How to Get Professional Graphics for Your Small Business

As a small business, leaving a lasting impression is crucial. And so you need to get your hands on striking graphics. But here’s the crux: you’re likely dealing with a limited budget. Before you hit the DIY road of design (that could potentially hurt your business), consider investing in professional graphic design.

Small business design is tricky. On the one hand, it’s vital to boost your business, which only the best graphic design will do. On the other hand, you don’t have a solid income yet, let alone a sizable marketing budget.

So, what should you do? Try your luck and design your own graphics, or find a graphic designer to outsource your graphic design services needs? There are numerous options; we’ll go over them so that, ultimately, you can decide what fits your business.

As a small business owner, you have to wear many hats, and how you spend your time and money are careful decisions to be made. So first, let’s go over why stunning graphics are so important.

What graphics can do for your small business

Does the single thought of how to find a graphic designer feel daunting? Don’t worry; with everything coming at you as a small business owner, that’s completely normal. But before you consider increasing your operation’s headcount, let’s look at what graphics can do for your business.

Knowing the added benefits of striking graphics will help you gain confidence and get you excited about revamping your business’s looks.

The CTA form above is an example by one of ManyPixels’ designers of how to spur sentiment from your audience and get them to perform an action.

Additionally, you skip the rookie design mistakes and protect your business from any copyright infringements with unique graphics.

1. Invest in graphics to save time and money

If you decide to invest in professional graphic designs, it will save you time and money in the long run. Before you think this sounds too good to be true, stick with us here.

Investing in small business design lays a foundation you can fall back on. You receive professional graphics that are timeless, scalable, and attention-grabbing. Think of a template for a social media post you can adjust, or a digital advertisement people will actually click on. Like the versatile advertisement below that one of ManyPixels’ designers created.

2. Stand out from the crowd

Picture this: you’re meeting 100 potential buyers face-to-face, and you only have a split second of your time. You wouldn’t think twice about spending effort on how you look, what you’ll have to say, and how you’ll convey this message, right? Dressing up your brand to look presentable to potential customers online should likewise be a no-brainer.

Scroll-stopping graphics will help you stand out from the vast mound of brands you’re competing with.

3. Transform your business into a brand

The way your business is perceived depends on your graphics. You need high-quality, consistent visuals that fit your target audience.

Your small business design holds power to turn your business into an established brand. By visually communicating who you are and what you’re all about, you’ll form a connection with your customers.

High-quality visuals will make you look professional and win over the trust of your audience. Consistent use of high-quality graphics will promote recognizability among your audience and keep them engaged.

4. Amp up your conversion rate

Striking visuals will stop potential customers in their tracks and give you a glimpse of attention. But what you really need is that final conversion. The purchase, the sign-up, or the download. Newsflash! Good graphic design will amp up your conversion rate.

Graphic design is more than just a flashy advertisement that gets people on your landing page. Add stellar user interface design to the mix, and watch your conversion rate skyrocket.

Good graphics will efficiently guide visitors towards a conversion. They can subtly manipulate consumers’ emotions and communicate to persuade people to pick your brand over others. It’s been proven that emotions drive purchases. Don’t miss out on the chance to evoke those emotions with potent design.

Tips on how to find a graphic designer

By now, you know that professional graphic design can transform your small business into an established brand. In this day and age, creating designs with free software and stock photos just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Before we look into different ways to outsource graphic design services, let’s go over some tips to find a graphic designer that suits your needs.

• Spy on your competition - Delve through their website, social accounts, business cards, etc. This will help you establish your needs, making it much easier to find a designer specializing in those specific graphic design services.
• Establish a purpose - What do you want to accomplish with the design? It will play a massive role in your communication, so while you may not know exactly what everything should look like, you should know what you want your designs to accomplish.
• Learn the basics - You don’t have to get a degree in design, but it does help if you know basic principles and the differences between various graphic design services.
• Get inspired - Platforms such as Behance or Dribbble offer a peek into designer portfolios. While your designer can whip up anything from scratch, it’s always good to add some inspiration to your design brief. What do you like, and perhaps more importantly, dislike?

