1. Salesforce Sales Cloud CRM

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14 décembre 2022/par Service comm.

27 Best Small Business Ideas for Designers

Designers have a wide range of lucrative career options.

This resource puts together some of the best small business ideas to help chart your career path.

It covers the market size, earning potential, estimated startup cost, the target audience, and the value they bring to the table. You’ll also learn how to launch the business, the required training and licenses, and a few companies already killing it in the space for your inspiration.

So, let’s begin.

Table of Contents

Online Course for Designers and Animators

Graphics Design Business Serving Brick-and-Mortar Outlets

Graphics Design and Animation Coach

WordPress Themes and Website Templates

Email and Newsletter Templates Creator

Fonts

Graphics Templates and Marketing Collateral

Presentation Template Designer

Custom T-Shirts and Screen Prints

Comics

Sewing Patterns and Fashion Designs

Wrap Designer

Videographer and Video Editor

Online Freelance Designer

NFT Artist

Event Designers

Extended Reality Designer

Photographer and Photo Editor

Sell Coloring Books

Products and eCommerce Packaging Designer

Publish Books and eBooks

Printing Press

Website Design Services

Graphic Design Academy

Design Teams

Image Credit: Medium

YouTuber

Newspaper, Magazine, and Catalog Design Agency

Online Drawings and Handcrafts Sales

How to Choose the Best Business Ideas as a Designer

1. Online Course for Designers and Animators

The demand for digital designers will grow by 23% until 2031—faster than America’s 5% average occupation growth rate. And the market for online courses will grow at the same speed to reach $198 billion in sales by 2030.

Also, 87% of managers said hiring more UX designers is their organization’s top priority.

Earning potential: $19,500 to $135,000 annually (or $69,900 average).
Top marketplaces: Udemy, Udacity, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, Thinkific, Alison, AppSumo, CyberU, PluralSight, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $8,000 to $36,000.

Target Audience and Value

Create and sell online courses based on your transferable design skills. Let’s explore five options:

1. Motion Design Courses

Students pay about $85 to $600 for motion design courses.

And students can recuperate their investment quickly since motion designers earn between $58 to $300 per hour.

2. Product Design Courses

Jaguar C-X16 Design. Creative Commons.

Product design courses are between $85 to over $4,000.

Product designer roles pay about $115,000 annually. And finding employment is easy, as over 70% of hiring managers have increased their designer hires.

3. Graphic Design Courses

Art Director and Graphic Designer Peter Cocking, on utilizing white spaces. Creative Commons.

Top-earning graphics designers earn about $43 an hour or $90,000 a year. So, you can sell this online course for $85 to $15,000 per student.

4. User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design Courses

Pixabay image

UI/UX online course creators usually take $85 to $2,500 per student. And students who become top earners take home up to $174,000 a year or $84 an hour.

5. Fashion Design Courses

Wikimedia Commons

Fashion designer courses cost $40 to $4,000.

However, top designers earn over $90,000 a year. So your students can get outsized value from their investment.

How to Launch

Launch your online design course in seven steps:

Find a simple course idea
Outline the course
Create the first module
Build your sales page and join marketplaces
Create your thank you page
Write your sales emails
Launch your course

Most people get stuck in the ideas phase. Instead, find a simple course idea based on your skills and launch it.

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Course marketplaces have unique education requirements. So check the publisher requirements of the platform you want to launch the course.

However, most marketplaces do not require special certifications to launch a design course.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Adobe After Effects: Complete Course from Novice to Expert by Louay Zambarakji.

Courses from Motion Design School.

2. Graphics Design Business Serving Brick-and-Mortar Outlets

Graphic design for brick-and-mortar outlets can be a quick way to start your small business for designers. These businesses use graphic design services to create marketing collateral, like flyers, presentations, and brochures, to send brand messages to their audience.

The increasing demand for designers drives consistent global graphic design market growth, currently valued at around $43.4 billion.

Earning potential: $35,000 to $66,000 per year (or $47,921 average)
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer.com, SolidGigs, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $2,000 to $10,000.

Target Audience and Value

You can provide graphic design services to countless small businesses, and some of them include:

1. Ice cream shop

Image credit: Fiverr

You can create packaging designs and logos for those planning to own ice cream shops. The top Fiverr designers charge around $25 per project, while some value their services up to $260 per project.

2. Landscaping Business

Image credit: Fiverr

Most landscaping businesses need graphic designers to help with custom 3d Landscape concept design and illustrations for their client’s properties—some designers on Fiverr charge around $180 per project and up to $480 for premium service.

3. Catering Business

Image credit: Fiverr

Catering business logos on Fiverr costs $5 to $100 per project. However, some top designers charge up to $450 for premium services.

4. Food Truck Business

Image credit: Fiverr

Professional food truck and trailer wrap designers on Fiverr charge $25 to over $100 per project. You transform the designs into formats such as AI, JPG, and PDF to provide multiple use options for the business.

5. Pet Sitting

About 70% of U.S. households own a pet. That’s approximately 91 million households, nearly ten million more than the population of Germany, the EU’s largest population, making a pet business lucrative.

You can design logos and marketing materials for pet-sitting and dog-walking businesses. The standard rate on Fiverr is between $5 and $100.

How to Launch

Start your graphic design small business in six steps:

Build your portfolio by offering free designs
Name your graphic design business
Build a basic website
Create social media accounts
Join top graphic design marketplaces
Build your email lists and run ads

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Starting this new business doesn’t need special certifications and licenses. However, pursuing certifications like Adobe Certified Associate and other courses on Udemy and Coursera can advance your credibility.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the small businesses making waves in this space are:

Landor & Fitch.

Polar.

3. Graphics Design and Animation Coach

Graphic design and animation coaching is one of the best small business ideas to start as a designer. Consider this career path if you’re curious about designs and motion graphics and are passionate about teaching.

Employment for professionals in this field will grow by 5% from 2021 to 2031, as fast as the average for all occupations.

Earning potential: $79,153 average compensation per year.
Top marketplaces: Udemy, Coursera, Alison, Fiverr, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $0 to $15,000, depending on whether you run the coaching business from home or the office.

Target Audience and Value

Let’s explore some of the coaching services you can provide:

1. Personal Training and Coaching

Image credit: Iveta Karpathyova Studio

One-on-one graphics and animation coaching via Zoom is in high demand. You can sell your training and coaching service on your website or online marketplaces. Some personal trainers charge about $650 for a three-month-long session.

Most non-marketplace users often charge more. For instance, Iveta Karpathyova, a graphic design personal trainer, takes about $2,000 for eight hours of private one-on-one instruction.

2. Graphic and Animation Coaching for Design Teams

You can use RFPs to find companies who want to train their in-house design teams in 2D or 3D animations. Also, you can target companies that use graphics to boost user engagement, like UX professionals.

Austin Saylor is an example in this space. He earns up to $10,000 from his training program for graphic design teams.

3. Online Courses

Image credit: Udemy

You can create online courses and sell them on marketplaces like Udemy, Coursera, and Alison if you don’t have the resources for one-on-one coaching. For instance, some animation courses on Udemy cost between $20 to $139 for old students or between $14 and $24.99 for new users.

How to Launch

Start your graphic design and animation coaching small business idea in seven steps:

Get professional training
Develop your business plan
Design your coaching courses and certificate of completion
Set your coaching fees
Set up your payment methods and plan your business finances
Choose a coaching business name
Create a logo and your brand identity
Set up your coaching website and social media presence
Design your marketing plan

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Once you possess transferable design and animation skills, you don’t need special training, certification, or licenses to operate a graphic coaching business. However, getting certification training will advance your qualification and give you the confidence to train people.

Some options include:

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some businesses offering graphic design and animation coaching services are:

Austin Saylor

Iveta Karpathyova Studio

Falcon Visuals

4. WordPress Themes and Website Templates

A WordPress theme and website template development business is one of the most lucrative small business ideas for designers.

The WordPress platform controls nearly 65% of the CMS market share and powers 43% of all websites. That’s a staggering 82 million, meaning there are about three times more WordPress websites than the number of web developers worldwide.

Shopify comes a distant second, powering only 3.5% of all websites. However, WordPress has over 11,000 themes. As a theme developer, you can tap into this lucrative market.

Earning potential: $12 t0 $12,000 per theme or template
Top marketplaces: Envato, Creative Market, and Codecanyon.
Estimated start cost: Premium WordPress theme builders costs between $99 to $200

Target Audience and Value

Some of the most successful business ideas or markets to explore in this field are:

1. WordPress Themes Development

Image Credit: Themeforest

Bestselling themes on Themeforest cost $39 to $69, while the most expensive options go for $6,000 to $12,000. Also, Fiverr developers charge up to $1,000 for custom WordPress theme development.

2. Site Templates Development

Best-selling site templates on Themeforest cost between $12 to $49. The high-priced ones go from $200 to $1,000. The price range for popular themes on Creative Market is the same as on Themeforest. However, the most expensive options range from $520 to $5,000.

3. Landing Page Templates Development

Landing page creation is a lucrative business because of its high demand for lead generation. The best-selling landing page templates on Themeforest cost $12 to $39, while the expensive ones go for $59 to $118, making them affordable.

How to Launch

Launch this new business idea with these simple steps:

Pick a niche
Develop your business plan
Set your pricing
Plan your business finances to understand the overhead costs involved
Design your themes and site templates on your computer
Develop the theme with premium theme builders like TemplateToaster or outsource to freelance theme developers.
Create a free version of the theme
Test your theme or site templates
Join a marketplace and sell your theme
Promote your business with paid ads

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special training, certification, or licenses to build a successful career as a theme developer. In addition, some theme builders don’t require coding knowledge.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some theme developers on Fiverr and Themeforest are:

Zainshabirdev

Scrn

5. Email and Newsletter Templates Creator

Email template development is another good business idea to explore.

There are over four billion daily email users, sending and receiving more than 306 billion emails daily, making it an effective channel to reach and engage customers. Also, data shows that 37% of brands are increasing their email budget.

As an email and newsletter templates creator, you can design beautiful templates for small and medium-sized businesses that can’t afford an in-house design team, digital marketing services, and marketplaces.

Earning potential: $10 to $150 per project
Top marketplaces: Themeforest, Fiverr, Creative Market, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $0 to $200

Target Audience and Value

You can offer your service on several marketplaces and your website. However, these options provide the most straightforward way to make it big in this field.

1. Themeforest Email Templates

Themeforest’s top-rated email templates cost about $8 to $116. Most of these templates have between 100 and 1,500 sales, indicating high demand for Themeforest email templates. The most expensive option currently costs $117 for the regular license and has sold over 100 copies.

2. Fiverr Email Templates

Demand for Fiverr email template creators is also pretty high. The best-selling professionals take between $10 to $25 per project. However, hand-coded responsive HTML options go as high as $80.

3. Creative Market Email Templates

Creative Market has over 1,500 email templates. The popular designs go for $10 to $39, while the most expensive templates cost between $50 and $150. Most designs are for MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, and Constant Contact platforms.

How to Launch

Launch your email and newsletter design business in these few steps:

Pick a niche and develop your business plan
Set your pricing
Design your email and newsletter templates
Test on different devices such as desktop computers, mobile, and iPad
Join marketplaces and sell your templates
Create a logo and business website
Join popular social media and build your online presence
Market your business

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special training or licenses to create email and newsletter templates. Instead, strong customer relationships and positive reviews are what you need to thrive in this field.

Example of Businesses in this Space

You can build a profitable business in this field. Let’s see a few of the successful ones for your inspiration.

