September 30th marks my fifth year as a freelancer. I've written about my journey from "employee" to "freelancer" in my book, but I'd like to reflect a bit as I judge things at this particular moment.
Despite seeming like a crazy idea leaving a "secure" company, becoming a freelancer gave me more job security. The reason is that I control everything. While I may part company with a client from time to time, there's never a situation where I have work one day and I'm totally out of work the next. That's the risk you run when you only work for one company. (And on a related note, the current economic situation as I write this actually confirms my decision that I did the right thing by taking more control of my career.)
I have far less stress in my life. This goes back to the issue of control. When too much of your working life is under the control and whims of other people, you're bound to have a bit more stress, especially these days given the economic situation. And that's to say nothing of the hours you might be forced to work, the traffic you might have to battle, or the location you might be forced to live in to work for some company.
There's never really any boredom with my career. Every job is a bit different and I'm always free to pursue new skills so I can take on new types of projects. Some companies offer this, which is great, but it often has to be approved in some way, or you can't dedicate the time you want to it because of your other responsibilities.
Honestly, there has yet to be a downside to freelancing. That doesn't mean there aren't challenges and frustrating days. But you certainly deal with them much better when you know that you're ultimately in control of the situation rather than some employer or market forces outside of your control.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Adobe CS4: Should you upgrade?
This week Adobe gave a preview of the new Creative Suite 4 (CS4) which is due in October. One question I often get is whether a direct market designer should upgrade. They want to know whether the new features are worth the expense.
The "direct market" part is important since we traditionally don't need lots of fancy features. It's kind of like Word. For many years Word has been more than capable of handling your word processing needs. So the task for Microsoft is convincing you with each new version that there's some new feature worth upgrading for.
To a degree, that's Adobe's dilemma as well. To their credit, each new CS4 product has at least one really neat new feature. But whether it's enough to drop some serious money on is another matter.
It wasn't very long ago at all that CS3 came out. And it suffered a bit from not initially playing nice in some areas with both Leopard and Vista operating systems.
This time, that shouldn't be an issue... CS4 should work great with both operating systems right out of the box. But you really need to look at the list of new features for your favorite applications to see if an upgrade is worthwhile on release day.
This year, more than any other, I've been struck by how much I need to retain my ability to work with older versions of the Adobe titles. For example, I have one client who needs my files to be available in CS2 format. I create them in CS3, but I then have to save them as an INX file, reopen them in CS2 and save them as CS2 files. (Yes, I know... the client should be able to open the INX files in CS2, but it hasn't worked like it's supposed to.)
Thankfully, when I upgraded from CS2 to CS3, I was allowed to keep CS2 on my computer. And I expect that when I upgrade to CS4, I'm going to want to retain CS3. Also, you never know when some smaller print shops will get around to upgrading. So giving them files that include features their version of the software can't handle is going to be a pain.
I say all this just as a caution not to jump into the CS4 pool immediately. It's always tempting to get these new applications and start playing with the new features. But these days I tend to think it's better to sit back and see what the "early adopters" have to say and decide objectively whether the new features are ones you'll actually use as a direct market designer.
Personally, I see lots of great new features in Photoshop and InDesign (my two main tools), but I'm not seeing a lot that is going to significantly change the way I work. I'll eventually upgrade, but I highly doubt I'll be a "Day One" user.
The "direct market" part is important since we traditionally don't need lots of fancy features. It's kind of like Word. For many years Word has been more than capable of handling your word processing needs. So the task for Microsoft is convincing you with each new version that there's some new feature worth upgrading for.
To a degree, that's Adobe's dilemma as well. To their credit, each new CS4 product has at least one really neat new feature. But whether it's enough to drop some serious money on is another matter.
It wasn't very long ago at all that CS3 came out. And it suffered a bit from not initially playing nice in some areas with both Leopard and Vista operating systems.
This time, that shouldn't be an issue... CS4 should work great with both operating systems right out of the box. But you really need to look at the list of new features for your favorite applications to see if an upgrade is worthwhile on release day.
This year, more than any other, I've been struck by how much I need to retain my ability to work with older versions of the Adobe titles. For example, I have one client who needs my files to be available in CS2 format. I create them in CS3, but I then have to save them as an INX file, reopen them in CS2 and save them as CS2 files. (Yes, I know... the client should be able to open the INX files in CS2, but it hasn't worked like it's supposed to.)
Thankfully, when I upgraded from CS2 to CS3, I was allowed to keep CS2 on my computer. And I expect that when I upgrade to CS4, I'm going to want to retain CS3. Also, you never know when some smaller print shops will get around to upgrading. So giving them files that include features their version of the software can't handle is going to be a pain.
I say all this just as a caution not to jump into the CS4 pool immediately. It's always tempting to get these new applications and start playing with the new features. But these days I tend to think it's better to sit back and see what the "early adopters" have to say and decide objectively whether the new features are ones you'll actually use as a direct market designer.
Personally, I see lots of great new features in Photoshop and InDesign (my two main tools), but I'm not seeing a lot that is going to significantly change the way I work. I'll eventually upgrade, but I highly doubt I'll be a "Day One" user.
Monday, September 15, 2008
How not to approach a potential creative partner
It's always a good idea to make connections with other creative professionals. If you're a designer, find ways to meet copywriters and vice-versa.
