In the vast world of graphic design, the sheer number of decisions one has to make can be overwhelming. To avoid that decision fatigue, we’ve compiled some of our favorite graphic design resources to make things easier!

So together, let’s explore some of the best graphic design resources available.

Dribbble

Dribbble is an incredible resource. It’s a design community with millions of members. You can use it to post your own personal work or portfolio, meet new like-minded designers, and look for meaningful design work. It’s one of the largest platforms in the world for showcasing one’s portfolio, and also a great place to look for inspiration! You can download literally thousands of design assets to use for free.

Dribbble features a lot of unique designs like this one above. If you’re looking at finding a talented illustrator, UX or graphic designer, Dribbble is the place to do so! You’ll find plenty of inspiration in the process, from cool color schemes to on-trend illustration styles.
We especially love the search bar available in all of the sub-categories. Search the best of icons, print design or cool typography, all in one place!

There are literally thousands of styles featured on here, with no shortage of ideas!

Burst by Shopify

Next up, we have Burst by Shopify! If you’re new to Shopify, it’s a multi-billion dollar eCommerce site which helps business owners sell their products online. Over the last several years, they’ve created dozens of incredible in-house products, from their own email marketing plugins, to stock images (with Burst).

Burst prides itself in being royalty-free and free to use. They have a very curated collection of stock photography that is perfect for your lifestyle blog, brand or Instagram content.

We especially love their integration that lets you “Create website with photo” using their web builder, just like that!

How good is this sharp coffee shop interior photo? The image is so warm and inviting, you can almost smell the fresh cup.

The Mockup Club

The Mockup Club is exactly what you’d imagine it is. Fresh image mockups that are free to use. You can search for models of phones, computers, books, as well as many other types of mock-up images! These images really stand out compared to some of the other free tacky mockups we’ve seen out there. The images are scalable, and high-res for pretty much any use!

This book mock-up is the perfect place for you to show a rendering of a design concept, photo book, or to preview an idea to your followers before it goes into production:

Open Foundry

Okay, by now, you realize we are huge fans of free fonts over here. Something we’ve learned over time is that there is a huge difference between all the free font sites. While some are a little on the amateur side, every so often, we come across a site like Open Foundry that offers such an excellent selection of modern, trendy, high-end fonts. It’s one of the best resources online for commercially-free typefaces.

One thing we love about Open Foundry is their interface that lets you preview your own text with an already well-designed background image and color palette.

We love this on-trend pixel-style font Terminal-Grotesque Open. The close-up image of the milk being poured into the glass adds to the overal futuristic feel:

Loving these free fonts? Well, we made a bunch of other font roundups, whether you’re looking for the best free fonts out there, some striking bold font options, or a graffiti-esque bubble letter font.

DrawKit

If you’re on the look-out for some new illustrations, DrawKit has a huge selection to choose from! Their free plan is fully stocked to give you amazing styles of scribbles, illustrations and icons. They have an incredibly high-standard for what they include in their offerings, and we promise you’ll be inspired by what you find!

You can search a huge variety of categories, and then narrow down your search to something more specific, like this 2D section of character illustrations below:

We love how DrawKit lets you preview the illustrations in use, to give you an idea of how they’ll be perceived in your product or webpage. These are fully customizable SVG files, which means you can enlarge them or change their colors to fully match your own branding.

Pigment by Shapefactory

Another true Snappa favorite that we just couldn’t leave out is Pigment by Shapefactory! Pigment is arguably the best color palette creator on the web. At first, their homepage looks like this:

Tons of different palettes appear, and you can scroll endlessly through them until you find one that catches your eye. Once you find one you like, you can click on it, and then it fills up your screen.

From this view, you can now click the middle white dot for each color, to select their shades. Then, once you nail down that perfect combo, all you need to do is just click the clipboard below, and it copies the color hex-code for you! Now you can paste it into your design project, all for free!

Snappa

Of course, we couldn’t make a graphic design resource round-up without including our design tool Snappa! If you need premium beautiful social media templates, then you have to try our easy graphic design tool Snappa.

Scroll through our in-house vectors to find that perfect face, squiggle, or doodle:

Then, once you find the perfect face you were looking for, bring it into your canvas where you can resize it and colorize it:

It only takes a few seconds to make a free account, and it’ll give you instant access to literally thousands of customizable templates, in-house illustrations and vectors, millions of stock images, and a ton of inspiration. It’s the perfect all-in-one platform for graphic designers of any skill level. Get started with Snappa here!

Final Thoughts

By now, you should be brimming with inspiration from these tools! It’s incredible the amount of free design resources that are out there these days. Still wanting more inspiration? Check out the video we made:

Whether you’re looking for a personal aesthetic, looking to hire someone for a project, or working on your company’s existing branding, we’re confident these free graphic design resources will level up your designs in no time.

Did we miss anything? Have you stumbled upon any must-have design resources lately? Please let us know in the comments below!

The post The Best FREE Graphic Design Resources appeared first on Snappa Blog.

If you have a business with an online presence, it’s essential to have a blog where you can deliver high value to your customers on a regular basis. Still, some businesses struggle with keeping readers and bringing in new ones.

There are many issues that can drive readers away from your blog, like an irregular posting schedule or content that doesn’t resonate with your visitors. Maybe you aren’t clear enough on your audience, or what they want to hear from you.

The best online blogs take the user experience and customer journey into consideration. They provide high-quality images and relevant content that make reading enjoyable.

Including visual content in your blog strategy can help to improve its overall performance. In this article, we’re sharing some key tips for how to create a great blog post with eye-catching visuals. 

The Importance of Visual Content in Marketing

Transitioning to visual content can be challenging, especially if you’ve made a large investment in text posts over time. However, if your blog isn’t performing the way you’d like it to, it’s time to pivot.

Maybe you’re studying your analytics and noticing that your bounce rate has increased. Or maybe you’re just not seeing a strong ROI from your content marketing efforts.

So here’s the question you should be asking: how can you draw more readers to your posts, and keep them on your site? How can you ensure that your readers are getting the full value for their time?

The answer is through visual content.

Visual content is essential for blog posts now. Statistics indicate that the brain retains 65% of image-rich information after a three-day period, while it only retains 10% of information without images.

This could explain why social media marketers have moved toward using more and more visual content. On top of that, it demonstrates why the top social media platforms (such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube) all have major visual components.

People want to see more pictures and video because visual content is simply easier to consume compared to text.

With that in mind, what you shouldn’t do is add images randomly throughout your content and posts. The key is to include relevant and value-adding visuals that will help enhance the user experience.

If you’re talking about the importance of using Instagram for your business and you include a meme of Kylie Jenner… that’s not exactly going to help your reader retain information. But if you include an infographic about the growth of businesses using Instagram, it will be much easier for your audience to visualize the value that you’re providing.

The Types of Visual Content to Include in Your Blog Post

Wondering what types of visual content you should be including in your blog posts? Let’s take a look at some of the best kinds.