SendX

Stripe

6. Fonts

Typography is one of the financially rewarding home business ideas for designers.

Custom fonts allow businesses to create unique brand identities to stand out from the crowd. As a result, this space holds limitless opportunities for typographers.

For instance, IBM paid over $1 million annually to use Monotype’s warhorse font Helvetica before developing its IBM Plex typeface.

Other companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and SAP also invested in custom fonts and typefaces to reinforce brand messages and save on licensing fees. So you might want to explore this small business idea. You can also structure it as a consulting business.

Earning potential: $30 to $300,000 for bespoke font
Top marketplaces: Envato, Creative market, Fiverr, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200

Target Audience and Value

The best target audience for this small business idea is brands that want to create a unique identity to differentiate from the competition. Some of the places to sell your service are:

1. Envato

Envato has an extensive library of over 30,000 stunning fonts and types.

Many small business owners and online businesses use the marketplace to find unique fonts. Envato users with an active subscription can download the fonts for any project and marketing campaign.

The individual plan costs $16.5 monthly, while the team plan is available at $10.75 per member. The enterprise plan requires a custom quote.

2. Fiverr

Fiverr is a great place to start a typography business as a beginner. Small business owners and online businesses use it to hire affordable typographers. The platform currently hosts over 2,000 custom font services.

Typographers on the platform charge between $10 to $30 for custom fonts. The top earners take home over $60 for premium services.

3. Corporate Clients

Experienced typographers can explore this option.

Creating bespoke typefaces for corporate clients may cost up to $300,000. First, however, you’ll need to demonstrate your value by building a strong portfolio and understanding how to craft a pitch, an offer, and a closing.

How to Launch

Typographers are in high demand. Start your typography business in five types:

Design your fonts
Build your website and plan your marketing
Join marketplaces and sell your fonts
Build your prospects list
Send custom font design proposals to prospects
Market your business with paid ads and on social media

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Typography is one of the most lucrative home business ideas for designers today. You can start this small business without special certifications and licenses.

However, taking typography courses on Udemy and other learning platforms can help you master your art and design better fonts.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses in this field are:

Typotheque

Fontfabric

7. Graphics Templates and Marketing Collateral

Marketing collateral is media and graphics materials organizations use to support their sales efforts and advance their brand messages.

It includes anything from brochures, business cards, and posters. These materials give prospects the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.

Creating them as graphic templates lets people customize and use them as they wish, enabling a much larger potential audience size. For example, as a marketing collateral designer, you could also run a consulting business as part of your larger offering.

Earning potential: $10 to $1,300 per project.
Top marketplaces: Envato, Creative Market, Fiverr, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 to get a good computer.

Target Audience and Value

The target audiences for this small business idea are social media managers, cleaning services, brick-and-mortar stores, and dog-walking businesses.

Also, targeting profitable niches like small business owners, personal training businesses, and property managers can lower your customer acquisition and overhead costs.

Let’s examine some graphic templates and marketing collateral you can design for clients.

1. Brochures

Image credit: Envato Elements

Brochures are some of the most widely used marketing collateral.

Creating them as customizable graphic templates and selling them on marketplaces like Envato and Creative Market allows you to attract many users.

You can also offer custom brochure design services on Fiverr. Designers on the platform take between $10 t0 $150 per project.

2. Business cards

Image credit: Envato Elements

Custom business card designers on Fiverr charge between $10 to $640 per project. Some premium services go for as high as $1,300. You can also sell on Envato to earn money from users’ subscription fees.

3. Flyers

Image credit: Fiverr

Flyers are another in-demand marketing collateral. Nearly 50% of surveyed companies said that door drop campaigns are essential to their marketing strategy.

Offering custom flyer design services to these businesses can help you make it big as a designer. Pro-verified designers on Fiverr make between $100 to $495 per project.

Their premium packages cost as much as $1,295.

How to Launch

Launch this small business idea with these six steps:

Get a nice laptop and internet connection
Create an actionable business plan
Define your target market and ideal customers
Build your portfolios
Join marketplace
Create a sales page to attract non-marketplace users
Join social media platforms
Promote your business through paid and organic marketing channels

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You need special training or a license to start this business at home. However, an impressive portfolio will help you land high-paying clients more quickly.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses in this field are:

Trpeski Design

Brand Design

8. Presentation Template Designer

Creating an entire presentation deck from scratch can be challenging for non-designers.

As a result, 79% of presenters use pre-built templates to find inspiration, streamline their workflow and create stunning presentations in a few minutes. So this is an excellent business idea for designers.

You can explore opportunities in this field to shore up your income and build a flourishing career.

Earning potential: $90 to $6,000
Top marketplaces: Envato, Creative Market, Fiverr, etc.
Estimated start cost: You can start the business with just a computer. It costs between $200 to $1,200 to get a good one.

Target Audience and Value

Businesses in high demand for presentations, like landscaping businesses, property managers, startups, and consultancy businesses, are your targets. Also, executives and busy business people need you too.

Others include personal trainers, social media managers, and cleaning businesses.

Let’s explore some templates you can start with and what each brings to the table.

1. Marketing

Image credit: Envato Elements

Marketing presentation templates do the heavy lifting for salespersons, enabling them to create their presentations and slides quickly. Your presentation design agency can charge between $90 to $6,000 per ten slides.

However, selling on marketplaces enables you to access a ready market with minimal marketing efforts.

2. Pitches

Image credit: Fiverr

A beautifully designed pitch deck helps startup entrepreneurs to make a lasting impression on potential investors. So they often prefer to use templates to create theirs or outsource the project to professionals like you.

You can join marketplaces to reach potential clients more quickly, and there is a lot of money to make from those platforms. For example, pro-verified sellers on Fiverr earn between $100 and $1,500, while premium packages can go for as much as $3,000.

3. Key Notes

Professional keynote presentations from pro-verified designers on Fiverr are between $360 and $650 for the basic package. Non-pro-verified professionals on the platform price their service between $10 to $200.

Presentation design services hourly rate on Upwork ranges from $20 to $95. Some charge as high as $130 per hour.

How to Launch

A presentation template design business is a great business idea to pursue as a designer. You can launch yours with these six steps:

Buy a good computer with enough graphics card
Create a business plan
Define your market and ideal prospects
Build your portfolios
Create your website and join marketplaces
Plan your marketing strategies
Launch your templates

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need any special training, certifications, or licenses for this small business idea. However, an impressive portfolio and many positive customer reviews will do.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Let’s examine some professionals in this space.

24Slides

BrightCarbon

9. Custom T-Shirts and Screen Prints

The high demand for customized wear makes custom T-shirt design a thriving enterprise. Future Market Insights estimated that the market size of global custom T-shirt printing would exceed $3.5 billion in 2022.

Furthermore, they believe it will grow by 9.7% CAGR over the next ten years to reach over $9 billion.

Earning potential: $5 to $1,200 per project and up to $1 million a year.
Top marketplaces: Teespring, Zazzle, CafePress, Redbubble, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: You can start a custom T-shirt design business with $0 from home if you already own a computer and internet connection.

Target Audience and Value

Build your business for these audiences:

1. Custom T-Shirt Design Marketplaces

Image credit: Teespring

Joining and selling your designs on custom t-shirt marketplaces like Teespring (now, Spring), CafePress and Zazzle is your best bet to hit the ground running immediately. T-shirt designs on Teespring can cost as much as $49.99.

2. Fiverr

Pro-verified custom t-shirt designers on Fiverr take home between $125 and $450 per design. Premium packages can go for as high as $1,200—other gigs in the category cost between $5 and $30.

3. eCommerce Store

An eCommerce store for your custom designs lets you control your marketing and the ideal audience you want as customers.

You can also connect the online store to print-on-demand platforms like Printful to run a full-fledged online t-shirt business. There is no limit to how much you can make from this business. Some sellers earn up to $10,000 monthly.

How to Launch

Follow these six steps to launch this business idea:

Find a t-shirt niche
Create your t-shirt design
Join marketplaces to sell your designs
Create an eCommerce to promote your business
Connect your store to print-on-demand software to drop-ship your custom-printed wear

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need any special training to thrive in this space. Getting many positive customer reviews and referrals can help advance your business.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Many designers are in this space, offering custom T-shirt design services to individuals, groups, and local businesses. Some of our top picks for your inspiration are:

Custom Ink

Mandem

10. Comics

Comics are graphic novels. It’s popular among kids and teens. Fortunate Business Insights estimated that the comics market size will reach $12.81 billion in 2028, up from $9.21 billion in 2021. It grew by a staggering 12% in 2020.

Analysts believe it’ll grow at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2021 to 2028.

Earning potential: $63,167 per year for comic artists and about $210 per project for comic artists and color stylists.
Top marketplaces: ComicConnect, Subzero Comics, and LiveAbout
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 to get a good computer

Target Audience and Value

Comics are lucrative when you build the business around these audiences:

1. Comic Artist

Image credit: Cbr.com

You can try your hands here if you can create attractive graphics and illustrations for comic books. Professionals in this field typically earn over $63,000 a year. But they vary from city to city. For instance, San Francisco, California comic artists take home over $95,000.

2. Comic Book Letterer

Advanced skills in color flattering can also help you get something tangible out of this space. Some professionals in this field earn between $5 to $25 on Fiverr. The verified professionals take between $100 to $210 per project.

3. Color Flatter

Color-flattering services on Fiverr are in high demand. Most color stylists on the marketplace charge between $5 and $40. As a verified professional, you may earn up to $100.

How to Launch

Comics are another successful business idea you can consider as a designer. It’s not expensive to launch, and you can run it 100% from home.

Start your own business in these few simple steps.

Pick a niche and define your market
Develop your business and marketing plan
Set your price
Join marketplaces to sell your service
Create a website to target off-marketplace audiences
Promote your business

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special certification or licenses as a comic artist. However, professional courses on Udemy and other learning platforms can advance your skills.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some professionals in this field are:

Jorge Jiménez

Image credit: Cbr.com

Freyady

11. Sewing Patterns and Fashion Designs

The U.S. 2022 fashion design market size stands at $2.9 billion. Data shows that the market size declined by 1% between 2017 and 2022. However, analysts believe the value will grow at 0.9% in 2022.

Earning potential: Earn up to $130,000 annually.
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, DressX, Replicant, Dribble, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 to get a good computer

Target Audience and Value

Set your sights on these markets to make it big in this field.

1. Fashion Designers

Creating and selling your designs to top-rated designers is one of your best bets to earn big from this small business idea. Most bespoke wears cost several thousand dollars, and many designers won’t mind paying hundreds and thousands of dollars for your designs.

2. Online Marketplaces

Image credit: Fiverr

Joining marketplaces will save you a lot of marketing costs, and there is also money to make from the platforms—top professional stylists on Fiverr earn $100 to $300. You can also sell your designs on Dribble.

3. NFT Fashion Marketplace

Image credit: Replicant

NFT digital fashion marketplaces like Replicant are reimagining fashion designing businesses, allowing anyone to try on a digital garment.

They are a new and growing trend. Jumping in right away lets you secure a space before it gets saturated. And the digital fashion business is financially rewarding.

For instance, the best-selling digital garments on Replicant cost around $35, while the most expensive digital fashion wearables sell for as high as $68.

How to Launch

You can launch this business idea in these steps:

Pick a niche and define your fashion style
Develop your business and marketing plan
Create a physical version of your NFT
Choose and blockchain for your NFT and set up your digital wallet
Select an NFT marketplace
Create a business website to promote your digital fashions
Join social media to improve your online presence

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

The fashion design business doesn’t require any special training, certification, or licenses.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses in this space are:

Olivia Goodall

Trend Miles

12. Wrap Designer

The wrap design business is one of the most profitable business ideas to start as a designer.

