.

Here we will find out which crowdsourcing platforms offers the best to both for the clients & freelance designers especially. Basically crowdsourcing platforms offer registered freelancers to grab jobs or projects posted by clients and will be paid by the registered clients through the crowdsourcing platform itself.

The advantage and how it different with selling artworks on marketplace is the price offered by crowdsourcing platforms are usually high and attractive, even though it’s just a one time job. While selling artworks or images on marketplace depends on the quantity of sale you made. The price per artwork is usually very low and it will need hundred or thousand of sale per artworks to be achieve satisfactory income. And the competition is much higher.

At the other hand, freelancers who choose to find online job offers with crowdsourcing platforms should be willing to give full commitment once they got the job. Fulfill all the client’s requirements and must complete the job on the time given. Failed to do so, most probably it will be a disappointing effort and more worse, no payment.

But once you got the job done in crowdsourcing platform with client’s satisfaction, the reward is lucrative enough, not comparable to selling artworks method on marketplace.

What is Crowdsourcing Platforms & Which are the best for freelance designer?

Crowdsourcing Platform is a hub just like Marketplace website, where there are supply – freelancers offering services and demand – clients looking for talents (freelancers) to be hired to complete their projects.

For that reason, we find out and listed here among the most popular design crowdsourcing platforms that offers skilled freelancers, specifically designers and businesses as well. We only highlight the top sites that you might looking for lucrative offers.

We also provide user’s review rating from Trustpilot, a top global review site where people freely give review & rating based on their experience with the company that they worked on. Alternatively we use Indeed.com as the review, if Trustpilot not avalable for that specific company. Therefore, you may have the basic info on how the expectation of every marketplace platform listed below. So check them out..!

Table of contents

  1. Freelancer
  2. Dribble
  3. Designhill
  4. Upwork
  5. Fiverr
  6. Toptal
  7. People Per Hour
  8. CoWorks
  9. 99designs
  10. Guru
  11. Robert Half
  12. FlexJobs
  13. Crowd Content

Design Crowdsourcing Platforms List

1. Freelancer

Crowdsourcing Platform Freelancer

As the name given, they’re the one of the most popular freelance hub for designers and businesses looking for skilled services as well. Based in Sydney Australia, Freelancer.com has 43 million freelance expertise in variety of categories to serve businesses. While registered businesses is about half of it.

Freelance.com is an award-winning world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing platform so far. Basically freelancers or designers will bid for a specific job posted by a client. The best bid will be chosen by the client. And freelancers will compete in a design contest by clients and the best will win the job.

As designer, you’re free to sign up to be the Freelancer. Create your profile, select skills of projects you are interested in, upload portfolio, receive project notifications, discuss project details with the employer, bid on projects (free members receive initially 8 bids per month) and enter contests. Besides design category, you may also find other categories such as writing services like domywriting to serve your requirement.

  • User Rating: 4.4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 5,532 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

2. Dribbble

Crowdsourcing Platform Dribbble

Being one of the most popular designer’s – hub or community where they showcased their portfolios, socialize, get hired and for creative agencies searching for right creative talents. Designers can get short term job or permanent career as well.

Recently Dribbble has reportedly acquires CreativeMarket a well known marketplace site. But they both remain to operate as independent company as they claimed. The acquire is believed to benefits both parties as they may make use the full potential of a popular marketplace – CreativeMarket and famous crowdsourcing platform – Dribbble itself.

With both companies combined, they have over 12 million monthly active users in more than 120 countries. You designers should look no further, go join them..!

  • User Rating: 3.3 ⭐⭐⭐ | from 11 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

3. Designhill

Founded on 2014, Designhill is a New Delhi, India based company. It is one of the world’s top website platform known for design inspiration, design jobs and competition. Designhill is a graphic design platform for designers to earn, participate, work and share their works. Designhill is also a one point stop for business owners to source high quality designs.

Designers are welcome to join their creative marketplace to offer creative skills to the public worldwide. Basically designers can earn from Design Contest, Designer’s Gig and from PrintShop, where you can sell your ready made arts.

For business owner: Designhill – Book A Free Design Consultation Today!

  • User Rating: 4.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 1,797 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

4. Upwork

Crowdsourcing Platform Upwork

Upwork is like searching a job in a marketplace, similar to others freelancing sites. As a skilled designer looking to earn money online, you search for the best job on Upwork.com that suits your skill and you bid on that project. You know that you can do the job according to the budget and time span given by the buyer.

With Upwork, it may took much time to get the jobs. The commission deduction on Upwork applied at both party, 10% from customer side and 10% from seller side. If you have lot of time and you want to earn big, Upwork should be in your list.