Infographics

Infographics are a great way to showcase statistics and data into a visual image that is easy for viewers to see. Another good thing about infographics is that they’re sharable.

An infographic that is well put together and provides valuable information is more likely to be shared and seen by more people. Creating an infographic to go with your blog post can lead to more visitors on your blog if you embed the post link to your social media when you share the infographic.

Infographics work particularly well on platforms like Pinterest, where you can add a link to drive readers to their corresponding blog posts.

Images

Use images throughout your blog posts. According to Jeff Bullas, articles with images actually get 94% more total views.

Images enhance your blog posts and help your audience finish the articles. When using images, make sure that they are relevant to the text and are high quality pictures.

You can easily find free high quality images on websites such as Stocksnap.io. Then, you can put them together in a nice graphic with words using Snappa.

Video

Video has surged to the forefront of visual content on social media and blogs alike. With platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels leading the way, you can use video to drive readers to your blog. Or, you can embed video in your blog posts themselves.

If you have the time to learn video marketing, you can reap great results. Embedding videos with your blog post will help your readers absorb more of the information and will help spread your content to more people by posting it on YouTube.

See how BoostrapBay garnered over 750 000 views with only 16 videos.

Screenshots

Sometimes explaining a step-by-step tutorial with words can be difficult, and there is miscommunication present between your text and the reader. A better way to explain a step-by-step tutorial is with screenshots that the reader can follow along with.

Not only are you giving your audience a nice visual piece to look at, but you’re improving their user experience. This will minimize your users’ time spent figuring out what you’re trying to say.

Want to take your screenshots to the next level? Provide arrows and indicators on the screenshot to help show your users where exactly you want them to navigate to.

Data Visualization

Explaining the growth or decline of numbers can be extremely dense and boring. Using data visualization graphics such as charts and graphs can better educate your readers and will reduce information overload.

Explaining numbers in text is hard to visualize, so providing a graph demonstrating patterns and change can help tremendously and will prove to be much more effective.

Memes

If you’re looking for an informal and trendy way to visualize your content to your audience, memes have emerged to do just that. Although memes are considered informal in most situations, a relatable or humorous meme can create that “viral” effect just like an infographic.

Examples of Brands Using Visual Content

There are many excellent examples of brands using visual content on their blogs. Let’s take a look at a few of the best.

Hubspot Blog

The Hubspot is a great example of a blog which uses visual content effectively. Hubspot is a blog that discusses topics such as marketing and sales, so most of their content is information-heavy.

Hubspot’s blog visuals create a streamlined user experience and help to break up the data and information shared in each post. This makes it easier for readers to take in a large amount of important data quickly.

Hubspot uses visuals to help guide their users to the end goal. The types of visuals that Hubspot often adds to its blog include screenshots, third party examples, and infographics.

AdEspresso Blog

AdEspresso’s blog uses a great balance of branded graphics, screenshots, and data visualization in its blog posts. This platform focuses primarily on digital marketing strategy, implementation, and important stats.

Each featured image on their blog is crafted specifically for the brand. Note their use of branded colors and fonts to keep all visuals consistent across every touchpoint.

NastyGal Blog

NastyGal is an eCommerce store that sells women’s apparel. While they sell clothes online, they also have a blog called NastyGalaxy, which discusses topics around music, culture, style, and female advice.

The biggest takeaway from this successful blog is their strong emphasis on visual content. Each blog post is accompanied by several images, gifs, and memes that are highly relevant to the post itself.

NastyGal is growing at an incredible rate and their use of visual content is certainly a contributing factor to their worldwide success.

Best Practices for Images in Visual Content

When you include images in your visual content, there are some important best practices you should be following to get the best results.

Create a Branded Look

First, create a branded look for your visual content. As mentioned above, AdEspresso’s blog images are a great example of a branded look that’s seamless across its blog content.

Another fantastic example is the Elegant Themes blog. It’s a visually rich platform that offers readers a pleasant blog experience.

Your branded images should use your brand fonts and colors on a consistent basis, and fit seamlessly into your brand colors. If you have a great brand style guide, use that to guide your imagery.

Try to Include Images for Important Sections of Your Blog

Wherever possible, include visual content in the most important and impactful sections of your blog posts. This will help to solidify the information you’re sharing, and it will give your readers visual cues and takeaways as they absorb the information.

Make Images Easy to Share

Finally, make images easy for your readers to share on social media. Using images that are optimized for each platform is a great starting point (and if you need help with that, it’s easy to customize images on a platform like Snappa).

We’ve created size guides for shareable images on Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even Instagram Stories.

Add Alt Text to Your Images for SEO

For search engine optimization purposes, be sure to add appropriate alt text to the images you embed in your blog posts. The alt text should include SEO keywords and phrases for the blog post wherever possible. This will ultimately help your posts to have a better chance of ranking.

Best Practices for Blog Featured Images

Finally, using well-designed and blog featured images in your blog posts is an important step toward building visual content that draws readers in. Here are some best practices for optimizing your featured images.

• Like all branded images for your business, these should have a consistent look and feel, with branded colors, fonts, and images that fall in line with your brand’s tone.
• These images should be optimized for WordPress, or the specific blogging platform you’re using, so they’ll look their best.
• Your featured images should always relate to your blog post topic. That’s true whether you’re using stock imagery or a custom-designed graphic.
• Make sure to add SEO keywords to your featured images, too.

Final Thoughts

Text-centric blog posts have always been a central part of a fantastic content marketing strategy. But these days, audiences are looking for more visuals in the content they consume.

By adding visual content such as graphics, images, infographics, and video, your website visitors will be more likely to keep coming back for more.

Don’t worry about the time investment involved in adding more visual content to your blog posts. In the past, it was time-consuming and expensive to add graphics and images to your blog. But now, easy-to-use software tools can close that gap in an affordable and simple way.

Visual content can make a tremendous impact on your blog posts. Incorporating great visuals into your content is just becoming more and more essential over time.

Now that you know the impact of visual content, it’s important to start taking advantage of its benefits. Enhance your high-value blog content with visual resources that will take it to the next level.

Use a tool like Snappa to help you quickly and easily create custom, branded visual content for your blog posts.

With our custom graphic builder, you can make your own images that are optimized for each online platform—not just your blog. It’s easy, fast, and you don’t need to hire a graphic designer to make visuals that look great.

You can get started with Snappa for free here.

How do you use visuals to improve your blog posts? Have you noticed a difference? Let us know in the comments below!

The post How to Write a Good Blog Post Using Visual Content (2023 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Choosing the best Google Display Ad image sizes can make a significant difference in your ad campaign.

When it comes to creating visuals for Google Ads, there are many different size variations to choose from. But, there are a few specific sizes that tend to perform the best across mobile and desktop platforms.

Before we jump into the details, let’s talk a little bit about what Google Display Ads are and why they matter for brands with an online presence.

What Are Google Display Ads?

