One truly awesome thing about creating a blog or starting a business is that there are so many aspects of the process that you can do for yourself. If you follow enough tutorials, read enough books, and watch enough webinars, almost anything can be done on your own!
Figuring out how to DIY each part of your business can be an incredibly fun and rewarding experience, especially when you finally accomplish a task that you originally had no idea how to complete.
But not everybody thinks that learning how to do these things is fun. And not everybody has enough time. Or maybe you just can’t figure out that one super complicated thing that makes you want to tear your hair out. We’ve all been there!
That’s where the professionals come in. There a thousands of people available in almost every niche imaginable, who will do pretty much any job you could think of!
You Need a Graphic Designer for Some Stuff, Right?
Today, I specifically want to talk about graphic design professionals.
If you want to hire a graphic designer, there are a ton of them around who are willing to help you come up with a logo, graphics, and other aspects of the design of your brand. And they can range from quite inexpensive to thousands and thousands of dollars — how much you should spend depends on what type of business you have, what kind of design you require, and how much experience you want the professional to have.
I’m sure that there are some of you out there who think that if you want to be taken seriously and make money online, then you absolutely need to hire a graphic designer.
At the very least, you have to have a professionally designed logo, right?
Wrong.
Try DIYing It! Maybe You’ll Surprise Yourself
You might be surprised to learn that there are tons of successful entrepreneurs out there making money who haven’t shelled out for a single paid service!
For example, let’s hop over to Lizzie’s site, Wanderful World, and take a look.
Lizzie is a full-time blogger and freelance writer… and she’s done all of her graphic design herself! She is still able to showcase her work, advertise her services, and write amazing content for her blog even though *gasp* she’s never hired a graphic design professional.
Instead, Lizzie educated herself on the basics of graphic design and figured out how to create a pleasing website without breaking the bank. And she managed to have fun at the same time! She created her own logo, designs her own blog post graphics, and decided on her branding aesthetic, all without having to hire a graphic designer!
While her site might not look quite as fancy as something a professional could’ve created…it’s cute, clean, and does its job well! Plus, it didn’t cost the thousands of dollars that Lizzie might’ve spent if she hadn’t first attempted to do it herself.
It is 100% possible to create most of your website’s graphics by learning the fundamentals of design and experimenting with what you can come up with on your own.
That being said, it isn’t always the best idea to not hire a graphic designer for your business.
When It’s Actually Time to Hire a Graphic Designer
Are you a large company, uber-popular, or looking to gain a lot of leads all at once? At the very least, you should invest in a high-quality logo, as your site will look a lot more professional, and you will be thought of as more trustworthy by your audience.
Do you deal in marketing, or is marketing your business a large part of how you make money? Please strongly consider my advice to hire a graphic designer (or a branding specialist) to come up with a brand concept for your business. Branding is very important, especially when it comes to marketing. A professionally designed brand will look a lot more polished overall, and also helps make sure that you are giving off the right impression to your potential customers.
Have you been in business for a while now, or have lots of customers and are continuing to grow? Now might be the time to sit down and really think about whether it’s time to hire a graphic designer. Yes, it’s possible to create the things you need for yourself, but it will never look as professional as what a graphic designer could do, and it sounds like it’s time for you to start investing in your website in order to see even bigger results!
Are you REALLY bad at design, have absolutely no extra time, or just plain hate dealing with this stuff? Maybe you should hire a graphic designer! Or even a graphic design-focused virtual assistant. This doesn’t have to break the bank. If you’re truly on a budget, try looking for someone who has just started out and is looking to bulk up their portfolio.
Professionals can be great resources, but it’s important to be honest with yourself about whether you actually need to hire to a graphic designer for your blog or business at this time, especially if you do not have a ton of extra money to spend.
My personal recommendation would be to take some time to learn about the basic principles of graphic design (colors, spacing, shapes, etc.) and see if you can incorporate some of that knowledge into what you create for your website.
If you don’t have a lot of experience, try leaning towards a clean and fairly plain design. And ask your business friends for their opinion on your new style! You don’t want to overwhelm people, but eventually, as you become more confident in your skills, try adding in some more creative, bright, or unique aspects to your designs.
If creating blog post graphics, logos, and ads for your business is something that sounds like fun, try doing it for yourself before you bite the bullet and hire a graphic designer. You never know, your talent might surprise you! And anything you create yourself will always be more authentic than what a professional could do for you.
10 Steps To Go From Hours Of Code To Development-Free Design
