ProBlogger: Looking to Outsource Your Design Needs? You Need to Read This

Looking to Outsource Your Design Needs? You Need to Read This

Posted: 27 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT

This is a guest contribution from our very own Shayne Tilley.

Late last year Darren looked at some of the DIY image and graphics tools we use here on ProBlogger — many of which I frequent daily. However with design, whilst I can resize and format an image and cover some the basics, the idea of approaching more complex design tasks very quickly exceeds my skills – and bad can design can be worse than no visuals at all!

So today I wanted to share with you how a marketing guy with no design skills and no time to waste gets through a pile of design jobs every month without spending a fortune.

The quick stuff:

I’m finding more and more there’s a ‘real-time’ element to design. Posts need more supporting (and complex) visuals to improve the quality and iterations are needed for more shareability. On top of that, when doing A/B testing you need to be creating visual variations in batches as much as copy.

Personally I appreciate, and am often amazed by, high-end visual work (just spend an hour with this guy and you’ll know what I mean), I just can’t bring myself to pay $100 an hour to create five versions of a button, or create a collage to share on Facebook.

So for this work I use:

swiftly

I was first introduced to Swiftly through my history with 99designs. After running a few trials in the initial days I was impressed by not only the quality but the speed of delivery. So excited was I about by what they were doing, I’ve offered my help the to team with their plans for world domination.

Price: $19 flat rate

fiverr

To be honest, I’ve used fiverr more for fun than serious work. For example, if I need to play a gag on a mate for his birthday. But there has been the odd occasion where work and fun meet with my graphical requirements and that’s where I’ve headed.

Cost: $5 + upgrades

microlancer

Microlancer is a bit of copy/paste of fiverr, but brought to you by the Envato network that I use a lot for stock WordPress themes and plugins. It’s perhaps a little more serious/businesslike than fiverr, and I’ve used them for slightly bigger design jobs. It’s newish and time will tell but I’m impressed with my experiences to date.

Cost: $5-$500

Why I like swiftly over the others… (with a disclosure)

Being totally upfront here, I’m helping the swiftly team at the time of writing this post. But I’m very selective about who I work with and I’m helping because I believe in what they are doing…

I believe they are destined to be the Google of quick design services. What I mean by that is I can spend 30 minutes browsing for the right freelancer on fiverr or microlancer for my task. In the same time I can have my designs already done with Swiftly.

They have built some behind-the-scenes magic to play matchmaker. I just tell them what I want, they find me the best person for the job, and it’s done.

There’s a reason we use search engines not directories to find stuff these days, and they’re doing the same for great design talent.

The big stuff:

When it comes to major overhauls like full site re-designs, full landing pages there’s likely to be much more at stake. So more thought goes into deciding who I’ll use. My decision marketing process goes a little like this …

My network:

I’ve worked directly in the past with some great designers across the globe so often my first port of call is to tap into the design network I’ve built over time. The requirements and style of the design jobs I need can be very diverse, so I’ll never limit myself to just one resource.

With an idea of time, a feel for the budget and the style required, out will go the expressions of interest to a bunch of people I’ve got a history with.

I realise that not everyone with have these connections to begin with, so it’s important to start building your own.

A big part of finding great talent is to go to where they are.

Freelancer.com & 99designs.com

Both these sites have great designers in their thousands. You might run a 99designs contest or a freelancer project initially and then work 1:1 with designers who you click you in the future. You need to commit some time up front to find the talent in the crowd, but if your are thinking in the long term it's worth it.

But also don’t forget to look locally.

Whilst sites like the above tap you into the global market of designers, chances are good there’s a great designer just around the corner. Do some searching, send some emails, make some phone calls and you might be surprised. If you can find a great design partner locally and develop a relationship over time, you're in good shape. You can talk about your requirements face to face. The challenge of time-zones don’t matter. It’s a great place to be in.

The visual web is an every growing thing and getting stuff designed well is more important than ever. There’s no one size fits all solution to all your design needs, but if you make some smart choices and grow your network you can take the hassle and expense our of making your blog and the web more beautiful place to be.

Even if you can’t draw a straight line with a ruler, like me!