Google Display Ads are part of the Google Ads ecosystem. They’re distributed through the Google Display Network. This network uses analytics and retargeting to display advertisers’ Google Ads on websites as users browse online.

Display Ads feature an optimized image that helps drive potential customers to learn more about a product or service. You’ve likely seen these ads “following” you across multiple websites, especially if you previously clicked one.

Let’s say you visit your favorite retailer’s website and check out a few of their products. If that brand—or one of those products—is part of a Google Ad campaign, you’ll continue to see ads for it popping up wherever you browse.

Google Display Ads use visuals to raise brand awareness and keep products front-and-center for the user. These visuals make products and services more memorable, making it more likely that the user will want to buy.

Why Use Google Display Ads?

If you want to broaden your brand’s reach across different online platforms, Google Display Ads can help you do that. Not only will they appear in Google search results and on websites; they’ll also be shown to your potential customers on YouTube and other platforms owned by Google.

Google Display ads are essentially a one-stop way to get your ad visuals seen in a wide variety of places, from one point of origin: the Google Display Network.

Here are some important reasons a business might opt for using Google Display Ads:

• Boosting brand awareness across multiple touch points
• Retargeting for users who may have already interacted with your brand online
• Expanding your online reach to connect with more users
• Driving leads and conversions

Of course, like any graphic-based advertising, it’s crucial to have the right images—and especially the right image sizes.

The Top 4 Google Display Ad Image Sizes

While you can create Google Display Ads in over 50 size variations, there are a few sizes that perform exceptionally well. According to Google, these are the four top-performing ad sizes available in the Google Display Network.

Medium Rectangle – 300 Pixels x 250 Pixels

This rectangular ad is sized at 300 pixels x 250 pixels. It can feature both images and text, and it works well on mobile devices. That makes it an excellent and versatile ad size option.

According to Google, this particular ad size can help boost revenue if you opt to use both the Display Ad and text options. It tends to do well when it is displayed inline as part of an article or blog post. These ads also work well at the end of a post.

Large Rectangle – 336 Pixels x 280 Pixels

This is a slightly larger option than the medium rectangle, and it comes in at 336 pixels x 280 pixels. Large rectangle ads also perform well when embedded in an article, or when displayed at the end of one.

Using text in combination with your image could help to increase its reach. These ads are not mobile-optimized, so keep that in mind when you select your preferred size.

Leaderboard (Rectangle) – 728 Pixels x 90 Pixels

Leaderboard ads are long, rectangular Display Ads that work best when positioned above a website’s primary content. According to Google, they also perform well on forums.

Their dimensions of 728 pixels x 90 pixels help them fit in a narrow space at the top of a website. For that reason, they’re more suited to desktop ads and are not optimized for mobile devices.

Half Page – 300 Pixels x 600 Pixels

The half-page ad size, which comes in at 300 pixels by 600 pixels, is a Display Ad that takes up a bit more online real estate than the other options. This is an excellent option for brands that prefer to pay for larger ads.

Opting for a half-page Display Ad means you have a lot more space to work with, making it easier to get your message across. It’s also possible to build some engagement into these larger ads.

According to Google, this particular ad size is growing in popularity based on the number of impressions it receives. Brands that want to make their mark with eye-catching visuals might want to consider this ad size for desktop advertising.

How to Optimize Your Google Display Ad Images

First, it’s important to note that Google requires its ads to be sized exactly right. Keep this in mind when you create your ad graphic.

If you’re using a tool like Snappa to create a custom graphic size, you can input the specific dimensions into the builder on the main page. That way, you’re sure to create the correct image size.

Creating custom Google Display Ad images in Snappa is quick and easy. Once you’ve entered the correct image size, you’ll have plenty of backgrounds, graphic elements, and fonts to choose from inside the builder.

Best Design Practices For Google Display Ads

Finally, when you create your Google Display Ad Images, it’s important to stick to some graphic design best practices. You’re representing your visual brand through Google Ads, so it’s important to make sure everything is on point.

• Customize your ad with colors and images that align with your brand style guide. You want any images associated with your brand to be easily recognizable.
• Don’t try to force too much text into your images. Less is more.
• Make sure your fonts are on-brand and readable. You want users to be able to read your ads at a glance.
• If you use stock images or graphic elements, make sure users will be able to easily tell what they’re looking at. Busy or complex images could cause potential customers to keep scrolling.

Like the images above? Every single one of them are existing Snappa templates you can click on to edit! With a simple resize or image swap, your content will be ad-ready in no time!

Check out more graphic design tips here.

Final Thoughts

Creating right-sized images for your Google Display Ads is easy with a tool like Snappa. Now that you know the best Google Display Ad image sizes, all you need to do is enter those dimensions into our easy custom graphic size tool to get started.

You don’t have to be a graphic designer to get started with Snappa, and you can try it out for free. Get started here.

What are some amazing ad campaigns you’ve seen lately? Did they succeed in making you click them? Let us know in the comments below!

The post The Best Google Display Ad Sizes appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Whether you’re trying to emphasize certain words, create hierarchy in your designs, or make easy-to-read titles for your IG posts, bold fonts are your new secret weapon! Having a range of text styles in your design will create a more engaging visual experience. A bold font is just that, a simple but powerful way to create a dynamic design.

Thankfully, our software has some incredible bold font options to choose from. So we’ve curated 9 bold fonts for you to try on any project today! These are all free to use, and perfect in any use-case, whether being used for a logo, blog heading, or web page.

So let’s jump right in!

9 Striking Bold Fonts to Try for Free

1. Archivo Black

First up, we have what is arguably a staple. Archivo Black is a clean, crisp choice for any heading or title. Perfectly legible for small screens (ie. Instagram posts, Twitter profile pics). This bold sans serif is commanding and blends with the other elements in the design flawlessly. Use it in all capitals, and you’ll have a strong impactful design.

It also works perfectly for display ads as seen below. The bold clear type over the image has great legibility even if seen on a tiny display ad on the side of your browser.

2. Bolden

Next up we have the typeface called Bolden, a name that truly says it all. If you’re looking to bolden up your text, use this font for a title. Notice here how well it pairs with the muted lavender color tone.

One thing to note with this font: it is less legible than others, so its perfect to use sparingly on one or two words, but we woudln’t recommend its use for a full tagline. Use it to emphasize a single word, like in the graphic above. Think short words, titles or watermarks.

3. Anton

Anton is a favorite over here at Snappa. It’s easily recognizable by its condensed height. Try it with a wide letter spacing, and it’ll fill out the edges of your design nicely.

We love how it looks in the template above with the pink and yellow palette.

Expert tip: Why not colorize your text with colors found in your product image? Notice in the example above how incorporating the pinks and yellows from the images of cans creates a cohesive look and a smooth flow!

4. Cooper Hewitt Heavy

Cooper Hewitt is a charming typeface that comes in different variations. Originally created as a custom font for an art museum, it’s now publicly available and free to use for all of us! Seen here in the heavy variation, this font is a great choice for display ad titles and copy.

