How To Educate Your Clients Part 4 – Sharing Further Knowledge
This is Part 4 of the 4-Part series, How to Educate Your Clients, where we will examine the important role that education plays in your Freelance Illustration business.
(Update: You can also download an audio version of this popular series here.)
Sharing Further Knowledge
Would you like to get referrals from your clients?
How about testimonials?
If this is something you would benefit from, then this article is for you, because it’s all about the difference between a satisfied client and an ecstatic client. The best way to make someone want to talk about their great experience of working with you is to go above and beyond to help them to succeed.
After all, they hired you to fulfill their needs.
To be honest, sometimes creating awesome Illustration work isn’t enough to evoke praise from your clients. This is because they hired you based on the quality of your portfolio, so they pretty much knew what to expect. Therefore, it’s a good idea to surprise and delight them by going the extra mile to help them in ways that they didn’t see coming.
Helping Your Clients Succeed
It’s probably obvious to most Illustrators that when a client succeeds with the help of the Illustration or Design that you created for them, it is good for your own business as well. Most of this shared success comes from exposure and more great work for your portfolio.
What is often overlooked is the concept of doing whatever you can to assist your client in other aspects of their project, such as printing, self-publishing, or promotion.
The benefit of this added service is that you are increasing the chances that the project will be executed in a way that presents your work in the most flattering light. Also, you are impressing the client with both your expertise and your generosity. These are the things that they will remember when sharing their experience with their friends or responding to a request for a referral.
How to Apply This to Your Next Project
The next time you finish your work on a project, ask if the client needs any recommendations for quality printing services, advice on self-publishing, or assistance in creating a blog to promote their new book or product. Chances are, they would love to hear anything you have to say, especially if this is a new venture for them.
I’m not suggesting that you spend a lot of time doing free work, but many Illustrators have already done this type of research for past clients or projects of our own. Therefore, sharing links or mentioning things to watch out for will probably be the easiest thing you’ve done for this client, and the payoff can be huge. Not to mention, they may even end up hiring you to create that blog design they need, or to provide consulting for their promotional efforts. If you let this chance go by without at least exploring the possibility, they may end up going elsewhere for these services.
Making Use of Your Knowledge
The best part about this approach is that you are making use of research that you’ve already done in the past. Why not make the most of it by educating your clients? Despite what some artists may tell you, there really are no industry secrets that will devalue your services if you share them. Instead, I propose that you increase your worth as a creative professional by providing any service that will benefit both you and your client in the long run.
Do you make the extra effort to help your clients succeed? How do you share your knowledge? I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Read more of How to Educate Your Clients.
Related Posts:
- 10 Tips on Contracts and Clients
- How to Spot a Problem Client
- Things to Consider When Pricing Your Work
- Is Your Art Rep Doing Anything For You?
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