Several organizations and individuals wrap their vehicles for branding and aesthetic purposes.

In addition, a vehicle wrap is cheaper than a painting, driving its demand in the U.S. The global automotive car wrap film market was $4.9 billion in 2021.

Analysts estimated it will grow at a CAGR of 22.2% from 2022 to 2030.

Earning potential: $21 per hour
Top marketplaces: Wrap Stock, Fiverr, Design Hill, Upwork, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200

Target Audience and Value

Wrap design small businesses can target:

1. Auto Shops

Many auto repair shops in the U.S. offer car wrap services. You can create and sell your designs to them. They charge clients between $2,500 and $5,000 to wrap their vehicles, so it’s fair to expect some money from them for your design.

2. Car Owners

Top-rated custom wrap designers on Upwork charge between $30 and $50 hourly rates. Several have earned $10,000 to $60,000 creating and selling bespoke wrap designs on the platform.

3. Marketplaces

Image credit: Wrap Stock

You can upload and sell your designs on marketplaces like Wrap Stock.

Here, you don’t have to worry about marketing or running ads. Instead, the platform handles every aspect of the process, enabling you to focus on creating stunning designs.

How to Launch

Launch this wrap design small business idea in these steps:

Pick a niche
Develop your business plan and sales processes
Create your designs
Turn your designs into templates downloadable in different formats
Join marketplaces to sell your design templates
Create a website to promote your business
Offer custom design services

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This small business idea doesn’t require special training, licenses, or certification. However, building your portfolio and generating positive reviews can advance your credibility.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the professionals in this space are:

Inflamez Designs

Sean P

13. Videographer and Video Editor

About 87% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.

YouTube, the world’s largest online video-sharing platform, has over 122 million daily users. They watch over one billion hours of content each day. Every minute, creators upload more than 500 hours of videos. These make video editing a lucrative business.

Earning potential: $49,496 average base salary per year
Top marketplaces: Upwork, Fiverr, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $250 to $1,020 for professional video editing software yearly subscription

Target Audience and Value

Let’s explore some ways you can earn money with your skills:

1. Marketplace

Image credit: Fiverr

Most video editors sell their services on Fiverr, Upwork, and other talent marketplaces. They charge between $10 to $40 per gig on Fiverr and an hourly rate of $10 to $25 on Upwork. You can join both marketplaces to maximize your options and reach a wider audience.

2. Portfolio Website

Create a portfolio website to target non-marketplace audiences and sell your service. It lets you take charge of your marketing, build your customer list and manage your customer relationships 100%. The median hourly rate of video editors is $20.

How to Launch

Videography and video editing are profitable business ideas. Launch yours in these simple steps:

Pick a niche and your target audience
Write a business and marketing plan
Buy video editing software
Join marketplaces
Create a website to promote your business
Run ads and market your service

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This small business idea doesn’t require special training and licenses, especially if you want to run it from home. However, getting professional video editing training and certification can help you become a better video editor.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some businesses in this field are:

Tasty Edits

Replayed

14. Online Freelance Designer

The freelance industry currently contributes about $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy. With over 58 million people offering freelancing services in the country, analysts believe it will grow to become the U.S. majority workforce.

A career path as an online freelance designer lets you have a slice of the pie.

Earning potential: $25 to $150 per hour
Top marketplaces: Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200

Target Audience and Value

An online freelance design offers limitless opportunities to designers. The small business idea will stay true to its potential when you build it around these target markets:

1. Marketplaces

Joining a marketplace gives you instant access to ready-to-buy customers—beginners in this space charge between $10 and $80 on Fiverr. Pro-verified experts earn up to $800. Upwork graphic designers take $14 to $95 per hour.

2. Freelance Website

A website lets you create a unique brand identity for your graphic design business.

It also allows you to approach your prospects directly, control your pricing and scale your business over time. The $20 to $150 average industry hourly rate is encouraging, and you can charge more as your business advances.

How to Launch

Action the steps below to launch this small business idea.

Pick a niche and define your ideal clients
Create a marketing and business plan
Build your portfolio
Set your price
Join marketplaces
Create a small business website

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

A freelance graphic designer doesn’t need any special license or training. However, acquiring advanced design and marketing skills improve their odds of having a successful career.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the top professionals in this field are:

Dimi Designs

Gaurav C.

15. NFT Artist

NFT lets owners prove authorship and authenticity, future-proofing digital assets. It’s one of the latest in-thing today and a trend that is not dying off soon.

The value of the global non-fungible token market was $4.6 billion in 2021. Analysts estimated that the market size will grow at a staggering CAGR of 23.9% between 2022 and 2028 to reach nearly $20 billion at the end of the forecasted period.

Earning potential: $96,643 average annual salary (the top 10% earn about $360,000 yearly)
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, OpenSea, SuperRare
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 for a computer with a sound graphics card

Target Audience and Value

Let’s examine some target audiences for your NFT art business.

1. NFT Creators

Create unique NFT art collections and sell them to NFT creators with the metadata. You can sell the service on Fiverr and Upwork. NFT artists on Fiverr charge between $40 and $150 for basic packages, while those on Upwork collect up to $5,000.

2. NFT Marketplaces

Image credit: OpenSea

You can mint your art on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, SuperRare, and others if you’re uncomfortable selling them to third-party NFT creators. The opportunities in this space are limitless. For example, some NFTs on OpenSea sell for as high as 19 ETH floor price.

How to Launch

Launch this NFT art small business idea in these few simple steps:

Define why you’re going into the business
Pick a niche
Join marketplaces to sell your art
Set up an Ethereum wallet If you wish to mint your arts
Find a minting platform that meets your needs
Mint and sell your NFT arts

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need any special training or license. However, you can take online NFT minting courses on Udemy, Coursera, and other learning platforms to master the art.

Also, the business doesn’t have special license requirements.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the professionals in this field are:

Nyolings

Shallu N

16. Event Designers

Event designers work with planners to help them put details into their decorations. However, unlike planners focusing on event logistics and ensuring everything is on schedule and running smoothly, event designers transform the space and bring clients’ visions to life.

Earning potential: $43,977 median annual salary (the top 25% earns up to $50,000 annually0
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer.com, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $300 to $3,000 to start the business from home. It’ll require a laptop, project management platforms (for example, ClickUp), and virtual event design software (3D Event Designer).

Target Audience and Value

Segment your audience, targeting these markets:

1. Corporate Organizations

Most organizations and companies hold at least one corporate event, such as annual general meetings, award ceremonies, and product launches. You can work with them to plan out the design and decoration. Payment is usually per project, and it’s encouraging.

2. Event planners

Image credit: Harpers Bazaar

Partnering with event planners is your odds-on-favorite to ensure a steady supply of gigs. So, you don’t need a big marketing budget. Most event planners are already entrenched in the system and can quickly put something on your plate.

3. Catering Services

Catering services are another solid option to explore. Most caterers want to know how to set up their buffet and other items to ensure a seamless workflow. You can create multiple floor layouts of the event space to show them ways to arrange their stuff.

How to Launch

Launch a successful event design small business idea in these six steps:

Define your target audience
Buy project management and virtual event design software
Create virtual event designs to show off your skills
Join marketplaces
Build your websites and create social media accounts
Collaborate with event planners
Market your business to build your clientele

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This small business idea doesn’t require any special training, certification, or license.

However, professional certification and training in project management can make you a better event designer. Also, you’ll need a strong customer relationship, positive reviews, and a referral network to thrive in this space.

You might not need special licenses to run the business from home.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses in this field are:

Encore Event Design

Mindy Rice Design

17. Extended Reality Designer

Extended Reality (XR) is the catch-all term for all immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR).

Mordor Intelligence predicts the XR market valued at $26.05 billion in 2020, will grow at a staggering CAGR of 62.7% between 2021 and 2026 to reach $463.7 billion. A career as an XR designer can bring a lot to the table.

Earning potential: $106,097 average salary per year.
Top marketplaces: Unity Asset Store, Unreal Engine, Oculus Rift Store.
Estimated start cost: $62 to $23,200.

Target Audience and Value

Who is your target audience in this space? First, let’s examine the top two and what you can gain from them.

1. XR Developers

Image credit: The Academy of International Extended Reality

You can have a lucrative career as an XR designer, working with extended reality developers to create cutting-edge XR applications for forward-thinking businesses.

While designers focus on figuring out the “whys” and ‘what’s” of the projects, developers’ interests rely on transforming them into a reality.

Typical XR designers earn around $106,000 annually. The more experienced hands go home with over $215,000 each year. So you’re getting in early on an industry poised for rapid growth.

2. Marketplace

Selling your XR assets on specialized marketplaces like Unity Asset Store, Unreal Engine, and Oculus Rift store lets you access a ready market, minimizing the efforts you need to put in to build your clientele.

You can also list on Upwork to diversify your income. For example, XR designers on the marketplace earn $20 to $85 per hour. Some designers have earned over $500,000 selling their skills on the platform.

How to Launch

These steps can help you launch this XR design small business idea:

Pick a niche
Write a business plan detailing the market opportunities you wish to exploit
Register your business if you’re renting an office space
Acquire XR hardware and software
Create your marketing plan and launch your website
Join marketplaces to sell your service
Hire and train your staff, including a social media manager and digital marketing professional
Collaborate with XR developers

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This Extended Reality design small business idea doesn’t require any special licenses.

However, you’ll need specialized training and certifications to advance your credibility and credentials. Some of the top-rated in the industry are

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the professionals in this space are:

Jalaj S.

Or Fleisher

18. Photographer and Photo Editor

The photography business is competitive, and you can build a sustainable career, even while working from home, with the right skills.

The future outlook for the industry looks promising.

Analysts expect the global market size to reach $44.07 billion in 2025 from $32.92 billion in 2020, meaning, in three years, the global photography business value will be more than half the Serbian GDP, a country of over seven million people.

Earning potential: $29,230 to $109,760 per year (the average base annual salary is $60,298)
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, Pixabay, Shutterstock, Getty Image, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $10,000 to $15,000.

Target Audience and Value

You can work with these people as a photographer and photo editor:

1. Event Planners

Image credit: Expert Photography

Event planners can guarantee you steady gigs. Working with them means you don’t have to worry about prospecting, writing proposals, and closing clients.

Some professional photographers charge between $75 and $300 per image, while experienced ones may earn up to $1,000.

2. Marketplace

Marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork are other excellent options for beginners. For example, photo editors on Upwork take home about $20 to $100 per hour; some have earned over $250,000 since joining the platform.

3. Commercial Photography

Image credit: Expert Photography

Commercial photography is one of the most lucrative options in this field. The professionals here earn between $800 to $5,000 per day. The licensing fees often start from $250 and may get as high as $10,000.

4. Stock Photography

You can start a stock photography website or join already established stock photo websites like Shutterstock to sell your photos. Monthly subscriptions on Shutterstock cost between $49 to $479. The platform has paid over $1 billion to contributors in the last 15 years.

How to Launch

Launch your photography and photo editing business in these steps:

Find your niche and target market
Pick a nice location if you wish to run a brick-and-mortar business
Register your business to legalize it
Open a business bank account and set up accounting for the business
Check with local authorities for the necessary permit
Get photo editing business insurance
Purchase photography equipment, gear, and photo editing software
Create a unique brand identity for the business
Develop your business website and add your business to social media
Build your portfolio
Join marketplaces

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This business model doesn’t require special training, licenses, or certifications.

