So you're thinking of signing up for an unlimited graphic design free trial, eh?

See if you like it or not before ponying up the bucks for an unlimited design subscription?

You've probably heard that most unlimited graphic design services allow you to test their services for free, and indeed they do. The big question is:

What should you be doing first when starting your trial & how to get the most out of it.

Luckily, this post covers exactly that.

Let's jump right in!

How to Maximise Your Unlimited Graphic Design Free Trial Success

It's no secret: Unlimited graphic design services are popping up everywhere.

They make it very easy for you to sign up for free for the first 7, 14 or 30 days.

The reality is, you often don't know what to expect. It can be hard to grasp what really happens once you popped in your credit card details - ka-ching.

Just remember, your goal for your free trial should always be to:

1. Evaluate the design submission & review process
2. See if the quality of the designs match your expectations
3. Understand how much of your own active involvement is required
4. Get to know the company & the team (it's a partnership)

You want to hit the ground running, especially when your trial is only for a couple of days.

And that's why you should always, always, always...

1) Schedule Your On-Boarding Call First

No matter if you're just exploring options or have already signed up for your unlimited graphic design free trial, you should ALWAYS chat with a real person about your expectations, goals & design projects.

It all boils down to understanding questions like:

• How do I submit design requests?
• What type of design requests are part of the scope?
• How to get the most out of the design service?
• What are the additional perks & benefits of signing up with said provider?

Remember, the better the relationship between you and your provider and the better the provider understands your needs, the better they can serve you.

The better they serve you, the better results you'll get.

Keep reading...

2) Make Sure You Understand Design Submission & Review Process

A free trial experience can be frustrating, but only if you don't know where to start.

Different providers use different project management tools to help you submit designs & communicate with the team.

Example: Here at Design Buffs, we work with SPP (Service Provider) that allows you to submit, track & manage all your tasks & communication in one place. This makes it super easy for you and streamlines the process.

Other providers might be using custom-built onboarding forms, SaaS or a combination of both.

So what's my point?

Your goal should not be to become a product expert in those tools. Instead, you should be focusing on learning how to submit designs early on.

Want a quick demo of how that might look like?

Here's a quick pre-recorded demo 👇

But that's not all...

Some providers also use tools like Slack to help clients collaborate in real-time with their designers.

Pro Tip: Decide which communication channel best works for your own needs and let your provider know.

You don't want to miss this next part...

3) Don't Go Crazy On Your First Design Request

Ease yourself into working with your own dedicated designer by requesting smaller design tasks.

For example, you might have that huge design project on your mind. Don't start with this first!

In fact, our own data shows that starting off with smaller design projects during your first days of unlimited graphic design free trial increases your chances of:

• Building a better relationship with the team & the designer
• Helping your designer to have an early success
• Helping you to get results faster!

And the latter is what you want!

But what design tasks should you submit?

Good question! Here are some example requests:

• Redesign our LinkedIn page cover
• Create a blog post header or illustration
• Design a poster for our upcoming conference
• Retouch this company photo from our last off-site

Starting off easy, you'll realize quickly that you'll get into the groove of working with the platform.

As your designer gets to know your brand, he or she will be able to really understand how your brand ticks, what's important for you and what your audience's taste looks like.

4) Be Very Concise in Your First Design Brief

Let me tell you something...

Writing an awesome design brief is hard. You need to communicate your ideas and goals in just a few sentences.

When first starting out, be as precise as possible. Especially in the beginning, you can expect more back and forth between you and your designer as you're getting to know each other.

The more concise your design brief is, the less back and forth there is and the quicker you can see your first drafts.

Over-communicating is key.

Last, but not least:

5) Trial Working With A Smaller Unlimited Graphic Design Service

If you're new to using unlimited graphic design services and even when you have gained some experience already, you'll benefit from testing out smaller players.

Smaller services allow you to work together on a more personal level with ongoing interaction and direct contact with the founder. They care about the results you'll get as they rely on your business.

These smaller services often have a better designer-client-ratio allowing you to get more designs done in less time.

Wrapping Up

It's no secret, there are plenty of options to test and try unlimited graphic design services:

Here are the key things to remember:

• Always schedule your free on-boarding or strategy call
• Ease into the free trial by submitting smaller design tasks
• Be very concise with your first design brief
• Bigger services are not always better. Smaller design services provide collaboration on a more personal level & often have better designer-client-ratios.

Ready to get started with unlimited graphic design?

Design Buffs is a month-by-month unlimited graphic design service. You tell us what designs & marketing assets you need and your request is dispatched to your personal designer. You get an update within one business day. Get your designer today.