Give your graphic a billboard-like vibe with your slogan nice and bold at the top of the canvas.

5. Aileron Heavy

Aileron is another cool sans serif that makes for the perfect free Helvetica alternative. It’s great in many different sizes, and looks especially-uniform when used for a title and copy at the same time.

For fun, you might even want to pair Aileron heavy with its regular and thin variations to make some really cool designs!

6. League Spartan

League Spartan is a great interpretation of a 20th century sans serif font. Its timeless shape makes it versatile for all types of design styles. Seen here in a map-like infographic style, this font offers an easy-to-read classic aesthetic.

7. Rubik One

We love Rubik One’s subtle round edges. The roundedness gives it a fun and family-friendly feel. Use it for your summer camps, bubble tea menu’s, and any other graphic that you want to come across as family-friendly, all whilst giving a professional touch.

8. Archivo Narrow Bold

Another form of Archivo that gets a lot of use around here is Archivo Narrow Bold. Using a condensed sans serif font like this one is another show-stopper. Much like its sibling Archivo, it’s the perfect font for basically anything! Notice how it stays readable in the yellow shade here. Sometimes, when white text doesn’t read well over a brighter image, a nice shade of yellow will make all the difference! This is color contrast at its finest.

9. Lato Heavy

Lastly, we have Lato Heavy. It’s thick and wide, and looks stunning with short four to five letter words. Use it for your book club, swim club—heck—any club!

The gentle pink and blue color palette in this template is a bonus! It’s soft on the eye, but has enough contrast that your eyes are immediately drawn to read the text. This template is another prime example of design that doesn’t need an image to represent its content.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there’s no right or wrong way to use these bold fonts. When you’re looking to highlight certain words, create hierarchy, or just add some depth to your graphic, these bold fonts will do the job! If any of these typefaces we’ve covered jump out at you, don’t forget you can click on any of these images to try them for FREE in Snappa!

Bold fonts are a perfect way to grab the attention of your viewer, especially when your content has to be viewed on small screens, and devices. Now you should have a wide arsenal of fonts to use in your tool-belt. Gone are the days of hard-to-read text. These bold font variations will add dynamic and depth to your Instagram posts (or all posts for that matter!) in an instant.

Ready to make your own Instagram posts for free? Get started with Snappa here. What do you think? Are there any other bold fonts you would have included? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 9 Striking Bold Fonts to Try Today appeared first on Snappa Blog.

We’re well into the months of summer, which means that summer vacations are underway. And while many people look forward to these vacations all year— whether they hit the beach like most people, or they try to fly somewhere like Alaska for cold weather like me—, many have also found it increasingly difficult to fully enjoy their trips.

This can be a huge source of discord amongst the entire group during the trip, especially if one person is needing to rush back to the hotel to finish up an assignment or answer an email, even if they had noted that they’d be on vacation then. Whether you’re employed with an always-on team or a freelancer, it can be incredibly difficult to just step away.

As someone who has been there, I never want to do it again, and I know you don’t either. So if you have trouble detaching from work, here are a few tips to successfully take time off from work and enjoy your summer vacation.

1. Prepare Ahead of Time

The best way to be able to take those glorious few days (or, even better, weeks!) off for a vacation is to prepare in advance.

Request time off ahead of time if possible; the sooner, the better. Remind your boss, your coworkers, and clients that you work with at least two weeks before your trip that you’ll be taking time off and unavailable. As a freelancer, I provide at least one month’s advanced notice, and I remind them again a week before I leave.

This allows you to finish up any work that still needs to be done and assign responsibilities to different team members for the duration of your time off. It also prevents your boss or clients from “forgetting” and having last-minute projects they ask you to handle on your scheduled time off.

Try to complete all essential tasks two days before you’re time out of the office so that if anything urgent does come up on your last day, there’s time to handle it.

2. Leave Your Work Computer Out of Sight

When you’ve set sail (figuratively or literally), keep temptation at bay by keeping your work computer and your work phone out of sight.

It’s easy to want to check in to see what’s happening at work, even if they’re not pinging you and asking for help, so it’s best to keep any work devices out of reach. The last thing you want is to see that there’s a big project you’re dreading waiting for you when you return, or feel the need to respond to non-urgent emails.

Everyone needs time away from work, which is why an increasing number of companies have PTO minimums now. It’s good for your mental health, so make sure that you’re actively taking time off when you do have the opportunity to do so.

3. Set Your Phone to Do Not Disturb

Even if the primary work communication is through email or a work phone number, you may sometimes get calls from work on your personal number. You’re also likely to get calls reminding you about your kids’ open house at school, the payment for your pest control service, and (of course) alerting you about your extended warranty.

Staying disconnected from real life— as much as possible— can also help you avoid thinking about work.

Remember that you can always add contacts to your favorites list so that their calls come through, including family members, house sitters, or neighbors who are watching your home.

4. Remove Work Apps From Your Phone

If you’re using a personal phone for work purposes— which is particularly common for anyone using a virtual business line, and amongst freelancers— there’s a good chance that you have work-focused apps on said phone.

Slack, Asana, Microsoft Teams, ClickUp, and more.

You can go through and manually disable notifications from each app, but this can take some time and there’s a risk that you forget to enable them once you return. That being said, some prefer to completely remove the apps from their phones during vacation so they’re not tempted to check in while they’re away.

5. Avoid Your Normal Routine

Whether you’re traveling abroad or enjoying a relaxing staycation, try switching up your normal routine to escape a difficult work-life balance.

If you normally get up and check your work emails over a cup of coffee, switch it up and intentionally leave your phone behind while you go out to a cafe with a friend or partner. Changing your routine can be a good break to put you into vacation mode quickly.

6. Remember That Work is Just Work

Work is important, no one is denying that. But a job is also just a job. If you’ve done everything you could to hand off responsibilities and close out projects before your trip, enjoy your time away. You’ll never regret taking vacation time to enjoy life, but you likely will regret squandering it on a job that might drop you like a hot potato the second the economy takes a shift.

Work-life balance is important, and taking a complete work detox during a vacation is part of that.

Final Thoughts

As someone who has spent an entire night of vacation stressing because the hotel that was supposed to have internet definitely did not, I know I speak for many when I say that I’ve learned a hard lesson about trying to keep up with work on a trip away.

Vacation shouldn’t feel like a chore, and you don’t want to be rushing back on your time off to try to answer emails or knock out a few projects. It should be what refreshes you from work instead of stressing you out more. Otherwise, you’re likely to fall into professional burnout, which is easier to avoid than to heal from.

Follow the tips above to detach during your summer vacation and enjoy it for all it’s worth.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post 6 Ways to Detach From Work on Your Summer Vacation appeared first on Snappa Blog.

A well-designed landing page is no small feat! People might underestimate the necessity of a great landing page, but it’s crucially important for creating a strong first impression.

