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11 Social Media Marketing Strategies That Drive Real Results

Tue, 06 May 2025 07:35:34 GMT

Cliché social media marketing strategies don’t work for small businesses.

If you don’t have enough followers or the content to promote, you won’t be able to leverage social media beyond your social networks.

But there are ways to grow your brand.

In this post, I’ll walk you through some tried and tested social media marketing strategies for small businesses.

Let’s start…

How to Create Social Media Marketing Strategies?

Don’t go headfirst with posting random staff.

Remember, we are talking about social media marketing strategies.

So start by strategizing stuff out:

Find Your Target Audience
Understand Different Social Media Channels
Look Out For Your Competitors

How do I do this?

I’m glad you asked.

Follow-through…

I. Find Your Target Audience

To put it in simple terms, your target audience includes the people whom you want to show your posts.

It depends on the kind of audience you have.

Ideally, I always recommend posting once every day on every platform. You can grow your followers by up to 56% by posting every day!

(You will read more about what you can post in the later points)

The important thing here is to choose a routine and stick with it. Always be consistent with your social media platforms.

2. Keep it Light

A unique brand voice helps humanize your brand. It gives people behind your posts permission to be people and forge a connection that keeps your followers invested.

Therefore, it is very essential to choose the right voice for your brand.

You can do this by examining the culture of your company and its audience.

A detailed study of your target audience that I earlier told you to do will come in handy here.

What gender is your target audience? What’s their age? You’ll be able to shape up your unique voice when you start taking these into consideration.

Basic rules to follow here are:

Avoid jargons
Stay away from clickbait words like ‘now’ or ‘today’
Keep it light and friendly
Use humor

People online don’t like to talk to machines. They are looking to connect with real people.

Humor is one of the most effective ways to connect with an audience, irrespective of their age or gender.

Plus, humorous content gets more shares and tags. That’s why all the big brands use it.

3. Use the Right Hashtags

Hashtags(#) are used for:

Promoting a post
Engaging with followers
Boosting marketing campaigns
Categorizing content
Finding and following trending topics

These hashtags are mostly used on Twitter and Instagram. Twitter allows you to use unlimited hashtags, but they should be under the general limit of characters in one tweet, i.e., 280 characters.

Instagram hashtags are the key to your visibility. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but make sure they are all relevant to your post.

Facebook and LinkedIn hashtags, however, behave very differently as they are not searchable. Also, on LinkedIn, hashtags don’t highlight as a blue clickable link, making them non-tagged keywords.

Focusing on Twitter and Instagram, you can use tools like Hashtagify.me and Tagsfinder to research the most relevant hashtags.

Some basic Dos and Don’ts of using hashtags are:

A. Avoid Hashtag Hijack

It involves using a hashtag that has absolutely nothing to do with what you are posting. This method is used for internet trolls and is mostly considered spam.

B. Don’t # Random Words

Think if someone would realistically search for that keyword or phrase that you are hashtagging. And even if they do, is it going to be in the same context?

For example, this post on Twitter has hashtags like gain and convert. People don’t search for these hashtags when they are looking for social media marketing tips.

About author

Pooja Verma

Hi, I'm Pooja, Marketing Manager at Digifloat. You’ll often find me brainstorming bold ideas, crafting clever copy, and obsessing over campaigns. Off the clock, I am lost in a book with bizarre snack combos that probably shouldn’t work but totally do. Connect with me on LinkedIn to chat more about marketing, design, and your TBR stack.

The last hashtag social media marketing is both relevant and useful.

C. Don’t Create Long Hashtags

#ItsHardToUnderstandReallyLongHashtags

Lengthy hashtags are complicated and difficult to understand. Short and sweet hashtags are more memorable, impactful, and easy to consume.

D. Use Trending Hashtags

Twitter has a whole section of ‘trending hashtags’. You can use these hashtags in your post to gain more visibility. But make sure your content and product are relatable to that hashtag.

4. Tag People & Companies

Tagging someone using @ is mentioning them in your post.

You must have tagged a friend on Facebook in a group photo. It’s just like that, but here you tag influencers or big brands.

Tagging on social media is a great way to give your posts more exposure and encourage engagement.

But don’t go about randomly tagging people. They might get annoyed and report your profile.

Here’s an idea of who you can tag:

Person or a brand featured in your photo
Person or a brand you are talking about in your caption
Other accounts that are relevant to your business, like some media outlet that shares user-generated content
The author of the quote you are sharing
Website or individual from whom you took the image
Person or a brand mentioned in the post you are sharing
Someone who inspired you to write a post

5. Use Good Quality Graphics

A major part of social media marketing depends on the graphics you use. While scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, nobody stops to read your content. It’s the image that grabs attention and makes people stop and read your content.

Now you need to put up great quality images that stand out from all the other images in your audience’s feed.

If you have the budget and resources, we highly recommend hiring a graphic designer, or at least a freelancer .

But you can also create social media graphics yourself.

All you need is a good design tool, some quality images, and a few creative post ideas.

Our top recommendation is Canva, but you can also check out some of its alternatives. And for images, we have a list of top places to get both royalty-free illustrations and stock images.

We prefer illustrations in our branding, and so do a lot of other brands like this:

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

Knowing who your target audience is and what they want will help you create content that they are more likely to engage with.

More engagement = More brand visibility

But the most common mistake here is making assumptions.

Rather, you’ll have to create an audience or buyer persona using social media analytics.

You can use built-in social media tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Instagram Insights, or third-party tools like Hootsuite .

You need to focus on answering the 5Ws and 1H here:

Who is your target audience? (age, gender, location)
What are they looking for? (entertainment, information, services)
Why are they looking for this type of content? (to get a job, to have fun, to earn money)
Where do they hang out online? (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
When do they hang out online? (Specific time like morning or night, or specific days like weekends or weekdays)
How do they like their content? (Videos, photos, long posts)

II. Understanding Social Media Channels

Not all social media networks are created equally.

For some business niches, Instagram is the powerhouse, some gain engagement on Facebook, and others get more pull on LinkedIn.

It is wiser to have a presence on every major platform, but you need to choose the ones to double down on.

You can do this by narrowing down the platforms that are most used by your target audience.

The majority of people between the age group of 13-50 are active on Facebook. However, it has seen a drop in traffic among its young audience. These teenagers and young adults are now found double-tapping on Instagram.

Twitter is also more preferred by youngsters. LinkedIn, however, has always favored those with professional careers between the age group of 25–35.

Ultimately, which platform you use will make a huge difference between your online success and failure on social media.

III. Lookout For Your Competitors

Hop on to your competitor’s social media pages, see what they are doing, and how it’s working out for them.

This will help you understand the market, better target customers, and forecast the market’s potential.

Look at the type of content they publish and how frequently they publish. Is there a specific platform they are more active on?

You don’t have to copy exactly what everyone is doing. You have to use this information to get started on the right foot.

For example, you can find out which social media platform is better for your business by examining which platform is most used by your competitors.

Most Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies

As I mentioned before, there are so many different strategies that work on social media. The ones you need to choose will depend on the size of your company, your niche, and your business goals.

The marketing strategies for real estate companies will be different than those for a law firm. Similarly, for a small or medium-sized company, the marketing strategies will aim at finding and engaging with the right audience.

If you do it correctly, you can easily acquire new customers through social media.

But what’s the correct way?

I’ve been hard at work figuring out social media marketing strategies for small businesses. The following strategies have been tried and tested on multiple startups and niche businesses:

11 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies

Post Regularly
Keep it Light
Use the Right Hashtags
Tag People & Companies
Use Good Quality Graphics
Post Videos
Post Engaging Content
Schedule Post on Best Times
Use Twitter Threads
Participate in LinkedIn & Facebook Groups
Hire an Expert

Let’s explore each of these in more detail…

1. Post Regularly

You might be amused by the fact that several studies have sought to answer the question of “How often to post on social media”. Every study has a varied result, proving that there are no right or wrong answers here.

If you post infrequently, your audience will forget that you exist, but if you post too often, you will become a nuisance and you will end up overcrowding their feed.

Most popular studies have come up with the following results:

Facebook: 1-2 posts per day
Twitter: 5-10 posts a day
Pinterest: 5-30 pins a day
LinkedIn: 20 posts per month
Instagram: 1-2 posts per day

These numbers can make any small business owner sweat.

Don’t worry, even we don’t feel these are the ideal numbers for you.

Truth be told, the actual number varies from business to business. For example, Nat Geo Travel posts an average of 6-7 times per day on Instagram, and they get an average of 195k likes per post at a 0.41% engagement rate.

On the other hand, brands like Adidas post an average of 1 time every week on Instagram, and they get an average of 142k likes per post at a 0.77% engagement rate.

A third and better option is to delegate the task of designing to Design Boss . We have a team of in-house designers that will deliver high-quality, custom-made social media graphics without breaking your bank. You won’t have to rely on templates ever! Just sign up , and we’ll have your first post live within 24 hours.

But whatever you choose, just make sure to follow these tips:

A. There are different ideal image sizes for different platforms. Make sure you edit your image to that size. You can also use the free tool Landscape from Sprout Social to resize your images.

Quick Reference to Image Size:

B. Keep the color scheme of all graphics consistent.
C. Keep the font type consistent.

6. Post Videos

Videos are driving the Internet today.

Every person who accesses the internet knows the power of video marketing.

But it’s not easy for a small business owner to leverage social media video marketing to grow their business.

If you are just starting out with your business, chances are you have one of the two following questions:

What videos to make?
How to make ’em?

Let me try to answer both of these questions.

Here are some realistic video ideas for you.

Testimonials – Even if you have only 2 or 3 clients, you can ask them to share their video testimony. Or you can make a short video compiling their written testimonies.

Product videos – If you are selling some products online, create videos of those products. Show how it looks, what its features are, and some variants if available.

How-to videos – How-to videos are the most searched for online. You can show how your products or services work in these videos.

Blog post – If you have started working on your blog pages, you can turn those blogs into videos.

About us – You can create a short video about the owners of your company and their inspiration behind the company.

You can always try and experiment with new ideas like Q&A, Announcement videos, or even live videos.

Now comes the harder question: how to make these videos?

You can hire a graphic designer if you are not on a budget, or you can try the DIY approach.

You’ll have to invest time in these videos to get them right. And you’ll also need some video creation tools like:

Headliner

This tool is the easiest way to create a video. You can create up to 10 HD videos using Headliner for free. It also transcribes the audio into captions or creates a video by simply uploading an article or an audio file.

Design Boss

Our design subscription gives you access to a team of skilled video editors. You can request unlimited videos, whether it’s a reel, explainer videos, ads, or animated promos. We’ll handle everything from editing to motion graphics, all tailored to your brand and delivered with a quick turnaround.

Loom

This is a free software for screen capturing and video recording. You can use this to create how-to videos about your services or website.

