Shaun Crowley (bio)

Why marketing communications?
Freelance designers working in the marketing communications arena tend to enjoy more on-going work than those who support in-house design studios.

Generally speaking, outsourcing is becoming more commonplace in marketing departments than in any other aspect of business. This is especially true of the biggest companies.

There are several reasons why this is happening:

 Promotions designers don’t usually specialize in any one industry sector. This means it’s often unnecessary for marketing departments to have in-house design teams.

 Marketers tend to work on shorter projects than manufacturers and publishers. As a result, marketers prefer the flexibility and responsiveness of freelance designers.

 Marketing collateral can range from brochures, websites, to point-of-sale. This means marketers need a variety of specialized skills for certain jobs, which are best found in freelancers.

 Marketers need to keep their marketing materials new and attention-grabbing. This requires a variety of fresh creative input, as opposed to using the same in-house team on a day-to-day basis.

 Promotional activity usually fluctuates throughout the year. In many industries there are defined promotional seasons. This means in-house designers only add value to the business at certain times of year. Freelancers can be called in when needed, saving the business money.

As a result, most marketing departments are constantly on the look-out for new freelance designers, especially those who specialize in certain aspects of promotional design.

So if you focus your prospecting on marketing departments (instead of in-house design units) you’re likely to get more appointments and fewer rejections.

Marketing departments tend to pay the highest fees too. That's because, generally speaking, manufacturers and publishers work to tighter budgets than marketers. Since results are based on sales, and front-line promotion often translates directly into sales, it is not surprising that most directors invest more (or rather, are less likely to cut pre-set budgets) in sales and marketing.

This all means higher paid work for you.

Obviously, there are exceptions. The technology and financial sectors offer well-paid work outside the marketing arena. At the same time, clients working in these sectors are unlikely to provide the consistency of work that marketing executives offer.

If you do not already specialize in designing marketing collateral, visit this blog next week as I reveal ten traits that I look for in publicity designers.

Shaun Crowley has worked as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant. He currently works as a communications manager for a major UK publishing company and is the author of The Freelance Designer's Self-Marketing Handbook and 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists.

© Shaun Crowley 2006