  • User Rating: 4.4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,719 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

5. Fiverr

Crowdsourcing Platform Fiverr

Registering with Fiverr is like opening a shop in online marketplace. You as a designer (freelancer) called Seller, create your potential services, wait for a prospect, called Buyer to come and buy your service, called Gig.

Fiverr get 20% commission from your earning, even still you get $5 order or get $5,000 order, Fiverr still cut 20% from total. So, you’re probably earn little considering your time effort to complete the job in Fiverr, compared to others.

There are couple of ways freelancers may generate income withe Fiverr; Join Fiverr as freelancer and start offering your services. Or freelancers may also learn more skills in Fiverr to upgrade your level and being Pro Seller.

If you intended to focus more on your skilled works to serve your clients as you become Pro Seller, you may start to use their ‘smart suite’ to build, manage and grow your business without headache with all the documentations & paperworks. AND.CO may help you prepare and manage your works, so be your own boss.

If you just want to get services from Fiverr you can join as a new buyer with $100 free credit for you.

  • User Rating: 4.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,183 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

6. Toptal

Crowdsourcing Platform Toptal

Toptal is a specialized freelancer platform, as they claimed. Toptal which stand for Top Talent, initially specialized in software developers, but have now branched out into finance & accounting, project management and design categories as well.

With their motto, ‘Hire the top 3% of the freelancer talent’, they are serious in screening talent application process to identifies experts in their categories who have the passion and drive. And generally the numbers are 3% and below, according to them.

This means, their client portfolios are mostly from high standard and the projects that you as freelancers may expect are ‘mission critical’ projects.

So be prepare to apply with Toptal, to make sure you’re among the top 3% talent expert. After hardly passed the screening process, you may expect good earnings based on hourly rate or weekly rate depends on part-time or full-time you are and projects you handle.

  • User Rating: 4.7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 1,140 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

Related article: 5 Creative Ideas Using Stock Images for Your Marketing

7. People Per Hour

Crowdsourcing Platform PeoplePerHour

PeoplePerHour, a London based crowdsource company, offers a big platform for businesses to find any kind of freelance expertise. They have quite big amount of freelancers, almost 3 million (at today’s date), surely have the ability to offer 1 million registered businesses. The ration 3:1 is perfect for freelancers looking to find good job offers.

Besides London, they also have branches in Greece and India, (I think their startup company is from Greece, because most of the team’s name sounds Greek :). Anyway, compared to top 3 or 5 company listed above, freelance designer should try this company,

  • User Rating: 4.1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 3,131 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

8. CoWorks

Crowdsourcing Platform CoWorks

Coworks is the easiest way to find and hire top freelancers and is the number 1 freelance work platform for brands and agencies. Here they called clients or business owners as Employers and freelancers as CoWorks. Their basic concepts are the same as the above companies we have discussed. Employers finding services and CoWorks offering services.

  • User Rating: Not available
  • Affiliate: Not available

9. 99designs

99designs is an another freelance designers hub looking for client’s job. And clients or businesses to find creative talents as well. Based in Melbourne Australia, it allows businesses to post jobs and get a range of designers pitch for the work.

Since 2008, 99designs has grown from a small, online forum into a global community of talented designers that is now the go-to solution for businesses, agencies and individuals. Freelance designers..! This site should also be on your bookmark.

  • User Rating: 3.9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 674 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Yes

10. Guru

Crowdsourcing Platform Guru

Guru is one of the oldest online startup company specialized in higher-end consulting and freelancing platform. Founded in 1998 the same year Google was incorporated. It lists over 3 million professional freelancers and almost 1 million employers all around the world.

The site interface is simple and straightforward, ‘Find Jobs’ – for freelancers, ‘Find Freelancers’ – for employers. For both options, you will see a comprehensive Search tool with ability to choose Jobs Category, Locations, Employer’s Amount Spend or Freelancer’s Earnings, etc.

Basically they don’t charge employers for joining and posting jobs, employers’ jobs will be quoted by freelancers later with ‘handling fee’. Freelancers have option to participate as their freelancers, either as free member (with limited job offers) or with membership plans (extra benefits).

  • User Rating: 4.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 7 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

11. Robert Half

Crowdsourcing Platform Robert Half

Robert Half, is a company that helps to find part-time or full-time professionals for another company and to helps solve their business challenges. As for professional workers looking for a job, they will assist you in locating a career for you or for a short term job that may fit your skills.

