Are you a graphic designer? You might feel like it’s a thankless job.Â
Maybe you’re working a 9-5, making $50,000 on the high end, and you just want a breakthrough. You want real income. You’re sick of being mistreated and undervalued for your talents. Well, this video is for you!
I’m going to tell you all about how you can increase your income and make money as a graphic designer. Even if you’ve been working for a while, you might be missing some important areas that could help you earn money. So without further ado, let’s roll into it!
3 Methods To Earn More Money
If you’re a graphic designer who needs a breakthrough, and you’re tired of being undervalued and underpaid for your work, then you need to learn about some new areas of your business that you can grow in. You may be a very talented graphic designer, but that doesn’t mean that you’re the best business owner.Â
One of my strengths in my business is that I know the business world very well. Not only do I love graphic design, but I also know the business side of it. As my career has evolved, I’ve started to spend more time on my business than actually doing design. And now I have a team of designers to help me out!
So today, we’re going to talk about how to make more money as a graphic designer. Even if you’re working a regular 9-5 job, there are other things that you can do on the side to increase your income when the work slows down. Because, as you know, a lot of people are at home stuck, so this is a really great time to dive in on yourself and get more business.
1. Client Work
The first important way you can get more money as a graphic designer is with client work. Now, client work is great. It’s what fills 80% of my pipeline.Â
We have a ton of clients because of the quality of the award-winning work we do. We are constantly busy with client work, but the reality is that during seasons like this, when people are cutting back, the work starts to slow down. That’s when you need to look into other types of client work that you might not have considered.
Client work can be web design work. It could be social graphics work. It could be a banner for trade show booths. There are all kinds of really different types of work you can be commissioned to do for other companies and individuals.
If you’ve got a good clientele base, there are also other types of client work you can do, like signage, banners, t-shirts — there are all kinds of areas that you can specialize in. A lot of people like to do logos and brands, while others like to focus on web stuff.
So, there’s always client work available, but it will slow down. It has slowed down for me over the years. It’s sort of like a roller coaster: you’re going to have high points when you’re making a lot of money, and you’re going to have lows where you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, what’s going on?”
At those times, you have to scramble and put a lot of effort into sales. That means you’ll start neglecting the work that’s currently on your plate. If you’re a one-man-show, it’s really hard to keep a consistent upward trajectory of your work.
2. Teaching
The second avenue that you can use to make money on graphic design is teaching. You can do that by doing what I’m doing: creating videos and tutorials on YouTube. Or, you can sign up for a website like Lynda.com, or another teaching forum.Â
You don’t have to be the most skilled graphic designer in the world to start teaching graphic design. All you need is a specialty in a certain area. For example, maybe you’re really good at logos. Maybe you’re great at print design, or at illustrations and characters. You can make extra money by teaching people to do that type of work.
3. Passive Income
As you know, my plan is to generate money by making these YouTube videos, through advertising and affiliate marketing. That’s what I call passive income — it’s income that can be generated while I sleep.Â
You can generate passive income whenever someone watches your videos, downloads your stock photos, or uses your web design template. There are tons of ways to make passive income as a graphic designer. Even while you’re sleeping, someone could be buying your stuff from Adobe Stock, Shutterfly, or any of those online platforms.
So, if you forgot those three methods, let me say them again: client work, teaching, and passive income. Remember, there are lots of resources and websites available to you. I’ll drop a few of the links in the description of this video.
Sell Value Over Price
You’re in a great industry, even though it isn’t experiencing huge growth right now. That’s because we’re now moving to more of a global economy.Â
When it comes to graphic design, there are always people who are going to do the same work as you, for less money. There are people who are shopping just for price, but they’re fishing in a different pond, with different bait. Those aren’t the customers I want you to go after. I want you to go after the people that see your talent, that you can add value to.
It’s all about value, not price. One of the first questions I ask each of my clients is what their budget is. You should ask every client what their budget is, to make sure they’re after value, not price.
Bonus: Upsell Other Services!
Now, if you’ve made it this long with me, there’s one little extra nugget of information I want to give you. You can make extra money by upselling other services, aside from graphic design.Â
This is a great way to boost your income. You can sell SEO services, web design, lead generation, or any other service you have the skills for. You can essentially be a one-stop-shop. That’s one of the tricks that allowed my business to grow from $0 all the way up to $500,000 in sales in a single year. Add more services to your business, and you can start generating even more passive income for yourself.
I hope this information was valuable to you. I taking the time to talk to you guys about your passions and ways you can make money. So, thanks for tuning in, and as always, keep looking up!