Biteable

You can create and export 5 videos for free on this video creation tool. It is a great tool for someone who is just starting out with videos, as it offers a variety of professional templates. You can create explainers for social media or even presentations using Biteable.

Using these tools, you can easily start creating videos for your social media platforms. Just make sure these videos are:

Entertaining or educating
Short and sweet
Attention-grabbing
Either sound less or have an attached caption

7. Post Engaging Content

Once you are sorted with the visuals, then comes the content or the caption for your post.

Visuals make a reader stop scrolling, but the text in your post makes them click. If you want someone to come to your website or your page, you need to have an engaging copy.

And producing engaging content isn’t easy. Many businesses have even agreed that it’s the most challenging aspect of their marketing campaigns.

It requires extra time and effort, but you can figure out ways to get it right.

It’s about being original and producing actionable content. Tell stories that capture the attention of your audience and make them think or take action.

Here again, a lot of small businesses are confused about what content to share.

Here are some ideas:

Blog Posts

A no-brainer! If you have a blog, start sharing it on your own social media platforms.

About Your Company

Who are you? Who are the owners? Why did you start the company? This type of content will allow your audience to better know your brand.

Industry News

Say you are in the shoe industry, and someone came up with a new idea like this one about 3D printed shoes. Post about this on your social media channels, ask your audience for their views, and set up a poll asking them if they would buy something like this or not.

Customer Reviews or Testimonials

Share what your clients say about you on your social media channels. You can also tag them on these posts, but ask them first.

Holiday Wishes

Make a calendar of all important days and events that happen throughout the year. Post wishes to show your festive spirit around these days.

Hiring Announcements

If you are looking to hire someone, announce it on your social media accounts. Or even if you have hired someone, you can send out a welcome post to let everyone know about your company’s culture.

Inspirational Quotes

It can be cheesy if you do it too much. But sometimes, it’s okay! You can use quotes from industry leaders that your audience will relate too.

8. Schedule Post on Best Times

It is essential to publish your posts at a specific time for your social media marketing strategies to work. This specific time is based on studies that have been conducted to determine at what time people use which platform.

Now, different industries such as technology, healthcare, travel and tourism, and education all have different peak times. There’s no study that can estimate the right time to post for everyone.

Also, the best time can often be the worst time for some businesses. For instance, a study says 7 PM on Wednesday is the best time to post on Facebook, and every brand pushes its content to its audience at this time. Now, on Facebook, 1,500 stories can appear on a person’s news feed. So now you’re essentially competing against at least 1,500 others. It’s highly likely that your post will be seen by your audience.

So, when should you post?

Go to your Insights tool; you’ll get a ton of data there. See what time your competitors publish their posts and how their content performs.

There should be a specific time at which they get maximum engagement. That will be the best time for you to post.

Ultimately, you’ll have to experiment with various times and days to figure out what works best for you.

You’ll have to schedule your posts at these specific times. On Facebook, you can directly schedule a post at any time of the day. But I always recommend using a third-party tool.

Two of my favorites are:

Re curPost

RecurPost is an online tool that allows you to automatically share your updates at the best time and increase your social media engagement every week.

You can add up to 3 social media accounts in their free plan. I recommend adding Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn here. It allows you to publish 10 daily posts per social account, which is enough for a small business.

You can switch to a paid account once you have a more established business.

Later

For Instagram, try Later ! It is one of the best marketing platforms with over 2 million users. You can create a free account, add one profile per social platform, and publish 30 posts per month per profile.

9. Use Twitter Threads

Now, let’s move away from basic social media marketing strategies.

There are certain ways in which you can get better engagement on a particular social media platform.

On Twitter, Tweet threads are the latest discoveries.

Well, not so new as they were launched in 2017, but people have now started seeing their potential.

To create a thread, just publish a tweet and then reply directly to it the same way you would reply to a tweet written by someone else. Repeat this and reply to it with a third tweet, then fourth until your thread is finished.

A major reason people started using threads was that they weren’t able to convey their message within Twitter’s word limit.

But another major benefit is that it gets your tweets noticed.

The average life of a tweet is short. If it didn’t receive clicks, likes, and retweets in the first 30–60 minutes, the entire Twittersphere moves on, and your tweet is forgotten.

With a thread, you have at least 6 tweets that 6x its life. Every tweet in that thread has its own permalink, that way it can be individually clicked, liked or retweeted.

If you also share a link in each thread, you’ll get a 6x chance of being clicked on.

You can share a story, a step-by-step tutorial, valuable tips on specific topics, or simply convert your blog post into a thread.

10. Participate in LinkedIn & Facebook Groups

There was a time when LinkedIn groups had a rare engagement, and Facebook groups were full of spam.

But thankfully, times have changed.

Now you can join your niche groups on these platforms and participate in a dedicated discussion on business-focused topics. You can post information that other members find valuable or helpful.

This will help you grow your audience significantly.

The only rule you have to follow here is not to spam the group.

Instead, be strategic.

Understand the group and its rules. Start by introducing your brand, answering questions, and giving feedback on other people’s content.

You’ll not only grow a strong relationship and following but also see some undeniable benefits along the way.

Bonus: Add Stories

Borrowed from Snapchat, Stories were first launched on Instagram, followed by WhatsApp, and then Facebook and Facebook Messenger.

You can show videos or pictures on a full screen in your stories for 24 hours. On Instagram, however, you can also save these stories to appear in circles at the top of your timeline.

Big brands use this feature to build brand awareness, increase engagement, promote events, go Live, and drive views to their posts.

See how Starbucks promotes its Espresso in its Stories:

And how 9GAG runs quizzes to engage with their followers:

The biggest advantage of Stories is that they are not impacted negatively by the organic reach. Also, people like watching Stories content.

Just consider the following best practices while posting Stories to drive brand awareness and increase conversions:

A. Tag Products

If you have an eCommerce site, you can tag your products directly in your Stories. Whenever a user clicks on a product tag, additional details about the product will pop up, and if they click again, they will be taken to the page where they can purchase the item.

B. Use CTAs

Add a call-to-action that will tell the users what action you want them to take, like “Sign up for our newsletter today” or “Get started with a free trial”.

C. Use Stickers

Stickers are both fun and catchy, just like emoticons. You can add a relevant sticker to add a whole lot of extra attention that can actually drive more conversions.

D. Incorporate User-Generated Content

Testimonials are the biggest example of user-generated content. You can share it in your Stories. People love seeing other people use something, and it is often a powerful driving force to increase sales.

E. Add Hashtags

On Instagram, hashtags also appear in stories. Adding hashtags increases your chances of gaining more brand visibility through your Stories.

11. Hire an Expert

It took me around 3524 words to explain some of the best social media marketing strategies, and believe me, I tried to keep it short and sweet.

Feels a little intimidating?

It’s completely normal because while these strategies do work, they take time. And for most small business owners, time is the most valuable asset.

That’s why it’s best to hire some experts!

If you don’t have the budget to hire a full-blown team, just start small with us. We offer an afford able design subscription that covers everything from social media graphics to video content. You’ll just need to fill out a quick brief and get your ready-to-publish posts back within 24 hours. Just sign up to get started!

Summing Up: Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

The social media landscape is ever-evolving. There are always new trends and algorithms to keep up with, which makes everything all the more challenging. But the important thing is to stay consistent, stay creative, and focus on building real connections with your audience. And if it ever feels overwhelming, know that you don’t have to do it all alone – we’re here to help!

Just sign up for our unlimited graphic design subscription and get a whole team of in-house designers at your fingertips.

Stupid Simple Logo Design Questionnaire For Any Niche

Tue, 06 May 2025 06:46:39 GMT

A client who doesn’t know what he wants is the worst nightmare of any designer. But who’s to blame here?

The number of options available in the market today is enough to confuse any business owner.

What colors look the best? Which font to choose? What styles will suit your brand?

You cannot directly answer any of these questions if you have zero design knowledge.

What you can do is go around these questions to find what kind of logo style will suit your brand.

Start by noting down answers to the much simpler questions I have listed below:

(We have been using this logo design questionnaire template to design logos for our clients for the past 5+ years.)

Logo Design Questionnaire Template

Before we dive into the details, download a free logo design questionnaire template:

Company Related

1. What does your company do?

(It’s not for your ‘about us’ page. Keep it casual and explain what your business does and what kind of product or service you sell.)

2. Who are your competitors?

(This will give you an idea about what kind of logos are already used in the industry.)

3. Who is the primary target audience?

(This includes their location, gender, and age group. People of different age groups have different tastes. For instance, brands for kids usually have brighter and more fun logos, whereas brands for the elderly are more classic.)

Design Related

4. Do you have an existing logo?

(If yes, then why are you wishing to change it?)

5. Do you have a tagline? If so, do you want to include that in the logo?

(Although adding taglines to a logo is not recommended, some people insist on having the tagline in their logo.)

6. Do you have a specific image you want to include in your logo?

(A shopping cart, any animal, a leaf? Is there anything that you specifically want in your logo?)

7. Do you prefer your logo to be an icon, text, or both?

(Ideally, most startups go for both icons and text in their logo. But you can also choose either one of these.)

8. Is there any specific color you want to use?

(Or is there any specific color you don’t want to use?)

9. What feeling do you want to convey with your logo?

(Happy, excited, trust, empathy! What do you want your target audience to feel when they see your logo?)

10. Which format do you want for your logo?

(Should your logo be vertical or horizontal?)

11. What logos appeal to you?

(Just type ‘logo’ in Google Images. Among the thousands of logos that pop up in front of you, choose a maximum of 5 logos that you love.)

Project Related

12. Where are you going to use this logo?

(Most online businesses intend to use their logos everywhere – website, business cards, and marketing material. The design of your logo has to work in each and every location.)

13. What’s your budget?

(This is very crucial as the cost of designing a logo can range between $99 to $999. Always mention your budget in the logo design questionnaire.)

It may seem like a long list of questions.

But by filling out this logo design questionnaire, you can come so much closer to designing your logo.

You can come up with the right image and colors that will work to broaden your brand’s identity.

But don’t stop here!

Look out for some ideas and inspirations on various other platforms.

Places to Look For Inspiration

Even though design inspirations are all around us, sometimes it can be hard to spot them. Even designers find themselves staring at a blank canvas when inspiration evades them. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I know a few places you can look into for some inspiration.

1. Pinterest

My all-time favorite!

Much like Google, Pinterest is also a search engine that can be used to look up amazing design inspiration.

Most of these logos belong to talented design professionals who share their work on Instagram.

You can also try other hashtags like #logodesigns, #logodesigner, and #logoproject.

3. Behance

Behance is a site full of curated galleries. You can find some of the web’s best design collections here without putting in the effort of searching.

About author

Pooja Verma

You can also filter these designs by creative fields, colors, and much more! Or simply scroll through the homepage that features the “Best of Behance” design inspirations.

These 3 places will be enough to help you find some great inspiration for your brand logo.