Using a landing page (sometimes called a “One Pager”) is the best way to make the process of converting customers simpler and easier. Sometimes, having multiple pages on your site can feel bloated and cause decision-fatigue, but a great looking landing page makes things simple and straight-forward, as it has all the information right there on a simple and easy-to-scroll page.

Whether you’re looking to create a page for a product, a CTA to join an email list, or an infographic-like page with important stats, we’ve curated 8 great looking landing pages for inspiration. While these range widely from each other stylistically, they were all created with the shared goal to create an engaging user experience.

So if you’re in the market for a new landing page, you’ll definitely want to check these out! These 8 pages will serve as inspiration and motivation to create an amazing landing page for yourself. Enjoy!

8 Great Landing Page Examples

1. Condo Leasing Landing Page Example

First of all, we have this long-scroll page for a new condo development. Neutral colors, bold sans serif typefaces, and thick underlines all draw your attention to the most important details on the page. There’s a sign-up box near the top, giving you the sense of urgency to sign up (while you still can)!

We especially love how the “V” for Victor adds cohesive branding to the page, as it appears in a lighter color as part of the background pattern.

2. GotPar E-List Landing Page Example

Next up, we have this crisp one page for GotPar, a golf newsletter. Direct and to-the-point, this page tells you exactly what you’ll find when you sign up; daily deals, top headlines and tips.

Its design features a playful golf icon as well as a fresh pop of green on the CTA button, reminiscent of days spent hitting the green.

GotPar’s one page is a reminder that less is more, and avoiding unnecessary visual clutter will ultimately serve your call-to-action!

3. Cooking Course Landing Page Example

Pimpinella’s page has the same vibe as a glossy full-color brochure. As a pasta making course, they featured pasta-like hues of yellow in their overall design, which is a fun touch that adds a friendly mood to the content. The page is a long-scroll that alternates between images and text, showing that the art of storytelling is as delicate as making pasta itself.

Kudos to them for including a video loop on the page that somehow takes up visual space without distracting the eye.

4. Coding Course Landing Page Example

React.GG’s landing page is the most playful so far. The page is for a course to master React, an open-source Javascript library, but the whole site scrolls like a board game. Your inner child will surely smile at the sight of this! The subtle grid pattern in the background feels technical and balances the playfulness with a sense of professionalism.

5. Dance Academy Landing Page Example

Here is some vertical text that’s as bold as it is dynamic. This dance academy page gets extra style points. Teaching a style of dance that requires wall running, the genius vertical placement of the text creates that same sense of movement. The bold black text pairs well with the muted pink background color, and the whole thing reads like a high-end art gallery. To represent something so movement-oriented as dance is an art itself, and this design does so with great impact.

6. Coffee Table Book Landing Page Example

This page is for a book of photography of beautiful modern homes in New Zealand. The landing page offers a clear explanation of what the book is, and the layout of the page itself is very much like a coffee table book. The artfully-blended photography and text, shows that the perfect amount of whitespace creates a gallery-like experience for the viewer.

Bonus points for how the window in the photograph frames the chair as if on display in a museum. They say an image is worth a thousand words, and this one, without words, visually explains the intent of the book itself!

7. Finance Landing Page Example

Victory Advisors, a London-based investment firm, felt no need for color as they created this black and white design. The combination of their serif fonts and pure-black creates the impression this firm is solid and reliable.

Color is completely avoided in this design theme, which feels like an intentional way to prove their professionalism and build trust. Pure-black backgrounds can be a great asset for all things finance; your fintech company, financial planning site or crypto-related blog can all benefit with a dark-mode style!

The only italics on the page is the underlined “Learn more” sentence at the bottom, which pairs well with the square logo to grab your attention.

8. Spotify Landing Page Example

Spotify made this page to offer transparency to their Artists on how their Stream revenue is determined, and the process in which it is accumulated. The title of the page “Loud & Clear” is of course loud and clear as a bold and literal statement. The page scrolls like an infographic, blending Spotify’s famous purple color with gradients, icons and on-trend illustrations.

Rather than just issue a written statement, Spotify created this on-trend guide to their payment process, with eye-pleasing cohesive design to engage the reader and communicate their vital information.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are no right or wrong styles for landing pages! It’s really a matter of choosing what feels best for your own brand, and sticking to it. Whether you’re creating a page for a fintech company or a golf newsletter, rest assured, there’s no single right way to do it. Your visuals are entirely up to you! As long as the information you’re conveying is well displayed, and your CTA is enticingly click-worthy, you’ll have an awesome landing page.

We hope you loved these cool pages from all over the net, and that you’re feeling inspired! Have you seen some cool landing pages lately? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 8 Great Landing Page Examples to Inspire You appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Summer is here! For many brands, that means updating visual graphics with a little seasonal flair. If you want to add a taste of summertime to your Pin boards, consider incorporating some great-looking summer Pinterest templates into your social media strategy over the next few months.

First, take a look at Pinterest’s most recent trend predictions to help inform your design decisions. Once you’ve got your creative strategy in hand, it’s time to find on-brand templates to support your best content.

Where to Find the Best Summer Pinterest Templates

If you’re wondering where to find the best summer Pinterest templates for your Boards this year, you won’t have to look far. Snappa has your back! In our extensive graphics library, you’ll find a wealth of pre-made templates you can tweak to suit your graphic design needs.

Once you login to your Snappa account (it’s free to get started!), click Pinterest Pin under Social Media Posts. From there, you’ll navigate to our library of Pin templates. It’s super easy to get started.

Each of our Pin templates reflects Pinterest’s recommended 2:3 aspect ratio and size of 1000 x 1500 pixels. However, Pinterest allows for a broader range of image sizes. (You can build custom graphics with Snappa, too.)

12 Templates to Inspire Your Summer Pinterest Board

When it comes to choosing summer Pinterest templates to post this year, there are many options to choose from. We’ve gathered 12 of our favorites below to give you plenty of inspiration as we head into the warmest months of the year. Let’s jump right into it.

1. Warm Colors and Sunlight

Take advantage of the summer weather in your Pinterest Pins by using images and graphic design elements with plenty of sunlight and warmth. This skincare Pin is an excellent example, although you don’t have to create cosmetic content to take full advantage of this design trend. If you opt for images of people, you’ll want to depict a range of subjects from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

2. Seasonal Foods

Sometimes, featuring seasonal food photography on your Pinterest Pins is a great idea–especially if you run a food-centric business, such as a restaurant, grocery, or nutrition shop. Stick with elegantly-plated foods that accurately reflect what you offer, and which look great on any size screen.

3. Fun, Simple Designs With Summer Graphic Elements

Sometimes, simple backgrounds work best. If that’s true for your visual branding, then you’ll love this no-fuss Pinterest template for your board! It features a no-nonsense font and a cute set of icons that really jump off the page. Adjust these colors to match your brand and you’ll be in business!

