Visual content is a must-have right now. Regardless of what you’ve done in the past, your blog – and your social media profiles, in particular – need engaging graphics, videos, and interactive content to draw people in. But how do you create it when you don’t have any background in design?
4 Visual Content Creation Tips for Non-Designers
Consider a few statistics for a moment:
- 81 percent of online users skim the content they read – consuming just 20 to 28 percent of the written copy they encounter during an average visit.
- The average online user gets distracted in just eight seconds (with a large percentage of people failing to make it past the 2.8-second mark).
- People form first impressions in just 50 milliseconds.
In other words, a visitor comes to your website, scans content, forms a first impression, and then becomes distracted and loses focus – all in eight seconds or less.
If you’re attempting to win over visitors with loquacious paragraphs and flowery copy, you’re missing the mark. Visual content is the most effective way to nab a visitor’s attention and convert them into paying customers.
Not a designer? No problem.
In today’s internet landscape, there are enough outside-the-box solutions that the playing field has been leveled between designers and non-designers.
Here are a few tips and techniques you can use to overcome your lack of expertise and develop persuasive visual content that nudges your business in a positive direction.
- Hire Freelancers
Sometimes the best option is to hire someone else to do your design work for you. And though you might not be able to afford a full-time designer on your team, you can always hire freelancers to handle the work for you.
Freelance marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork are ideal for this. With thousands of freelancers to choose from, you can select the one that fits your budget and has the skills to handle whatever design work you need completed (video, graphics, motion, etc.).
The great thing about working with freelancers is that you’re able to instantly establish a scalable, outsourced arm of your business without driving up costs or making long-term commitments. If your design needs change in the future, it’s easy to add or subtract to meet the fluctuating demand.
- Use Tools Like These
Want to be more hands on with your visual content creation? With intuitive tools like these, it’s more practical than ever:
- Promo.com. Have you wanted to give video a try, but continue putting it off because it seems too complex and expensive? With Promo.com, video templates, drag and drop functionality, and intuitive editing tools make it easy to create video ads for any platform – regardless of whether or not you have any design experience.
- Canva. Whether it’s a poster, logo, infographic, or social media image, Canva’s templates make it easy to design compelling visuals without any experienced required. As long as you know how to drag, drop, and click, you’re set!
These are just a couple of the tools out there. If there’s a piece of visual content that you want to create, there’s most likely a platform that can help you bring your idea to fruition without extensive design background.
- Keep Things Simple
The good news is that we live in a design world where simplicity sells. The cleaner and less complicated you make your designs, the more effective and high-converting they tend to be. This plays right into your lack of experience. Just focus on the basics and you’ll be fine.
- Watch YouTube Tutorials
Don’t know how to do something? Whether it’s hiring a freelancer, using an online design platform, or trying your hand at Photoshop, there are thousands of hours of YouTube tutorials that will walk you through the step-by-step process of creating stunning visual content. All you have to do is humble yourself to learn from those around you.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
You don’t need to spend the next six months taking an intensive graphic design course. While it’s certainly helpful if you have some technical design skills, you can certainly get by without them. It’s more important that you work smart and leverage the resources and advantages that you do have.
