(Part 2) Best products from r/freelance

If you can't tell from the responses, networking (building relationships) is very important.

Being social, helping others, and letting others know specifically what you do and for whom is very beneficial. I've gotten a lot of referrals from my network.

You never know when someone that's a relatively weak tie in your network has an opportunity to refer business to you or send you introductions to others. If you can stay top of mind with those people, then you'll have access to more opportunities.

Here are some books worth reading if you haven't read them before:

• How to Win Friends & Influence People - http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034
  
• Never Eat Alone - http://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-Secrets-Relationship/dp/0385512058
  
• Adversaries into Allies - http://www.amazon.com/Adversaries-into-Allies-Manipulation-Coercion/dp/1591846366
  
  Make sure that when you start "networking" you aren't just peddling business cards. It's about making a connection, adding value to others, and staying in touch. If you go to conferences, aim to meet and get to know a handful of influential people. Don't push 200 business cards onto others.
  
  If you have troubles staying in touch with all the people you meet or want a more efficient way then a text file or excel file, then try using a tool to help.
  
  I co-founded a SaaS that helps freelancers make sure they stay in touch with the important business contacts you meet, but that you don't see on a frequent basis. I use it to make sure I'm staying in touch with a large group of people that I've met in the past or want to build a better relationship with. http://relate.ly

Learn about the value disciplines. This will help you understand what value appeals to which audiences. Based on this, craft an offering that appeals to your preferred audience.

Shortcut: Most freelancers and consultants want to target the value discipline of customer intimacy. It is too hard to compete on operational excellence and product leadership for most of us.

Sidenote: The clients you describe value operational excellence. Within web design, for example, they are better suited for services like Wix or WordPress plus themes.

Next, learn about value-based pricing. Start with the Double Your Freelancing Podcast and then pick up a copy of Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss.

Shortcut: Most freelancers use a cost-plus pricing model. This usually leaves us trading our time for money. The value-based approach allows us to charge more based on the value we provide to the clients. For example, if our customer software solution can save the company $1 million in expenses over the next year, then surely it'd be work a $100k to them.

Finally, learn about marketing funnels. Not only can they help you automate your marketing, but they can also help you qualify desirable candidates and disqualify undesirable ones.

For example, place a small note that your web design projects generally start at $10k. The guy who wants the world for $250 will find that absurd and self-disqualify. It saves you the hassle.

Another way to put the advice is don't try to be all things to all people. This is will cause you to be a miserable freelancer. Find the types of clients you like and work to attract them and them only.

Illustrator here - Decide if you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to freelance as an artist, because the honest truth is that you might never be able to freelance professionally full time, even if you are INSANELY talented, because convincing people to buy squiggles you make is very difficult to do.

Anyway, everything you need to know to starts with this question:

Who are you selling your work to?

From there, everything comes into place. Selling illustrations to businesses is a DIFFERENT business model than selling to consumers. Selling your illustrations to children book companies is DIFFERENT than selling to Tech companies. Selling your illustrations to old cat ladies requires A TOTALLY DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM from selling your illustrations to metalheads.

"But I want EVERYONE to buy my illustrations!"

HAHAHAHA! Forget illustration, you should be a stand-up comedian, kid!

Read these:

Inside the Business of Illustration, by Marshall Arisman and Steven Heller

Breaking into Freelance Illustration, by Holly Dewolf

2013 Artist's & Graphic Designers Market

Do you have access to this book (Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines)? If not, I highly recommend getting a copy. It sets the industry standard as far as pricing for illustration work and is how I begin pricing for all of my projects. It'll give ranges as well, but I find it to be greatly useful.

Tips beyond using this book - take into account the amount of time the project will take you, the size of the illustrations (half page, full spread?), whether you want to include an advance against royalties (this is usually done for children's books) and what rights you are granting them.

Also, since it is a fairly large project, I would recommend laying out a partial payment schedule in your contract - something like 50% after sketches, 50% within 30 days of delivery of final art.

Hope this helps!

Well, it just so happens that I have a list prepared to tweet out—figured I'd share here as well :)

How to Win Friends & influence People

Never Eat Alone

The E-Myth Revisited

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Tribes

Linchpin

A Whole New Mind

The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing

The millionaire Next Door

Cashflow Quadrant

Why We Want you to be Rich

Drive

Rework

The 4 Hour Work Week

Entreleadership

Thou Shalt Prosper

Driven

How to Get Ideas

The Go-Giver