4. Neutral Colors With Natural Light

Graphic elements featuring neutral colors often pair well with naturally-lit photographs. The sun illuminates spaces, objects, and people in such a complementary way. Using neutral design colors gives those photos a chance to stand on their own. And, since Pinterest is such a visually-driven social media platform, this is the perfect chance to incorporate some naturally-lit photography into your pins.

5. Refreshing Foods and Beverages With Monochromatic Colors

Try pairing an image of a refreshing food or drink, such as iced coffee, a smoothie, ice cream, or a popsicle, with a corresponding color palette. This template is a fantastic example. Not only does it display a chilled cold brew front-and-center; the design elements reflect and support the colors that already exist in the photograph.

6. Summer Fruits With Post Text

Using strawberries, citrus, berries, or other summer fruit in your designs can lend a refreshing look and feel to your marketing, especially your Pinterest boards. We love the way summertime fruits can really pop, both in photographs and in graphic design. This is just one of many food-oriented templates you can choose from in Snappa’s library, so let your imagination run wild! Make sure there’s plenty of space for any text or memorable quote you might like to share.

7. Colorful Gradient Backgrounds With Simple Text

Rainbow gradient backgrounds come in all color combinations, and they look fantastic paired with simple text that stands out. Use clean graphic design elements to add extra descriptors to your Pin. Finally, don’t be afraid to let your designs breathe. There’s no need to crowd your Pins with too many images or too much text.

8. Summery Photography With Brightly Colored Design Elements

Evoking great memories of childhood summers is a wonderful way to connect with your audience. And, nothing says summer like a great snapshot of the afternoon sky or a field of colorful flowers. Consider pairing a pretty picture from your collection with some bright lettering for a warm, fun look that’s both easy to read and reminiscent of the hot weather.

9. Complementary Colors With Fun Fonts

Setting the right summertime mood for your visual branding is all about choosing the right colors. Whether you’re creating special graphics for short-term offers or launching a new product from the ground up, keep in mind that your audience needs to be able to read the text you select. That’s true for the colors you choose, as well as the images that go with them.

10. Product Image with Background Cutout

We love the combination of monochromatic graphic design elements alongside photography, like the Pinterest template below. The simplicity of the lavender background and purple design elements helps the cookies stand out in an eye-catching way. This design style would be fantastic for foods, beverages, and physical products that photograph well.

11. 80’s Design Elements

Nostalgia for the 1980s and 1990s is in full swing, so it just makes sense to include a 90s-style Pinterest template in the mix. If you’re incorporating love for your favorite era into your marketing this summer, this template has what you need to get started. Tweak as needed to get the effect you want. Elder millennials and Gen-Xers will especially love including this look on their Pinterest boards.

12. Deep Colors and Vintage Style

A Pinterest template with deep colors and vintage style–both in the fonts and the photography–has a distinct “Summer of Love” look. If your visual brand is a little bit retro-inspired, this type of Pin is a fantastic way to go. Pair a dark, earthy background color with light, summery font colors to really help your words stand out.

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve got some great inspiration for your Pin board this summer, it’s time to choose your favorite summer Pinterest templates and start creating. Tools like Snappa make it quick and easy to select a template and start customizing to fit your brand’s needs.

Want to give Snappa a try? You don’t need graphic design expertise to get started. Sign up for free here to create your own summertime Pins today.

The post 12 Summer Pinterest Templates to Inspire Your Next Board appeared first on Snappa Blog.

A great Room Picture is essential to deliver a successful live video session on Lemon.

A Lemon Room Picture appears on your Reception Page, which you use to promote your live sessions and encourage viewers to register for them. It should contain a good quality image that reflects the subject area of your live session.

In this article, we share our tips on how to design the ultimate Lemon Room Picture.

First Things First: What Is Lemon?

Lemon is a paid live video platform for creators and brands. With high-quality live streaming, easy payments, and tools to engage and monetize audiences, Lemon enables creators to build strong connections with viewers and generate income through paid access to their content.

Lemon’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to set up, schedule, and share live video sessions with audiences. With a variety of customization options, creators can personalize their rooms to exhibit their distinctive brand and content.

Lemon’s focus on high-quality visuals and seamless streaming experiences enables creators to professionally deliver their live content. It is an ideal platform for anyone delivering lessons, courses, training, events, online services, or live experiences.

What is the Lemon Room Picture?

The Lemon Room Picture is the key visual element of a Room Reception page, which is designed to promote your live sessions and encourage viewers to sign up for them.

It is a visual representation of the content delivered in a live session. It should make an impression on customers, playing an important role in attracting new viewers and retaining existing ones.

By designing an attractive Lemon Room Picture, you not only showcase your content  – you also establish your professionalism and dedication. A quality Room Picture builds your credibility with viewers and sets the expectation that you will provide an engaging experience in your live session. It helps you stand out amongst other creators and attract the attention of potential attendees.

What is the Lemon Room Picture size?

Lemon recommends an ideal Room Picture size of 1280 pixels wide and 720 pixels in height, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. This is an aspect ratio of 16:9.

It is necessary to keep essential elements such as text and logos within safe areas (i.e. with a minimum spacing between them and the edge of the image) to prevent cropping or obscuring on various screens.

How To Make a Lemon Room Picture for free

Snappa’s user-friendly, feature-packed graphic design tools simplify the creation of a Lemon Room Picture. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to creating a Room Picture for free on Snappa, complete with screenshots to walk you through the process.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign up for a free Snappa account at https://snappa.com.
2. Once logged in, click on ‘Create a Graphic’ and select the custom size option. Enter 1280 for width and 720 for height, then click ‘Create’.
3. Choose a background image that reflects your content, or upload your own. Remember to keep the focus on the central area for optimal visibility.
4. Add text to your design, making sure to choose a legible font and contrasting color to ensure readability. Keep your title short and enticing to capture viewers’ interest.
5. Add any relevant logos or branding elements. Ensure that there is some space between the text and the edges of the graphic. This will ensure that the text is clearly visible when uploaded to Lemon, without it being cropped or obscured in any way.
6. Once you’re satisfied with your design, click ‘Download’ and select the appropriate format (ex: JPG or PNG).
7. Log in to your Lemon account at https://lemon.fm
8. Click on ‘Create Room’ and follow the instructions to create your room (ex: title, date, pricing, etc.).
9. Upload your Cover Picture, either by clicking Upload Picture and selecting your file, or by dragging and dropping it.
10. View the Preview of your Cover Picture and zoom, rotate, or adjust the positioning of the image as required, and click ‘Submit’.

That’s it! Your Lemon Room Picture is done.

Examples of Good Lemon Room Pictures

The aim is to create a picture that reflects the content of your live session and the value you generate for your viewers. Your picture should be eye-catching, communicate the value you offer, and stimulate participants to click and register.

Here are some less effective examples of pictures:

These examples are not attractive and do not appear professional for a number of reasons: the images are not appealing; they don’t present clearly the subject area of the live session; and they lack a text overlay or branding to help differentiate themselves from others.

