How to Make More Money in Web Design

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Are You Losing Money Trying to Be Everything to Everybody?

I have 100% been guilty of this. When I first started marketing my services, I had a shotgun blast of an offer hoping potential clients would pick up on something and get in touch with me.

The problem?

It reeks of desperation. And, clients don’t want a desperate developer.

The more you try to be everything to everybody, the more you’ll be nothing to nobody. Potential clients won’t really know what your strengths are and what your core offer is.

And, they’ll know you’re not a master of everything.

So, instead of trying to be good at everything…

Pick One Thing and Be Great At It

I’m a WordPress developer. More specifically, I’m really good and working with WishList Member and building membership sites.

I could talk for days on what a successful membership design looks like. I have oodles of testimonials and portfolio items to show a client if need be.

I have a mega-ton of credibility as a developer of membership sites.

So, why market myself as anything else?

You should do the same.

You’ll be happier. Your clients will be happier. And, you’ll make more money in web design!

How to Figure Out What to Be Great At?

Of course, you may not know what your core offer is, yet. That’s okay… it’s easy to figure out. Your core offer is at the nexus of vision, passion, and talent. That is, it’s the one or two things you have perspective on (vision), you’re super passionate about, and you’re really good at doing.

If that’s not immediately clear to you…  then start taking on any project you can. You’ll figure out really quick what you HATE doing… and that’ll give you the clarity to see what you LOVE doing.

Did This Suck?

What did you think of this episode of John Morris TV? Did it suck? Want more? Let me know so I know what kind of content you want more. Leave a comment or like the video to let me know you liked it!

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John Morris

JOHN MORRIS

I’m a 15-year veteran of freelance web development. I’ve worked with bestselling authors and average Joe’s next door. These days, I focus on helping other freelancers build their freelance business and their lifestyles.

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Jeslyn

    Very significant ways specified through that video!! I'm quite pleased to learn how to make money in web design and I'm looking forward to follow such complicated ways to make money through web design. Thanks.

  2. Richard dale

    A lot of truth in what you say I think I have reached a similar cross roads and need to start making some decisions.

    1. John Morris

      Yeah, it seems tough… because you worry about business declining, but in my experience I had the opposite happen.

  3. Deonna

    This was very informative, thank you!

  4. Lizel Wrighte

    Guilty! I'd never realize that what I'm doing is wrong if I haven't read this. Thank you so much, John!

  5. C Rahul

    I’d rather say,”You must market yourself in a more client-specific manner”. I’d prefer an individual to mod his/her skill description according to his/her target client. This would not decrease the number of clients he/she targets in any manner .The scenario that you’re talking of might be working out in places like where you have your clients ,but here back in India ,where there are a lots of web based startups taking birth (freelance developers won’t get any better clients in their rapport-building stage) ,the clients themselves are confused about what they want ,so they need an all-in-one guy ,for various reasons ,and one of the major reason being the cost factor. Yeah but once you transcend this rapport-building stage ,things start falling into place ,and a more focused marketing approach does work out very well.
    Adaptability is a great factor that comes into play here ,because of the diversity of needs that a client asks for and that too expects it at low costs.
    Talking of being good at some particular thing ,I find that to be a valuable piece of suggestion ,it keeps you focused and thus increases your productivity ,it channelizes your efforts ,making you more efficient.
    But ,when it comes to marketing one-self ,its a completely different ball-game.

    1. John Morris

      I’ll disagree with you for a few reasons.

      First, I don’t think location should be any sort of limitation. I work with clients from all over the world… very few of whom even know where I live… let alone care. I don’t see why someone living in India would somehow have a geographic limitation on the web. If you think you do, I think you’re thinking about it the wrong way.

      Second, the clients who don’t know what they want are the exact clients you avoid when you get specific. They’re also the clients you WANT to avoid. There’s a whole ton of clients out there who know exactly what they want and they’re much easier to work and pay better.

      Certainly, you have to choose a specific market that can sustain you business-wise. But, I would argue for an individual (and that’s who I’m speaking to) you’d be hard-pressed to find a niche on the web that couldn’t sustain you. The world-wide nature of the web almost guarantees that.

      As for marketing yourself, I’ll just speak to my own experience. For my specific niche (membership site owners who use WishList Member)… I might be the only person in the world who can offer them the value proposition I’m capable of offering. Even other developers on our team don’t can’t offer what I can for various reason.

      Why in the world would I compete in any other niche? If I try to compete in a general PHP coder capacity… there’s TONS of coders who have lots more to offer. Same with the more specific niche of “WordPress”. But, step into the WishList Member niche and that’s my domain.

      So, sure I could probably get clients in those other niches… but why? This market is big enough to sustain me and there’s nobody that can compete right now.

      Now, you might say… “well that’s unique for you and your situation”. And, that’s my point. I didn’t end up here by accident. And, I believe every coder can put themselves in that position if they think strategically and position themselves properly.

      So, what I’m saying is you should figure out the ONE thing you know you can be really great at… GET great at it… and become THE GUY/GIRL in that niche. When you do, you almost don’t even have to market. People just show up at your door, because of your reputation.

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