Business & Tech articles

Mass appeal is a myth. I know that goes against what we’d all like to believe, and your eternal optimist inside probably shouts, “Hey! My product is actually for everyone.” But honestly, it’s true; mass appeal is a myth. Don’t panic though… Being niche does not mean fewer paying customers. Focussing in on a niche is a good thing, scratch that, a great thing. The web today is consumer lead. It’s a buyer’s market. With so many...

It’s happened to every designer at some point: A client or co-worker makes an absolutely cringe-worthy comment about your work. Feedback is important. And often the problem with some of these elements no designer ever wants to hear is that they cause a roadblock in the communication process. So here we look at some real-world situations (with a spark of humor) and ways you can handle what comes across as tactless, thoughtless comments with...

Most of us are familiar with the saying, “Show, don’t tell.” For those of us working in creative industries, this should be your mantra when building up your résumé. With the rise of the gig-economy and freelance job platforms, which are now home to an abundance of talented freelance designers, illustrators and more, it’s essential when looking for work that you build a stand-out résumé. Before you start filling up the pages...

How does the little guy compete? How do you win against these giant companies? It’s inevitable right? The big guy always wins. Walmart decimated the Mom & Pops. Home Depot killed the local hardware stores. And now, it’s your turn. Squarespace, and Wix, and Webydo, and a dozen others are winning and putting you out of business. At least, if you and I are honest, sometimes late at night, lying in bed, it sure seems that way, right? Well, it...

Picture it: New York City, 2010; you're working full-time as a digital designer for one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. The paycheck is steady, the hours are (somewhat) flexible, and you really never have to take work home with you. To sweeten the pot, there are plenty of perks–free swag from clients and swanky company parties to enjoy. You take for granted the fact that you don't need to worry about where the work is coming from....

Getting your project organized and easily manageable is always a challenge when working as a part of a team. The problem reaches a whole new level when it concerns a creative project. Creativity blossoms the most when it’s unlimited while collaborative projects crumble without rules. So what to do with a creative agency project that requires teamwork and collaboration? Organization and leadership, if executed correctly, doesn’t...

We’ve all dreamt about working for big brands. Microsoft, Google, Apple, McDonalds, Coca-Cola…they all have one thing in common; they’re household names. But getting their attention can be tricky. Many of them hire thousands of employees and have offices all over the world. They probably hear the same pitch a hundred times from the same potential freelancer hoping to get that lucky break to create something millions of people will...

Content marketing is a marketing technique focused on creating and distributing valuable content to attract and retain visitors, and turn these visitors into customers. It has proven very effective, at least if you know what you’re doing. The advantages of content marketing are: It’s good for SEO, especially for targeting long-tail keywords. Content marketing can help attract links and improve your website’s authority in the...

There’s a tendency within the design community to depict freelancing as a goal to be achieved. Who wouldn’t want to lie in every day, do two hours of work in front of the TV, followed by an afternoon in coffee shops posing for stock photographers, all while getting paid twice your current salary, and having your pick of clients? It’s obvious to most people that freelancing isn’t a land of milk and honey; the hours are long, the future...

Building a product from scratch isn’t easy, but it can be a very rewarding process. When I had the idea for Revue, I decided to act on it immediately. Two years later, and with 20,000 users and 2 million emails per month, I can safely say that building on impulse was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. I started quickly and made a lot of stuff up along the way, but I learned many lessons which I will reflect on in this article. In fact, I was inspired...

Ever wondered how you measure up to the rest of the industry? How do you compare to the average age, location, and salary of other graphic designers? Did you know that our industry is dominated by young women? Happily, now you can learn everything you ever needed to know about your job, with this exclusive infographic designed by vexels.com (formerly VectorOpenStock) for WebdesignerDepot readers. You’ll find some fun data, ideas about...

Qualifying your clients is an important step that helps to keep you from wasting time on those suspects who will either never buy from you or be a poor fit for your business. Even worse are those suspects who will pick your brain, only to use the information you provide with another, often lower-cost, provider. I have a consulting client who is a startup freelance Web designer. When she came to me, she said her problem was spending a lot of time drafting...

Being a freelancer means that you’ve chosen a different type of lifestyle. If you work at home, then you’re not rushing to fight traffic every morning. You’re probably not wearing formal attire. Most likely, you don’t consider yourself quite so mainstream. And yes, that does make you very cool (not to mention good-looking)! The trouble is that clients, family and friends also see you as different. They may actually have a pretty hard...

Clients drag their feet. You know they need a designer. They know they need a designer. It’s something you both have discussed, so why are they hesitating? You’ve been negotiating with them for almost a month and still no deal. You’re exhausted. You’re tired of dealing with them and they’re not even a client yet! And then it gets worse. They tell you they’re talking to six other designers. Your prospective client is using the information...