However, investing in professional courses can help you become better at what you do. Online courses are a great place to start. For example, you can check Udemy and Coursera for top-rated photography courses.

When creating a website for your business, consider taking marketing and customer relationship courses to improve your client acquisition skills.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses for your inspiration are:

Seatown Photo

James Maher Photography

19. Sell Coloring Books

A coloring book is one containing line art for coloring with the crayon. It’s a healthy way to relieve stress, calm the brain and help the body relax.

The adult coloring books market peaked between 2014 and 2017. It sold over 12 million books in 2015, up from one million copies the previous year.

Although on a decline today, exploring options in this field can be lucrative.

Earning potential: $10,000 to $40,000 monthly
Top marketplaces: Amazon, Lulu, Etsy, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 for a good computer

Target Audience and Value

Create and sell coloring books online. You can begin with some of these marketplaces:

1. Children’s Coloring Books

Children’s coloring books are popular on Amazon. A quick search shows over 80,000 results—the top-rated books on the marketplace cost between $5.99 and $12.

2. Adult Coloring Books

Lulu is an online self-publishing book company. Creating and selling coloring books on the platform lets you reach over one million monthly visitors. They also handle inventory and fulfillment. A paperback coloring book on Lulu sells for up to $16.

3. Teenagers

Teenagers use coloring books, and you can target teen themes that attract that audience. These books typically cost $8 to $38. You can even publish digital versions of these coloring books.

4. Teach People to Create and Sell Coloring Books

If you’ve found success creating and selling coloring books, you can teach others how to do it. Typically, these courses cost $14 and $50 and can attract over 5,000 students.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to start selling coloring books:

Pick a niche
Write and design your book
Decide on whether to self-publish or use publishing companies
Format and edit your book
Design the cover art or outsource to freelancers
Sort the copyright and ISBN
Set the pricing
Upload and sell your book
Promote your coloring books on social media

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Selling coloring books doesn’t require any special training or certification. You don’t also need special licenses to run this business.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the professionals in this field are:

Michelle Lawrence

Karen Sue Chen

20. Products and eCommerce Packaging Designer

Product packaging designers develop eye-catching labels and product packages that meet safety and packaging regulations. In addition, they often work closely with the marketing team to create designs that reinforce the brand’s messaging.

Analysts expect the market size of packaging design services to reach nearly $32 billion in 2030, up from $21.9 billion.

Earning potential: $37,000 to $80,000 annual base salary (the average salary for packaging designers in the U.S. is $51,000 yearly)
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, 99Designs, and self-hosted options.
Estimated start cost: $62 to $23,259.

Target Audience and Value

Getting gigs is the most challenging aspect of this business. Some sources you might want to explore are:

1. Brick-and-Mortar Retail outlets

Image credit: Johns Byrne

Approach and pitch your packaging designs to nearby brick-and-mortar stores. Also, run paid adverts to reach more businesses and direct them to your website to schedule a discovery call—a typical packing designer charges between $80 to $100 per hour.

2. eCommerce Stores

Image credit: PakFactory Blog

Many eCommerce stores fulfill their orders. Work with them to design custom packaging to ship their orders. You can reach them online via paid and organic promotions.

The $80 to $100 hourly rate is the competitive fee for designers in this niche.

3. Marketplaces

Product packaging designers on Upwork take between $20 to $100 per hour. Also, pro-verified designers on Fiverr earn $500 to $1,000 per project. So, there is so much money to make from this channel.

How to Launch

Start your product packaging design business in these simple steps:

Study the different product packaging needs to understand your audience’s needs.
Select a niche for your business.
Build your portfolio.
Set your price.
Determine your positioning for differentiation.
Establish your brand identity.
Join marketplaces.
Create a website and join social media platform.

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This business idea doesn’t require any special certification and training to start. However, obtaining packing training, licenses, and certificates can set you apart from competitors.

So consider these options:

Certified Packaging Professional (CPP)
Certificate of Packaging Science (CPS)
Certificate of Mastery in Packaging Management (CMPM)

Also, check with local authorities for necessary licenses.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some businesses and professionals in this space are:

Johns Byrne

Paul Virian

21. Publish Books and eBooks

Publishing books and eBooks is an excellent way to monetize your design skills.

A career as an author is financially rewarding, and the future also looks promising. A report by Technavio shows that the electronic books market will grow by $6.93 billion between 2020 and 2030.

Also, published books don’t have recurrent expenditures. So you have nothing to lose exploring your options in this field as a designer.

Earning potential: 70% on every book sold on Amazon Kindle
Top marketplaces: Amazon, Lulu, Apple Books, Kobo, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $0 to $4,000.

Target Audience and Value

You can write books based on your transferable skills, case studies, or the latest trends. Some of the platforms to self-publish your work are:

1. Amazon

Amazon receives over two billion monthly visits, making it the biggest platform to self-publish books and eBooks. Most books on the marketplace are available at $2 to $30. So, some authors earn between $5,000 and $8,000 each month.

2. Apple Books

Self-publishing on Apple Books lets you target a wide range of Apple device users, including CarPlay and Apple Watch. Apple has sold over two billion iOS devices, and over 100 million people use Macs worldwide. So the Apple Book brings so much to the table.

3. Online bookstore

You can sell through your website if you drive enough traffic to the online store and fulfill your orders. Your online store allows you to set your price, control your messaging, target your ideal audience and manage your customer list.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to turn this small business idea into a reality:

Pick a niche
Choose a topic and write your book or eBook
Edit your book or hire a professional editor
Design your book cover or outsource
Format the book or hire a freelancer
Choose a self-publishing platform and upload your book
Create an online community for your books business
Hire a social media manager and digital marketing services to promote your books

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special training or certifications to start a book or eBook publishing business. However, getting and flaunting them can boost your credibility and show off your expertise. Also, advanced book publishing and formatting courses can help you create better-looking and attractive books.

You can find and take these courses on Udemy, Coursera, and Alison.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some designers in this space are:

Debbie Millman

Ellen Shapiro

22. Printing Press

The printing business is financially rewarding. About 25,000 U.S. companies are into commercial printing. They generate nearly $900 billion in revenue annually, more than the Saudi Arabian GDP and almost half that of Italy—the EU’s third-largest economy.

Earning potential: $65,000 for operators to $100,000 a year.
Top marketplaces: Yelp, Craigslist, Nextdoor, and Yellow Pages.
Estimated start cost: Industry leaders reported spending $146,000 to $400,000.

Target Audience and Value

Set up your printing press to target these audiences:

1. Businesses

BluSky ETO

The global commercial printing market is lucrative and has impressive long-term growth potential. You can have a slice of the pie by providing printing services to businesses like marketing collateral, catalogs, magazines, product labels, and packaging.

The U.S. has over 10 million companies, so you always have options.

2. Political and Social Campaigns

Image credit: ABC News

Thousands of political and social campaigns happen in the U.S. yearly, making campaign posters and signage printing a thriving business.

The 2022 market size for printed signage alone is $33.9 billion, and analysts expect the number to grow at a CAGR of 2.8% to reach $40.08 billion in 2028.

3. Authors

The number of books published yearly in the U.S ranges from 500,000 to one million, excluding self-published authors. In 2021, the country sold over 826 million physical books, that’s nearly three books per citizen on average. So you can earn big printing books.

How to Launch

Launch your printing shop in ten steps:

Define your target market and develop your business model
Rent office space in a nice location
Register your business to make a legal entity
Open a business bank account and set up accounting for the business
Check with local authorities for the necessary permits and licenses
Secure a business insurance
Purchase and set up the equipment you need for the print shop
Create a logo for a unique brand identity
Develop your business website and join social media platforms
Develop your marketing plan and run promotions

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

A printing press doesn’t require any special training and certification to start.

However, you should comply with OSHA requirements and regulations. Also, check with the local authorities to learn other necessary environmental, health, and safety requirements.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the businesses in this space are:

RRD Printing

Taylor Printing Solutions

23. Website Design Services

The 2022 total number of web developer and digital interface designer jobs in the U.S. is around 200,000.

However, Statista believes the number will reach 229,000 in 2032, while the total number of web developers and designers will grow to 205,000, so there’ll be enough jobs to go around.

Earning potential: $3,000 to over $75,000 per project.
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer.com, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $62 to $36,061.

Target Audience and Value

Model your small business web development idea around these markets to have a home run.

1. Local Businesses

Image credit: Unsplash

Small businesses and eCommerce stores drive the growing demand for business websites. A web development agency’s custom services cost between $15,000 and $30,000. But more complex site design projects can go as high as $75,000.

2. Charities

Image credit: Unsplash

Charities are another excellent option for web designers. Most of them need simple websites. So you’ll be looking at making $2,000 to $5,000 per project as a freelancer. And you can command up to $30,000 if you’re an agency.

3. Marketplaces

Verified professional web designers on Fiverr walk away with $100 to $5,000 after each project. They priced some of their premium packages up to $12,000.

Web designers on Upwork charge between $25 and $150 per hour for their services.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to start a web design agency:

Define your target market
Rent an office space if you wish to run an out-home agency
Register your business to make it a legal entity
Secure a business insurance
Choose a business name and create a unique logo
Develop your business website and set up social media accounts
Build your portfolios
Create a marketing plan and run promotions

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

Once you have the requisite skills, you don’t need special training or certification to launch a web design service. However, enrolling in project management certification courses can help you seamlessly manage your workflow and customer expectations.

Other necessary certifications are:

User experience and usability courses to build sites with frictionless navigation
Search Engine Optimization certifications for search-friendly designs
Conversion rate optimization courses to create high-converting websites
Graphic and 3D animations to create stunning graphics

Example of Businesses in this Space

Check out these businesses to see what other people are doing in this space:

MWD Web Design Inc.

Colton J.

24. Graphic Design Academy

A graphic design academy might cost you an arm and a leg, but it’s lucrative, as most soft skill training centers.

Data shows that the global soft skill training market reached over $24 billion in 2020, and market analysts believe the number will grow by a CAGR of 12.3% between 2022 and 2027 to reach $47.2 billion in 2027.

Besides the financial rewards, a career as an instructor can be fulfilling. You should consider this career path if you have a passion for teaching or other transferable skills to share with others.

Earning potential: $39,000 to $93,000 yearly total pay (average salary is $56,438 per year)
Top marketplaces: Yelp
Estimated start cost: $14,491 average startup cost for skills training center

Target Audience and Value

Some of the target audiences for this business idea are:

1. Design Teams

Image Credit: Medium

Approach nearby businesses and show them how your training program can help advance the skills of their design team and save the company money. Then, negotiate your pay based on the value you are bringing to the table and what you think the business can afford.

2. College Students

Image Credit: Ms. Magazine

College students are excellent targets for graphic design training skills. Reach those that are interested in acquiring graphic design skills with paid ads.

You can run foundational, undergraduate, and postgraduate programs to cater to all categories of students. For example, some training schools charge up to $40,000 for postgraduate graphic design degree programs.

3. Graphic Designers

Professional graphic designers are always looking for ways to advance their design skills. You can target this segment with professional certification programs or bootcamps. You might also partner with reputable certifying bodies like Adobe to offer their certification programs.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to launch your academy:

Develop your training programs and modules
Set your training fees and payment plans
Rent a training center in a good location
Register your academy
Secure the appropriate licenses and insurance policy
Design your training center to set the right ambiance
Create a logo for the business
Design a website with online learning features to cater to out-of-location students
Set up your social media presence
Develop your marketing plan
Hire and train your staff

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You’ll need a license to run a degree-awarding training center.