Here are some more effective examples of pictures:

These examples are attractive and appear professional for a number of reasons:

• Photo: a good photo of a person, appearing friendly and approachable;
• Color: a careful selection of colors, often with bright tones;
• Title: a short, catchy description of the offer (ex: ‘On-page SEO’, ‘What is your English Level?’);
• Visual Layout: elements are centered and aligned;
• Outcomes: text includes what you get from the lesson (ex: ‘techniques’, ‘yoga flow’);
• Messaging: is positive and engaging (ex: ‘powerful’, ‘stress relief’, ‘take the test’).

3 Lemon Room Picture Best Practices You Need To Use

Show What Your Live Session is About

When someone sees a Room Picture on your Reception Page for the first time, you want them to instantly understand what you’re offering and why it should interest them.

The following Room Picture is an excellent example of how to achieve this:

In this example, the picture effectively communicates the topic through the use of a relevant image, a clear and concise title, and a brief description. This combination of elements helps potential attendees quickly grasp the value of the live session and stimulates their interest, increasing the likelihood of registration.

When your picture highlights the value of your live session, this enables viewers to understand the subject matter and goals of your event. A well-chosen image can even convey the atmosphere of the live session, the target audience, and the main learning outcomes.

Use High-quality, Relevant Images That Reflect Your Content

Selecting high-quality images is essential for creating a professional and visually appealing Room Picture. Low-resolution or pixelated images can suggest to viewers that your live session will be of poor quality, or that you lack attention to detail. To ensure your picture stands out, choose clear, crisp, and relevant images.

High-quality images help establish trust and credibility with your audience and encourage them to engage with your content.

Use Contrasting Colors

Using contrasting colors in your Room Picture helps draw attention to essential information and improve the overall readability of the image. Contrasting colors make text and other key elements stand out (or ‘pop’!), ensuring that potential attendees can quickly and easily understand the value of your live session.

This design technique also adds visual interest and makes your Room Picture more memorable, helping you attract more participants.

Where to Find Eye-catching Lemon Room Pictures

Some striking Lemon Room Pictures can be crafted from graphics, such as those created using Buffer and Drip, while others utilize photographs. Regardless of your preference, if you don’t have your own high-quality photo or image, there are numerous resources that can supply images for you.

These include:

• Free stock photo sites, including StockSnap, Pexels, and Unsplash, which provide free stock photos for commercial use;
• User-generated content (UGC) is often free and abundant. Some UGC is very high-quality, and many users will be delighted if you use their content in your Lemon Room Picture;
• Alternatively, Midjourney is a generative AI program that enables you to create images and artwork through language descriptions or “prompts”, and is an increasingly popular option.

Final Thoughts

The perfect Lemon Room Picture plays a vital role in making a great first impression on viewers. Your image should look good on both mobile and desktop devices, without odd cropping or off-center positioning. Combining the ideal Room Picture size with Lemon Room Picture best practices helps you establish an engaging online presence for your live sessions on the platform.

With Snappa, you can create professional-quality Room Pictures that will make your live sessions stand out and attract more customers. Start designing today with Snappa and maximize your Lemon experience!

The post The Perfect Lemon Room Picture & Best Practices appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Writing an eBook is exciting, and nothing is better than the feeling you have when you’ve completed the writing and are ready to publish it. Before going straight to publishing, though, you need to create an outstanding eBook cover that will tie it all together and even help improve the purchase or download rate of the book itself.

For many writers and content creators, this can feel like a thorn in their side, especially if they consider themselves to be exclusively writers and not designers. Fortunately, there are plenty of best practices, eBook templates, and amazing examples to make the process easy.

So, need to create an eBook cover for your project? Let’s look at 8 killer eBook cover examples and go over how to create a great cover yourself.

What Should an eBook Cover Accomplish?

A great eBook cover should never be an afterthought; it needs to be given the same amount of attention as any other aspect of book creation, especially since it can directly impact how many purchases or downloads the book receives. We all like to say we don’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s no denying that the cover has a pretty major pull.

Your eBook cover, therefore, must accomplish the following:

• Capture a reader’s attention and interest
• Make a good first impression; you want it to look professionally done to earn instant respect
• Display the title and author title in an easy-to-read font
• Set the tone for your story from an aesthetic perspective

5 eBook Design Best Practices (with Examples!)

Want more inspiration? These are a few simple but highly effective eBook design best practices that will help you create a strong cover that gets results.

1. Keep it Simple

When in doubt, simple is always a good graphic design choice. You never want the cover to look too cluttered to the point where it becomes distracting. This template uses a single black-and-white background image to set the tone of the book and capture reader interest.

2. Start with an eBook Cover Template

I know we’ve talked about templates a lot already, but for anyone designing their own eBook cover, this is a highly effective way to go. Here at Snappa, we have dozens of eBook templates that are already sized correctly and come with intricate design elements in place.

All of our templates are fully customizable and use drag-and-drop design features to make the entire process easy.

3. Contrasting Colors Are Your Best Friend

We’ve seen a lot of contrasting colors so far, so there’s no surprise that they can help key elements of your cover design stand out. Text should always contrast from its immediate background so that it’s easy to read, but core design elements should also stand out, too.

4. Choose a Color Palette That Matches the Book’s Aesthetic

You want your eBook cover to represent the content inside. You also want it to appeal to your target audience.

Choosing a color palette can have a major impact here. The below is feminine, with pastel colors and design elements, all the way down to the woman’s pink fingernails. This is a very distinct look, and it wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but it would jump out at the target audience.

5. Use Design Elements to Make It Interesting

Finding simple ways to make your eBook cover stand out is a great way to go, and we’ve seen a few examples of covers that do that well.

Bright colors, oval shapes, and a warped background checkered pattern, all work together to bring your attention to the book’s title in our example below. Bright shades of orange and blue can add a strong impact, without being too overwhelming when done correctly.

4 More Outstanding eBook Cover Examples & Templates

If you’re worried about recreating amazing eBook covers that you’ve seen online and adapting them for your own book, I’ve got some good news for you: eBook cover templates make the process much easier and faster, even if you have no graphic design experience.

We’re going to look at 4 additional strong eBook cover examples, all of which are available as eBook templates through Snappa, so you can recreate your own version of anything you see in just a few clicks.

1. The Aspirational Cover

We downright love this eBook cover here at Snappa. It does a few things very, very well:

• It highlights the most important part of the title in big, all-caps sans serif lettering
• It has the “complete guide to” secondary text visible, but italicized and smaller for visual interest
• The author’s name is perfectly legible in a solid color block at the bottom
• The background picture isn’t of a boring computer; it’s sunglasses, indicating that the author is living their best freelance life somewhere outdoors and tropical and you can, too

2. The Branded Cover

We know we likely have plenty of indie authors reading this post, but for any brands who are creating eBooks (or freelancers creating eBooks for their clients), you’re likely going to need to work a logo somewhere on the eBook.

