The exact words that helped Kate land a $13,000 illustration project
A real-life jobs board illustrator sharing how she got the gig? š Umm, yes please.
Hello, happy Friday! If youāre just wanting jobs injected directly into your eyeballs, then scroll right to the bottom of this email. There are loads.
In the meantimeā¦
Last week I got this day-brightening message from Kate in New York, over in that there USA.
I wanted to send a big THANK YOU because I ended up getting the job in NYC. The client was truly amazing and I am grateful for the lead. I could have paid your Substack fee 144.44 times* with the amount that I made.
*Kate is a yearly subscriber, so thatās 144 YEARS of jobs board paid for by one job. Thatās a record!! š¤£
Anyways. Kateās very generously offered these tips for fellow jobs board subscribers, in case it might help you land some jobs toooo.
The client told me they were considering two other people: one was a local agency I sometimes get contracted by, and the other was an independent illustrator with a big LinkedIn presence. It came down to style and how well weād fit.
Hereās what I think helped tip the decision in my favour:
1. Ask the right questions in your scoping call
I always like to ask āWho else is in the running?ā and āWhat would be my differentiator?ā
In this case, I also asked:
āAre there any foreseeable accessibility issues? If we do an engagement wall with participants writing feedback on stickies, can everyone participate? Or can we ensure people with limitations still get their ideas captured?ā
The client told me later that this question was one of the reasons they chose me.
2. Donāt just send a contract - walk through it with them!
Rather than emailing over a PDF and saying āLet me know,ā I make a point of going over the contract with them. I frame it as part of my āwhite gloveā service. I'm there to streamline the process and answer any questions straight away.
A brilliant piece of advice I heard once was: āDonāt let a prospect off the call without scheduling the next one.ā Thatās stuck with me, and itās helped so much with momentum.
That said, sometimes life gets in the way!
I recently landed a contract just by sending the PDF because I was tied up at another gig (in a different timezone), soā¦ always do your best, but donāt panic if itās not perfect every time.
3. Do a quick, informal debrief afterwards
After the event, I ask the client what went well and what couldāve been better. It doesnāt have to be long - even a 5-minute chat shows that you care about the relationship and want to keep improving.
In this case, it was during that debrief that they told me why they chose me:
Iād asked thoughtful questions about accessibility
I seemed like a natural fit with their team and culture
These little insights are gold.
Always ask.
4. Use the suggested budget range as a starting point
On the Jobs Board form, I put in the top suggested budget ($10,000) and then explained how I price.
We ended up at $13,000 to cover extra expenses.
Itās okay to start with the top of the range and then have a grown-up pricing conversation.ā
Hope this is helpful! So grateful for the leads from the Jobs Board - itās made a real difference to my business.
-Kate Covey
YES Kate thank you! On behalf of aaaall the jobs boarders.
Right.
What jobs have landed on the Illustrator Jobs Board in June?
I THOUGHT YOUāD NEVER ASK!
Here you go:
Live Illustration
Non-Live ānormalā Illustration
Animation
Have a great weekend.
x Katie
p.s ART CLUB is on tonight!
Cost: Ā£0.00
Date: 27th June (tonight! + another Art Clubās planned for next Friday, 4th July)
Time: 7 pm (UK time)
Location: Instagram Live on The Good Ship Illustrationās Instagram account
Why? If youāre missing just doing some drawing for fun (fun? what is that?) then Good Ship Art Club is juuuuust the thing. We started it in lockdown and it kept us almost-sane the whole time. Itās great. Yes, Iām biased.
At 7pm UK time, just tap on our profile picture when it glows and says āliveā underneath our faces.
Weāre also opening the doors to The Picture Book Course tonight. YAY!!!
Ok thatās us done. Byeeeee! xx
Really interesting ! I never thought of asking for feedback from clients. Iāve asked for reviews to put on my website (but rarely get them. They say theyāll do it but never do and I get tired of asking) but feedback is actually better, and indeed, it shows that you care!
This is so helpful! I wondered who landed this dream gigā¦.congrats Kate!!