Also, it would help if you had more than transferable graphic design skills as an instructor. Your students expect you to have professional certifications and specialized training from recognized bodies.

Some top options are:

Adobe Certified Associate
Graphic and Digital Design Certificate (Parsons School of Design)
Udemy or Coursera professional graphic design and animation courses
Master’s degree in graphic design

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some graphic design training centers are:

The New School

Certiport

25. YouTuber

YouTube is not just a video-sharing platform. It’s also the second-largest search engine after Google. Over 2.6 billion people use the platform once a month. They spend about one billion hours daily watching five billion videos.

A career as a YouTuber is financially rewarding but never a walk in the park.

Identifying your target audience and creating content that addresses their pain point is the most straightforward to succeed in this space.

Earning potential: $80 to over $55,000 monthly.
Top marketplaces: YouTube.
Estimated start cost: $150 to $1,100.

Target Audience and Value

You can target prospective graphic designers or designers with your video. Some ways you can monetize your YouTube content are:

1. YouTube Ads

Joining the YouTube partner program is the most popular option for monetizing YouTube videos through YouTube ads.

However, to qualify, you’ll need to rake in at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 video watch hours in the past year. Then, you can earn between $2 to $12 per 1,000 views.

2. Sell Merchandise or Courses

Another way to monetize YouTube videos is by selling merchandise. If you don’t have any physical product, you can promote your design courses before or after your YouTube videos and drop the purchase link in the video description.

3. Sponsored Videos

Image credit: Fran Patrillo.

Influencer marketing is reimagining how brands connect with their customers. YouTube is the second most popular platform for influencer marketing. Join the train if you have a large and engaged following.

Several brands can pay you $500 to $10,000 to recommend their products. Some may even pay up to six figures for a YouTube campaign if they are sure of the results.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to launch a career as a YouTuber:

Understand your audience and find your niche
Create a YouTube channel and brand yourself
Decide on the monetization strategy
Invest in good camera and gear
Acquire video editing skills and video editing software if you don’t want to outsource
Develop your content calendar
Create your first video and upload
Optimize your video for search engines
Run YouTube to promote your videos

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special training, certification, or licenses to become a YouTuber.

However, taking video editing courses can save you a lot of money. Also, if your business model centers on teaching your audience design skills, you should acquire professional certifications in the field to advance your credibility.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the designs YouTubers making a wave in the industry are:

4 The Creatives

Graphic Island

26. Newspaper, Magazine, and Catalog Design Agency

The global digital newspaper and magazine market, valued at $34.2 billion in 2021, will grow at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2022 and 2028 to reach $45.6 billion. The industry looks promising. You can register your agency and run it from the comfort of your home.

Earning potential: $35,000 to $67,000 base salary per year (the average is 48,289 yearly)
Top marketplaces: Fiverr, Upwork, Legit, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $2,300 to $5,200

Target Audience and Value

Some of the target audiences for this business are:

1. Newspaper and Magazine Companies

Image credit: Envato

Partner with newspaper and magazine companies. Offer to handle their designs to save them the cost of maintaining a full-time in-house team. Working with them can guarantee you a steady supply of jobs. Negotiate your pay per page or project.

Some magazine designers charge $50 to $90 per page.

2. Marketplaces

Join marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork to build your client base and portfolio incrementally. You can earn between $10 to $55 by selling your service on Fiverr. Some designers on Upwork charge about $30 and up to $750 per project.

Catalog designers on the platform earn between $20 and $100 per hour.

3. eCommerce and Retail Businesses

eCommerce brands and retail businesses are your largest audience. Most of them use product catalogs and magazines to spread their marketing messages.

You can approach them for custom designs or target them with customizable templates on your websites or third-party template marketplaces like Envato or Creative Market.

How to Launch

Follow these steps to launch this business at home:

Identify your target market
Choose a name and register the business
Get business insurance
Buy design software
Create a website and set up social media accounts
Hire and build your remote team
Design newspaper, catalog, and magazine templates to build your portfolio
Join marketplaces
Promote your business

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

You don’t need special training, certification, or licenses to run this business model. However, you can find relevant professional courses to advance your skills.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the professionals in this field are:

Corey F.

Luis L

27. Online Drawings and Handcrafts Sales

You can build a sustainable career selling custom drawings and handcrafts art collectors. Statista projected that the global arts and crafts market will grow from $35 billion in 2017 to $50.9 billion in 2024.

Besides the tempting financial rewards, the business lets you express yourself and bring your imagination to life.

Earning potential: $12.5 to $49.84 per hour (the average hourly rate is $20.97)
Top marketplaces: Etsy, Shopify, Fiverr, and self-hosted options
Estimated start cost: $200 to $1,200 for a personal computer and software.

Target Audience and Value

Build your business around art lovers. It helps you lower acquisition costs and maintains a high conversion rate. Some small business ideas in this field are:

1. Offer Custom Art

Image credit: Yasmeen A

You can make a lot of money creating custom art for clients. Since they’re tailor-made and provide personal significance and uniqueness, most collectors will be okay with paying more to have them on their walls.

Commissioned paintings from experienced artists cost $100 to $10,000.

2. Start Online Craft Store

Image credit: The Indian Express

An online store for your craft business lets you transform your passion and creativity into a business. Moreover, it’s lucrative so that you can earn a good living.

Candle making, jewelry, and headbands are some craft business ideas for your inspiration. Others include embroidery, home decor, sculpture, and decorative pillows.

Also, sell your crafts on Amazon, Etsy, and other marketplaces to reach more people.

3. Sell Your Drawing Online

Image credit: Artmajeur

Create stunning hand-drawn images and sell them on art marketplaces like Shutterstock and iStock. Also, sell on your website to cater to non-marketplace users.

Additionally, license your art to businesses for commercial use. It’s where the money is. You can make between $100 and $10,000 from licensing fees.

How to Launch

Follow these simple steps to launch your online drawing and handcrafting small business ideas:

Identify the gap in the market—decide what you’re going to sell
Define your target audience and pick a niche
Name and register your business
Create a logo and brand your business
Design your website and set up your social media
Create sales pages and join marketplaces
Plan your supply chain and order fulfillment
Make your crafts or sample drawings
Promote your business

Required Training, Certifications, or Licenses?

This business model doesn’t require special training, certification, or licenses. However, check with local authorities to learn what applies in your area.

Example of Businesses in this Space

Some of the design businesses making it big in this space are:

Cedar and Sail

Artisaire

How to Choose the Best Business Ideas as a Designer

We have explored some of the best small business ideas for designers. When you start your journey, choose options that match your passion and career objectives.

And remember to use this resource to start on the right footing.

Featured image via Unsplash.

The post 27 Best Small Business Ideas for Designers first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

21 novembre 2022/par Service comm.

20 Best AI Writing Apps

Content production using Surfer SEO Integration

Artificial intelligence is the latest buzzword in the tech world. It’s everywhere and has been for a while, but AI-powered writing software is a relatively new concept.

AI Writing Software uses artificial intelligence to write articles, blog posts, and other content in your voice. The goal is to provide a tool that will save you time and energy so you can focus on different aspects of your business or life.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 20 AI writing software you can use to create content for your website, blog, or social media accounts.

1. Copy.ai

Copy.ai uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to produce high-quality content for your business, ebooks, blog posts, articles, product descriptions, social media content, and more. It can also be used to rewrite existing content so that you can use it on your website, blog, or social media pages.

Since it uses artificial intelligence to mimic human writing patterns and styles, the copy will be more natural and easier to read than the typical machine-generated text we’re used to seeing.

Copy.ai differs from traditional content creation tools because it doesn’t just offer suggestions on improving your current content; it generates new text based on what it thinks would be most relevant for the topic or audience.

Key Features:

Pre-built Templates – Copy.ai has a ton of pre-built templates for different kinds of content. For example, you can see below that it has options for blogs, social media content, video, case studies, and more:

Different tones and variations – Get access to tones like friendly, persuasive, professional, luxury, witty, bold, and more to align the content with your writing style. It also creates multiple variations based on your input – you can pick the one you like or make more.

To illustrate this, here’s a screenshot of the results we got while trying to write the introduction for this article using Copy AI.

Writing and Brainstorming tools – You also get tons of writing tools, brainstorming tools, and personal tools. Writing tools include essay intro, cliffhanger generator, adjective accelerator, passive to active voice, verb booster, and the like. Brainstorming tools have a name generator, startup ideas, viral ideas, and more – while Personal tools include birthday cards, clubhouse bios, cover letters, love letters, and shower thoughts.

You can save your content and then return to it later if you wish. Plus, the software’s user interface is easy to navigate, and the program is simple.

Luciano Viterale, Co-founder of Ticker Nerd, also shares his experience with Copy.ai,

“I’ve been experimenting with AI copywriting tools since GPT-3 was released. I have explored many of the popular tools. However, my favorite tool by far is Copy AI. They have an outstanding blogging outline feature; the UX is clean and easy to navigate, and the pricing is reasonable.

Copy AI also generated the name of my startup, “Ticker Nerd,” which is an investing newsletter that was recently acquired.”

That said, Viterale suggests that the blog outlines can be repetitive. He says, “one thing I don’t particularly like is that blog outlines include the same point repeatedly but articulated slightly differently, essentially adding no value.”

Pros:

Copy.ai produces content at least 80% as good as a human writer (and often better). The system continually learns, which means the more you use it, the better it gets.
It has an extensive library of templates available for different requirements.
It supports over 25 languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, and more.

Cons:

Not suitable for long-form content.
The content can get a bit repetitive after a while.
The free plan lets you create only 2000 words per month.

Pricing:

It starts from $39 per month (if you pay yearly) for up to 40k words per month, unlimited copywriting tools, priority email support, Blog Wizard tool, support for 25+ languages, and five user seats.

2. Jasper

Jasper.ai is an AI copywriting tool that uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to create content based on user input.

It helps you generate original content for your blogs, social media, websites, and more. Jasper also knows 10% of what’s on the internet and continues to learn more daily.

Just like Copy.ai, Jasper’s user interface is easy to use and navigate around. With its specific template for blog posts, articles, ebooks, and more, it’s also one of the few AI writing software suitable for long-form content.

All you have to do is enter the title, your intended audience, tone of voice, and language options, along with the main point of your copy, and voila – Jasper can churn out a high-quality piece of content for you within seconds.

(Jasper Interface)

Key Features:

50+ AI templates – Jasper.ai offers a variety of AI templates, including Blog Posts, Summary, Conclusion, Q&A, Ads, Videos, Social Media, Rewriter, Marketing Frameworks, Articles, and more. Each template has several use cases – for example, a blog has Blog Titles, Content Briefs, and Outlines.

Headline Generator

Boss Mode lets you write long-form content such as blog posts, stories, and books. It also allows you to organize your content into projects and find help with priority chat support, Grammarly integration, and plagiarism checks. You can also choose from 25 languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and more.
SurferSEO Integration – If you have a Boss Mode plan, you can add SurferSEO to your Jasper account. This integration will enable you to find the best keywords, build a content strategy, create blog outlines, and more.

Pros:

No technical assistance is required.
Simple, easy-to-use interface.
Provides plagiarism-free content every time.
It helps you build a content strategy based on high-ranking topics and keywords.
Ready-to-use templates cover most of the use cases that a writer or marketer will need.
Excellent customer support is provided through live training sessions, live Q&A sessions, blogs, Facebook community, help docs, and emails.

Cons:

Plagiarism-free content doesn’t always mean unique content.
Customer support options via chat or email are limited.

