I am looking to do some freelance work as a graphic designer. I've been in the industry for 10+ years. I can make whatever a potential client is looking for. Where do you go when first starting out? I have ads up on fiverr. It seems like breaking in and getting your first gig is the hardest part!
2 Answers
Word of Mouth
Nothing else will work well.
Those crowdsource web sites are overly populated by hobbyists willing to work for next to nothing. Everyone and their brother who has a pirated copy of Photoshop thinks they can be a designer. You can't work at a professional freelance level for design using those sites in my experience. If you do happen to stumble upon a decent client at those sites it'll take a long time....
Clients using "fvr" et. al. are looking for "five dollar" designs. They are "cheap" clients looking to spend as little as possible (I'm aware fvr isn't only about $5). You can not sustain a viable freelance career or business with those type of clients. You must have a better client base. Clients with return business who see the value in professional design as opposed to their cousin that has Photoshop.
See here: How can experienced contractor survive outside Elance/oDesk/Freelancer?
Make a showcase and I mean a worthy one. Make a showcose of at least 5 of the latest design trends and design something that is trending like a cryptocurrency app for example, just a few screens will suffice.
Think of at least 5 of these projects in different spaces and think of ways to show your expertise and how to stand out and dominate.
Then you post this on behance, your website/blog and all your social media. On your blog show how you build the designs. This will give you the expert status and make sure your blog has plenty of conversion/call 2 action buttons/links on it to convert this person of interest to a partner/buyer.
Hope this helps. Best of luck!
