Some suggestions on contacting people on Dribbble:<p>1) They probably are busy, especially the good ones. A lot, if not most, of the requests I get from Dribbble are from people who need someone <i>yesterday</i>. I mark myself as "hireable" even though I work a full-time job in case someone comes to me with a project I'd really like to take on, but even if I were freelancing entirely, I'd probably have other projects on the docket that yours would need to wait for. While I realize sometimes you can't help when you need someone, I can't with good conscious take on a new project right away that's expecting an equally quick turnaround time.<p>2) I've gotten messages that have said anything from "Hi I'm so-and-so, and I saw your portfolio and wanted you to make me a website. Please give me your rates," to the way it <i>should</i> be done:<p>"Hi, I'm so & so with Project X and I am looking for a UI designer to do some visual work on our website with HTML/CSS. At Project X, we're _mission statement_ and I believe your skillset would really amplify our appeal. We have this project scheduled to start in a month, lasting 3 months with the possibility of contract-to-hire. You would have the ability to work from home or in our beautiful office downtown. Reach me at _contact details_ in the next two weeks if this is something you're interested in. Thanks!"<p>The latter a) tells me who you are and what you do, b) tells me exactly the work I'd be doing, and where I can do it c) gives me a little ego boost, d) sets hard project dates and future possibilities, e) gives me a deadline by which I have to reach you so that you're not waiting and wondering.<p>The former forces me to take time to Google you, your company, your mission statements and your products so that I can get an idea of what I can do for you. I also don't gather anything from "make me a website" - do you need PSDs? Do you need a designer and a front-end dev? Do you even know what you need? And ..<p>3) Also never assume a designer has "rates" outside of any designer-as-consultant fees. Every project is so different and designers wear so many hats, it's pointless to try to put something in stone. You have a budget, tell them how they fit into it.