🗞️ More frameworks like this—live, distilled, and in your inbox, sign up here: newsletter.uxplaybook.org
Posts by Chris from UX Playbook ⚡️
📌 Framework inspired by Alex Hormozi's $100M Leads.
4. Build a creative brief process
↳ Work happens without your input on every decision
Your job shifts from designer → operator.
2. Hire for the specific problem you have
↳ Not the generic role you think
3. Offer revenue share to attract serious talent
↳ Salary alone won't get you killers
↓
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟲 - 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
Not interns. Not potential. Experience.
Steps:
1. Write a 90-day scorecard before hiring
↳ What does success look like?
4. Add a second channel that complements your first
↳ LinkedIn working? Start a newsletter
5. Build one referral partnership with a complementary service
↳ Dev agency, brand studio, copywriter
Double down on what works. Experiment on the margins.
2. Document what's working now
↳ For your future team to replicate
3. Repurpose one post into 3 formats
↳ Written → carousel → short video
↓
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟱 → 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀, 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀
One platform is a liability. Remember Dribbble?
Steps:
1. Test one new audience segment
↳ Same service, different industry
5. Create a simple referral incentive
↳ "Refer a client, get $200 or a free audit"
Don't scale your outreach until referrals are consistent.
3. Stay in touch with past clients quarterly
↳ A quick check-in, not a sales pitch
4. Send a feedback survey after every project
↳ “What would've made this a 10/10?"
↓
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟰: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Referrals = trust checkpoint
No referrals = product isn't good enough yet
Steps:
1. Showcase client outcomes (with permission)
2. Implement one piece of feedback (every project)
3. Partner up & charge more
↳ Developer or copywriter
↳ Offer bundled services
4. Build a repeatable onboarding process
You need 1 less thing eating your hours, not a full team.
↓
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟯 → 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳
Hustling harder is not the answer.
Steps:
1. Hire a VA ($5-15/hr)
↳ Outsource scheduling, invoicing, comms
2. Write a "how I work" doc
↳ Stop re-explaining every project
3. Build one lead magnet
↳ A free checklist, audit template, case study PDF
This "feels like a lot" (and it is) so most designers skip this. That's why it works.
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟮: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟮𝟰/𝟳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁
Your portfolio doesn't work while you sleep. Content does.
Steps:
1. Post 3x/week on LinkedIn
↳ Process teardowns, hard lessons, etc.
2. Send 10 cold outreach messages per week
3. Update your LinkedIn headline to a specific outcome
↳ "I help SaaS startups reduce churn"
↳ Not "UX Designer + Figma lover"
One offer. One audience. One platform
𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟭: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗨𝗫
Tell people what you actually do.
Steps:
1. Post one piece of work publicly
2. DM 20 people:
↳ "I'm taking on freelance UX work, know anyone?"
6 levels to building a sustainable design business:
(the roadmap I wish I had)
what do you mean?
go on reddit, ig, threads, twitter. See what people talk about most
it depends on your skill sets
same principles, find their pain points and pitch a solution. I find that sending a quick video of you pitching works best.
having good design 😉
I send an email with discount for people, works pretty well
📌 Hosting bi-monthly UX livestreams about everything Craft and Career and, sign up to get the written recap live.uxplaybook.org
📺 For a better streaming experience, go to YouTube (recorded): youtube.com/live/dazTjoO...
If you've ever wondered how to get customers, clients, and projects…
This is that conversation.
📌 Drop your questions in the comments below: www.linkedin.com/events/marke...
🎙️ Join us live on Apr 22
Joining me is:
Wyatt Feaster, founder of BlockWalk app & Dug Dug Studios, specializing in marketplaces, e-commerce and insurance
Nik Zechner, founder of Grauberg, a design studio for AI startup
3 design founders.
1 uncomfortable question:
“How does marketing actually work?”
That's why I'm bringing on 2 design founders for a raw, unfiltered roundtable
We're getting into the weeds on:
1. Marketing strategy
2. LinkedIn — what drives clients
3. Newsletter — how to run one that converts
4. YouTube — worth it or not?
5. Misc — expt, failures, lessons
Marketing for designers isn't really taught. Nobody shares the details of the stuff that actually works.
→ How their newsletter converts
→ What content drives leads vs. likes
→ Is YouTube worth it (or a waste of time)?
→ What flopped, what worked, what they’d do differently