And now that you have your logo design questionnaire and logo inspirations, it’s time to look into how you are actually going to get a logo.

Hire Someone or DIY

Why should I hire a graphic designer when I can do it all by myself?

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people say this.

The DIY approach is good if you have access to the right tools. For example, you can use Canva to create social media graphics or an online tool to make your own restaurant menu .

But when it comes to logo design, you’re better off hiring a professional.

There are two ways to hire a logo designer: Freelance or Outsource

You can hire a freelancer if…

You have a tight budget, and you just need a few designs here and there. These freelancers are easily available on websites like Upwork and Fiverr.

This method is going to cost you some time, as communication can be a bit tricky with freelancers. They work on multiple projects at once, and they won’t give you a 24*7 service.

If you are confused about which freelancing platform to choose, read my comparison article on Upwork vs Fiverr.

You should outsource your designs if…

You are a startup/business that wants more than just a logo. If you are looking for a unique brand identity that correlates with your company’s mission, vision, and values, you need to outsource your design worries.

With a design agency, you’ll get expert designers and 24*7 support. You can also subscribe to a month ly unlimited graphic design service to manage your constant need for fresh graphics. These services are charged on a no-contract basis and come with a money-back guarantee.

Or simply hire our logo designers to create your first logo for just $99.

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

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Get Free Logo Design Questionnaire Template

You can also easily save the pictures you like by creating a board for logo designs. The link to the board can be shared in your logo design questionnaire for reference.

2. Instagram

Thousands of results will pop in front of you like this:

How to Make Social Media Graphics That Drive Engagement

Tue, 06 May 2025 06:27:05 GMT

What’s the first thing that grabs your attention and makes you stop scrolling on social media? It’s the graphics. They make you pause, read, click, or even share. So it makes sense for us to spend a little extra time designing something that actually stands out.

That’s exactly what we’re diving into – how to create eye-catching social media graphics from scratch using free tools. Let’s get started!

How to Make Social Media Graphics

Find High-Quality Graphics
Edit Social Media Graphics
Always Adjust Sizes
Keep Your Typography Consistent
Using Color Grids

Let me break down these steps in more detail to show you how to create social media graphics.

1. Find High-Quality Graphics

To get started with your social media graphic design, you’ll need a premade image. You can find these easily on the internet for free. These images come in two variants: Illustrations and Stock Images.

Top 4 Places to Look for Free Illustrations

Illustrations are both engaging and entertaining for a reader. In fact, a lot of big brands, including Google, Uber, Airbnb, and Slack, use them in their marketing to capture attention and add personality to their content.

We have a whole article on the best royalty-free illustration websites, but these are our top picks:

unDraw

unDraw features more than 500 illustrations in every category you can imagine. Here you can find illustrations that fit your product, easily download these in PNG and SVG format, and scale them as per your needs.

Freepik

Freepik offers thousands of free vectors, PSDs, icons, and photos designed by their team or their community of graphic designers. They also have a separate collection of customizable icons called Flaticon and a collection of free Google Slides and PowerPoint templates called SlidesGo .

We have used their illustrations all over our social media channels.

Glaze

Glaze features free illustrations and icons that are used by educational institutions, non-profits, startups, Fortune 500 companies, and individuals alike. They guarantee a curated royalty-free illustration library with premium quality.

Open Peeps

Open Peeps is a library of hand-drawn illustrations that you can use to create scenes of people. You can use human characters as they are or create a completely different one using product design tools.

Top 4 Places to Look for Free Stock Images

If you prefer using real people in your designs, we also have a list of stock photo websites that aren’t boring. But these are some popular places to go:

StockSnap

StockSnap has a large collection of high-quality stock photos that you can use for free – no attribution required. They add hundreds of images on a daily basis, making sure that you never run out of options to choose from.

Pexels

Pexels offers free stock photos and videos that can be used for both personal and commercial purposes. They aim to help millions of creators all over the world create amazing products, designs, and stories using their photos.

Unsplash

Unsplash features images ranging from wallpapers, textures & patterns, current events, food, to spirituality. They claim their website features over a million curated photos contributed by more than 157,866 photographers everywhere.

Pixabay

Pixabay is another well-known website that features over 1.7 million high-quality stock images and videos shared by its talented community. You can easily copy, modify, distribute, and use their images on your social media channels.

Once you have finalized your image, you can start editing as you need.

2. Edit Social Media Graphics

Now that we have a good image, it’s time to edit. This is where we’ll need a design tool. We have listed our top picks below – use these to easily customize and enhance your graphics.

Canva

You must have probably heard about Canva before. It is one of the most used tools by designers and non-designers alike.

This tool comes with really cool premade social media graphic templates, custom image sizes, a drag-and-drop interface, a large selection of fonts and backgrounds, and much more. You can check out their collection here .

About author

Pooja Verma

Canva is free to use for up to 8,000+ templates, 1GB of storage, and up to 10 team members. Then you’ll have to pay $9.95/mo per user.

Fotoram.io

Fotoram.io is an underrated website for creating social media graphics. The tool allows you to resize images, crop, flip, adjust brightness and contrast, adjust color hue, add blur, add a vignette effect, and much more.

We especially love their Art Maker, which lets you transform your photo into different artistic styles based on famous paintings.

Design Boss

Don’t want to spend hours editing an image? Then Digifloat is your best bet! We have a team of in-house designers who can help you create eye-catching social media graphics, all tailored to your brand’s unique style. That means you don’t have to rely on templates ever!

Just sign up & fill out a design brief – we’ll get your designs back within 24 hours.

Lumen5

We highly recommend using videos on social media. You can use our favorite video creation tool Lumen5 . It offers one of the simplest video-making experiences.

You can start by entering a link to a blog post or creating a video from scratch using their premade templates.

Can you spot the problem with this image?

The content written in the image is not even fully visible. This is what happens when you don’t create an image in the size required by that particular platform.

Every social media platform has a different set of sizes for its social media graphics. A size that works for Facebook will not work for Twitter. You need to make sure you choose the correct size before you start editing, or you can use a free tool from Sprout Social called Landscape to resize your images.

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

In their free plan, you can create five videos per month with a 720p video resolution.

3. Always Adjust Sizes

Have a look at this tweet:

4. Keep Your Typography Consistent

Any non-designer finds the job of selecting the perfect font terrifying. With so many options, it’s easy to see why.

One of the key graphic design tips for social media, while selecting fonts, is readability. The typography shouldn’t be too complicated. An average person who skims through social media posts should be able to get your message clearly.

You can experiment as you like, but if you wish to stick to a safe option, you can use sans-serif. It is considered the best font for the web.

Also, try to stick with a maximum of 3 font types. If you try to add a different font with every new graphic, you’ll lose the consistency required in a brand.

5. Using Color Grids

Brands are distinguished by their colors because they reflect a feeling or emotion that we want to convey. In fact, they set a mood and create a distinctive experience. For example, color Red delivers a feeling of power and excitement. Green conveys health, hope, and nature, whereas the color Blue represents trust, loyalty, and security, and so on. It’s called color psychology.

In general, many brands choose their brand colors for their marketing as well. But we’ll recommend that you go a step further and create color grids on your social media channels. For example, here’s what McDonald’s color grid layout looks like:

Similarly, you can play with your brand’s color palette to create an appealing theme or layout on your social media channels. It will make you instantly recognizable.

Summing Up: How to Make Social Media Graphics

I hope you are all ready to create social media graphics. This is a part of marketing and branding that takes time and commitment. But it also delivers results like no other.

Do you feel like you don’t have the right creative juice in you? Are you struggling to execute the right social media marketing strategy? We have an entire team of in-house designers who would love to transform your brand presence. Just sign up & get social media graphic design services that elevate your content and engage your audience.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

7 Design Pickle Alternatives That Are Worth The Price

Tue, 06 May 2025 05:52:17 GMT

While AI has automated much of the content creation process, graphic design is one part that will always be incomplete without a human touch. Hence, you’ll always need a designer who caters to all your creative needs.

This is where subscription-based graphic design brands like Design Pickle enter the picture. It’s a complete, done-for-you, neatly packaged service with a defined scope and fixed monthly price. However, the Pickle’s flavor doesn’t quite tantalize everyone’s creative taste buds. Thus, we need to explore some alternatives that offer a diverse array of flavors to suit individual preferences.

In this article, we’ll embark on a journey to compare the top graphic design subscriptions. This process will help you find a perfect Design Pickle alternative that best aligns with your creative requirements.

Top Alternatives to Design Pickle

Digifloat
Penji
Kapa99
ManyPixels
Kimp
Designjoy
Undullify

Which is the Best Design Pickle Alternative?

Let’s dive into more details and compare the various Design Pickle alternatives based on their price, onboarding process, turnaround time, and scope of work.

1. Design Boss

Digifloat delivers design solutions that won’t break the bank. We have affordable and diverse plans that will cater to all your creative needs, from social media graphics to website design and video editing. In fact, among all our competitors, we offer the widest range of services.

We hire and manage an in-house team of talented graphic designers who create every design from scratch. We do not rely on templates ever! You will see this reflected in all our projects, as the designs will capture your unique brand’s identity and message.

Price

Plan Name: Standard

Price: $399/month

Special Features: All graphic design, unlimited revisions & 2 active tasks

Plan Name: Pro

Price: $649/month

Special Features: All graphic design, website design & development, unlimited revisions & 3 active tasks

Plan Name: Agency

Price: $999/month

Special Features: All graphic design, website design & development, video editing, unlimited revisions & 4 active tasks

Onboarding Process

Right when you sign up, a dedicated account manager will oversee all your projects. You can submit unlimited requests, and we’ll assign different tasks to different designers based on their expertise and project complexity. This approach helps us keep multiple tasks active at once, ensuring a faster turnaround.

Once the designer completes the tasks, they will be reviewed by the account manager, and you’ll receive them after a thorough quality check. From there, you can either ask for revisions (if required) or simply approve the task and download your design with the source files.

Turnaround Time

The turnaround time varies depending on the complexity of your project. But in general, we can deliver a simple social media graphic or blog image within 24 hours, whereas a complex task like website UI design can take up to 4-5 days.

The below image shows a full breakdown of our turnaround time, and you can also read more about this on our sales page:

Money-Back Guarantee

We have a 15-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t 100% satisfied with our services.

Customer Reviews

Read Digifloat’s reviews on Trustpilot .

About author

Pooja Verma

4. ManyPixels

ManyPixels is also an on-demand graphic design subscription that shares many similarities with Design Pickle. Both these subscriptions offer a wide scope of work, unlimited revisions, and same-day deliveries (only in premium plans).

However, ManyPixels does have some limitations as their scope of work does not include UI/UX design, development, and video editing services .

