How Angela Got Her Favorite Design Client to See Her as a Brand Strategist
By Angela Ficorelli
How do I get my fav freelance design clients to see me as a brand strategist now that I finished the Brand Strategy Bootcamp?
This was a big question I had when finishing up the Bootcamp. I had one client that I loved working with. I knew they could really benefit from brand strategy, but how can I just all of a sudden go from charging $75 per hour to ask for thousands of dollars for strategy?!
My answer: cozy up with your favorite crocodile cause its gonna be a while. 🐊⏳
When I brought up how I could do brand strategy with them right as I finished the Bootcamp, they seemed startled by the jump in price, and didn’t think they really needed it. I get it though. One of them has an ad background, but more in the comms planning side (where to place ads), less on the creative end. And honestly, their business was doing really really well.
I maintained the relationship for the next 2 years, asked for $100/hr instead of $75 and only took on quick turn projects. Things like a delivery truck wrap, a few social graphics, a thank you card they can send out after a fundraiser they did for first responders.❤️ When they had bigger projects, I hired a junior freelance designer to do the work so I could keep the relationship but could still focus on my other brand strategy projects. (Sidenote, hiring freelancers is awesome!)
All this time, while I had them on the phone I was asking them questions, listening, mirroring, etc. I kinda became an advisor without realizing it. I was slowly repositioning myself in their eyes.
They kept feeling a little lost in their marketing, specifically social media (what do we put on social media, how do we make it less boring?!) They had some burning questions, and I sent them everything I knew! I sent them helpful stuff I saw other people share on social media:, Things like the marketing strategy frameworks, creative brief templates from Julian Cole, a social media marketing PDF that the Futur posted on LinkedIn, my own thoughts on social marketing and creating content. These clients are curious and smart and I figured, even if they don’t wanna pay for it yet, I still want them to be on the same page as me when it comes to strategy.
I didn’t make a job of educating them, I just shared good resources as I found them.
2 years later
I got this text earlier today:
Hi Angela, we would love your help creating a branding message strategy.
Is this something you could do?
✨✨✨✨✨
This is a client that ONLY saw me as a graphic artist. I just got off the phone with them. They want to work with me on creating a strategy for their messaging. They’re excited to identify a clear ideal client (instead of the generic: millennials), which was a huge missing piece. I can’t wait to help them and see how it goes. It’s not a full brand strategy rebrand or anything, but it’s filling in the gaps to get more out of their efforts. They also asked me to bill them for our call today cause they felt like they got so much value. (See why they are my favorite client?)
I don’t really wanna label this as a success or failure, but I wanted to share because I realized that I was much more comfortable providing value to an audience of 1. It didn’t feel fake, or overwhelming the way it feels when thinking about sharing ‘expertise’ on social media. It was worth the wait letting them come to me when they were ready.
Cheers!
Angela
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These are the types of topics we love talking about in the Brand Strategy Basecamp. If you’d like to join a community of other brand strategists (with all kinds of creative backgrounds) working to improve their process, click here to see if the Basecamp is the right fit for you!
About the author:
Angela helps creative business owners untangle their thoughts so they can have the clarity & confidence to take action on their big ideas. Connect with her here.