Their Creative Group offers sophisticated matching technology and a personalized approach for freelancers or if you looking for better full-time job. Not to forget, as for businesses looking for perfect candidates for your incoming project, this site is worth to be check it out.

  • User Rating: 3.9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 12,151 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

12. FlexJobs

Crowdsourcing Platform FlexJobs

FlexJobs is a platform that connects people wanting access to flexible jobs, to prospective employers. It is not just an ordinary online job-seeker site, rather FlexJobs specialize in job search for remote working, part-time, freelance and many flexible working conditions. That’s how they come up with the name.

There are variety of categories offered for job seeker or freelancer available including creative industries. Hence, we see many good reviews about them and they’re one of the good crowdsourcing platforms for famous employers as well.

  • User Rating: 3.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | from 21 Trustpilot.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

13. CrowdContent

Crowdsourcing Platform CrowdContent

This site specializes in providing qualified content writers, within a curated and managed delivery platform. They don’t offer specific design category, so if you (designers) want to try your talent in writings, perhaps design related article, just like we do :) this CrowdContent should be in your list.

  • User Rating: 2.6 ⭐⭐ | from 7 Indeed.com reviews
  • Affiliate: Not available

Number 14 and the rest to be continue in Part 2 later. Please feel free to comment and add us lists that we might be missed.

Design in Marketing

The Impact of Design On Your Marketing Activities

Design In Marketing

Most people will readily agree that communication is most effective when done with some visual representation. That is why design is a huge part of current marketing initiatives. Businesses are always on the lookout for more customers and more sales.

This fact means that marketers have to find a way to make an impression and keep a prospect’s attention on the first try. However, this search is almost impossible without incorporating compelling design into all the visual elements of your marketing and branding efforts.

People subconsciously lean more towards brands that have leveraged effective design strategies in their brand image. Your marketing design should include your apps, websites, social media ads, exhibit stands, magazine ads, tv commercials, and everything else.

As it concerns the companies on the S&P Index, companies with an impactful design strategy across their marketing efforts perform 219% better than companies without it.

Successful business owners are well aware of this statistic and just how much it impacts a prospective customer’s decision-making. Maggie Hanna is the Head of Quality Assurance Department at a paper writing service review company, Online Writers Rating. She says,

“Your website design should make your site visitors feel like they walked into a castle for the first time and are awed by its rustic appeal”.

Without that instant feeling of satisfaction, the probability of going on to browse your site goes down significantly.

Maggie’s statement is strengthened by the results of a survey by Tyton Media. 48% of survey participants admitted that their number one factor for determining a business’s credibility was website design.

We’ve rounded up a few reasons to motivate you to approach your marketing design intentionally.

#1 – Good design communicates your brand’s persona effectively

Essentially, branding is the way that current and prospective customers think about your business. This is like asking customers to define your company and what it represents using a few short words. Be rest assured that whatever words they use in their description represents the vibe they get from your company’s poise and offering.

They could describe your business with any combination of words: luxury and exclusivity, quality and affordability, value, and comfort. They could also use some less than favorable terms like rigid and apathetic. Either way, whatever they say is tied directly to what your brand positioning and marketing effort feel like to them.

The feeling they get has a lot to do with your marketing design across your website, blog posts, newsletters and brochures, product/service design, Google and social media ads, and other offline marketing channels.

Generally, if the words people are using to describe your business do not align with the core messaging of your brand, something is most likely amiss with your design. Fix this anomaly immediately so that your professionalism, positioning, and quality can shine through.

#2 – Good design boosts visibility

People tend to make snap judgments when they are deciding if a person they see for the first time is attractive or not. Interestingly, they do the same thing when they come across a brand’s design for the first time.

Attractiveness and uniqueness must be non-negotiable attributes of your web design and other marketing design efforts. First, your marketing campaign will need to stand out from the sea of competing marketers, advertisers, content creators, and more in your niche. It then has to leverage the attractiveness of its design to capture and hold the interest of your ideal prospective customers.

To get your design right, you have to prioritize insight from your target audience’s design preferences and the objectives of your marketing campaign. The design speaks much louder than any bland content, so doing it right can only mean good things for your brand visibility and reach.

#3 – Great design is a huge conversion booster

Donald Fomby, Head of Marketing at essay writing service review company, Best Writers Online, knows all about the union between web design and marketing success. In his words, “more than half the battle of content engagement is won with an excellent design that drives interaction and comprehension of the content, and then compels action.”

Fomby’s assertion plays into the efforts put into every other channel of your marketing campaign. The thing about design is that its impact happens at the psychological level. The font choices and styles, page/content layout, positioning, color choices, photographs, and videos all work to evoke emotions and drive action that has both been predetermined by the marketing designer.