Price

Plan Name: Advanced

Price: $549/month

Special Features: All graphic design, 1 active task & 1-2 days delivery

Plan Name: Business

Price: $899/month

Special Features: All graphic design, 2 active tasks & 1-2 days delivery

Plan Name: Designated Designer

Price: $1,199/month

Special Features: All graphic design, same-day delivery, Slack communication & dedicated designer

Onboarding Process

The onboarding process of ManyPixels is also similar to other design services. You just pick a plan, complete the sign-up process, and start submitting your design tasks by filling out a design brief.

These tasks will be automatically assigned to a designer, and you can expect the first draft within 1-2 business days (unless you’re signed up for the premium plan). You’ll also get the freedom to ask for unlimited revisions until the designs are perfect.

Turnaround Time

The advanced or business plan users can expect a turnaround time of 1-2 days, while designated designer plan users get same-day delivery.

Money-Back Guarantee

ManyPixels does not provide a money-back guarantee for monthly plans. You only get a 14-day customer satisfaction period if you sign up for quarterly, bi-annual, or annual subscriptions.

Customer Reviews

Read ManyPixels reviews on Trustpilot.

5. Kimp

Kimp is a popular design subscription service mainly known for its great discounts. However, their prices and plan structures differ significantly from those offered by Design Pickle. For example, they offer a dedicated plan for graphic design, a separate video design subscription, and a comprehensive plan that integrates both graphic and video design services.

Price

Plan Name: Graphics

Price: $599/month

Special Features: All graphic design, 2 active tasks & 24-hour turnaround

Plan Name: Videos

Price: $699/month

Special Features: All video editing tasks, 2 active tasks & 2-4 days turnaround

Plan Name: Graphics + Videos

Price: $995/month

Special Features: Everything from the previous 2 plans & 4 active requests

Onboarding Process

You can get started by choosing a plan that fits your requirements. After signing up, you’ll be assigned a KIMP360 board, which is quite similar to Trello boards, which they used earlier to manage their clients.

You can use your board to add new tasks, invite new team members, submit feedback, and download the files upon project completion.

Turnaround Time

The turnaround time for graphic design tasks is 24 hours, while the video task can take 2-4 days to complete.

Money-Back Guarantee

Kimp doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.

Customer Reviews

Read Kimp’s reviews on Trustpilot .

6. Designjoy

Designjoy is a more premium Design Pickle alternative created for people who are looking for top-tier design subscriptions. It distinguishes itself as a more personalized service, as all the design requests are handled by a single person, who is the founder, Brett Williams.

However, Designjoy does partner with other designers for power-up requests, such as animations or custom illustrations.

Price

Plan Name: Standard

Price: $4,995/month

Special Features: Unlimited brands, 48 hours turnaround & 1 active task

Plan Name: Pro

Price: $7,995/month

Special Features: Unlimited brands, 48 hours turnaround & 2 active tasks

Onboarding Process

Designjoy employs Trello as a task management platform to manage client tasks. You can simply sign up for the services and get access to your dedicated Trello board. From here, you can easily submit task requests, track progress, and ask for revisions from Brett.

Once the tasks are complete, you can also approve and download your files from the respective Trello cards.

Turnaround Time

The average turnaround time is 48 hours.

Money-Back Guarantee

Designjoy doesn’t offer any refunds or money-back guarantees.

Customer Reviews

Designjoy isn’t registered on Trustpilot; however, you can read some testimonials on their website.

7. Undullify

If we’re talking about premium options, we should also mention the cheapest Design Pickle alternative. Undullify is a great design subscription service made for budget-friendly business owners.

You should check them out if you’re looking for a company that can handle your small graphic design tasks, such as blog images, social media graphics, flyers, etc. However, you shouldn’t expect them to deliver extensive and complex projects such as logos, web design, app design, and video editing, as these aren’t a part of their scope.

Price

Plan Name: Starter

Price: $149/month

Special Features: Unlimited design tasks, 3-day turnaround & 1 brand

Plan Name: Entrepreneur

Price: $249/month

Special Features: Unlimited design tasks, 1-day turnaround & 1 brand

Plan Name: Agency

Price: $399/month

Special Features: Unlimited design tasks, 1-day turnaround & unlimited brand

Onboarding Process

The onboarding process and client management system of Undullify are different from every other Design Pickle alternative. Once you sign up for a plan, you’ll be assigned a dedicated designer with whom you can share your task requests via email.

The only problem with this system is that you can only request a new task once you have accepted and approved the previous task.

Turnaround Time

The turnaround time will depend on your plan. The starter plan gives you a 3-day turnaround time, while the other two plans have a 1-day turnaround time.

Money-Back Guarantee

Undullify’s refund policy only applies to your first design when you start your subscription. Any subsequent designs in the first month or beyond will not be covered in the refund policy.

If the policy sounds confusing, you can contact their team for more clarification.

Customer Reviews

Undullify isn’t registered on Trustpilot. You can read some testimonials on their webs ite.

Why is Digifloat the Best Design Pickle Alternative?

Digifloat is the best alternative to Design Pickle simply because we offer a broader range of services at an affordable price. For example, Design Pickle does not offer mobile or app design, UI/UX design, or development services. However, we cover all these services, ensuring that all your creative needs are met in one place.

Here’s the detailed scope of work for you to compare: Digifloat’s Scope of Work & Design Pickle’s Scope of Work .

What about quality? While every company claims to offer the best quality work, we believe you should be able to see it for yourself before fully committing. That’s why Digifloat offers a 15-day money-back guarantee – so you can try our services risk-free and see why we’re the best.

With Design Pickle, you’d have to take their word for it, as they don’t provide a money-back guarantee or free trial on any plan.

Final Conclusion: Which is The Best Design Pickle Alternative?

All 7 design subscriptions we reviewed in this article have something good to offer to their clients. Their efficient workflow, competitive pricing, and exceptional design quality resemble Design Pickle or surpass the standards completely.

However, Digifloat stands out as the best choice. We offer unmatched quality without the guesswork or hidden surprises. Sign up for our unlimited graphic design services to experience creative excellence.

Delegate Your Graphic Design Tasks to Digifloat at Just $399

How to Write a Design Brief in Under 10 Minutes [Free Template Included]

Tue, 06 May 2025 05:15:50 GMT

Great designs are made from great design briefs. However, for a very long time, they were underrated by both the clients and the designers. As a result, not a lot of people know how to write a design brief. So I decided to help them out here. An ideal brief does vary, depending on the scope of work and the experts involved. But mostly, it consists of 9 important elements, each describing a specific part of the project. In this post, I will show you what these elements are and why you need them.

How to Write a Design Brief

What Your Design Brief Should Cover?
Free Design Brief Template

Before we discuss these in more detail, here’s a quick video that shows the key elements of a good design brief:

What Your Design Brief Should Cover?

Like every other thing, there is no one-size-fits-all in the design brief.

But no matter what your project is, you mainly have to define your business objectives and condense the key information about your end goals. You do not have to go into the nitty-gritty of the design.

Here’s an overview of what you need to include when you write a design brief:

Company’s Profile
Scope of Your Design Project
Your Target Audience
Design Requirements
Any “Don’ts”
About Your Competitor
Deliverables
Project Timescales & Budget
Contact Information

You can add or subtract anything from this list depending on what kind of design you are requesting from your designer.

1. Company’s Profile

Start by introducing your company to your designer. This will help them get a clear understanding of the business they’re working with and the sector they’re working in.

Briefly answer the following questions:

Which industry do you work in?
How big is your brand?
What makes your company unique?
What are your brand missions, values, and visions?

This part of the design brief is very crucial if you are working with a freelancer or an agency.

2. Scope of Your Design Project

Here, you have to answer what your design project is and what your goals are for this project. You’ll have to cover the following questions in this section:

What do you want to get designed?
Do you want to build it from scratch?
Are you redesigning something that exists?
How many pages do you want? (for web UI)
What features and functionalities do you want?
Where are you going to use this design?
What do you want this project to achieve? (entertain, inform, or drive sales)

All this information will not only help your designer understand what he needs to do, but it will also help decide the price quote for your project.

3. Your Target Audience

Most often, designers approach a project with user personas in mind. Therefore, it’s crucial for them to know what your target audience is.

You can define your target audience by taking into account your ideal customer and building a persona around them.

You will have to answer questions like:

What are their age and gender?
Do they have any relevant habits or hobbies?
Which platform, social media channel, or website do they visit the most?
What are their pain points?

4. Design Requirements

A lot of people believe that designers can do everything by themselves. But let me break the news to you, this is never true! You’ll have to guide your designer by telling them what you need.

You don’t have to get super technical, just answer the following questions:

Are there some specific colors you want to use?
Do you have a predefined icon or image you wish to add?
Is there a specific font you use for your branding?
What dimensions/resolutions do you want?

You can also add some reference images for websites here to paint a better picture of your vision.

The more information you share in this section, the better.

5. Any “Don’ts”

Although it is not recommended to add restrictions from the outset, you can still mention some stuff that you don’t like in a design.

This can be a certain color, font, layout, or a certain type of imagery, like stock photos. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with your designer, but don’t be completely closed off to new ideas put up by your designer.

6. About Your Competitor

No matter what your business niche is, you are bound to have some competition. Many times, people shy away from mentioning their competitors because they believe that the designer might copy them. But that’s not why we look at your competitors.

Defining who your competition is helps in understanding what works in the marketplace and what doesn’t. Your designer will be able to better visualize how to make you stand out from the crowd by highlighting your USPs.

7. Deliverables

This is a very important step. You need to mention from the start what you want your design agency to deliver.

If you are getting a blog image or social media graphics, you might need a simple PNG or raw files like PSD. But if you have a more complex design project, your list of deliverables might vary.

For instance, if you get a logo designed, you will need a copyrighted document signed by your designer. For many complex UX designs, people often demand sitemap and architecture information. Remember to state all this in your design brief.

8. Project Timescales & Budget

Now comes the more technical part. You’ll have to break down the key dates and your budget here.

Be realistic. You cannot give your designer a UX design request and expect them to deliver it by tomorrow for $10.

Your project timescale should not only highlight the final deadline but also identify any progress milestones you wish to see. Deciding on these things beforehand will allow you to be a part of the development process and will give you enough time to ask for revisions.

To give you a rough idea, here’s the turnaround time of our design agency for different projects:

When it comes to budget, people feel they might overcharge themselves for the least amount of work. But you have to understand that by setting a budget, you’ll be able to get the most out of your designer.

Also, keep in mind how complex your request is, the list of deliverables you require, and the time scale before setting a budget.

9. Contact Information

Assign someone from your team who will be looking after this project. It can be you, your marketing manager, or someone else from your team.

Remember to mention their name, email address, or work phone number when you write a design brief.

This will help improve the communication process between your company and your design agency.

How to Write a Design Brief: Free Design Brief Template

I tried to briefly explain how to write a design brief. You can change this as you need and make it your own. This will be the guiding document for the project, so make sure to cover everything necessary.

