Pitching a new service to your clients is never easy, regardless of how compelling you perceive the case to be. When the service is email marketing, there's an additional twist—often your introductory conversation will not so much consist of explaining what it is ('a compelling way to get in touch with your customers'), but deconstructing what it isn't ('spam'). So, how do you bring your clients around to seeing the value in email marketing? What can you charge for? Perhaps most importantly, what's in it for the designer? In this article, we'll go through some of the core selling points you can pitch to your clients and the range of services that you can offer.

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To me, there is nothing like the feeling of running your own freelance business. It’s one of the most rewarding —and most challenging—things I have ever accomplished. I spent the majority of my design career working full-time as a Creative Director for a publishing company while running my freelance business on the side. A few years ago, I left to start a business with a partner who was a friend. I ended up leaving that business after one year because of some unexpected issues that arose. My wife and I were expecting our first daughter at the time and I was fortunate to return to my previous employer and soon to my former position. That was a tremendous learning experience, however, that made me much stronger and wiser. I resolved that the next time, I would only go into business for myself and I would be much better prepared for success.

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This is part 2 of a 4 part series that looks at dif­fer­ent approaches to free­lanc­ing and which one may be best for your sit­u­a­tion. In part 1 of this series, we dis­cussed work­ing full-time while free­lanc­ing. Work a part-time job while freelancing The pros: I call this the ‘hybrid solution’—working a part-time job while free­lanc­ing full-time. [...]

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