How can i monetize my Web design skills ?

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Jokerash

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Hi again,
I need a piece of advice from you guys. As the topic title suggests, i need a method to monetize my web design&programming skills.
What i know:
- Photoshop
- HTML/CSS/JS
- PHP/MySQL
What i've tried (with no succes): freelancer sites.
I'm working at a local comany now, but the income isn't so great. This is why i'm asking you.
Thanks.
 
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Lol, are you kidding...
If you are good enough at this skills, just build a website and a portfolio for yourself...
After this, start contacting all you businesses in you area, phone calls, direct mail, emails, banners, etc... advertise youself as much as possible to them...
Like this you can offer to them your services... and if they like your service, they will bring other clients too...
 
Check the Hire a freelancer section here and the Services section on DP, there are a lot of jobs for you, that is if you still want to freelance.

Check the JV section here if there someone out looking for a developer.

I think web designers are the most sought people on the internet, I can't believe you aren't hitting it big yet.
 
no, i'm not. I'm earning like $700/mo, evem if my experience is ~4yrs. Hope i'll get my chance soon, but i have no place to start.

@herbar: i've tried your method, but with no succes.
 
Go to sites like Crowdspring.com and enter your designs in the contests people run. If you're any good, you should win about 15% of the contests. If you don't get chosen as the winner, take your design and sell it on Envato's marketplace, ThemeForest.net. You're either going to win the design prize and get cash right away (often $500+), or you'll have an asset that will continue to make you money over time. Either way, you win.
 
The advice offered here is sound, but let me add 1 piece of information to it. Use psychology to get people to buy from you. Understand WHY people really want web design and web sites. Make a Blackhat portfolio and buy traffic, fake testimonials, make yourself seem big and famous. Finally, start Blackhatting some graphics by either outsourcing the work or by ripping off people's ideas. Once you get proficient at it, you can start to make it your own work. This is a forum dedicated to gaming Google, but you also have tons of information here. If you need to spend 3 months ripping of images, piecing them together and creating a new image so you can win a contest then go do it.
 
You have been here since 2009 and have no idea how to cash in on skills like that ????? :rolleyes:
 
tompots said:
You have been here since 2009 and have no idea how to cash in on skills like that ????? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yes, i know. I was used to work for other people, not for me. Now i want to change this and i need a place to start. As i mentioned, i tried freelancer sites but with no success.
 
Jokerash said:
Yes, i know. I was used to work for other people, not for me. Now i want to change this and i need a place to start. As i mentioned, i tried freelancer sites but with no success.
Click to expand...

Most times you have to underbid the cheap bad quality guys A lot of guys from like India hugely underbid often they don't offer quality work and iv built up some great clients this way (sort out a problem for cheap and they hang on to you cause you deliver quality work, up your prices after you get credibility)

You will need to do a few jobs and get a name for your self and you'll find work OK after that.
Make your profile and portfolio professional looking this will help. (as mentioned fake some if you have to)
Often communication and how you sell your self to the client is VERY BIG, you should spend time building a "relationship" with the client so they choose you and not the competition, (I have out bid over 30 - 40 others and wasn't near the cheapest bid) having Skype etc setup if writing isn't your thing.

There are a few Freelance Sites out there I have one that I use, I have family members who make almost all their income though this site as well.

There is a lot of money to be made if you do things the right way, But you need to start somewhere and bidding against already developed providers is difficult I know, Don't be discouraged if you truly are good at what you do just suck it up and do some $h1t jobs to get started and build up some contacts :)

Hope you have more success in getting something going for yourself

Axel
 
you're right. India (well, most of it) is killing the business. I've seen some $20 bids for a whole website. WTF ?
Can you reccomend some places where bidding on projects is not that insane ? ;)). (i prefer the coding part, not the design one)
Thanks
 
Jokerash said:
you're right. India (well, most of it) is killing the business. I've seen some $20 bids for a whole website. WTF ?
Can you reccomend some places where bidding on projects is not that insane ?
wink.png
). (i prefer the coding part, not the design one)
Thanks
Click to expand...

Craigslist would probably be a good place

Posted via Topify using iPhone/iPad
 
I use the Big one starting with an E :P errr what I did was team up with a designer and that helps a lot as well (I can do all the design stuff I just prefer not to always) :)
In my experience if you don't have standing on a site like that bidding $50 and doing $200 of work is an easier way to build awesome cred then fighting for bigger bids, also since a lot of guys don't want to be burned or done want to be burned again they stick to the high rated providers.

Ptrick125 said:
Craigslist would probably be a good place
Click to expand...

CL in my opinion isn't where I would go.

Pm me if you want a any more pointers ill see what I can help with :)


Axel
 
Last edited:
1. Build a website showing your portfolio (Either real sites or ones made just to show off your skills)
2. Sign up to Hostgator Affiliate Program
3. Email Local companies who have SHOCKINGLY poor websites and offer to make them a new one
4. Either charge them a lump sum or offer them a free website and all they pay for is hosting (give them your Hostgator affiliate link)

Offering a free website instantly gets the attention of the business owners, Often they have a terrible website because they have no money for a better one in the first place.

With Hostgator what you get paid depending on how many sign ups a month you get, so..

1-5 = $50 Per
6-10 = $75 Per
11-20 = $100 Per
21 + = $125 Per

21+ Signups sounds a lot but it's not really, can get them very easy with a simple google search.

So if you got 21 signups you'd get $2,625 per month, Even if you only got 11 signups thats $1,100 per month. Not to shabby :)
 
I go along with a lot of what has been said - especially having a quality portfolio and website of your own.

Networking can work wonders.

Many of your family and friends will know you are a web designer but how many times have you sat down with them and shown your work to them and explained what you do?

If you do this you may get referalls to other people. I'm not talking about a hard sell like MLM - just a softly, softly approach (you don't want to alienate your friends after all!).

Also agree with the guy above who suggest working with a designer. Graphic design, and web design are two very different skill sets. A good graphic designer can transform the quality of your websites.

Your best chance of high ticket sales is in your local market where you can actually meet with people and they can look you in the eye. Even the crappiest backwater will have people needing websites.
 
Some of these ideas sound great, but would anybody have any suggestions for affiliate programs that could really utilize these programming skills?

OP-not trying to hijack your thread, but I am in a similar boat! I have found ways to automate certain tasks and avoid hand-coding large portions of some of my sites, but I feel like our programming skills could be used a bit more. What else could we do?
 
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