I have also put together a free design brief template that you can download right away!

Get Free Design Brief Template

Enter the email on which you’d like us to deliver your copy of our design brief.

About author

Pooja Verma

11+ Royalty-Free Illustrations Websites That Our Designers Love

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 09:04:28 GMT

Whether you’re designing a website, social media graphics, or a presentation, the right illustration can make all the difference. They are a perfect way to add personality and charm to your project.

The only challenge is finding the perfect royalty-free illustrations without breaking the bank. But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! This article will introduce you to 11+ websites where you can find stunning royalty-free illustrations for every niche and style.

11+ Royalty-Free Illustrations for Commercial Use

Digifloat
Freepik
Ouch!
Illustration.so
Absurd.Design
Get Illustrations
Lukasz Adam
MixKit
Freebies by Outlane
ManyPixels
Blush.Design
Open Doodles

Before we review these platforms in detail, let’s have a look at this video of our top royalty-free illustrations for websites:

1. Design Boss

Our in-house design team has created an illustration pack for their fellow designers, marketers, and content creators. It has some unique, ready-to-use designs that can be customized as per your requirements.

This pack is also free to download and can be used on landing pages, social media posts, blog articles, and every other creative project.

8. MixKit

MixKit is another platform that gives you access to some royalty-free illustrations. You can use them on your website or blog or to elevate your social media marketing. These will look good everywhere!

Start by typing what you are looking for in their search bar, browse through the results, select the one you like, and click download. It’s as simple as that!

About author

Pooja Verma

9. Freebies by Outlane

Outlane is a digital design agency, and they have generously offered us a collection of royalty-free illustrations. These cover a wide range of themes, from workspaces and fictional characters to festive elements. The collection hasn’t been recently updated, but we still mention them on our list because of their unique style.

It’s definitely worth browsing to see if you find something good for your project. One of our personal favorites is their Game of Thrones illustration set.

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

6. Get Illustrations

Currently, Get Illustrations has 26887 illustrations on their website. There are both free and premium options that you can browse and download either individually or as a pack. They will be available in various formats, such as AI, SVG, and PNG, allowing you to fully customize them to suit your needs.

7. Lukasz Adam

Lukasz Adam is a designer who offers free SVG illustrations for commercial and personal purposes. His website features a diverse range of designs, including cats, robots, people, landscapes, and illustrations of various objects – all under the CC0 license (MIT license). Thus, you don’t even need to add attribution; just buy him a coffee if you’d like to support his work.

10. ManyPixels

Manypixels have a library of some simple yet distinct illustrations. You’ll find many illustration styles, ranging from minimalistic flat designs to bird-eye views. You can even change their colors with an intuitive color wheel.

Every illustration is available in PNG and SVG formats, and the license information is clearly attached. This makes it easier to understand how you can use the designs for both personal and commercial purposes.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

2. Freepik

Freepik is our go-to website for royalty-free illustrations. They have a massive library of all kinds of graphics, both free and paid. We have used them in branding kits, social media posts, website designs, blog graphics, and even animated videos.

You can browse their website to find what suits your style and needs. If you find something, simply download it in one click and start using it right away. Or you can even make small tweaks in colors and sizes since most illustrations come with editable source files.

3. Ouch!

Ouch! by Icons8 is a collection of vector, 3D, and animated illustrations. They have both free and paid options, making it easy to find the right fit for your project. They also have a built-in editor, so you can either download the illustration right away or customize it before downloading.

This is how both the options look like:

4. Illustration.so

Illustration.so gives you access to 600+ free illustrations for websites that you can use for educational or commercial purposes. These are all created by professionals and cover a wide range of categories, from business and technology to nature and lifestyle.

You just need to take your time and browse the diverse collection to find the perfect fit as per your requirements. Also, these designs will be available in both PNG and SVG formats to allow further customization.

5. Absurd.Design

Absurd.Design is by far one of the most unique and fun websites on this list, and it’s our favorite for that very reason. It’s a place where you’ll find quirky, playful, and downright absurd illustrations. These are perfect for adding humor and personality to your projects.

11. Blush.Design

Blush is a unique platform created for artists from across the globe. They submit their designs here, and you can browse and use them for your own projects. While some illustrations are available for free, others would require a small fee. Nonetheless, every design is high-quality and fully customizable.

12. Open Doodles

Last on our list of royalty-free illustrations is Open Doodles . It’s a platform where you’ll get a bunch of playful human characters that bring a unique vibe to the projects. You can download them in PNG and SVG or edit them in Blush (the website we discussed above).

You can copy, edit, and remix any of these images for any purpose without restriction under copyright or database law (CC0 license).

Where to Find Best Royalty-Free Illustrations?

The websites we mentioned above are great for finding royalty-free illustrations for smaller, one-time projects such as a presentation or social media promotion. However, if you’re working on something more significant, like building your brand identity, you’ll want to stand out with custom illustrations.

This is where you’ll need some expert help. The good news is that we have done the hard work of finding top-tier illustrators . You just need to sign up for our unlimited graphic design services , and our experienced team will handle all your design needs.

Additionally, with Design Boss , you’ll have full ownership of the final designs – something many free platforms can’t offer due to licensing restrictions. So, you can say goodbye to copyright concerns and the hassle of adding attributions. Every illustration will be entirely yours to use freely and without limitations.

Final Thoughts: Top Royalty-Free Illustrations Websites

There are many websites that offer high-quality, royalty-free illustrations. You just need to ensure their style aligns with your project and the licenses allow for the intended use. We recommend doing a thorough research and taking the time to read all the licensing terms carefully to avoid any unexpected restrictions.

If you want to avoid all this hassle – sign up for our unlimited graphic design services . Our team of expert designers will help you create custom illustrations that you can use however you want, with no licensing concerns whatsoever.

Warning: Designs Without Limits Await!

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

How To Hire A Graphic Designer On A Budget: Step by Step Guide

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 07:54:25 GMT

A graphic designer can turn into But it isn’t always easy to hire a graphic designer online.

You’ll have to look for the right skills as per your brand’s requirements. The total cost of hiring and managing a designer is another thing you’ll have to consider in detail.

In this article, I’m going to help you streamline your hiring process by sharing what skills you need to look for in a designer, how to frame a perfect job description, and the budget you should allocate for your hire.

How to Hire a Graphic Designer

Start with a Good Brief
Discuss the Designer’s Skills
Explore Hiring Options
Prepare a JD
Learn The Hiring Cost
Compare Hiring Platforms

1. Start with a Good Brief

The biggest mistake I have seen companies make when they hire a graphic designer is not preparing a good brief.

Most companies, especially the small ones, aren’t aware of their style. You need to do your homework first by understanding your brand and its needs. You can do this by going through various designs and websites online and see what does and doesn’t appeal to you.

You need to be very clear about what you like, what you don’t like, and the reasons for the same.

This step will set the tone for the entire project. It will give your designer the necessary insight, background, and foundation for the effective creation of the design.

For an overview, I think a design brief should include the following:

Your company’s profile
Who is your target audience?
Who’s your competition?
What is the project?
Reference materials
Any definite do’s and don’ts with the colors and design
What is the time scale?
A list of deliverables

This brief will not only save you a lot of time when you hire a graphic designer, but it will also effectively guide the overall workflow of your project.

2. Discuss the Designer’s Skills

What makes a good designer a GOOD designer? And what separates them from great designers?

Apart from the usuals like creativity, past experience, and technical knowledge, what else should you look for in a graphic designer?

It will be tough to hire a graphic designer who excels in every aspect of design. Here, you’ll have to consider your business goals. If you are a new or small business, your immediate goal is to grow your brand. The big players are, however, looking to scale their design operations.

The skills you should consider if you are also looking to grow your business are:

Technical Know-How – The designer should be familiar with at least one or 2 graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or After Effects.
Communication Skills – A designer has to articulate ideas to companies, clients, employers, etc. They need to possess strong public speaking skills for presentations and writing skills for proposals. They should also be able to communicate with clients and employers by phone and email.
Accessibility – The designer should be within your reach whenever you need assistance. Make sure they are comfortable working in your time zones.
Cost – Hiring a freelancer costs less than hiring someone full-time. But with freelancers, their availability is a big issue. If you have a lot of design needs, you are always better off hiring someone full-time.
Problem Solving – Your designer will often face issues at the website’s development stage or with the client’s challenging expectations. They should know how to make things work and solve the problem.

Now, if you are a big brand looking to scale your business, you should consider the following skills when you hire a graphic designer:

Coding – Not an expert, but a basic understanding of HTML and CSS is important. This way, the designer knows what goes into creating a website.
Branding – Simple churning of design is not enough if you are creating a brand image. It is important to maintain a similar quality and consistency in all designs, whether on your website or on your social media.
Client Handling – Your designer should have a good understanding of your customer’s needs. They should work towards fulfilling their requirements with regular interaction.

A mere college degree isn’t enough today. You will have to judge your designer on skills beyond what is listed in their resume. A simple way to do this is by streamlining your design process to filter out candidates that are more suitable for your business.

C. Outsourcing to an Agency

Outsourcing your design needs to an agency will help you reduce overhead expenses by 10-15%. You’ll also get access to a team of in-house designers and on-demand graphics without the hassle of hiring or training.

It’s a completely hands-free approach to managing all your creative needs, from social media graphics to website design and video editing. Just sign up and start submitting your tasks in a few clicks.

About author

Pooja Verma

4. Prepare a JD

Whether you have decided to hire a graphic designer in-house or outsource everything to experts , you’ll need a JD. Below, you’ll find one I have put together, but of course, you can edit this according to your specific needs:

Job Responsibilities:

Collaborate with your marketing and development team to brainstorm ideas and develop new approaches.
Develop graphics that identify our product or convey a message.
Experiment with different colors, images, text styles, and layouts to find the best.
Coordinate with clients to understand their requirements.
Review final designs before publishing them.
Test graphics across various media.
Implement changes and revisions recommended by the clients.
Ensure the final graphics are visually appealing and in line with the brand image.

Requirements:

A Bachelor’s degree in graphic design or any related field.
A strong and diverse portfolio
Proficient with tools like Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXpress, Sketch or Figma
Good communication skills
Strong attention to detail
Time management skills

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

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Below, I have laid out the pros and cons of hiring an in-house designer, a freelancer, and outsourcing graphic design services.

You can use this comparison to decide how to hire a graphic designer:

A. Hiring In-House

When you hire a graphic designer in-house, you get total control over their time allocation. Plus, they’re readily available and familiar with your brand. This is a budget-friendly option, but it is not easy to find the right creative talent, especially in a time-sensitive hire.

Also, if you are hiring freshers, you will have to make them work with a mentor or someone they can look to for guidance. You will have to develop a long-term plan for their professional development and better returns.

Your in-house designer can also lose perspective and creativity in monotonous tasks. Make sure they are challenged enough in day-to-day tasks in order to sustain their artistry.