Shayne Tilley is the marketing guy for ProBlogger.net and Digital Photography School. The author of the PB Guide to Online Marketing and a long time contributor to the blog. When he’s not thinking of new and interesting ways to grow the ProBlogger sites, he’s either bashing up developers or hanging out with the swiftly.com team.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Looking to Outsource Your Design Needs? You Need to Read This

Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

Why Law of Attraction is For Rookies

Posted: 27 May 2014 06:38 AM PDT

Ever watch the movie “The Secret”?

If you’re like me and every other dreamer on this planet, there’s 90% chance that you did.

If you haven’t, let me give you a 15 second summary.

If you want health, attract it by THINKING it. And the universe will somehow conspire a way to give you six pack… or at least a path to get you there.

If you want a good parking spot at a crowded mall parking lot, attract it by THINKING it. Somehow magically, a car near the entrance will pull out and you’ll get that rock star parking lot.

If you want wealth, attract it by THINKING it. And the universe will somehow conspire a way to give you million bucks.

Right.

Ok, i am not ragging on positive thinking.

Because if you can’t or don’t motivate yourself, who is going to do it for you?

The critics are always out to criticize your dreams… the naysayers are always trying to poo-poo on your business/product/service… so yes, positive thinking IS important.

But it becomes ridiculous when people start thinking that this is the only thing you gotta do.

Nice Concept, Here’s a Reality Check

I think as entrepreneurs, we look for things that are… well, self-serving.

Meaning, that if I’m in good mood, I tend to see things that are good in the world.

If I’m in bad mood, i look for what’s wrong. If we’re dreamers, we tend to look for things that are going to enhance what our dreams are.

I, for one, was a huge fan of law of attraction.

Think good things and good things will come.

But I noticed there’s something flawed with it.

Well, at least, how people interpret it.

Rich Dentist, Poor Dentist

I’ve been doing some dental marketing and I have one customer who has the most vile mouth and probably one of the most negative outlook in terms of how he see’s the world. Yet this guy is doing 7 digit revenue with branches all over town.

According to law of attraction, he should’ve attracted nothing but anger, resentment, poverty, etc etc.

On a BIG contrast, I have a dentist friend who graduated from an ivy league dental school. He is one of the most morally correct, church going guys who never done anything bad in his life.

He even helps out with his parents who are struggling dry cleaners in NYC on weekends after working 60-70 hours a week at a clinic serving low-income medicare dental patients. (I even tried helping him buy a dental practice.)

Yet, he’s BARELY getting by.

Debt up to his eye balls, can barely eat out, etc. I know he’s a big believer of God (and law of attraction), … and I know he’s a very smart AND optimistic guy.. yet nothing is panning out for him.

So what’s the difference?

Did law of attraction not work?

Worse, did it work in REVERSE? Does he need the man by the river to give him a motivational talk?

(If you don’t get the reference, you’re either too young or you’ve never watched the funniest man in history of SNL.)

Use of Law of Effection, NOT Law of Attraction

MJ DeMarco (author of Millionaire Fast Lane) said it best… to get things in life, you cannot use law of attraction. Just by thinking it, it comes. If that were true, we’d all be rich, healthy/skinny, happy, etc etc. Instead, use law of effection.

Meaning… if you want a soulmate, you gotta EFFECT your way into finding one.

Imagine, if someone single who’s into law of attraction doesn’t feel confident about his ability to find his soulmate… the law of attraction would say that he would only draw in non-soulmates.. or no one at all.

How do you do this? Duh.

Go on lots of dates. Ask for referrals (just like you do with your dental clinics). Get on dating websites. Attend networking events. Go to church (if you want to date church goers). Hell, you can even do copywriting for your online dating profiles and do some A/B testing on it.

So do i believe that law of attraction is bull?

No. I think law of attraction.. correctly interpreted.. means that you SEE what your mind WANTS to see.

In another words, to have a positive outcome in life, you gotta have positive filter.

But did Michael Jordan become the best in basketball by having the most positive thinking?

No, he probably had the most practice out of anyone in the whole entire league.

(Hey Jeremy, see if you can get paid for this free Nike ad I just posted.)

Here are some of MJ’s nuggets of wisdom:

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

and my favorite one:

The key to success is failure

He effected a changed in his life by taking action, deliberate practice, and of course, taking RISKS even if he failed again and again…

Takeaway

If you’re a marketer or an entrepreneur, don’t worry if you’re not feeling super good about your campaign, your product, your service… NO matter WHAT the law of attraction says and you’re worried that you’re gonna “attract” failure.

Get change by effecting it.

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