Comments on: Turning one-time design projects into continuous income machines

By: Plastic Pond

Plastic Pond — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:26:31 +0000

we like to make customized wedding invitations at home,”;

By: Jayden Thomas

Jayden Thomas — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:12:26 +0000

i do most wedding invitations on photoshop and also on MS Word~,’

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:39:30 +0000

Thanks Mike. Glad it was useful for you.

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:37:57 +0000

@Christina, Awesome! Sounds like a great bundle package! That’s another good idea—having one price for your original design and then lower updating rates, to encourage them to keep paying you. Thanks for the input Christina!

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:35:29 +0000

@Frequency Design, Yes, you’re absolutely right; selling your work on these online marketplaces comes nowhere near repaying the value of your creativity.

When you’ve already created something, would you say that it’s better to do nothing with your unused work or sell some of it for at least a little income? I guess from a purely business aspect it seems like it’s better to have some cash than none, but obviously there is more that goes into that decision than just the money. What are your thoughts?

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:30:04 +0000

@Alan, Great! Glad it was helpful to you.

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:29:21 +0000

@Design That Rocks, Thanks for your comment Craig. It’s true that existing relationships are great to invest in! Once you have that established trust with someone, it’s much easier than trying to build trust with a new client.

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:27:04 +0000

@Nicole Foster, That’s really interesting. I’ve heard that it’s hard to get into those sites. I’ve bought from them, but have never sold anything. Thanks for your perspective and good luck with Envato in the future.

By: J.M. Waters

J.M. Waters — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:40:48 +0000

Sometimes those of us just starting out need to see the “obvious,” thank you for your post. It has prompted me to think of ways to be proactive in designing “pre-client” also. I know of several areas I want to target, in which I do not yet have clients, and where I have yet to design even concept pieces to target them with. Time to get on the ball!

Well, again, thank you for the post. Keep up the great work!

By: Christina

Christina — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:18:31 +0000

I have been lucky with most clients. They seem to come in two’s for me. Someone will want me to build one for the company they work for or their organization and then another one for their personal business. Works out great! Plus, I offer reasonable updating prices so I have hourly work when I am not designing. I also create basic tutorials for Dreamweaver & Fireworks.
Great article!

By: Frequency Design

Frequency Design — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:36:04 +0000

I think selling your unused designs is a double-edged sword though. On one hand it’s great to create some extra revenue but in reality you are selling your creativity at bargain basement prices.

By: David Silva

David Silva — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:37:58 +0000

Good piece on passive income. This is something I need to start doing and working into my regular work flow.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:25:48 +0000

Great list and its certainly what im going to start doing. Will start producing my templates for sale on websites, as well as offering commission to previous clients for referrals, like said above.

By: Design That Rocks

Design That Rocks — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:52:47 +0000

Great guest article! Good job Leighton. All are very good tips and so often we overlook the obvious potential with existing clients.

By: Nicole Foster

Nicole Foster — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:45:23 +0000

Great article Leighton!

Personally, I have had no luck with ThemeForest and GraphicRiver approving my work. Each time I submit graphics or templates, I have been denied. I’m not blaming the Envato marketplaces, it just makes an obstacle for creating a passive income for myself.

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:05:13 +0000

@Ed Rooney, Awesome! Yeah, a small commission is a great way to motivate clients to refer you. It’s a win-win.

It’s good to hear how that strategy has worked for you Ed. Thanks for sharing!

By: Ed Rooney

Ed Rooney — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:07:33 +0000

As an incentive for referrals I offer my client a five percent referral fee for any new client I am able to sign because of their introduction. This has worked fabulously well with one client bringing me enough new work to pay for nearly half the cost of his next project!

By: Chris Rackley

Chris Rackley — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:35:28 +0000

Some good thoughts.

Yeah, I’m one of the jerks that says it’s not the best for design in general to sell a logo off to someone it wasn’t created for. But while it may not be in the purchasers best interest, it certainly is a great way to supplement your income as a designer.

Thanks, Leighton!

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:29:32 +0000

@Michal Kozak, Thanks Michal. What are the best ways you’ve found to sell your unused work?

By: Leighton Taylor

Leighton Taylor — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:28:24 +0000

@Federica Sibella, Great points Federica! Hosting sounds like a great way to maintain a long-term relationship and add some passive income.

By: Michal Kozak

Michal Kozak — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:11:18 +0000

Nice post. I couldn’t agree with “Sell your unused work” more.

By: Federica Sibella

Federica Sibella — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:21 +0000

Hi Leighton,
good points, well written. We usually manage the hosting for the websites we design and code, thus clients come back for renewal each year and sometimes ask for some more projects or for updates. Anyway up till now, the best sources of new project for us were: word-of-mouth from client to client and good relationships with freelancers from other fields (photographers and movie makers).