B. Outsourcing to a Freelancer

When you decide to outsource your design work to a freelancer, you can select someone with expertise in the niche you require. You won’t have to offer any employee benefits, and they will bring in new, fresh perspectives. Since they work on a range of projects, they have a wider knowledge of the subject that benefits the quality of your project.

A freelancer working on a contract is also bound to complete the projects within the deadline and scope. But they won’t be dedicated to your needs 100% of the time. If they’re good, they’ll probably have multiple clients, making them quite busy! Also, since they aren’t working on-site, communication can be a bit of a hassle.

5. Learn the Hiring Cost (Graphic designer salary range)

The salary range for a graphic designer will vary depending on how much experience they have and through which medium they are working with you.

Here’s an idea of the ranges that you should expect to pay if you hire a graphic designer:

In-house Graphic Designer

0-2 years of experience: $40,000/yr to $49,000/yr
2-5 years of experience: $45,000/yr to $57,000/yr
5+ years of experience: $51,000/yr to $71,000/yr

(These ranges are estimated by Salary.com )

Apart from the salary, there are other additional costs that come along with hiring a full-time graphic designer. You’ll have to get a subscription to software like Adobe’s Creative Cloud, which can cost you up to $52.99/mo. Their accommodation costs, employee benefits, subscriptions to project management tools you use in your office, etc should also be kept in mind.

Outsource Freelancer

Freelancers usually work on hourly rates that can range from as low as $20/hour to $90/hour on Upwork, depending on the experience. The higher your budget, the higher the quality of your designs.

Here, you’ll have to pay more to include bonuses, overtime, or revisions. Some designers even bill their clients in increments, for example, you’ll have to pay 25% or 50% more for every revision.

Outsource Agency

You will only have to pay one flat monthly fee when you are working with a design agency like Design Boss . This price would include unlimited designs and revisions by experts. Our scope of work also includes everything from logos, social media posts, UI/UX design, to animated videos and presentation decks. No hidden charges, no hourly rates!

The prices for our service start from $399/Mo for a standard plan that is ideal for individual content creators, $649/Mo for a pro plan ideal for small businesses, and $999/Mo for an agency plan ideal for big players.

You can check out the complete pricing table, turnaround time, and scope of work here .

6. Compare Hiring Platforms

Although there’s no shortage of online resources, using the right platform to hire a graphic designer is very crucial. Indeed and LinkedIn are two very popular and reliable sources where you can post a job. You can also use any of the following freelance portals to hire a freelance graphic designer:

A. Toptal

Toptal provides a freelancing platform to connect with designers. You can hire a graphic designer freelancer and also for the long term using this marketplace. One of the biggest feature of this platform is that it matches you with a designer specific to your needs, interests, and timeline. The applicants go through an intensive screening and testing process that identifies the best talent in the industry.

But since Toptal only selects the best designers their rates are higher than their competitors. This makes it unfit for small companies and sole content creators. You can still explore the platform with their no-risk trial period.

B. Upwork

Who hasn’t heard of Upwork ?

It is probably the most well-known of the freelance marketplaces, with over 17 million users and 3 million jobs posted each year. They have 90% of customers re-hire, which guarantees strong customer satisfaction. Here you can find designers at all experience levels that fit within any budget.

Upwork also alleviates risk by asking the users to pay only once certain project milestones are completed.

C. Dribbble

Created specifically for designers, Dribbble provides them space to show their work, meet, and share ideas. You can join the platform, develop your job board, explore portfolios, reach out directly to designers, hire a graphic designer, or use Dribbble’s Talent Partner solution.

The simple and authentic community of Dribbble includes designers of all types. They can provide each other with feedback that exhibits the talent of the community. You can find some real gigs in significantly less time here.

Summing Up: How To Hire A Graphic Designer

If you follow all the steps we mentioned in this article, you’ll surely hire the best graphic designer. But if you want to skip the unnecessary hard work, then just sign up for our unlimited graphic design subscription . We’ll take care of all your design needs, so you can focus on what matters most – growing your business.

And how 9GAG runs quizzes to engage with their followers:

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3. Explore Hiring Options

Finding the right balance between expertise, timing, and cost is quite hard. Various factors need to be considered when you look to hire a graphic designer online. While big companies possess the resources of hiring someone in-house, the other millions of small businesses often incline towards hiring a design agency or freelancer.

9 Best Content Writing Services That’ll Help You Scale Your Business

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 09:54:24 GMT

With the variety of content writing services available, business owners don’t need to spend a fortune to get blog content written. Many of the best content writing services already incorporate an easy onboarding process, great pricing, and expert writers for any type of business.

There are hundreds of companies that offer some of the best content writing services. You can find them in a quick Google search. But which one of these are actually reliable? You’ll get your answer by the end of this article.

Now I cannot compare every possible content writing service in this post. So picked a few that had the most positive customer ratings on third-party sites like G2 and Product Hunt.

9 Best Content Writing Services

Design Boss
ContentFly
Springzo
Compose.ly
CrowdContent
ContentWriters
RightlyWritten
Textun
iWriter

Let’s compare these 9 top content writing services in detail…

1. Design Boss

Design Boss offers high-quality, plagiarism-free content in almost every niche. We have great experience working with small to medium-sized companies.

The writers in the team perform in-depth research about the topics and the target audience before writing. Every write-up they deliver is engaging and SEO-friendly.

Price

We have 3 price plans for our content writing services:

Starter – 3000 Words for $179/Month
Agency – 8000 Words for $399/Month
Enterprise – Your Very Own Content Writer for custom pricin

If the word limit exceeds, you’ll have to pay extra 5 cents per word.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Articles & Blog Posts
Product Descriptions
Social Media Posts

You cannot ask for:

Sales Pages
Emails

Onboarding Process

Once you sign up for our services, you’ll get a welcome email with a link to Google form. This form will be your content brief. Here you can specify requirements, keywords, and other important guidelines.

You’ll also be assigned an account manager who’ll stay in touch with you throughout the project. You can talk to them over email, voice, or video call. The account manager will inform you about the turnaround time as per your content brief.

We also deliver your write-ups in emails where you can ask for revisions easily.

This process helps us deliver the best content writing services to all our clients.

Content Team

Every writer in our team is hired after proper assessment, tests, and interviews. We first hire them on a probationary period during which their skills are put to test. Once they complete this period only then we assign them to your projects.

We also offer this unique feature where you can ask your dedicated account manager to change your writer free of cost.

Money-Back Guarantee

We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Highlights

The writers have expertise in specific industries. We don’t hire generalist writers.
You can ask for unlimited revisions in your content.
Plans specially catered to small to medium-sized companies.

Read sample articles here.

About author

Pooja Verma

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

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You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

2. ContentFly

ContentFly, launched in June of 2020, claims to be the Uber for content writing. They have a team of highly-vetted freelance writers who come from a dozen different industries. Besides this, they can serve a variety of your copywriting needs.

Price

They have multiple plans and the most basic one starts from 4000 words for $250/month. It goes up to 32000 words for $2000/month.

If in case the word limit exceeds, you’ll have to pay extra 7 cents per word.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Articles & Blog Posts
Product Descriptions
Emails
Landing Pages
Social Media Posts

You cannot ask for:

White Papers
In-depth technical pieces for niche audiences

Onboarding Process

You can simply sign up or login into your dashboard from their website. There you’ll have to fill in a brief for your writer. Once you post your requirements, the writers will claim the project if it matches their skill sets.

Once completed, you’ll get your article on the dashboard itself for revisions.

Content Team

ContentFly claims to hire freelance writers from the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. Their writers have the freedom to claim or reject job that matches their skill sets.

Money-Back Guarantee

They offer a 1500-word money-back guarantee. That means you can cancel before you’ve requested more than 1500 words.

Highlights

You get a variety of price plans to choose the best according to your needs.
Their plans also include royalty-free images for your content.

Read sample articles here.

3. Springzo

Springzo provides well-researched and data-backed content in your brand’s voice. They do everything from researching keywords to generating ideas for blog articles.

On their website, they have listed the industries they serve. Making it easier for the audience to decide whether to sign up or not.

You can try their content writing services if you want someone to handle everything from keyword research to adding graphics.

Price

Springzo II – $89/mo for 2 blog posts each with 800-1000 words
Springzo IV – $175/mo for 4 blog posts each with 800-1000 words
Springzo VIII – $345/mo for 8 blog posts each with 800-1000 words
Custom – You can customize a plan for any other content need like landing pages, newsletters, or social media posts.

Scope of Work

Their prices are listed only for blog posts. If you need any other type of content you’ll have to contact them and they’ll make a custom package for you.

They have also mentioned that they don’t deal with topics related to medicine or medical procedures, professional tutorials on specialized skill sets such as programming, design tools, science, etc., and topics related to the intricacies of a tech product.

Onboarding Process

Even though they have clear pricing on their website, you still cannot pay directly. Once you select a plan, you’ll be redirected to this form:

You’ll have to fill in your requirements then their team will review the request and send you the payment link. They say this process can take up to 2-4 hours.

Content Team

They have a team of writers who are highly proficient in the English language and grammar. They have also mentioned that they hire moderators who thoroughly vet every article that gets sent your way.

Money-Back Guarantee

Springzo offers a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Highlights

Keyword research is included in their plans
They’ll also make a content calendar for you
Their price plans only cover blog articles
You can only request up to 2 revisions
Sign up process is more time taking than any other platform

Read sample articles here.

4. Compose.ly

Compose.ly is a team of fully vetted freelance content writers and in-house content strategists, project managers, client success professionals, and editors. They offer content writing services in 15+ industry-based categories.

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

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Price

Compose.ly has 3 price plans to choose from:

Self-Service – The prices are based on word count and you get to work with the writer directly.
Managed Service – $999/month, you’ll get access to top writers and a client success manager, who serves as the intermediary between the client and the writer.
Custom Projects – A team of top industry writers at custom pricing.

Scope of Work

Compose.ly primarily offers digital content, including:

Blog posts and articles
Newsletters
Website pages
Press releases
White papers
Product descriptions

Onboarding Process

The process of ordering content from Compose.ly is quite straightforward. You’ll get a personalized dashboard to request, track, and manage your content requests.

On this dashboard, you’ll have an option to “Create Project”. By clicking it you’ll be first asked to choose from several project-type choices. Then you have to fill out a content brief specifying the word count, title, description, and other essential information. Once you submit these details, a writer will be assigned to your project. The turnaround time will be 7 business days.

Content Team

Compose.ly claims to have a team of expert writers in a broad range of industries. They are hired after a rigorous evaluation for content, tone, and style.

As a client, you won’t be able to choose the writers yourself, but Compose.ly uses your feedback to match you with the appropriate writer (if you’re an existing customer). You can also contact their support team to request a favored writer.

Their team of content specialists hand-picks the writer for every project.

