Eight reasons to use freelance creatives

If your business has been adversely affected by Covid-19 or the resulting economic shockwave, then the chances are that your competitors have been similarly affected. But with so many businesses all trying to rebuild, the race to recover could represent a threat in itself. For many, the key to success lies in an ability to think creatively, innovate, and deliver results – fast.

But hiring a big, full-service agency to help you achieve this (with their big, full-service fees) might feel risky – particularly right now. And how many of those services do you really need or want?

Working with independent, freelance creatives is a great solution – particularly while business is more uncertain. Here are just a few reasons why:

You can cherry-pick the expertise you need – when you need it

Freelancers often specialize, becoming experts in their area. They are also more flexible, agile and responsive than their counterparts in larger agencies – but without the overheads. Choose wisely, therefore, and you could get amazing value for money.

When you don’t need them, freelancers don’t cost you anything

There are no recruitment fees to pay, and no tax, National Insurance, holiday, or sick pay to fund. You only pay for the work the freelancer does.

You’ll brief projects directly to the designer who’ll be working on them

Being able to speak to a designer about your project, rather than run the gauntlet of briefing via Chinese Whispers (aka the Client Manager), takes a lot of the uncertainty away from the process. And you can be confident that your project won’t be passed onto someone less experienced, or qualified.

Freelance designers are particularly well-suited to help you innovate

If you’ve always suspected your processes or information are less than clear, then this is your opportunity to get an outsider’s view. Freelance designers are particularly useful for this because they also bring a problem-solving mentality to the table. Don’t be fooled, however: they are also remarkably quick at plugging into your business and becoming a part of your team.

You can tap into ideas and solutions from other industries

A freelancer’s expertise may be specific, but they often work across a broad spectrum of industries. This facilitates a unique ‘cross-pollination’ of ideas and solutions.

Your team is infinitely customizable

Work with creatives of your choice – on a project by project basis. Want to work with an illustrator with a unusual specialism? No problem. Prefer your copywriter to have had experience writing for a particular industry? There’ll be a freelancer a suit.

You only need to find one good creative to access a network of freelancers

Instead of needing to identify a whole range of specialists, simply tap into your designer’s network of contacts in complementary specialisms. This can save you a lot of time, effort, and risk.

There are no long-term contracts to negotiate – if you don't want to

Freelancers will happily work on a project-by-project basis. To guarantee time in your designer’s schedule, negotiate a retainer, where your designer works for you for a set number of hours each month – ideal if you have a recurring need for small amounts of design work.