Autocad Drafting Marketing Ideas?

14 replies
Okay. I have 20 years experience and a great full time job. I don't want to quit yet, so therefore cannot "sell" to my clients list from work. Newbie here who wants to draft out of my home. How do I get the word out to engineers and architects? By reading some of these posts, I can see a lot of talk on how to start a business if you have a product to sell, but not quite sure how to translate it into a service that one wants to sell. Any CAD heads or engineers out there with some wisdom to share? Thanks for reading!
#autocad #cad #drafting #ideas #marketing #microstation
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Google this
    freelance cad drawing

    Came up with some good results
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    • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
      You're all over the place today! You rock! Thanks again!
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      • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
        Matt,
        As an architect working alone out of my home, I have considered hiring a remote free-lancer to do some of my drafting.


        Actually, I REALLY WANT SOMEONE WHO'S GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY SO I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT CRAP ANYMORE!!!!

        But it's a scary proposition from my end.

        Paramount in any potential client's mind is your work, speed and cost. Now the latter is difficult to pin down and can only be accurately determined after evaluating it against the other two metrics, but you can demonstrate the quality of your work by posting some of it and maybe having a sample cad file available for download or via email. (If you do this, be sure to use an optin)

        A good site is a start. You can also use craigslist, ebay ads, etc.

        A word of warning on any promotion: DO NOT bill your services as architecture, architectural, or engineering available to the general public. This is illegal in every state if you are not licensed.

        You can, however, offer support services to relevant professionals. One way to completely avoid use of offending terms is to simply show samples. That way, the professional can see for himself if you can do what he needs.

        If you want to offer services to the general public, make sure that the scope of services comply with state law. Most states have categories of exempt projects that non-licensed individuals can do.

        Some may recommend guru.com, elance, etc, but I see little value there. There is no way that you can compete with overseas draftsmen charging a buck an hour... or less.

        Also look for relevant discussion forums to post in. If sigs are allowed, promote yourself in the sig. Be careful no to post blatant ads in non-advertising forums or subforums.

        Good luck.
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        • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
          Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

          Matt,
          As an architect working alone out of my home, I have considered hiring a remote free-lancer to do some of my drafting.


          Actually, I REALLY WANT SOMEONE WHO'S GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY SO I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT CRAP ANYMORE!!!! .....

          Thanks for the tips. Yes, I am not licenses in ANY state, and only want to do the drafting portion. I am gifted at residential design and Precast, but would never want to stamp anything, even if I could. I started looking at some sites online when the young lady before you told me to "google". I think I will do some tif files, set up a website (never done that, so it will be basic) and am more than willing to offer some CAD examples, too. I guess I just need to get moving. I would PM you, but can't yet. Feel free to contact me if you like. It is tough from both ends to find a good working relationship that is not too costly for each party. From the drafters standpoint, multiple "re-do's" can be costly, if not charging by the hour. I've been burned before, as I am sure you have by not having deadlines met reliably or shoddy work submitted for you to REDLINE, thus doing all the work for the drafter. Truth be told, I love what I do, so I think the money will follow eventually. Thanks !
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          • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
            Originally Posted by MattSteel View Post

            I think I will do some tif files,
            Please dont' use tiff's, they're a PITA.

            Just print to pdf for sample work.
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  • Profile picture of the author ElectricChili
    Not sure if this translates to Autocad, but I'm an Electrical Engineer in my day job. I'm always looking for tutorials on different tools I use for PCB layout, schematic capture, simulation, etc. Maybe you could offer tutorials and quick start guides to Autocad?

    Rich
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    • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
      Originally Posted by ElectricChili View Post

      Not sure if this translates to Autocad, but I'm an Electrical Engineer in my day job. I'm always looking for tutorials on different tools I use for PCB layout, schematic capture, simulation, etc. Maybe you could offer tutorials and quick start guides to Autocad?

      Rich
      I don't want to be too discouraging, but the web is completely saturated with that kind of content. I would suggest linking to solid content of that kind and ask for backlinks.

      One area that could use some good, affordable products is standard details, schedules, etc. I have a site that will one day include dwg's relevant to my content that I will sell, offer as free added value to separate from my competition, and/or use to build a list.