Money-Back Guarantee

Compose.ly offers a money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with their services.

Highlights

You can stay in direct contact with the writers via their in-app messenger.
Variety of price plans to cater to different needs.
You can request samples by contacting their support team.

5. CrowdContent

CrowdContent lets you connect with talented freelance content writers. They claim to have a team of over 6,000 professional writers from various niches.

Since they have such a big community of writers, you can try them if you have to order large amounts of content.

Price

They have 2 price plans:

Marketplace –

Enterprise – Here you can customize your package.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Articles & Blog Posts
City Pages
Product Descriptions
SEO Content
Press Releases
Meta Data
Tweets
Facebook Posts

Onboarding Process

You have to sign up for your account by adding the funds to your wallet. Then you can place orders for content by filling a one-page order form that asks a few simple, but essential questions about your content requirements.

Once you post this form, a qualified writer will claim your order and write your content based on your guidelines. You can chat with this writer to share your details or to request revisions.

They have even made a whole video library to guide you through their onboarding process.

Content Team

CrowdContent is a team of high-quality freelance writers with diverse backgrounds. You can even find engineers, doctors, lawyers, and professional writers in their network.

They claim to only hire the top 15% of all writer applications they receive.

Most of these writers are from the USA but you can find writers from Canada, Australia, and England.

Additionally, I found this Reddit thread where some of these freelance writers have shared their experiences. You can read this to get a better idea of their work culture.

Money-Back Guarantee

You can ask for a refund on any article but you’ll be eligible only if the content is spammy or if the writer failed to follow the instructions.

Highlights

Keyword research is included in their plans
A huge pool of writers
Self-serve platform as you have to manually select a writer
Prices depend on what kind of writer you hire

They don’t have any samples on their website.

6. ContentWriters

ContentWriters launched in 2013 is one of the oldest content writing services providers. Through these years they have vetted thousands of writers and editors.

On their website, they have divided their services into various categories like agencies, enterprises, publishers, etc.

Price

They haven’t fully disclosed the prices on their website.

They have 2 plans:

Self Service – Here you can set up an account and order content on-demand with no commitments. The starting price for this is $99 per piece but you’ll have to sign up to view full pricing information.

Managed Services – Here the packages will be customized to meet your needs. You’ll be assigned a dedicated content success specialist to handle your projects.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Articles & Blog Posts
Ecommerce Content
White Papers
Press Releases
Newsletter
Social Media Posts

Onboarding Process

They offer a streamlined approach to ordering content. You can get started by filling out an order form.

Once you’ll place your order, this is how your cart will look:

After this, the last step will be to pay for your order. Your order will be submitted for assignment as soon as payment is made.

You will receive your order attached in an email and you can approve it or request revisions by completing the feedback form.

If you are a subscriber client, you will have access to unlimited revisions else for each order you’ll have 2 rounds of revision. The review period will also be clearly marked on your dashboard.

Content Team

ContentWriters has a network of professional freelance writers all US-based. They claim to assess these writers through a rigorous vetting process which includes language proficiency testing, writing sample evaluation, phone interviews and test assignments.

They individually match every writer with assignments based on their background, credentials, and writing experience.

Money-Back Guarantee

You can submit a refund request only within 72 hours of content delivery. But you’ll be eligible for a refund only if there is a real problem with the content like plagiarism or grammatical errors.

Highlights

Different services for individuals, businesses, and agencies
Custom plans
Relatively expensive

Read sample articles here.

7. RightlyWritten

RightlyWritten is a premium content writing service. They have worked with small businesses as well as large enterprises.

Similar to ContentWriters, they have also divided their services based on your industry. You can pick the ones that suit your requirements.

Also, they don’t have any information on turnaround time on their website. But from the reviews I read, they have a slow turnaround time. Like this review by WP Eagle , where they took 2 weeks to write a blog article.

Price

If you have to order content one time, their prices start from $24.00. And monthly packages start from $100.00.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Articles & Blog Posts
Website Content
Copywriting
White Papers
Press Releases
Ebooks
Resumes
Reviews
Scripts
Newsletter
Social Media Posts

They do not offer press release distribution services and press release templates.

Onboarding Process

You can register through their website and start requesting content immediately. The order will be placed once you have added money to your account.

Once you add the money, the order will be sent to a verified writer. Or you can request a specific writer for your project. Your writer will send in the project once it’s completed and you’ll get a few days to accept it, or request revisions. If you don’t respond during this time the project will be marked as “completed” and the payment is released to the writer.

Content Team

Anyone can apply for being a writer at RightlyWritten by submitting their existing writing samples along with links to their published work and their CV. Their team assesses these writers with test assignments before hiring them on a trial basis first.

They claim that they conduct regular assessments with their writers to make sure that the quality remains consistent.

Highlights

You can request almost any type of content
The prices are very high so it’s definitely not meant for startups
Slow turnaround time

They don’t have any samples on their website.

8. Textun

Textun is another content writing service that hires only native English speakers. They claim to find, vet, hire, and train quality writers to suit your every need.

On their website, they have added samples of articles from different industries.

You should definitely choose Textun if you have bulk content orders as they provide some amazing discounts.

Price

They have listed prices based on what services you ask for. Typically they charge $0.03/word for standard quality and $0.045/word for premium quality.

Scope of Work

You can request the following services:

Blog and Article
Product Description
Reviews
Website Content
eBook

You cannot request essays.

Onboarding Process

They have a simple form on their website itself. You can start by filling in your email address where you want them to send the completed projects. You’ll also have to include the subject of your write up and the desired word count.

Additionally, you can add comments and keywords in their respective columns.

After filling in these details you can proceed to make the payment. You’ll receive the order summary with all the details that you filled out in your email address.

Your project will be picked by a suitable writer and the final project will be sent to your email address.

Content Team

Their team of professional writers are all native English speakers based in the U.S. or UK depending on the spelling and stylistic requirements. They have a diverse writing team that allows them to deliver a large variety of content.

Money-Back Guarantee

Once your order has been assigned to one of their writers you cannot ask for a refund.

Highlights

Their writers are only native English speakers
No refund or return policy
Discounts on bulk order

Read sample articles here.

9. iWriter

iWriter is like Upwork but only for content writers. You can post your requirements, select any particular writer, or let them choose your projects, review the articles, and pay when you approve.

They have a huge pool of 114,156(approx) writers. This can be a good thing as you’ll get so many options. But it can be daunting for a small business owner or a solopreneur.

Price

They have a big pricing table according to the words and quality of content you require.

Here it is:

You can get standard quality content of 150 words for just $1.40. If you want the highest quality, you have to pay $145 for 2000 words.

Scope of Work

You can request almost any kind of content on this platform.

Onboarding Process

You can register for iWriter for free. This is how your dashboard will look once you’ll enter your account.

Here you can add money to your account. Then request any type of content by filling out their content brief.

You’ll get an option to manually select any writer or you can let writers choose your project depending on their qualification and availability.

The writer will upload the completed project on your dashboard itself. Here you’ll get 3 days to approve or reject the article. If you don’t respond in 3 days it will be automatically approved and the money will be deducted from your account.

Content Team

iWriter has a big pool of writers. They distinguish them based on their work experience. New writers who haven’t completed 25 assignments come under the ‘Standard’ category. Veteran writers who have completed at least 25 assignments are ‘Premium’.

Then you have ‘Elite’ writers who have completed at least 30 assignments. And ‘Elite Plus’ writers who are top-rated with over 40+ assignments.

How much you’ll pay also depends on what type of writer you choose.

Money-Back Guarantee

iWriter’s platform works on a deposit basis. The money doesn’t get deducted from your account unless you approve an article.

The available balance in your account may be refunded within 12 months from the date of purchase.

Highlights

The turnaround time is very fast
Various pricing tiers to suit every business’s needs
You can reject the article you don’t like

Read sample articles here. This is their FAQ page, they have added their samples under a question.

Summing Up: Best Content Writing Services

When you talk about content, what’s good and what’s not is totally subjective. It depends on what type of organization you run, what’s your target audience and your product.

I have listed small and best content writing services to big content mills in this article. Now the choice is yours. Do your research, read reviews, and choose only the best content writing services for your brand.

Or just give us a try! Order your first content with Design Boss and if you don’t like us, get your money back.

You're not getting scammed. We offer unlimited graphic design services so you can focus on growing your brand while we make it look good! Share your details & let’s talk about your requirements.

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How to Hire Content Writer on a Budget: Step by Step Guide

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 09:28:37 GMT

Ever since we started our content agency, people have been asking us how to hire content writers.

Truth be told, we have spent a lot of time and resources learning how to attract and hire content writers. I’ll be sharing this entire recruitment process with you below.

And if you follow these steps, you are guaranteed to hire the best content writer for your projects.

How to Hire Content Writer

Find Your Hiring Options
Decide the Type of Writer You Want
Write a Job Description
Find Prospects
Filter Out the Best
Conduct an Interview
Put Them to Test

Confused? Let me better explain how to hire content writer in detail:

1. Find Your Hiring Options

The very first step would be to decide whether you want to hire someone in-house, freelance or an agency ( like us ).

This decision depends on the size of your company and your preference.

We hire a mix between freelancers and some in-house writers. So we are the right people to tell you some pros and cons of each case.

1.1 In-House Writer

This is someone who’ll come into your office and work with you and your team. Needless to say, if you want an in-house writer you need to have the resources i.e an office, computers, etc to handle them.

Also due to the COVID-19, this option is becoming less preferential. A lot of companies are now looking to hire remote employees only.

Pros:

They’ll be sitting in front of you so you won’t have to worry about them going missing before a deadline.
Since they work only for you, there won’t be any distractions.
Better communication
Physical access will allow you to get better control over their work.

Cons:

Additional costs for management resources like health insurance, etc.
You’ll have a limited reach as only the people living near your office will apply for the job.
More time consumption in vetting, negotiating and then onboarding these candidates.
You’ll see a lack of diversity in the content with an in-house writer.

1.2 Freelance Writer

Freelance writers or independent contractors are a popular substitute for hiring a full-time employee.

You can hire them from online platforms like Upwork or Fiverr at a fraction of the cost. This option is best for those looking to scale their business operations.

If you are confused about which freelancing platform to choose, read my comparison article on Upwork vs Fiverr.

Pros:

No additional cost and payments involved
Easy onboarding
A large pool of talent
You can find specific industry experts working as freelancers
No commitment as you can hire them on a project basis

Cons:

There are thousands of freelancers in the market, you’ll have to spend a lot of time finding the best for your business.
You’ll face issues with communications.
Most freelancers only give 2-3 revisions per project. So you’ll be stuck with an article even if you don’t like it.
You cannot pick a freelancer for urgent tasks as their turnaround is slow.

1.3 Agency

This is a rather new option for a lot of small businesses and startups. I did include this here because we offer content writing services but we aren’t the only ones. Outsourcing content has become popular since it allows you to delegate tasks to experienced professionals.

