quick tips for anyone looking to hire a freelancer:

1. point to a piece of theirs you like, especially if it's what made you reach out and ESPECIALLY if it's relevant to the gig you're trying to hire them for.

this shows you care about their work, you've done your research, AND you're not just sending a form email to 1000 artists you yoinked from a database without paying any mind to the content of their work and what they're looking to get hired for.

as an artist, it also tells me how people find my work, which is incredibly valuable. and it makes me take your email more seriously because i can tell it's coming from someone who's familiar with what i make and what i want to make.

2. i'm not going to say not to reach out to an artist you like with a project that may not fit, because we all need money. we all take jobs that maybe aren't what we want to make forever but that pay bills that need paying.

but if you're reaching out to someone with a project that's pretty far out of their wheelhouse, acknowledging that goes a long way. it tells us "i want to give you work, and i know this isn't the best fit for you but it's what i have right now and i think you'd do a good job."

ymmv on that. but, for example, i by and large make SFF. i'll make other stuff if i need to, sure. but there's something frustrating in being approached w/ something about real life "queer issues" without that prospective client acknowledging that's not at all what i make

and i can't speak to this personally but i know a lot of Black freelancers who are really fed up with making SFF or action/adventure or horror and being approached for jobs about Black history or other "issues" stories that are nothing like their body of work.

when you actually try to match an artist, esp a marginalized artist, to the gig it shows us you care even the tiniest bit about what we make and what we want to make, not just the identity boxes you're looking to tick so you can feel good about contracting us

3. please just tell the artist your budget up front if you have one, or at least ballpark it, i truly hate this back and forth and getting ghosted when i ask how much money a prospective client is able to pay me

4. if there's something specific you have in mind for a piece: please say so! whether it's a style or palette similar to something else we've made, or a pinterest/mood board to give us an idea of the aesthetic you're looking for, it makes our lives so much easier.

if you want an artist to just go wild with a concept, that's awesome (as long as you're prepared to actually let them go wild with it). but if you have something in mind it's better to just tell us and save us both the work of doing rounds of revisions after the fact.

personally, i'm a visual person. i would bet a lot of artists are also visual people. pictures are the easiest way to get across to me the vibe you're looking for (or for me to get a vibe across to others).