Which lead-generation strategies actually help creatives find clients—and which ones waste time, money, or energy?

In Part 2 of their lead-generation ranking, Steph and Ben blindly score another round of strategies from one to five. This time, they tackle cold email outreach, public speaking, physical mailers, YouTube, Instagram, online communities, RFPs, paid advertising, and more.

They also reveal the only strategy they both ranked a five: the Power 150, Steph’s system for developing and nurturing a value network. Because finding clients isn’t only about meeting more people—it’s about staying meaningfully connected to the people you already know.

Along the way, Steph and Ben share real examples of creatives landing five-figure retainers, publishing deals, branding projects, and other opportunities. They also explain why the effectiveness of any strategy depends on your craft, personality, strengths, budget, and the clients you want to reach.

In this episode:

• How physical mail can help your work stand out

• Why public speaking creates a captive audience

• How to make a cold email feel warm

• Which creative services are best suited to cold outreach

• Why cold emailing is difficult for brand designers

• The Power 150 and the value of staying top of mind

• How your existing relationships can create new opportunities

• The benefits—and risks—of inviting local prospects to lunch

• Why YouTube requires more than a talking-head video

• When responding to RFPs may be worthwhile

• Using online groups to generate leads without pitching

• Instagram versus YouTube for building relationships

• Why Steph and Ben strongly discourage paid ads for most creative service providers

• Which strategies they plan to use for their own new studio

There is no single perfect lead-generation strategy for every creative. The goal is to understand which methods fit your work, identify your natural advantages, and consistently take action instead of waiting for clients to appear.

Explore Maker Division and learn how to build a lead-generation system for your creative business:

https://www.makerdivision.com/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Ranking more ways to generate leads

01:49 Snail-mail outreach

12:43 Public speaking

20:42 Cold email outreach

25:11 Which creative services benefit from cold email?

28:54 Why cold outreach is difficult for branding

31:49 The Power 150

35:53 Start with the people who already know you

40:01 Inviting local prospects to lunch

47:32 YouTube

56:03 RFPs and requests for proposals

1:02:43 Press and podcast appearances

1:04:30 Online groups and communities

1:06:40 Instagram

1:09:22 Paid advertising

1:11:55 Which strategies will Steph and Ben actually use?

Which lead-generation strategies have worked for you—and which one will you try next? Let us know in the comments.

#LeadGeneration #CreativeBusiness #FindClients

Business has slowed down—but how are you marketing your creative business?

If the answer is “I’m not,” that may be the problem.

For this episode, Steph secretly filled a cocktail shaker with 15 ways to generate leads. Ben sees each method for the first time on camera, and they rate it from one to five based only on what has worked for them or people they know personally.

In part one, they tackle LinkedIn, local meetups, walk-ins, online marketplaces, conferences, and referrals. Some methods earn nearly identical scores. Others place Steph and Ben about as far apart as possible.

They discuss why generic thought leadership rarely attracts clients, how a $16 cake became a five-figure project, why trade conferences may be more valuable than creative conferences, and whether referrals should count as lead generation at all.

In this episode:

• Why creative businesses slow down when marketing stops

• How to use LinkedIn without joining the designer dog pile

• Why showing your work needs a clear point of view

• Networking events versus participating in a real community

• How interests outside work can generate unexpected opportunities

• The advantages and limitations of walking into local businesses

• How one creative turned a $16 cake into a five-figure project

• Why Upwork, Fiverr, and similar marketplaces are a race to the bottom

• When online marketplaces can still help pay the bills

• Creative conferences versus client-industry trade conferences

• How to choose events filled with buyers instead of competitors

• Why Steph doesn’t consider passive referrals lead generation

• How to intentionally engineer referrals from former clients

• Why difficult clients often refer more difficult clients

• Which methods Steph and Ben plan to use for their own studio

There is no single best way to find clients. The right method depends on your work, your market, your personality, and whether you need immediate revenue or relationships that develop over time. The important thing is to stop waiting for clients to appear and begin building a lead-generation practice you can sustain.

Get more lead-generation guidance in The Dispatch:

https://www.makerdivision.com/the-dispatch

Explore Maker Division:

https://www.makerdivision.com/

Which lead-generation method has brought you the best clients—and which one would you never try again? Tell us in the comments.

#LeadGeneration #CreativeBusiness #FreelanceDesigner

What turns a logo project into a professional branding process—and when does that process become too much?

In this episode, Steph and Ben trace the different paths shaping how they approach branding today. Ben’s first branding project involved endless logo options—and by the time he reached something close, the team had disbanded. Steph entered branding with contracts, client systems, discovery experience, and a one-logo solution that some clients still use today.

From $50 logos and four-hour discovery calls to mood boards, strategy, revision boundaries, and presentations, they unpack the lessons that transformed their work.

The central takeaway? A branding process should never be one-size-fits-all. Discovery needs to match the client, project, and budget. Strategy should support the creative execution. And presenting your work is often just as important as designing it.

They also explore what AI could change about branding—from research and production to entry-level design opportunities—and why human taste, perspective, and point of view may become more valuable than ever.

If this episode has you rethinking how you run branding projects, Project Branding was built for you. It’s our workshop on building, presenting, and selling brand identity projects—from discovery through the final presentation.

Join The Dispatch for the upcoming Project Branding announcement:

https://www.makerdivision.com/the-dispatch

CHAPTERS

00:00 Going deep into the branding process

01:49 Ben’s first branding project was a disaster

03:03 How Steph entered branding with systems in place

05:43 The one-logo solution

10:02 Learning to work directly with clients

13:49 The $50 logo years

19:58 Discovering proposals and a better sales process

21:06 The creative brief that changed Ben’s work

26:39 Learning from other designers’ processes

27:12 Build a process that fits your studio

29:03 Discovering strategic facilitation

32:34 When discovery becomes overkill

34:22 Scale discovery to the client and budget

37:01 Your clients aren’t obsessed with your process

39:23 Treat discovery like a toolbox

41:29 Can a client questionnaire actually work?

43:53 Matching the experience to the price

49:59 How long should a branding project take?

55:12 The free strategy session that went nowhere

56:27 Why strategy alone isn’t enough

58:36 Discovery should serve the creative execution

1:02:05 The most impactful process improvements

1:03:37 Translate your client’s words into visuals

1:05:37 Mood boards, concept suites, and brand worlds

1:07:37 Finding the insight nobody else noticed

1:10:23 Can you skip the mood board?

1:13:53 Contracts and revision boundaries

1:14:26 Why you need to present the work

1:18:20 AI and the future of branding

1:19:50 Where AI can improve the process

1:21:59 Why AI still has terrible taste

1:24:39 Let AI handle the work you hate

1:26:00 Using AI as a brainstorming partner

1:28:07 What happens to entry-level design work?

1:29:59 Taste may be your greatest advantage

Ready to dial in your branding process? Check out Project Branding - Maker Division’s workshop for building, presenting, and selling brand identity projects with a repeatable process from discovery through the final presentation:

https://www.makerdivision.com/birthday

#BrandingProcess #BrandIdentity #CreativeBusiness