Pros:

Agencies usually have access to writers from various industries, so you won’t have to waste time finding and vetting the right people.
You get a dedicated account manager when you sign up to improve communications.
The quality of work you get with an agency is far better than others. We have editors and account managers who cross-check everything before deliveries.
It’s a no-risk option, you can ask for unlimited revisions if you don’t like something.

Cons:

This option is definitely a little more expensive than hiring a freelancer.
We do have some limitations, as you cannot request landing pages and email copies from us. We only write articles, product descriptions, and social media posts.

To finalize between these options, look at your budget and the time you want to invest in this process.

Hiring someone in-house is more expensive and time-consuming but it comes with a long term commitment.

Hiring an agency or a freelancer is a good option if you want to pay on a project basis. And you don’t want to spend more time finding, hiring, and onboarding new team members.

2. Decide the Type of Writer You Want

Just like any other professional, writers also come with a wide variety of skills and specializations. You have to simplify your requirements when you start looking for a writer.

Start by defining your niche and style…

If you have just one website you’ll know your niche and the kind of writing style your audience prefer.

If you have multiple websites you’ll have trouble finding just one expert writer.

The style of writing is also different for different industries. If you are a law firm, you want expository style content that explains everything in detail. For an e-commerce brand or an affiliate marketer, you want a persuasive writing style that can convince the reader to take action and buy your product.

Now you can hire a generalist writer who can write about almost anything. However, their content will not be as in-depth as a niche writer.

You can filter out these writers on freelance platforms or hire an agency that might already have access to such a writer.

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Then decide on the type of content…

Depending on your business goals you might need someone to write your emails, articles, landing pages, social media posts, etc.

Of course, there are writers who can write all of the above. But if you have a specific need only you can hire specialist writers.

3. Write a Job Description

From what I have seen, people don’t take this step seriously. Most of them just copy and paste the JD from someone else’s website.

I never understood why people do that. You have a unique business with its own needs. Why would you go looking for a writer who’s good for someone else?

Another mistake people do here is to expect too much.

If you are a startup you don’t need a writer who is a pro at making a content strategy and analytics. But you’ll need someone who’s flexible. Someone who can deliver a variety of content for your company.

So ideally, this is what your JD should look like if you have a small business:

3.1 Responsibilities

Produce and research industry-related topics
Write clear marketing content
Proofread and edit content before publication
Coordinate with marketing and design teams
Use SEO strategies in writing to maximize the online visibility
Identify customers’ needs and requirements

3.2 Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in marketing, English or any related field.
Excellent writing and editing skills in English.
Portfolio of published articles
Familiarity with web publications and Content Management Systems (e.g. WordPress)
Ability to meet dead lines

4. Find P rospects

Now it’s time to get in the field! You have to find people who are interested in working for you.

You can start with asking for referrals, we always do this.

A friend or a fellow entrepreneur can tell you how to hire a content writer for your website. You can also ask the online communities on Reddit and Indiehacker .

You’ll find good suggestions here.

If not, you can head to job boards like ProBlogger, Upwork, and Fiverr. Post jobs with good JD and see who responds.

If you are looking to hire an agency, a quick Google search will tell you where you can find them.

You can also read my article on the best content writing services in the market.

5. Filter Out the Best

After doing all this you’ll have a handful of candidates for the job. Filter out the best now.

For freelancers and agencies, you can read reviews. See their sample articles.

For some of them you won’t even have to do all this, just read their bio or their websites. If you don’t like what they have written for themselves, they aren’t the ones.

Similarly, you can tell a lot about the writer by reading their cover letters.

Your goal with this step is to filter out at least 5 to 10 candidates depending on how many applications you received. Remember to not shortlist more than 10 writers.

6. Conduct an Interview

There’s only so much you can know about a person by reading about them. You’ll have to talk to them face to face or over a video call.

Reach out to the applicants you shortlisted in the previous step and set a time for an interview. Talk to them about their writing process, why they like writing or maybe their favorite book.

Just don’t ask rhetorical questions like their educational qualification. You already have this information in their resume.

You are conducting this interview to understand how this person thinks and works. See if they are a good match for your business.

This step will help you narrow down your candidate’s list.

7. Put Them to Test

Let’s assume you were able to reject 5 applicants in the previous step out of 10. Now you have the 5 best candidates for this job.

Just put them to a test and hire them all.

No, it’s not crazy and we know you only need one. But this is actually a great process to find that one.

We do this all time. Just take one of your projects, for example, ask for an article about how to hire a content writer. Like this one!

Talk to all 5 writers and ask them to write this article and pay them for this project only. Remember to clear this with your writer before you get started. Tell them that this is a part of your hiring process. If you are ready to pay them it’s highly unlikely that they will say no to you.

Even better if you decide to put Digifloat into this mix. You won’t have to spend a dime. We offer a 15-day money-back guarantee so you can assign us your project and see how it turns out.

In the end, you’ll have 5 articles on one topic. All you have to do now is read them all and hire the best.

Congratulations! You Now Know How to Hire Content Writer

This process of how to hire a content writer will take its due time and the final results will always be hit or miss. The important thing here is to not give up and hire just about anyone.

Take your time to decide whether to hire someone in-house, freelance or just completely outsource it. Establish clear goals for your organization. Don’t go about it just like everyone else.

Do this and then start posting jobs, reading reviews, and interviewing.

And if you want to save this time, hire us ! We have already found and employed the best content writers in the industry.

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6 Holiday Marketing Strategies To Boost Your eCommerce Sales in 2022

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:14:38 GMT

The holiday season is right around the corner and it’s time to amp up your holiday marketing strategies.

And let me remind you, this year it’s all going to be different.

The last 2 years weren’t easy for any of us so we are definitely looking forward to the holidays.

And since COVID is still here and spreading like wildfire, people are being cautious by doing most of their shopping online.

So have you optimized your holiday marketing strategies yet?

I’ll help you look out for some pointers in this post.

Best Holiday Marketing Strategies

Change Your Popups
Set up Gifts Pages
Use Holiday Keywords
Create Festive Related Content
Change Social Media Theme
Review Basic SEO

Let’s dive into some details about these holiday marketing strategies…

1. Change Your Popups

Big companies change up their whole website design as a part of their holiday marketing strategies. Modifying the logos to celebrate seasonal holidays and festivals have also become a common practice. Google is well known for this.

But this can be a little expensive for a small company. What you can do is add a few seasonal graphics to your blog, website, or email to celebrate the holidays.

Popups are one way to add a festive touch to your website. And you won’t even need any professional help with this.

You can customize your popups using any online photo editing tool like Canva or try a website like Socital . This site lets you add seasonal pop-ups to your website, like this one:

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5. Change Social Media Theme

Every brand and every consumer uses social media. This is an amazing place to explore new opportunities and create brand awareness.

Changing the theme of the whole website might be too much effort. But you can definitely change your social media theme.

For example, Starbucks has started promoting its holiday special drinks and cups on its timeline. It all looks so Christmassy!

This is a good way to show your clients you go brand beyond marketing and sales. Remember to use relevant hashtags like #christmas2021, #christmasgifts, #holidaydecor, etc to attract more audience or to go viral.

6. Review Basic SEO

The festive time can be busy for businesses. Even though you have to work on attracting new customers or providing awesome service to existing ones, don’t forget about your basic SEO.

Here are a few technical things to keep in mind:

Optimize page speed
Resolve all 404 errors
Fix 301 redirects on broken links
Check your server for high load traffic
Cross-check if your SSL and HTTPS aren’t about to expire

Google always gives priority to sites with good Technical SEO.

Summing Up: The Best Holiday Marketing Strategies

A lot of small brands don’t do too much during the festive season as they feel it is only a short time gain. But these holiday marketing strategies can give you great visibility, traffic, and revenue.

Getting together a holiday marketing strategy will get you the best organic reach and engagement during festive times.

Start planning now, keep your customers in mind during every decision you make and don’t forget about establishing lifetime value with your brand.

And if you need to delegate some of your design work, contact our designers. We’ll give you unlimited graphic design services for $399/month only.

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2. Set Up Gift Pages

This is another common practice among eCommerce stores to increase profitability during the festive season. And it’s super easy to do too.

See how Target does it:

They have made holiday gift guides and also divided their existing products into categories like gifts for her, gifts for him, gifts for your parents, gifts for your children, etc.

If you don’t have the time and resources to separate these, you can also make just one page and add all your best-selling products from every category.

3. Use Holiday Keywords

Holiday or seasonal keywords are very popular. You can find these keywords from tools like Ahref or SEMrush . Search for terms that your consumers would be searching for during the seasonal purchases.

Although you should avoid using them on your existing product or landing pages as they can distract from your efforts to reach your long-term SEO goals.

But you can add these keywords to your gifts pages to get highly relevant traffic for a short period of time.

4. Create Festive Related Content

Another way of using these keywords is to create festive content like this article. Such guides are good to engage with shoppers, generating leads, and bringing in customers.

You can create articles or even a round-up post like “10 Best Things to Gift Your Mom”. Then you can promote these guides on your social media channels and on your email list.

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11 Social Media Marketing Strategies That Drive Real Results

How to Create Social Media Marketing Strategies?

I. Find Your Target Audience

2. Keep it Light

3. Use the Right Hashtags

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4. Tag People & Companies

5. Use Good Quality Graphics

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II. Understanding Social Media Channels

III. Lookout For Your Competitors

Most Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies

11 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies

1. Post Regularly

6. Post Videos

Headliner

Design Boss

Loom

Biteable

7. Post Engaging Content

Blog Posts

About Your Company

Industry News

Customer Reviews or Testimonials

Holiday Wishes

Hiring Announcements

Inspirational Quotes

8. Schedule Post on Best Times

Re curPost

Later

9. Use Twitter Threads

10. Participate in LinkedIn & Facebook Groups

Bonus: Add Stories

11. Hire an Expert

Summing Up: Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Stupid Simple Logo Design Questionnaire For Any Niche

Logo Design Questionnaire Template

Company Related

Design Related

Project Related

Places to Look For Inspiration

1. Pinterest

3. Behance

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Pooja Verma

Hire Someone or DIY

You can hire a freelancer if…

You should outsource your designs if…

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2. Instagram

How to Make Social Media Graphics That Drive Engagement

How to Make Social Media Graphics

1. Find High-Quality Graphics

Top 4 Places to Look for Free Illustrations

Top 4 Places to Look for Free Stock Images

2. Edit Social Media Graphics

Canva

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3. Always Adjust Sizes

﻿

4. Keep Your Typography Consistent

5. Using Color Grids

Summing Up: How to Make Social Media Graphics

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7 Design Pickle Alternatives That Are Worth The Price

Top Alternatives to Design Pickle

1. Design Boss

Price

Onboarding Process

Turnaround Time

Money-Back Guarantee

Customer Reviews

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