I’ve recently been getting a lot of emails from readers (mostly graduates) struggling to find a graphic design job or make any money as a creative.
So what I’m going to tell you in this article, is how I got my first big pay-cheque and how you can earn a lot more money as a creative than you are now.
OK, so I’m sure I’ve mentioned this somewhere on this blog, but to cut it short, ever since I received my degree in graphic and media design 3 years ago, I had spent over a year trying to earn some money as a graphic designer.
During that 1 year when I was looking for a real job as a graphic designer, I had gotten accepted into an internship at a pretty decent design firm.
However while working there, I got bored quite fast.
So what I’m going to tell you in this article, is how I got my first big pay-cheque and how you can earn a lot more money as a creative than you are now.
OK, so I’m sure I’ve mentioned this somewhere on this blog, but to cut it short, ever since I received my degree in graphic and media design 3 years ago, I had spent over a year trying to earn some money as a graphic designer.
During that 1 year when I was looking for a real job as a graphic designer, I had gotten accepted into an internship at a pretty decent design firm.
However while working there, I got bored quite fast.
The whole day consisted of me doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again.
An example is when they made me edit the same logo, doing very minor tweaks for 3 weeks.
Yes… 3 WEEKS!!!
This isn’t the only example, there were plenty other times where I really wanted to just stab a pencil through the screen.
I guess it was their way of training me to be a better designer. However I just couldn’t handle doing the same thing every single day for a month.
I wanted to grow as a designer but it seemed to me like working there was instead stunting my growth.
One day, while procrastinating online, I came across an article talking about freelance work.
It had never occurred to me that I could work for myself and still earn money.
After coming to the realization that I could do work that I enjoy while still paying my bills, I decided to resign from the position as an intern.
My next goal was to figure out how I was going to make some damn money.
Well one day I attended a talk/ lecture (same thing?) about SEO (search engine optimization), which a close friend had invited me to.
After the talk was finished, my friend introduced me to quite a few of these people who worked in the field of SEO.
What I had realized from speaking to these guys was that they usually bundle SEO, which is their main focus with web design.
So they basically rank their clients websites to the top of Google and they package their service by also offering them a web design service.
After speaking to them and explaining why good web design can increase conversions, which can therefore increase their client’s leads and sales, they looked very interested.
Long story short, I had left them my contact details and told them to contact me if they needed any help.
BOOM…
Next week, 90% of the people I met at the talk called or emailed me back asking for a quote.
I didn’t want to say something so ridiculously high that they would look somewhere else. But I also didn’t want to say something too low so that I’m putting in all of this hard work but earning nothing in return.
However, I knew these guys were banking hard from selling SEO services, so I decided to just set a price that I personally thought was high but still decided to risk it and see what happens.
I decided to send them a benefit driven email justifying the price… something along the lines of “My web design will improve the conversions of your clients sites and will turn their traffic into leads, customers and sales.”
It worked.
I received a 100% response rate back and I was booked solid for a year.
I’ve never worked for anybody since.
An example is when they made me edit the same logo, doing very minor tweaks for 3 weeks.
Yes… 3 WEEKS!!!
This isn’t the only example, there were plenty other times where I really wanted to just stab a pencil through the screen.
I guess it was their way of training me to be a better designer. However I just couldn’t handle doing the same thing every single day for a month.
I wanted to grow as a designer but it seemed to me like working there was instead stunting my growth.
One day, while procrastinating online, I came across an article talking about freelance work.
It had never occurred to me that I could work for myself and still earn money.
After coming to the realization that I could do work that I enjoy while still paying my bills, I decided to resign from the position as an intern.
My next goal was to figure out how I was going to make some damn money.
Well one day I attended a talk/ lecture (same thing?) about SEO (search engine optimization), which a close friend had invited me to.
After the talk was finished, my friend introduced me to quite a few of these people who worked in the field of SEO.
What I had realized from speaking to these guys was that they usually bundle SEO, which is their main focus with web design.
So they basically rank their clients websites to the top of Google and they package their service by also offering them a web design service.
After speaking to them and explaining why good web design can increase conversions, which can therefore increase their client’s leads and sales, they looked very interested.
Long story short, I had left them my contact details and told them to contact me if they needed any help.
BOOM…
Next week, 90% of the people I met at the talk called or emailed me back asking for a quote.
I didn’t want to say something so ridiculously high that they would look somewhere else. But I also didn’t want to say something too low so that I’m putting in all of this hard work but earning nothing in return.