Where to find graphic designers

Once you get the gist of what you like, dislike, want, and need, it’s time to find a graphic designer. You have an array of options when it comes to collaborating with a designer:

In-house graphic designer

With a graphic designer being an integral part of your business’s success, you may instantly think of hiring an in-house graphic designer.

Adding manpower to your operation will give a sense of security; after all, your designer is solely focused on your brand and knows all the ins and outs. That all sounds great until you find out the average salary of a graphic designer.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual wage of a full-time graphic designer is nearly $60,000.

Additionally, an in-house graphic designer comes with a lot of overhead costs, which you might not be able to afford as a small business. Therefore, hiring an in-house designer might not always be the best solution.

Freelance graphic designer

Freelancers are independents earning wages on a per-job or per-task basis, usually for short-term work. Hiring a freelance designer means you’ll have someone work flexible hours without taking up additional office space.

A whopping 90% of designers work in the field of freelance graphic design (IBISWorld). So when it comes to finding a freelancer, you’ll never have to look very long. However, spotting the best candidate and deciding on pricing is a different story.

Freelancers are often an affordable short-term option, and with the big pool available, you’ll have no trouble finding versatile skills. In the long term, freelancers can become quite expensive. On top of that, managing freelancers is time-consuming.

Design agency

A third option is hiring a design agency. These agencies take away the hassle of managing designers, don’t take up office space, and offer a wealth of knowledge and skills. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a premium service like this comes with a premium price.

Design agencies are most likely not a viable option for any small business. It’s expensive, whether you have short-term projects or long-term design needs.

Subscription-based graphic design

We saved the best for last, as in our humble opinion, this is the best option for small businesses. Subscription-based graphic design offers graphics for a flat monthly fee.

This service model allows you to get design on an ongoing basis instead of per project. And that allows you to get a steady stream of high-quality graphics without fluctuating costs.

Subscription-based graphic design is an alternative way to get your hands on graphic design and is often more affordable than other outsourcing options.

The best option for small business design

While you can find self-proclaimed designers in every nook and cranny of the internet, it’s important to know where to find graphic designers that suit your business best.

We already gave away that we think subscription-based graphic design is the best fit for small businesses. One of those subscription-based services is us, ManyPixels. Here’s why we think your small business and one of our plans are a match made in design heaven:

• Predictable costs - Instead of surprising you with a hiked-up bill, you pay a flat monthly fee. Each month, you know what you’ll spend on design, which makes financial planning a lot easier. Look at our plans to see which one suits your needs best here.
• Unlimited design - We allow you to submit as many design requests as you like. Especially when you’re starting out, you’ll need a lot of graphics: a logo, your website, socials, etc. Imagine getting them all sorted for a fixed price without haggling about each graphic design service individually. Sounds pretty good, hey?
• Versatile skills - Here at ManyPixels, we have a team of professional designers skilled in various fields of design. This means you have access to an array of graphic design services without paying a dime extra.
• High-quality graphics - We have an extensive quality control process in place and vet our designers so that you don’t have to. When you opt for one of our plans, you’ll work with skilled and professional designers only.
• Fast and easy - Signing up is done in a couple of minutes. There is no need to conduct multiple interviews, go through portfolios, or spend valued time on administration tasks.
• Scalable - Of course, your need for striking graphics differs over time. That’s why we offer you the option to scale up or down in our plans every month.

Final thoughts

As a small business owner, you’re juggling multiple tasks. A lot is thrown at you at once, and deciding how you spend your time and money can make or break your business.

Good graphic design is crucial to boost your success and transform your small business into an established brand.

Luckily, a limited budget isn’t a deal-breaker anymore when it comes to getting your hands on striking design. Joining forces with a subscription-based design service like ManyPixels doesn’t just mean having professionals creating graphics for you. It means access to unlimited design for a fixed monthly fee.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Book a demo call with us for a platform walkthrough and pick the most suitable plan for you with the help of one of our representatives!