Whether it’s an ad, web copy, blog content, or anything else, great design can light a fire under any content. Such a design will significantly shape a prospect’s experience with your campaign. Then it will skillfully direct the prospect towards the intended action, consequently boosting conversions.

#4 – Good design boosts engagement with your marketing message

A top-notch marketing design drives home your messaging, many times better than the copy itself. This benefit is similar to the one that shows how design helps to communicate your brand persona. But beyond giving prospects the right outlook for your brand, great design goes further to compel a response from the viewers.

Related article: 5 Creative Ideas Using Stock Images for Your Marketing

Let’s say, for instance, that you own a brand that’s trying to raise funds for a community project or to raise awareness about the company and what it does. It won’t matter if you craft an exhaustive copy to this effect that says all the right things about your company the right way. Prioritizing the design – using the right images, fonts, layout, color tones, and more – can hit home for your audience much more than any copy.

Good design acts as a verb. It doesn’t just trigger the right emotions; it is the vehicle that massages your audience’s emotions and intellect to spur them to take a favorable action.

Final Word

Remember that customers’ attention span is shorter than it has ever been in the history of the internet. Take the case of logos, for instance. It takes the average customer around ten seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo design. It will take the same customer between five to seven sightings of a logo to trigger recognition.

These statistics suggest just how vital getting your marketing design right can be. For most brands, the bulk of their design work will lead off and back to their website, making website marketing design critical. However, your website design and marketing efforts beyond your site should all form a cohesive story that drives home your brand identity, boosts customer engagement, and evokes action, including sales.

Consider hiring a professional marketing design agency if you have problems developing a design voice and identity. They can help you understand the various aspects of your design’s creative process. The right agency should also teach you to see your design through the lens of your brand objectives, and not just for design’s sake.

Handle your brand design in light of the revelations in this article. This way, you will have a better chance of burning your brand image into the minds of your customers and bringing in more business and revenue.

Credit image: Business vector by vectorpouch – freepik.com

Designer Make Money Online

Excellent Methods of Making Money Online as a Graphic Designer

Image source: Pexels.com

Are you a graphic designer who is looking to change your work? Or perhaps you want to start a side hustle and get some money on top of your 9 to 5 job? We reveal here some methods how designers making money online.

There are multiple different jobs that graphic designers can do online, and if you want to find out about them, make sure to continue reading.

Graphic Designer Making Money Online:

Method #1 – Print on Demand

Creating designs for custom-made products like t-shirts, mugs, hoodies, and phone cases can be a lot of fun and make money at the same time. There are individuals who like to express themselves by wearing a funky t-shirt with a slogan or support a cause, such as global warming.

Personalized mugs are popular presents for birthdays, father’s days, and other occasions. And all these products would not exist without the right technology.

Starting a print on demand store with help from someone like Printify.com on your own will take some time as there are other matters, like marketing and website development, but at least you will not lack in the design department.

At the same time, you can look to join an already established print on demand store and offer your services as a graphic designer. Working on someone else’s project means no marketing and other tasks, just designing work.

Method #2 – Teaching Online

Teaching online
Image source: Pixabay.com

Online education is steadily gaining momentum as there are those unhappy with their current education. Switching careers without necessary skills would be impossible, but thanks to platforms like Skillshare, Udemy, and even YouTube, finding learning material on various subjects is not an issue.

If you feel like you could also share your knowledge, be it tips for website design, creating logos, banners, art, or anything else, valuable courses are appreciated and will be a good way to make extra income and get your name out there.

Method #3 – Selling Your Designs on Platforms

There is always an option to sell your work online. Platforms like Etsy, Designhill, Big Cartel, or Zazzle are wel-established and when someone is unable to find the right design, they get saved thanks to these websites.

Certain markets can be a bit competitive so breaking in is a challenge. Nevertheless, a good design will find its place and sell when the right person comes and finds it for his or her needs. After all, if you have some designs lying around with no use, why not try to make money selling designs?

Method #4 – Streaming on Twitch TV

Twitch TV started as a platform for gamers, but now, you can find plenty of variety streamers as well, including graphic designers.

Even one of the most famous Japanese animation studios “Trigger” has its own channel and occasionally stream live sessions, showcasing how their animators work.

Money on Twitch TV comes from subscriptions and donations, so you will need to gain some audience first and prove that your talent is worth something. And if you can reach decent viewer numbers, sponsors will come your way as well.