Pricing:

It starts with $40/mo for 35K words, 50+ AI templates, 20+ languages, up to 5 seats, and chat support.

3. Rytr

Rytr is a content generation tool that uses AI to generate high-quality, human-sounding content for emails, blogs, YouTube videos, and landing pages.

It also supports multiple languages and tones and uses copywriting frameworks, including AIDA & PAS. And to ensure that your content is free of plagiarism, it comes with a built-in plagiarism checker.

Like Copy.ai. Rytr is also more suitable for short-form content and copywriting than long-form content.

Key Features:

30+ languages – Rytr supports many languages, including English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Polish. It also uses a proprietary approach to support languages that are not supported by the limitations of GPT3.

Language Support

Use Cases: Rytr offers 40+ use cases, including Blog Section Writing, Blog Ideas & Outline, Brand Name, Business Idea Pitches, Call-to-action, Cover letters, Emails, and more.

Each use case has a short description of what it’s about below it. Select the use case to write about, give a little context about what you want to write, and then select how many variants you want the AI to write for you (max is 3).

You can also choose a creativity level by selecting one of 6 options, including Default, Non, Low, Medium, High, or Max.

Generating Blog Ideas & Outlines

Tone – You can add a personal touch to your content by choosing from over 18 tones, including Formal, Convincing, Inspirational, and more.

Writing in a formal tone.

Pros:

Simple user interface.
Fast live chat support.
Using the magic command, you can produce content for poems, letters, and more.
Comes with an in-built tool for plagiarism checks.
Provides multiple resources for guidance.

Cons:

Tone options are limited.
You will receive a small number of credits per month.

Pricing:

It starts at $9/month for 100K characters per month. There is also a free plan with a 10K characters limit.

4. Writesonic

Writesonic is a content-creation platform that uses generative artificial intelligence models to write SEO-optimized long-form blogs and articles.

It has 65+ use cases or templates, including Article Writer 3.0, Landing Pages, Tweets, Quora Answers, Facebook Ads, and more.

You can easily create desired content by picking a suitable use case, typing a topic, and adding a paragraph of your own words. You can also set the language and quality level before generating it.

Generating Pros and Cons

Key Features:

24 Languages: You can produce content in 24 languages, including English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, Czech, Danish, Greek, Hungarian, and more. They’re also continually adding more language options.

Languages

Unconventional Use Cases: It’s got a more comprehensive range of templates, including Sentence Expander, Text Summary, Conclusion Writer, YouTube Outlines, LinkedIn Ad Descriptions, Analogy Maker, Question Generator, Song Lyrics, Definition, and more.

SEMrush and WordPress Integrations: Writesonic integrates with SEMrush, Zapier, and WordPress.org. SEMrush helps you optimize your content for search engines, and WordPress.org lets you publish your blog directly from Writesonic. Zapier integration enables you to automate your content from Writesonic.

SEMrush Integration

Pros:

Easy to use.
The User Interface gives you step-by-step instructions and tips for how to use the tool more efficiently.
There are many unique use cases, including a hook generator, pros and cons generator, and landing page creator.
Free trial available.

Cons:

Like other tools on this list, the copy may not always be accurate.

Pricing:

It starts at $10/month for 12K words, 70+ AI templates, a Landing page generator, a browser extension, Zapier integration, and more.

5. Grammarly Business

Like most other tools on this list, Grammarly Business isn’t an AI-based content writer per se—it’s more like an AI-based writing assistant. Specifically, it checks your documents for grammar, spelling, plagiarism, and style mistakes.

Grammarly Business also provides feedback on your writing style so that you can improve as a writer over time.

You can use Grammarly Business to:

Get suggestions to improve your writing style, including word choice and sentence structure.
Identify common grammatical mistakes and fix them in one click.
Improve your email response time by checking emails before they’re sent out.

It’s also ideal for larger teams of writers who need to access the same Grammarly accounts, enabling multiple users to edit documents simultaneously.

One of the best parts about this tool is that it integrates with every online writing space, including Google Docs. This allows you to write and edit simultaneously without waiting for one draft to be finished before making changes to the next.

Key Features:

Custom Brand Tone: You can create multiple tone profiles to suit your needs and assign them to different Teams. You’ll also get real-time feedback on your tone and can adjust it while writing. Your tone can be anything from Joyful, Excited, Loving, and Surprised to Curious, Formal, and Cautionary.

Brand Tone Feedback

Grammar Checker: Grammarly gives you feedback on everything that can be improved in your writing – from typos to sentence structure. It also checks for grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and incorrect punctuation.

Style Guide: Grammarly Style Guide enables you to establish a uniform tone and style across all your teams. You can set a library of words, terms, and phrases that your teams should adhere to.

You can also prevent them from using complex acronyms or jargon. Lastly, you can get feedback on how the performance has increased with the Style Guide.

Style Guide Analytics

Pros:

Real-time feedback on errors and tone usage.
Grammarly gives instant, easy-to-understand feedback and lets you fix mistakes with just one click.
You can always add new words to the dictionary.

Cons:

It flags passive voice as an error.
Grammarly is good at catching mistakes, but sometimes it corrects things unnecessarily.

Pricing:

It starts at $15/month for one member, real-time feedback, style guide, snippets, brand tones, admin controls, and more.

6. Peppertype.ai

Peppertype.ai is another AI-based content generation tool that claims to create content ten times faster, boost Google ranking, and optimize conversions.

It’s a simple but valuable tool for writers who need help getting started on their next article, email, or blog post.

Some of its use cases include a product review generator, Amazon product descriptions, personal bio, email subject lines, cold emails, paragraph writing, Google Ad copy, Meta descriptions, blog outlines, blog conclusion, and more.

Key Features:

Projects: You can organize your content under Projects, which will group similar types of content so that you have an easier time finding and repurposing the content.

Projects

Output personalization: You can like or dislike the output so that the AI behind it can learn your preferences and improve its performance.

Personalizing output

Pros:

If you invite your friends to use Peppertype.ai, join our community, write them a review, and schedule a training call, they’ll reward you with more word credits.
You can create teams, projects, and workspaces.
You can filter out unwanted results with annotations.

Cons:

One seat is expensive, and the price increases with each added seat.

Pricing:

It starts at $35/month for one user, 50K words, 40+ use cases, unlimited projects, customer support, and more.

7. Anyword

Anyword is a copywriting AI that creates content tailored for your customers and target audiences.

It has a unique feature – the predictive performance score to predict how well your copy will perform and engage with your audience. This helps you write optimized texts that boost your conversions.

It has 11 major use cases, including a social post generator, Instagram caption generator, sentence rewriter, AI writer tool, meta description generator, Ad copy, landing page, blog, and more.

Generating Facebook Post

Although it can create blog post titles and outlines, it’s better suited for writing short-form content like ad copy, product descriptions, and headlines. When writing a blog post, it can generate the title, outline, and introduction before creating body paragraphs.

Key Features:

Predictive Performance Score: This score is given to your copy based on its potential to perform well with your target audience. This can help you immediately improve your copy.

Predictive Performance Score

Website Triggered Messages: This feature helps you create and deploy multiple copy variations on your website and apply the best one automatically.

Pros:

It offers a predictive performance score to optimize your copy beforehand.
It also offers a free social post generator. No sign-up is required.
It automatically creates and runs multiple copy variations to determine the best one.
A Freemium plan is available.

Cons:

Limited use cases.
A bit expensive for the credits and the number of use cases it offers.

Pricing:

It costs $24/month for 20K words and one seat.

8. Scalenut

Scalenut uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to produce content that ranks higher on search results. It also gives insights into statistics such as word count, grade level, H tags, readability, and the number of images you should use in your content piece.

Aside from that, it offers a variety of use cases, including SEO Hub, AI Copywriter, Talent Network, Chrome Extension, Cruise Mode, and more. With these features, you can create content for blog ideas, product descriptions, website copies, blog intros, and more.

Key Features:

Integrations: You can integrate Scalenut with SEMrush for keyword research, cluster boost, and Copyscape to check plagiarism.

App integrations

Cruise Mode: Cruise Mode helps you create blog content in 5 minutes. You just need to provide your blog post’s title, outline, and main points to get your intended content. You’ll also get a real-time quality score that helps you improve your search ranking.

Pros:

It offers a quality score.
Affordable plans with a 7-day free trial.
24*7 chat & email support.

Cons:

Limited use cases and features.
Content quality is not consistent for all businesses.

Pricing:

It starts at $12/month for 100K AI words, 5 SEO reports, 24*7 chat and email support, and more.

9. Frase.io

Frase.io is an all-in-one AI writing tool that helps you, research competitors, develop content briefs, and produce and optimize content.

First, you’ll analyze your search competitors using Frase so you can see what your competition is writing about. Next, you can focus on Then, your overall outline or dig deeper by focusing on individual headlines, external links, statistics, etc.

Next, use Frase’s AI writer to finish your draft. You can choose from dozens of use cases to generate content, including product descriptions, blog introductions, and more. You can even automatically expand on what you’re currently writing or rewrite what you’ve already written.

Finally, you can optimize your draft using recommended keywords and readability scores. Again, Frase provides real-time feedback as you fill in the gaps.

Key Features:

AI Writing Tools: They include an AI content generator, introduction generator, outline generator, paraphrasing tool, paragraph rewriter, blog title generator, meta description generator, product description generator, slogan generator, summary generator, sentence rewriter, and more.

Blog introduction generator

Content Analytics: It fetches data from Google Search Console to provide insights into organic growth, content decay, and keyword opportunities.

Frase Content Analytics

Integrations: It integrates with Google Docs, Google Search Console, and WordPress. It also offers a Chrome extension.

Frase Integrations

Pros:

You can add multiple pages in a single doc.
It offers content analytics, allowing you to see which articles are getting the most traction and which ones are not.
It enables you to do competitors’ research.

Cons:

Limited word credits in each plan.
Max 3 seats available.

Pricing:

It starts at $14.99/month for one user, 20K AI characters, and four articles (write/optimize) per month. There’s also a 5-day free trial for $1.

10. Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is an SEO tool and AI writing assistance that uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to help you manage and improve your content strategy.

Rather than creating the body of your copy, it helps you create outlines and optimize the content you write based on that outline.

It helps you to evaluate your content and find places to improve it using its content score metric, competitor research, SERP analyzer, and keyword recommendations. It also offers a content planner that you can share with your team.

Key Features:

Outline Builder for Content Editor: The tool generates headlines and paragraphs based on your competitors’ postings. You can use that content as is or edit it by copy-pasting it into the editor. Content paragraphs are available in English, German, French, Polish, Swedish, and Dutch.

Outline Builder Content Builder

SEO Audit Tool: This tool performs step-by-step optimization on your website to improve your Google search results. When you pick an URL to audit, it provides suggestions such as missing backlinks, internal links, word count, and important keywords to use.

Terms to use

Content Planner: You can start with your content planner by keyword or domain. Based on your keywords, it comes up with clusters that you can use to create your content topics.

However, there is a learning curve involved. You will need to understand topic clusters, search intent, and keyword difficulty, among other metrics.

Content Planner

Pros:

Easy to use interface.
They offer a 7-day money-back guarantee – if you don’t find it helpful, you get your money back.
It identifies keyword stuffing and prevents you from doing so.

Cons:

Each plan offers a limited number of pages that you can audit.

Pricing:

It starts at $49/month for one website tracking and ten articles/month.

11. Copysmith

Copysmith markets itself as an AI content creation solution for teams.