      I would also consider monetizing with adsense.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

        I don't want to be too discouraging, but the web is completely saturated with that kind of content. I would suggest linking to solid content of that kind and ask for backlinks.

        One area that could use some good, affordable products is standard details, schedules, etc. I have a site that will one day include dwg's relevant to my content that I will sell, offer as free added value to separate from my competition, and/or use to build a list.

        I would also consider monetizing with adsense.
        In a past life, I was a mechanical engineer for a small manufacturer. Got them started using Autocad. One of the biggest PITAs was balancing between production work and spending time setting up libraries to save time in the future. We'd have happily paid for custom libraries of drawing details.

        Another idea you might consider is providing working drawings for DIY remodelers - not technically 'architecture', to avoid licensing issues. More like seeing what works before they start knocking down walls.
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        • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          In a past life, I was a mechanical engineer for a small manufacturer. Got them started using Autocad. One of the biggest PITAs was balancing between production work and spending time setting up libraries to save time in the future. We'd have happily paid for custom libraries of drawing details.

          Another idea you might consider is providing working drawings for DIY remodelers - not technically 'architecture', to avoid licensing issues. More like seeing what works before they start knocking down walls.

          SW Fla, eh? I moved from Naples 2 years ago..and miss it! Libraries is a good one, too. My love is drafting though, but maybe I could offer those as an incentive (?) Thanks HH!
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      • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
        Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

        I don't want to be too discouraging, but the web is completely saturated with that kind of content. I would suggest linking to solid content of that kind and ask for backlinks.

        One area that could use some good, affordable products is standard details, schedules, etc. I have a site that will one day include dwg's relevant to my content that I will sell, offer as free added value to separate from my competition, and/or use to build a list.

        I would also consider monetizing with adsense.

        I thought about something similiar..predrawn house plans, but that is all over the net, too. Marketing is my weak point. Adsense, eh? I'll look into that. Thanks!
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    • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
      Originally Posted by ElectricChili View Post

      Not sure if this translates to Autocad, but I'm an Electrical Engineer in my day job. I'm always looking for tutorials on different tools I use for PCB layout, schematic capture, simulation, etc. Maybe you could offer tutorials and quick start guides to Autocad?

      Rich

      I thought about that. AutoCAD upgrades every year, and it can be tiresome spending all that time reseacrching the new commands. I'd have to think of a more concise way to do this than the tutorials I have seen in the past.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    Originally Posted by MattSteel View Post

    I don't want to quit yet, so therefore cannot "sell" to my clients list from work.
    You mean your employer's client list.

    Tread water carefully - even when you don't work there anymore - or you are going to open yourself up to potential litigation.

    One thing that surprises me are the number of current and former employees of a company who think they can contact the clients and cut a deal to work for them directly. This rarely works and often results in the client blowing the cover of the rogue employee, resulting in them being fired (or being sued or at least not getting a good future employment reference anymore).

    So just a heads up to cover yourself properly. In other words, don't do anything brazen like mention that you did their work while with Acme Steel and that you can come work for them directly now at a cheaper rate.
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    • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
      Originally Posted by DubDubDubDot View Post

      You mean your employer's client list.

      Tread water carefully - even when you don't work there anymore - or you are going to open yourself up to potential litigation.

      One thing that surprises me are the number of current and former employees of a company who think they can contact the clients and cut a deal to work for them directly. This rarely works and often results in the client blowing the cover of the rogue employee, resulting in them being fired (or being sued or at least not getting a good future employment reference anymore).

      So just a heads up to cover yourself properly. In other words, don't do anything brazen like mention that you did their work while with Acme Steel and that you can come work for them directly now at a cheaper rate.
      Thanks. I'm not that kind of guy. Seems kind of shady to me to take money away from the guy who is paying your salary. I like my current company. They've been good to me. I want to do it the "right" way by finding my own clients. "Do unto others..." and all that. Thanks for the warning though!
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  • Profile picture of the author MattSteel
    PITA? That sound bad. pdf's it is! Thanks again!
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