However, I knew these guys were banking hard from selling SEO services, so I decided to just set a price that I personally thought was high but still decided to risk it and see what happens.
I decided to send them a benefit driven email justifying the price… something along the lines of “My web design will improve the conversions of your clients sites and will turn their traffic into leads, customers and sales.”
It worked.
I received a 100% response rate back and I was booked solid for a year.
I’ve never worked for anybody since.
Double or Triple your income
So as you guys probably know from reading my past posts, I’m a firm believer that in order to grow, we need to invest in ourselves first. I spend on average $300 a month just buying and reading books.
Lately, I’ve been hearing about a site called Udemy and decided 2 weeks ago to join a design course that sounded rather interesting and had a ton of reviews saying how awesome it was.
From what I remember, the course was around $99.
The most I’d ever spent on an information product was $30. I think it was David Airey’s ‘Logo Design Love’. (Great book BTW)
So as you can imagine, I was rather skeptical.
$99 seems rather steep, but the material in the course looked just too good to give up so I decided to pay the full price and take it.
… and then spent a few hours going through it.
The reviews were right, this course was pretty awesome.
And I’m glad I forked out $99 for it.
I seriously wish I’d taken this course back when I had started. I could definitely have been earning around at least 2x what I’m earning now (around 6 figures) as the results would have compounded over time. (You’ll see what I mean once you take the course)
Anyways, I’m not going to brag about how awesome the course is, you can see the reviews yourself.
I should also let you know that I’m not earning any money as an affiliate by talking about this course.
Since I get so many emails from mostly graduates struggling to get a job, I thought this course may be beneficial for them.
I personally contacted Rahat (the dude who created the course), and asked… no, begged for a discount so that I can share it with my readers. (You see how much I love you guys)
Anyways, I have no idea how long this discount will last and I’ve been told that it’s only limited to 150 students. So if you’re reading this now, I would recommend that you hurry and buy the course before the discount expires.
If the discount has already expired by the time you’ve read this post then feel free to send me an email and I’ll try to find out what I can do.
Now, there’s a good reason why I mentioned my story above. If you want to skip the headache and BS I went through, then take this course.
Just do it.
If you don’t take it, you’ll regret it.
If you take it, and don’t learn a single thing from it, simply ask them for a refund.
If you take it, be sure to take action on whatever you learn.
Here’s the link to the course in blue… (drum rolls please)
Lately, I’ve been hearing about a site called Udemy and decided 2 weeks ago to join a design course that sounded rather interesting and had a ton of reviews saying how awesome it was.
From what I remember, the course was around $99.
The most I’d ever spent on an information product was $30. I think it was David Airey’s ‘Logo Design Love’. (Great book BTW)
So as you can imagine, I was rather skeptical.
$99 seems rather steep, but the material in the course looked just too good to give up so I decided to pay the full price and take it.
… and then spent a few hours going through it.
The reviews were right, this course was pretty awesome.
And I’m glad I forked out $99 for it.
I seriously wish I’d taken this course back when I had started. I could definitely have been earning around at least 2x what I’m earning now (around 6 figures) as the results would have compounded over time. (You’ll see what I mean once you take the course)
Anyways, I’m not going to brag about how awesome the course is, you can see the reviews yourself.
I should also let you know that I’m not earning any money as an affiliate by talking about this course.
Since I get so many emails from mostly graduates struggling to get a job, I thought this course may be beneficial for them.
I personally contacted Rahat (the dude who created the course), and asked… no, begged for a discount so that I can share it with my readers. (You see how much I love you guys)
Anyways, I have no idea how long this discount will last and I’ve been told that it’s only limited to 150 students. So if you’re reading this now, I would recommend that you hurry and buy the course before the discount expires.
If the discount has already expired by the time you’ve read this post then feel free to send me an email and I’ll try to find out what I can do.
Now, there’s a good reason why I mentioned my story above. If you want to skip the headache and BS I went through, then take this course.
Just do it.
If you don’t take it, you’ll regret it.
If you take it, and don’t learn a single thing from it, simply ask them for a refund.
If you take it, be sure to take action on whatever you learn.
Here’s the link to the course in blue… (drum rolls please)
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
P.S. Once you’ve made your first $1000, feel free to send me a piece of that pie as a thank-you.
P.S. Once you’ve made your first $1000, feel free to send me a piece of that pie as a thank-you.