Gigs!! How the bejezuss do I get em!

[GBBulldog]

Ok, I'm sure you've seen this like hundereds of times before, but I've been looking for work doing freelance Flash design for a few months now, and I've only managed one gig.
I've tried replying to posts on FK, through email with little response, and have tried using eLance, but it's difficult to get decent gigs even on there.
Basically, have any of you got some tips to help me get on in the freelancing game?
Cheers, me dears!

The Bulldog

[Pure_Morning]

look around for companies that have rubbsih web sites, usually little local businesses etc. find them and then say look I will do you a wicked site for x amount or whatever. Find local clubs and pubs and speak to them etc. etc. etc. just ask and ask and keep asking.

[GBBulldog]

That, my friend, is a spanking idea. Has this worked for anyone else?

[Napalm]

You'll annoy a few people along the way - but it works beautifully.

[iForgotMyPassword]

fcourse this has worked!!

you could even do it for free to fill up a portfolio which will look good when you offer it to your client in a later stadium....

remeber being a flash designer is something i can teach you in four days ......(manner of speaking)

being a good FLASH DEVELOPER is something you must learn through experience!!

it is very easy to draw a couple of lines that cross in just the right way.......

but how many people do you know that can blow you away with something that uses 4/5 lines and 300 lines of coding?? it is very hard o be competitive in a world that is moving so fast you hardly have time to use the techniques you learned yesterday!!

and what the world is beginning to ask for is a flash site that looks and feels like a conventional flash site and that can be used as a html site....... what i mean is within this and a year you shall be seeing a lot of companies beginng to offer huge databases in flash........

maybe yahoo will be the first...(according to a rumor i heard in a yahoo chat room....) ( i stress A RUMOR)

but to get back on the point of how to get clients.....

well try this.....

1. offer your services on every job site you can think off
2. offer your services to sites which you think might need a little (FACELIFT)
3. Go around your neighbourhood asking businesses if they would like to have a CUSTOM website built for them ....it would help if you could take some kind of example of your earlier work
4. it might sound silly..........FLYERS!!!! why not ?? offer your services to a lot more people by adversising in one way or another.......
5. be sure to watch out here at flashkit because there are many job offers in the job vacancies


ONE THING before you start CLEARLY make up for yourself how much you wish to earn .....

and ALLWAYS discuss the price with the client BEFORE you even touch them ivory keys of your sweet baby (keyboard)

and a contract is allways a very smart idea!!!

bye and good luck oooh yeah WELCOME TO FLASHKIT!!!!!

[flea]

http://www.elance.com
http://www.guru.com
http://www.monster.com

_ check out these sites _

[GBBulldog]

Thanks for the many ideas - I'm trowling through the local business webpages now and sending emails to the ones which are... well, pants.
I guess that as I start getting regular gigs my client base will grow.
Thanks again - Inspirational stuff!

[RLa777]

I took a day off and went cruising around looking for potential prospects, stopped a bussineses that I thought might want a web site, a lot of them said no and got one already, BUT you might hit 20 or 30 places and you might only get one that sounds positive. Any way yeah I got a hold of two jobs one was a power equpment co. they sold mowers cycles go carts etc. did a simple flash site with not much animation at all and charged him $300.00
The other was a very small car lot, matter of fact he sold cars in his front yard did a simple little 2 page for him and charded $150.00 due to his small site.
so yeah get out and get um!!!!!! flyers ads im paper, business cards and word of mouth. Good luck im still just starting too.