Just as important, if you're a designer, find ways to meet designers who do what you don't do. For example, I don't do logos, but I have had requests for logo work in the past. Rather than simply say, "Sorry, I don't do that," I'd prefer to refer the person to someone who does do logo work... someone I know and trust. (Or maybe you take the job but outsource the work to someone you know while collecting a project management fee.)
Same thing applies if you're a copywriter. Maybe you just focus on financial writing but you get a request for some form of technical writing. If that's something not up your alley, be willing to refer that person to someone in your network who can handle that.
What got me thinking about this topic was the following e-mail I received from a copywriter. This is how not to approach a potential creative partner:
This person was referring to my main business website... the one that says "Direct Market Layout and Design." In fact, one line of copy on my site reads, "If you're in need of a writer, I can put you in touch with someone who will handle your copywriting needs."
So based on the e-mail and apparent visit to my website, I was curious how she got the impression I was a "top copywriter."
I can only guess, but the e-mail comes across as a form letter sent to people without much research into whether they're copywriters to begin with much less "top copywriters."
My intent here isn't to mock anyone, but to point out what can result in this sort of approach. I can only tell you how I felt about this, but I'm guessing I'm not alone. The e-mail didn't inspire me to want to work with this person. Fair or not, I'm doubting her ability to write great copy and put in the research that goes into great copy when she didn't really do much research into me and my business before contacting me.
And I really have no idea if she's only looking for copywriters, or was also looking for designers but forgot to change the copy in her e-mail to reflect that.
Let me give you what I think is a better approach if you're going to blindly solicit for creative partners.
1. Be clear in your own mind on why you're contacting people. Are you just desperate for work and hoping someone will throw some scraps you're way? Or are you genuinely trying to create a network that will benefit everyone involved?
2. Be clear in what you're looking for. Say you're designer and you're looking to connect with copywriters. Based on your own work, what types of copywriters might your clients have a need for? If you're working on magalogs, you may want to meet health and financial writers since that they are two of the biggest fields that use magalogs.
3. When you find a potential partner, take the time to really look at their work and read what they say on their site. Is this someone who, at least on the surface, appears like someone who has the skills they claim to have?
4. When you do make contact, refer to specific things they said on their site and work they've done. That shows you're paying attention.
5. Be clear to them why you're making contact. Understand that this person may have contacts who do the same thing you do. But extend the offer for them to look at your work or ask any questions they might have. You might also mention that they're under no obligation to respond.
That's just my ideas for a proper way to approach this. You might have a better way or do things slightly different.
The main point I want to get across is that with just a little extra time, you could be approaching someone as a professional yourself, and not someone who is blindly contacting everyone in sight. Not only does that usually fail to gain you anything, it can actually hurt your business and how potential partners perceive you.
Just as important, if you're a designer, find ways to meet designers who do what you don't do. For example, I don't do logos, but I have had requests for logo work in the past. Rather than simply say, "Sorry, I don't do that," I'd prefer to refer the person to someone who does do logo work... someone I know and trust. (Or maybe you take the job but outsource the work to someone you know while collecting a project management fee.)
Same thing applies if you're a copywriter. Maybe you just focus on financial writing but you get a request for some form of technical writing. If that's something not up your alley, be willing to refer that person to someone in your network who can handle that.
What got me thinking about this topic was the following e-mail I received from a copywriter. This is how not to approach a potential creative partner:
"I was impressed by your website, and I'd like to work with top copywriters like you to create direct mail control packages. Please take a minute to visit my new [...] website."
This person was referring to my main business website... the one that says "Direct Market Layout and Design." In fact, one line of copy on my site reads, "If you're in need of a writer, I can put you in touch with someone who will handle your copywriting needs."
So based on the e-mail and apparent visit to my website, I was curious how she got the impression I was a "top copywriter."
I can only guess, but the e-mail comes across as a form letter sent to people without much research into whether they're copywriters to begin with much less "top copywriters."
My intent here isn't to mock anyone, but to point out what can result in this sort of approach. I can only tell you how I felt about this, but I'm guessing I'm not alone. The e-mail didn't inspire me to want to work with this person. Fair or not, I'm doubting her ability to write great copy and put in the research that goes into great copy when she didn't really do much research into me and my business before contacting me.
And I really have no idea if she's only looking for copywriters, or was also looking for designers but forgot to change the copy in her e-mail to reflect that.
Let me give you what I think is a better approach if you're going to blindly solicit for creative partners.
1. Be clear in your own mind on why you're contacting people. Are you just desperate for work and hoping someone will throw some scraps you're way? Or are you genuinely trying to create a network that will benefit everyone involved?
2. Be clear in what you're looking for. Say you're designer and you're looking to connect with copywriters. Based on your own work, what types of copywriters might your clients have a need for? If you're working on magalogs, you may want to meet health and financial writers since that they are two of the biggest fields that use magalogs.
3. When you find a potential partner, take the time to really look at their work and read what they say on their site. Is this someone who, at least on the surface, appears like someone who has the skills they claim to have?
4. When you do make contact, refer to specific things they said on their site and work they've done. That shows you're paying attention.
5. Be clear to them why you're making contact. Understand that this person may have contacts who do the same thing you do. But extend the offer for them to look at your work or ask any questions they might have. You might also mention that they're under no obligation to respond.
That's just my ideas for a proper way to approach this. You might have a better way or do things slightly different.
The main point I want to get across is that with just a little extra time, you could be approaching someone as a professional yourself, and not someone who is blindly contacting everyone in sight. Not only does that usually fail to gain you anything, it can actually hurt your business and how potential partners perceive you.
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