You need to do this without sacrificing the overall look, and this cover is a great example of how to do that. A subtle-but-still-there publishing name at the bottom of the cover (and using the same color as the color block used for the author’s name) is a solid way to add some necessary branding with subtlety.

3. The Bright & Simple Cover

Bright, bold colors are going to stand out online. Bright colors (especially yellows and oranges) are also psychologically associated with happiness, so it can be a feel-good color choice right off the bat.

This eBook cover uses neon-bright green to attract attention and capture reader interest.

4. The Bold Text Cover

We’re going back to color psychology with this one. Big blocks of red text (and white text in red blocks) have an authoritative, definitive feel. You must read this.

We also love the background photo, which adds interest and character, taking the design up a step, but that’s greyed out and translucent enough that it doesn’t take away from the main focus: The text itself. This was a great choice since this is a more text-heavy eBook cover. If you have a long title or lots of information to convey on your eBook cover, this is the template that’ll help you do it!

Final Thoughts

eBook covers can directly impact the sales or downloads of your book, so you want to get it right, and cover templates make that much easier.

Consider the aesthetic you want to go for and start with a template that aligns with that! You’ll have your next eBook cover ready in no time.

Ready to create your first eBook cover for free? Get started with Snappa here.

The post 8 Amazing eBook Cover Examples appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Millennial and Gen Z employees in the workforce are talking about business ownership in larger numbers than generations before. This is perhaps no surprise since the gig economy has been flourishing, and since it’s also no secret that if your business is successful, you can make much more as a business owner than an employee.

Small business ownership can seem glamorous and appealing. And in many ways, it can be. As a small business owner of a freelance writing business, I love the work I do in my home office. I get to set my own schedule, choose my clients, and even choose the projects I want to work on, and the pay rates I’m willing to work for.

All of that is wonderful… but there are also very real aspects of business ownership that aren’t so enticing. There are seven things I tell everyone who comes to me asking about freelancing or business ownership so that they can make a more informed decision and know what they’re getting into.

So let’s take a look at 7 things no one (or at least most people) won’t tell you about small business ownership.

1. You’ll Wear a LOT of Hats

When you’re starting and running a small business, you’re going to wear a lot of hats and have a lot on your plate.

I don’t just create content for my clients. I also need to:

• Manage invoices
• Track and manage business expenses
• Keep up with third-party contractors that I hire
• Manage relationships and scheduling for around fifteen clients a month
• Pay different types of taxes around nine times per year
• Understand and manage legal contracts

And my business is extraordinarily simple.

Small business owners should expect to at least be supervising customer service, quality assurance, finance, legal, and product development. This can be overwhelming at times.

2. It’s Harder to Take Time Off

As you’re wearing a lot of hats, you’re going to be heavily involved in multiple areas of the business. As a result, it may be harder to take time off.

If you’re a single-member business like me, taking time off becomes incredibly difficult. Clients each have unique deadlines, and some need revisions unexpectedly. It’s hard to just press pause, even for a few days, especially since if I’m not working, I’m not making money.

Be prepared for your phone to ring even if you’re away from the office. Even a well-trained, hard working team may need assistance when you’re working on scaling.

3. Decision Fatigue is Real

The number of decisions you make on a daily basis can be exhausting in its own right, and decision fatigue can be difficult to overcome.

How much do you want to charge your clients?

Are you willing to negotiate on that price for high-value, high-visibility clients that could get you more work in the future?

When is your schedule full? Are you willing to take those extra projects on a weekend to make extra?

What software should you use?

Should you work with a third-party contractor or hire an employee?

Are you ready to scale? Do you want to?

You get the idea. There are a lot of big and small questions that you may need to answer daily, and it can be mentally draining. Making sure you prevent burnout becomes essential.

4. If You Don’t Stay Competitive You’ll Fall Behind

You can have an outstanding product or service, and a solid base of clients. It can be challenging to get to that point… but it’s also sometimes hard to stay there.

While small business ownership relies heavily on momentum, you need to keep that momentum going. As new talent emerges onto the market, they’ll step up if you start to falter.

For me, that means staying up to date on content marketing, search engine optimization, copywriting, and social media changes and best practices.

SaaS companies need to monitor the competition to make sure their features are stacking up to what else is on the market.

You need to ensure that you’re never getting complacent and that you’re always pushing to grow. While this is true for many employee positions, the reality is that the cost of additional education is on you.

5. You Want to Know Your Insurance Options

Most employees consider health, life, or disability insurance policies as part of their benefits packages when they first sign-on with a company. Aside from that, they don’t need to consider insurance much.

For business owners, that’s not the case. You’ll need to consider what happens if your business is sued. What if your products hurt someone? Or cause a legal liability, including due to cyber security issues? Or what if one of your employees is injured at work and sues?

Look into different insurance options to protect your company from all legal threats. You may not think you’ll need it, but you never want to be without insurance if you do need it. Consider talking to a business lawyer about what sort of policies are most essential in your business’s industry and location of practice.

6. It Can Be Bad for Anxiety

The anxiety of business ownership and freelancing is hard.

I’ve always been on the highly anxious side, but freelancing just about broke my brain the first few years. Every month I was so nervous about how much income I’d generate the next month and if my clients would dry up.

I’ve learned to manage that anxiety, but now there’s still an edge of panic that’s hard to overcome every time the word “recession” pops up.

For many, business ownership is a dream, and there’s a lot riding on it, including potentially significant financial investments. And the anxiety of knowing it’s all on you to make your business a profitable success despite the fact that there’s so much out of your hands can be challenging.

7. There’s Both More & Less Job Security

When everything first spun out of control in March 2020 during COVID-19 shutdowns, I lost five clients in a day. I wondered if my business was going to go under with nothing I could do to stop it. My now-husband and I went to the courthouse the next day to get married six months ahead of schedule, because we had no idea what would happen.

If I lost my business, I’d get no severance. There was, in some ways, no job security. Clients could drop me because I was low-hanging fruit, and it meant they could hold onto their actual employees a little while longer.

At the same time, however, it’s worth pointing out that I also have more job security than standard employees because my eggs aren’t all in one basket. During the huge tech layoffs last summer, I lost two clients. Those clients laid off large portions of their employees. If I worked only for one of them as an employee, I’d have been totally out of a job.

As it was, however, I only lost a small portion of my monthly income, which I was able to replace within three months.

You have both more and less job security as a business owner. There’s more on the line, but there’s also more you can do (in most situations) to control the outcome.

Final Thoughts

Business ownership of any kind (including managing my very small freelance writing business) is not for the faint of heart. It can be full of highs and lows, and the lows of struggling to get momentum, facing rejection, and the anxiety of what will happen can be a challenge.

That being said, if it’s the right fit for you, it’s also worth it.  There are plenty of resources and tools available to make business ownership easier, and you can (and should!) hire people to help your organization grow. With the right people, tools, and strategies in place, it can be an amazing and profitable adventure that’s well worth it!

Need help with graphics for your small business? Learn more about how Snappa can help here! 

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