Designing a website to offer design services as a freelance
How I have created an offer of online web design services, designed the branding and the website and implemented a digital marketing strategy.
Designing a website to offer design services as a freelance
How I have created an offer of online web design services, designed the branding and the website and implemented a digital marketing strategy.
WEB DESIGN
Role
Web & Graphic designer
Personal project
Year
2018
Tools
Illustrator | Photoshop | Indesign | WordPress | Elementor | Html | Css | Mailchimp | Google Analytics | Facebook Ads
Skills
Web design | Branding | Content strategy |Sales Funnels | Copywriting | Digital Marketing
Role
Web & Graphic designer
Personal Project
Year
2018
Tools
Illustrator | Photoshop | Indesign | WordPress | Elementor | Html | Css | Mailchimp | Google Analytics | Facebook Ads
Skills
Web design | Branding | Content strategy | Sales Funnels | Copywriting | Digital Marketing
SITUATION
I decided to make the most of my training and experience in web and graphic design and offer my services as a freelance.
The idea was to be able to offer the services online, 100% remotely.
I needed to find an audience that would be interested in receiving my services in this way and design an offer that meets their needs.
I focused on offering my services to professionals who decided to start their one-person online business.
THE RESULTS
I designed a range of web design and branding services for small businesses.
I searched for an audience interested in online design services, analyzed the competition and designed a service offer.
I created the visual identity and built the web
I designed the visual identity of the brand: logo, colors and fonts, illustrations, tone of voice. I built the website in WordPress and created content for the blog.
I launched a digital marketing strategy to get customers
I created a funnel starting with Facebook ads, offering a Lead Magnet on Landing Page and a series of emails on Mailchimp.
THE PROCESS
Ideation
After searching for an audience interested in design services, I decided to target the professionals who decided to start their one-person online business.
I analyzed the competition to see what kind of services they offer and where I could find my opportunity.
I created my Buyer Persona to know who I am designing the services for and how to communicate with them, both visually, as well as with contents and copywtiting.
The services
I decided to offer a Premium service:
- Visual identity design and web design
And two additional services:
- Web design
- Visual identity design
I also prepared a free Web Diagnostic service which I offered to capture and filter customers. It was part of the sales funnel.
Visual Identity
I started with the concept of a path, thinking that my Buyer Persona that I was addressing was in the situation where he/she wanted to start a new path, start a one-person business.
Illustrations
I have created all the illustrations and icons.
Web design
I designed responsive website in WordPress using the GeneratePress framework and Elementor visual editor. I customized some aspects with the HTML, CSS and PHP snippets.
I set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console and Seo on page.
I created a Blog where I wrote relevant articles for my audience.
You can visit the website here:
Digital Marketing
The idea was to offer services 100% remotely.
To achieve this, I needed a strategy of leads attraction and conversion.
I have created a Lead Magnet – an Ebook designed for my Buyer Persona with a guide of all necessary steps before hiring a web design service.
On the web I placed a Call to Action to download the free Ebook. There is a CTA in the Hero of the Home page and in a Banner in Footer.
Clicking on the button opens a Squeeze Page in a new window.
Funnel
To get qualified web traffic, I created Facebook ads that led to a Landing Page with relevant content and CTA banners to download the Lead Magnet.
After completing the form, the user received an Email to download the Ebook and as an extra gift a free 7-day Email Course.
From there, an automatic Mailchimp email campaign has started, which provided relevant content for the user. At the end of the email series I offered my free Diagnostic service.
In this way I could evaluate the client’s needs and if I could help them with my services, without making aggressive sales.
Conclusions
Starting this personal project was a great learning experience.
Although I already had training and experience in design, there were many aspects that were new to me and that I was learning on my own through tutorials, reading or attending online courses.
It was also a challenge to the willpower and resilience which are essential when one faces a job independently.