This AI writer is best suited for bulk and short-form content copy like product descriptions, blog templates, social media content, advertising content, and more.

Key Features:

Use cases: It includes product descriptions, content enhancement, ads & social media, blog templates, and brainstorming. With Product descriptions, you can generate descriptions for eCommerce Products, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Flipkart. Blog templates include blog titles, blog ideas, outlines, intro, Kickstarter, and more.

Product Description

Campaign Builder: It includes several AI templates to help you generate SEO-optimized product descriptions, Facebook posts, and Google ads in just a few seconds.

Integrations: Copysmith integrates with Frase to use SEO data, Google Ads to publish campaigns, Microsoft Word to produce content, and WooCommerce for products.

Pros:

It’s easy to use and generates SEO-optimized content.
It comes with an in-built plagiarism checker.
Provides good training material for new users.

Cons:

Not suitable for long-form content.

Pricing:

It starts at $19/month for 75 credits, up to 40K words, and up to 20 plagiarism checks.

12. ClosersCopy

ClosersCopy is an AI writing robot that provides various templates for producing marketing materials, including website content, sales copy, email marketing campaigns, and social media posts. This tool doesn’t require any special skills or training to create engaging text.

Key Features:

Use cases: It includes Facebook & Google Ads, email subject lines, landing pages, sales copies, social media content, and more.
LongForm editor: You can create blog posts, articles, sales copies, and email marketing copies.
Drag-and-drop builders: The drag-and-drop content builder makes your tasks more manageable by allowing you to drag and drop elements on your copy. The only thing you need to do is provide some context at the time of configuring this builder.

Pros:

Its user interface is easy to use and navigate.
You can easily create content with their drag-and-drop builder.
The video tutorials provide in-depth, step-by-step instructions for each process.
Tone analysis helps you understand the emotions in your writing.

Cons:

No free plan or trial period is available.
More expensive than most other AI tools.

Pricing:

It starts at $49.99/month for two seats, 300 AI runs, 50 SEO Audits, an SEO planner, Email support, and more.

13. LongShot AI

LongShot AI is another writing tool that can help you write SEO-friendly content. It comes with over 30 use cases and a plagiarism checker to ensure your content is original.

While most of its use cases are for short-form content, you can use templates like the content expander, write more, or bullets to text generator to assist you with your long-form piece.

Key Features:

Use Cases: It includes content rephrasing, FAQ generator, headline generator, blog ideas generator, meta description generator, text extender, blog insights creator, headline intro generator, product description generator, FAB copywriting framework generator, content readability improver, sales email generator, video description generator, and more.

Headline Generator

Integrations: It integrates with WordPress to enable you to export AI-generated copies directly to WordPress. Its integration with SEMrush will help you write SEO-friendly content. Apart from these, LongShot AI will also provide integration with Hubspot and Grammarly soon.

LongShot X SEMrush

LongShot AI Community: The LongShot AI Community is a group of researchers and developers working on open artificial intelligence problems. Anyone can join and contribute to the research.

Pros:

The free forever plan offers ten credits daily.
Community is a big help for new users.
It gives you multiple ways to know more about the product, including blog posts, help videos, customer support, and announcements.

Cons:

Aside from the free plan, it’s costly, especially considering the limited number of use cases and credits.
Doesn’t have use cases for social media content.
Supports only eight languages.

Pricing:

It starts at $49/month for 1000 monthly credits, one user, basic integrations, and more.

14. INK Editor

Inky is a suite of content marketing tools that include AI-powered tools: AI Writer, SEO Optimizer, Copy Assistant, and Content Planner. These features can be used individually or collectively, and the price will be adjusted accordingly.

The AI Writer offers unlimited credits and helps you write long-form and short-form content. In addition, you can re-edit the generated copy with a single click as often as you want. The tool also offers WordPress plugin integration and open-source export API.

In addition, you get access to use cases like product descriptions, social media copies, sales copies, blogs, essays, emails, microcopies, product ideas, and more.

AI Writing Tools

Key Features:

SEO Optimizer: INK’s SEO Optimizer is a natural language optimization tool that can improve your SEO score and increase engagement by providing recommendations on keywords, titles, alt text, and the like. Enter a keyword or phrase, and the INK SEO Optimizer will do the rest.

SEO Optimization Score

Content Planner: The INK Content Planner helps you group keywords and analyze search intent. You can also import your keywords and download your clusters for further analysis.

Copy Assistant: A built-in grammar checker automatically checks your grammar and spelling. It also checks words, tone, and sentence fragments.

Pros:

Easy to use.
You can use it as an all-in-one content marketing tool.
Offers unlimited AI text writing even on a free plan.
Offers keyword clusters to optimize your SEO strategy.

Cons:

The paid plan is relatively costly for one seat.

Pricing:

It starts at $50/month for one seat, INK Copy Assistant PRO, INK AI Writer PRO, INK SEO Optimizer PRO, and INK Content Planner PRO with 1,000 Keywords.

15. Articoolo

Articoolo is an AI content generator developed by a group of mathematicians, computer scientists, content writers, and marketing specialists. Thanks to NLP and AI technology, the tool drafts articles in a way that mimics the human brain.

Key Features:

Use Cases: It includes Text Writer, Article Rewriter, Article Summarizer, and Image Scraper. Based on your keyword, Articoolo will also fetch images from royalty-free websites.
WordPress Plugin: This will help you export your copies directly to WordPress so you can post faster.
Plagiarism Checker: All you have to do is enter your text into the program, and it will scan for instances of plagiarism.

Pros:

It has pay-per-use plans.

Cons:

There’s no official website.
Customer support is missing the mark.
Not much information about the tool online.

Pricing:

It starts at $19/month for a ten-article fixed package.

16. NeuralText

NeuralText is a writing tool that offers users keyword reports and cluster credits. It also has an API for developers looking to integrate its services into other programs.

Some of its most prominent use cases include a paragraph generator, content outline, and product description – making it a short-form content-centric tool.

The best part is that it not only creates content but also creates content briefs and optimizes the content based on keywords and SERP analysis.

Key Features:

AI Writing Assistant: This tool will help you produce text in any format. It also provides text recommendations while you write.

AI Writing Assistant

Content Optimization: NeuralText can help make your content more search engine-friendly and improve its score in Google’s search results. It analyzes your word choice and sentence structure to ensure your content is easy to scan and relevant to your topic.

Content Score

Content research analysis: It makes content research and studies more accessible, allowing you to see real-time data across SERPs. It also has a Google Docs-style editor, making managing your data points and keeping track of your research effortless.

Content research analysis

Pros:

Free plan available.
Offers keyword clusters.
You can group content into different projects.

Cons:

The community is not active.
A bit on the expensive side.

Pricing:

It starts at $49/month for one user, unlimited AI text generation, 50 content analyses, and 50 keyword reports.

17. AI Writer

AI Writer helps you create unique, SEO-friendly content that you can publish directly to WordPress. In addition, it offers features like research & write, text rewording, verifiable citations, and source summarizer.

Key Features:

AI-Writer Content Kit: AI Writer uses artificial intelligence to analyze keyword difficulty and ranking opportunities based on the field you enter. It chooses up to 250 keywords and generates one article per keyword, which can be directly published to WordPress.

(Sub)Topic Discoverer: It checks to see what other writers have written about and then uses that information to create new topics for you.

Verifiable Citations: When it produces content for you, it also provides a list of citations so that you can check the accuracy of the information.

Pros:

It offers a free trial for seven days.
One of the few AI writing tools to offer verifiable citations so you can confirm the accuracy of the content.

Cons:

Not enough resources in the knowledge base for new users.
Fewer use cases.
Does not offer a free version.

Pricing:

It starts at $29/month for one user and up to 40 articles.

18. Wordtune

Wordtune makes your previously written content clearer, more compelling, and more authentic by bringing out the best.

Although this tool doesn’t write content from scratch, it makes your content look more professional. It also integrates with Microsoft Word, so you can edit your work while you write your content.

It provides tools to:

Rewrite your content
Make your content casual
Make your content formal
Shorten your sentences to make them crisp
Expand your sentences to give more detail

Key Features:

Paragraph Rewriter: Wordtune can rewrite your paragraphs entirely at once, one sentence at a time, and one word at a time. See below for an example.

Paragraph Rewriter

Tone: You can alter how your content appears by making it more informal or formal. Here’s an example:

Casual Tone

Pros:

You can make the text longer or shorter.
It offers a casual and formal tone.
Simple and easy-to-use interface.

Cons:

It doesn’t offer any other benefits besides rewriting.

Pricing:

It starts at $9.99/month for unlimited rewrites.

19. ProWritingAid

Rather than a full-fledged artificial intelligence writer, ProWritingAid is a grammar checker and style editor that’s available online. It helps prevent spelling errors, suggests impactful words, and corrects grammar and punctuation.

It supports general English, British English, US English, Australian English, and Canadian English.

Key Features:

Document type: You can choose from 35+ document types for your content. They include general academic abstract, academic essays, admission letters, book reviews, business books, and more.

Reports: ProWritingAid provides three types of reports: real-time reports, summary reports, and style reports.

Real-time reports show errors and corrections as you write. Summary reports provide an overview of all reports. It contains a spelling score, grammar score, and style score. On the other hand, Style reports identify problems in writing style and readability.

Summary report

Pros:

It offers 20+ reports to track your progress as you improve your writing.
There are no limits on the number of words you can use with premium plans.
Notifies of style changes and suggests corrections if needed.

Cons:

Only available through the web browser.

Pricing:

It starts at $20 per month or $120 per year (if you pay yearly).

20. Article Forge

Once you provide ArticleForge.com with a keyword, article length, and other custom information, the program creates a 1500+ word article in seconds.

Your content will be checked for plagiarism and uniqueness before being delivered.

Key Features:

Media-rich content: It can automatically find and insert relevant images, videos, titles, and links in your articles. To make it more relevant, ArticleForge also uses LSI keywords.

Creating an article

SEO Automation: It integrates with WordPress to automate your scheduling and posting of articles.

WordPress Integration

Interlinking: It can automatically turn URLs into links within your article. You can choose how often to do this for every keyword or just the first occurrence.

Languages: It can generate content in English, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian.

Pros:

Produces SEO-optimized content.
Can schedule posts on WordPress automatically.
Plagiarism-free content.
Automatic keyword linking.

Cons:

The content can be repetitive.
You need to check the accuracy of the content before publishing.

Pricing:

It starts at $13/month for 25K words and the rest of the features.

Frequently asked questions about AI writing software.

1. What is AI Writing Software?

AI writing software is an artificial intelligence program used to write text. It can generate content for websites, blogs, and other fields. The content created by AI writers is often indistinguishable from human-created content. Still, sometimes it has a slightly robotic feel or may include words or phrases that seem out of place in the context of the writing.

2. How does AI Writing Software work?

The software uses an algorithm to mimic the creative process of human writers. It first creates a base text that modifies by adding words and phrases specific to your content. This ensures that you get high-quality original content every time you use it.

3. Who can use AI Writing Software?

Anyone who needs to create texts for their business or website can benefit from using this software. It’s also an excellent option for freelance writers and content marketers facing writer’s block. As it’s easy and fast, even beginners can start using it immediately and see great results within minutes!

4. Can I use AI writers for everything I write?

No — AI writers are best suited for shorter pieces like headlines or product descriptions because they don’t have much time to learn about your company’s brand voice or personality.

While there are tools to churn out long-form content, you still need the human touch for longer and more research-intensive pieces like blog posts or sales copy. AI algorithms still can’t pick up on nuances like a human can.

