Creative Freelancer Conference Blog

A Fearless, Cold-Calling Illustrator

P>Many creatives struggle with making cold-calls.  But anyone who had overcome the discomfort and made it part of their business surely knows the benefits. 

Luc Latulippe is a very popular illustrator-- who seems to have no qualms about making cold calls. He claims that 99% of illustrators are sending out postcards to get new work, and he uses cold-calling as a way to stand out.  Luc even shares his script in this post.  (Thanks to Tim Read of 5 Fingers Creative for sharing this link.)

Could this unusual no-fear attitude towards cold calls account for Luc's success?

If you want to learn how to do this yourself, watch for the Marketing Lab Workshop at the next Creative Freelancer Conference, August 26-28, 2009.

Awesome, zero-cost resource for DIY resume design

I know there are lots of designers coming to the Creative Freelancer Conference. But I'm guessing there are also some non-designers in the group, perhaps even some who (gasp!) don't own a copy of InDesign or Quark.

So when I saw "investigative designer" David Seah's recent post about how to create a good-looking, super-readable resume using nothing more than baling wire and an old handkerchief--er...I mean, PowerPoint, I knew I had to share.

This is some really impressive stuff. And while you're there, check out the myriad resources Seah offers to aid productivity, like the Printable CEO Series (planners and trackers for corralling goals and projects) and the Compact Calendar (for estimating/plotting out long-term projects).

All beautifully designed, simply explained and F-R-E-E!

Sponsor's Corner: Free marketing plan toolkit from ADBASE

This post comes to you from ADBASE, one of our sponsor partners of the Creative Freelancer Conference. They'll be at the CFC to answer all your questions about how their service can help you with your marketing efforts; check out the free resource available via a link towards the end of the post to get you started.

At ADBASE, our focus is connecting photographers and illustrators to the right clients.  We get lots of questions from our clients asking: how they can get more clients, how to nurture the ones they have, how to be successful with direct mail and email campaigns, etc.

Before you can really answer these questions, you need to have a marketing plan to guide you. Your plan is your guiding light for achieving your business goals and vision. Creating it will take you through the process of clearly defining what you do, whom you want to sell your services to, and how you will market yourself successfully. It will help you decide how you are going to allocate your marketing dollars for the best return. It will become your action plan to help you get new customers.

Start thinking about your plan now, and come to the Conference armed with your questions.  Here’s a place to get started: our exclusive white paper “Plan for Profit: A Marketing and Promotional Guide for Photographers and Illustrators”. (Editor's note: You can download the paper by clicking here and filling out a short registration form at the ADBASE site—no further commitment necessary.)