Graphic design is one of the most in-demand services online. Why? Almost every website on the Internet has some sort of graphic, animation, navigational menu, mouseover button, logo or clipart. Therefore, experienced graphic designers are needed at every turn. Even with the demand of this unique skill being so high, starting your own graphic design business can be tricky. Like any business, it's not necessarily the "supply and demand" factor that will determine your success, but your ability to let people know that you have a valuable supply of the skills and service. Building Your Reputation as a Graphic Designer Before you begin promoting your graphic design business, it's wise to build a solid reputation with a small number of clients who are willing to give you a chance. Below are a couple of ways to get your initial graphic design jobs: 1. Locate several websites (of any sort) who obviously need a company logo for their website. Perhaps they don't have one at all, and only their company name in plain letters at the top of their website. Or, maybe they have a logo, but it's amateur and needs to be re-designed. When you contact the owner of the site, let him or her know that you are starting a graphic design business, and that you would like to create a free logo for their site to be able to show your future clients. You will design several logos for them to choose from also. NOTE: Do not contact the websites which have long marketing presentations and no logo or company name. These are not your target.

They don't have a logo because they don't want one. Their presentation is built that way. Your target will be the small individual business owner who has put up a site while not really knowing much about the Internet, and who probably is "getting by" without their logo for now. Once you have found several good matches, create astounding logos for them - one that will make them and you proud! 2. Find a few forums that would carry posts from individual business owners and make this same proposition there. Don't make it sound like you're selling something - this is the key for forums. You'll get kicked off if you do that. However, you can post a request for volunteers who need a logo or something similar. You can let them know your situation - be completely honest. People will respect you for it. Testimonials Write a testimonial from the free client based on their response about your logo creation, and ask for their permission to use it on your site and in your promotions. Let them know that you will link back to their site for others to view their logo. This usually makes the close! Testimonials are proven to be one of the most powerful selling tools ever known.

Once you have your testimonials, add them in RED letters and QUOTES on every page of your website. You can even place them inside a separate table to really make them stand out. Position them strategically within your sales presentation where they will add to the emotion of your potential client. Why Not Just Promote My Services at First for a Cheaper Price to Get Initial Clients? Glad you asked! The process used above does not cheapen the value of graphic design skills in any way, shape or form. Lowering the price to get clients is exactly what has tremendously hurt the industry over the past several years. Graphic designers will start out charging $50 for a logo, and then try to go up in price later. This confuses clients - sort of like a local tire company who suddenly finds Wal-Mart as his top competition. It throws all potential clients into a price-minded mood instead of a quality-of-service mood. Suddenly, the clients are searching all over the Internet for dirt cheap pricing and it becomes a cut-throat situation between graphic design freelancers and business owners. Sorry to be so blunt, but that's just how it is in today's Internet market.

You don't want to join the rat race in pricing wars. You want to give quality work for a decent price and very excellent customer service. Then, people will come to you for the value you offer. Promotion Starting Line Now that you have some experience under your belt, you're ready to begin promotions. Free Promotions The best free promotion available is the major search engine, where your clients will be searching for graphic design services. The way to get listed in the major search engines is through valuable content and strong keywords that directly target your audience. Every web page you create needs to be geared toward drawing your client in from a search engine.

To submit your web pages free of charge, go to the site below. You will get listed with the major search engines as long as your keywords, title and description are in place... http://www.submit-express.com/ Also, create a new web page (or two or three) about every different type of graphic design on the planet and fill each page with keywords specific to that particular service. HINT: Submit only one page per day to Submit Express or any other search engine submission service. The search engines will think you're spamming them if you submit all your pages at once. Below I've listed the Most Common Graphic Design Services You Can Offer and Promote Individually through the Search Engines. This is to get your wheels turning... *Graphic Design *Logo Design *ClipArt Design *Banner Design *Navigational Menu Design *Animation Design *Mouseover Design *Concept Design (Creating a series of graphics or logos for a particular subject matter or concept) *Ebook image design (all training ebooks need pictures and illustrations, you could be the one doing these for the client) *etc., etc. Set a schedule of promotion with submitting pages to the free search engines.

Be prepared to wait patiently to see results - they will come if you're diligent and provide quality keywording for every page. The average waiting period for Google is six to eight months for a brand new website. Alta Vista and Yahoo are normally three to five months. It's worth the wait for the targeted traffic you'll receive. Paid Search Engines Meanwhile, you can use the paid search engines below to promote your site while waiting. These are extremely effective because they allow you to target only people searching for your keywords. You can test your presentation using the paid search engines to see if it's working on your potential clients or not. Set a budget for using the paid search engines based on how many visitors you would like to draw to your site initially. Here are a couple of paid search engines who have proven to bring targeted visitors:

http://www.overture.com/

http://www.findwhat.com/

Ezine Advertising Another way to find your target market is through ezine advertising. You can pay for small ads (which normally aren't too expensive), in ezines or online newsletters who target your market. Some ezine owners will work with you in joint ventures for a free or discounted ad. You could agree to place a link to their website or a subscription to their ezine on your homepage for several months for a free ad. There are many ways to do joint ventures with other businesses online. Go to Google and do a search on the following keywords for starters: The word "ezine" can and should be replaced with "newsletter" in a new search for more variety.

*Online Business Ezine *Internet Business Ezine *Promotion Ezine *Start Business Ezine *Business tips Ezine *Marketing Tips Ezine *Website Tips Ezine *Business Ideas Ezine *Home Business Ezine *etc., etc.

Create An Affiliate Program Another great way to get clients is to let others promote for you. Starting an affiliate program that offers a very NICE percentage will encourage others to send you business. This is one of the top marketing tools used by many companies online today, and it works obviously. Use these tips to successfully promote your graphic design business. These are effective and inexpensive. Don't be fooled by all the claims out there to drive "millions" of visitors to your site. You may receive visitors, but usually not quality traffic that's targeted. The steps above are used by some of the most successful business owners, and really work!