Method #5 – Writing a Blog or an Ebook

Image source: Pixabay.com

Writing a blog or an ebook about graphic design is not something everyone is capable of doing because you need to have a way with words. However, those who have a talent for both writing and graphic design can benefit a lot by sharing their ideas on a blog or a self-published book on Amazon. An another great idea designer can making money online.

Method #6 – Designing Social Media Visuals

The biggest brands on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook pay a lot of money to ensure that their content is of the highest quality. And why not? According to Emarsys, there were over 3.5 billion social media users in 2019 and this number is projected to grow even more in the future.

With so many users on social media, it would be a waste of resources not to try and increase one’s presence there. Every little bit helps, which includes well-designed and visually appealing content that someone has to create, and that someone could be you.

Method #7 – Looking for Gigs on Freelancing Websites

Image source: Pexels.com

Browse through websites like Fiverr or UpWork and you will immediately notice how many gigs are available for graphic designers.

Starting fresh on such platforms comes with its difficulties as you will have to bid against already established profiles with a lot of positive reviews from previous clients. Be sure to have a portfolio ready, and aim to get some recognition from employees there.

A few 5-star reviews will help to build some momentum and get better jobs that pay more money. And when it comes to offers, you have all kinds of available work – logo design, website design, creating banners and ads, posters, and even characters for video games or visual novels.

So for sure as a graphic designer you can get an idea of which method you prefer to start making money online.

How to Start a Company

How to Start a Successful Company with These Basic Tips

Hoe To Start a Company

It is no surprise that some individuals have higher goals in mind than others. It all comes down to one’s ability and ambition. Sure, you have some instances where a lucky break determines the outcome, but overall, hard work is necessary. Especially when you are looking to start something like your very own company.

The idea of owning a business is attractive, but the moment you start to do a bit of research, it becomes quite apparent that the success rate is not that high. The risk of failure can be reduced if you follow certain steps. This article will provide you with great tips (some of which are basic) to increase the odds of successfully launching a company, so be sure to continue reading.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Analyzing each and every one of these aspects is crucial if you want to get one step closer to making your dream a reality.

It may seem like a difficult thing to do, but once you begin to realize how much of an edge it gives, you will start to ask yourself why it took so long to get started with it. Every striving businessman ought to learn how to conduct a SWOT Analysis.

Choose the Right Niche

There are more niches than you believe. However, it is still difficult once you have to choose something. Some individuals stick to their passions even if the potential for profits is not that big.

Others, meanwhile, would rather try and find one that could likely bring them the most riches. Finding the right balance is difficult and it all comes down to your personal preference. Though keep in mind that working on something you hate will take its toll sooner or later and you may find yourself losing all the motivation.

Getting a Degree

Get a Degree
Image source: Pexels.com

There are two sides to a coin for getting a degree. The first one is obvious – you get to study and learn a lot about running a business, meet new people, and get a certificate which showcases your experience and knowledge.

At the same time, this will take a lot of time. Some business schools will ask you to study for as long as 6 years, and if you do not have the money for it, student loans will accumulate and put you in debt. All those resources could be put to much better use.

Once again, this one comes down to personal preferences and since you are going to commit a lot by studying, weigh all the pros and cons before making the ultimate decision.

Always be Prepared to Pitch

Your location is not important. Since it is impossible to predict when a new opportunity comes, everyone needs to be ready to pitch at all times. It is possible that you will meet your next investor in a restaurant, a park, or even in an elevator. And when that happens, do not miss out on what could be the biggest opportunity of your lifetime.

Meet People

Image source: Pexels.com

Being static will not get you anywhere. Even if you are not meeting people who will be your investors, it is still good to get out there and see what is happening. Speak to real people to better understand their needs and research the market using other methods than your analytics tools on a computer.

Do Not Procrastinate

Some people end only dreaming and ending there because they procrastinate too much, putting the actual work aside for the next day, and the next day only to end up with nothing to show for all their planning.

Take that first step even if there are some lingering doubts. The sooner you break free from those chains, the sooner you can start to really work.

Learning from Others

There is a good saying that one should always learn from his or her mistakes. While this is true, other people should also not be forgotten. Try to look for like-minded individuals you can discuss your progress with, join groups, be it online or real life.

Digital Marketing

Everyone is on the internet these days. Not having a website or social media profiles will get you nowhere so you need to embrace everything that modern marketing has and go full throttle.

Start a simple site and work on search engine optimization. Social media platforms should also be one of your priorities. Look to grow channels on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and anything else you believe to be of some use.

So there you have it. This short article should be more than enough to help you get in the game and finally start working towards the ownership of your own company. And the more of these tips you follow, the more likely you are to succeed.