5. What are some of the benefits of using AI Writing Software?

There are many benefits to using AI writing software. The most obvious benefit is that you no longer need to spend time creating content yourself. The software will do it for you!

Another benefit is that AI writing software allows you to create content in any niche or topic you desire. You can even target multiple niches at once! This makes it possible to scale your business quickly and easily by leveraging the power of automation while still keeping your hands on the work itself.

6. How much does it cost?

The pricing depends on the type of service you want to use. Some companies offer free trials or even freemium versions with limited credits so that you can test their services before making a purchase decision. Some companies offer lifetime discounts for repeat customers, so keep an eye out for those offers when making your choice!

7. What’s the difference between AI-powered and human-written content?

While humans are still required for high-quality content creation, AI makes scaling up your content marketing efforts easier. By automating much of the writing process – from keyword research to formatting – AI can help you create more content at a lower cost per article. In addition, this frees your team members to focus on other tasks that require their expertise (like outreach) or simply spend more time enjoying their lives!

8. What is the best AI Writer?

The best AI writer depends on what you want it to do and how much you want to spend. If you’re going to write books or articles, many different programs can help you with this task. Our top pick for long-form would be Jasper.

On the other hand, if you only need help with short-form content such as blog posts or press releases, there may not be any need for an AI writer because these documents don’t require as much work or effort from the user. In that case, you might want to use tools like Copy.ai, Rytr, and more.

9. Can I use AI Writing Software to replace my human writers?

No, AI writing software isn’t meant to replace human writers. It’s designed to work alongside them, helping them create more engaging and relevant content for their audiences. You’ll still need human writers who can add style and personality to your content.

Over to You!

Do you find writing to be an exhausting activity? If yes, you would want to try one of the AI Writing Software tools we suggested above. These are some of the best AI writing tools specially developed to boost creativity, motivation, and productivity.

There’s room for experimentation with AI-generated content as long as you can recognize where specific tools are lacking and how to incorporate that into your work. Ultimately, the future of AI writing assistant software will mean ever-more versatile tools for writers, so don’t be shy about testing the waters.

Featured image by pch.vector on Freepik.

The post 20 Best AI Writing Apps first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

14 novembre 2022/par Service comm.

How To Make Your Designs Scannable (And Why You Should)

Jakob Nielsen’s How Users Read on the Web is 25 years old this week, and one glance at an eye-tracking study will tell you its key observations are still relevant today.

Simply put, users don’t read a web page; they scan it for individual words and sentences.

A typical pattern shown in eye-tracking reports is that users will rapidly scan a page, scrolling down to do so. Then either hit the back button and pump your bounce rate, or scroll to the top and re-engage with the content.

Even when content, volume, and quality tick all the user’s boxes, and they choose to stay on your site, they still don’t read; they scan; a slightly deeper scan, but still a scan.

As a result, it’s vital to design websites to be easily scannable, both in a split-second scan to decide if your page is worth the reader’s time and on a second or third pass.

Clarify the Page’s Purpose Immediately

Every page should have a primary goal. The majority of the time, that goal is embodied in a CTA (Call to Action).

The good news is, if your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) has gone to plan, your goal (i.e., to sell something) and your user’s goal (i.e., to buy something) will align. By clarifying the page’s purpose, you can show the user that your goals align.

You can be experimental if you’re an established company and the user knows what to expect. But if you’re new to the market or have a lower profile, you need to conform to established design patterns. This means that a SaaS should look like a SaaS, a store should look like a store, and a blog should look like a blog.

Including your CTA above the fold — which in the context of the web, means the user doesn’t have to interact to see it. Doing so makes it easier for the user to progress and clearly tells the user what you are offering.

The landing page for next month’s Webflow Conf 2022 clarifies the page’s content, with a clear CTA above the fold.

Employ a Visual Hierarchy

The Von Restorff effect states that the more something stands out, the more likely we are to notice and remember it.

Visual hierarchies are excellent for guiding a user through content. HTML has the h1–h7 heading levels — although, in reality, only h1–h4 are much use — which gives you several levels of heading that can be scanned by different readers scanning at different rates.

For example, we know that subheadings have little impact if a user diligently reads the page from top to bottom, but they are excellent for catching the eye of skim readers.

Amnesty uses very a very simple hierarchy, the only change for its subheading being increased weight. But it is enough to catch the user’s eye.

You can also create visual hierarchies with other forms of contrast; weight and color are often employed in addition to size. For accessibility and inclusive design, it’s wise to combine visual indicators when creating a hierarchy; for example, headings are usually larger, bolder, and colored.

Use Negative Space

Imagine a person standing in a crowd. Let’s say they’re wearing a red and white striped jumper and a red and white bobble hat — pretty distinctive. But if there are hundreds of other characters around them, they might be hard to spot.

Now imagine the same person dressed the same, standing on their own. How long will it take you to spot them? Even without the stripy outfit, it’s not much of a challenge.

Elements in isolation are not only easier to spot, but they pull the eye because the negative space (sometimes referred to as white space) around them creates contrast.

When using negative space, the key is to give elements enough room to breathe and attract the eye without giving them so much room that they are disassociated from the rest of your content.

Across its site, Moheim uses negative space to highlight UI elements while grouping associated content.

Use F Patterns

Users scan a page using either an F-pattern or a Z-pattern.

Because users scan your page in predictable ways, we can employ layouts that cater to this tendency.

Designers have been aware of F and Z patterns for some time, and because they’ve been used for so long, they may be self-fulfilling, with users being trained to scan a page in this fashion. However, both patterns are similar to how eyes travel from line to line in horizontal writing systems.

Whatever the cause, by placing key content along these paths, you increase the chance of capturing a user’s attention.

Kamil Barczentewicz uses a beautiful, natural layout that also conforms to a classic F pattern.

Include Images with Faces

Images are a great way of conveying brand values and making a site engaging. But when it comes to catching the eye of a user scanning your design, the best images include faces.

For example, a testimonial with an image of the customer will catch the eye more than a text-only testimonial.

The Awwwards Conference uses an animated computer with a face to capture attention. And large images of speakers making eye contact.

This is almost certainly due to social conditioning; we see a face, and we engage with it to see if it is a threat or not. Most of us naturally look to expressions of emotion to understand situations, and the distinction between a real-life person and an image hasn’t made its way into our mental programming yet.

You don’t need to use photos. Illustrations are fine. The key is to ensure there is a face in the image. That’s why illustrations of characters perform so well.

Copy Print Design

Print design is centuries older than the web, and many print applications, from newspapers to advertising, developed design elements to catch the eye of readers scanning the design.

Subheadings, lists, blockquotes, and pull quotes all catch the eye. Introductory paragraphs in a larger size or even italics draw users into the text. Shorter paragraphs encourage users to keep reading.

Horizontal rules used to delineate sections of text act as a break on eyes traveling over content with momentum. They are a good way of catching a scan-reader who is losing interest.

You can use a horizontal rule or break up your layout with bands of color that divide content sections.

Omono uses horizontal bands to highlight different sections of content.

Mass, Not Weight

We often discuss design elements as having weight; font-weight is the thickness of strokes.

But it is more helpful to think of design elements as having mass; mass creates gravity, pulling a user’s eye towards them.

The trick is to design elements with enough mass to attract the user‘s eye when scanning at speed without forcing the user to change how they engage with your content.

Featured image via Pexels.

The post How To Make Your Designs Scannable (And Why You Should) first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

28 septembre 2022/par Service comm.

Ridiculously Challenging WordPress Quiz

I bet you didn’t know that WordPress is the world’s most popular website builder and content management system (CMS).

Just kidding…of course, you did! But that’s not all there is to know about WordPress, so take our ridiculously challenging WordPress quiz and see how much of an expert you are…

(Scroll to the bottom for the correct answers.)

1. What is WordPress?

SEO plugin to check your keyword density
AI tool to create illustrations
Online software to create websites
A coffee shop in Canada

2. What is the number of websites using WordPress?

75 million
1.3 billion
2 thousand
7.1 billion

3. WordPress has a tradition of naming its major releases after:

American presidents
Famous jazz musicians
British kings
Heavy metal bands

4. How many websites are created on WordPress per day?

Two websites
20,040 websites
Over 500 websites
60-80 websites

5. What is the correct WordPress website address?

WordPress.org
WordPress.us
WordPress.com
WordPress.au

6. Who is the WordPress CEO?

Elon Mask
Bill Gates
Leonardo DiCaprio
No CEO

7. Which US government website is using WordPress?

WhiteHouse.gov
U.S. Embassy Websites
State.gov
All of them

8. How many languages is WordPress available in?

9. What is the most downloaded WordPress theme of all time?

Divi
Gutenberg
WoodMart
Astra

10. How many Fortune websites are using WordPress?

11. What is the average salary of a WordPress developer per year?

$100k
$56k
$24k
$201k

12. When was the first WordPress version released?

1999
2010
2007
2003

Answers

1. What is WordPress? – 3. WordPress is online, open-source software that you can use to create websites.

2. What is the number of websites using WordPress? – 2. In 2021, WordPress powers over 1.3 billion websites all over the web, and this number continues to grow.

3. WordPress has a tradition of naming major releases after – 2. WordPress has a habit of naming its big releases after famous jazz musicians. For example, in the first version of January 2004, they called 1.0 (Davis), named after American trumpeter Miles Davis. Another version of May 2004 was named 1.2 (Mingus).

4. How many websites are created on WordPress per day? – 3. Over 500 websites are created on WordPress every day. At the same time, only 60-80 sites are built on popular platforms like Squarespace and Shopify. Besides, every second, 17 new blog posts are published on WordPress!

5. What is the correct WordPress website address? – 1. The fact that always confuses beginners is that WordPress.org and WordPress.com are entirely different companies that provide separate services. WordPress.org is the real WordPress everyone talks about that helps you to build websites. While WordPress.com is a hosting provider created by Automattic, the co-founder of WordPress.

6. Who is the WordPress CEO? – 4. WordPress is a free, open-source project. That’s why it does not have a CEO; volunteer developers run the project from all over the globe. This is the reason anyone can submit a report about a bug or suggest features.

7. Which US government website is using WordPress? – 4. The correct answer is all of them. All major websites of the US federal government use WordPress for their websites. The list includes all government sites of big and small cities, counties, universities, and high schools.

8. How many languages is WordPress available in? – 2. The Default WordPress language is English; however, the platform provides a fully translated platform with plugins that allow you to change your site’s language in seconds. The software has been successfully used in over 72 languages and can be modified for more!

9. What is the most downloaded WordPress theme of all time? – 4. Astra is the most downloaded WordPress theme of all time. Astra is claimed to be the most potent and fast theme trusted by many popular brands. Besides, the theme earned over $30M.

10. How many Fortune 500 websites use WordPress? – 1. 11 Fortune websites, such as Walt Disney Company, ABM Industries, and 21st Century Fox, use WordPress.

11. What is the average salary of a WordPress developer per year? – 2. The average WordPress developer earns $56,000 per year, according to Payscale.

12. When was the first WordPress version released? – 4. The first version of WordPress was released on May 27, 2003, which makes WordPress much older than Twitter and Facebook.

Featured image via upklyak on Freepik

The post Ridiculously Challenging WordPress Quiz first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

26 août 2022/par Service comm.

5 Best Newsletter Platforms for Startups in 2022

If you don’t keep in touch with your customer base, it can become easy for them to drift away. Newsletters are an affordable and effective way to check in with your audience occasionally.

However, you will need to craft well-designed newsletters to have the desired impact. Your newsletters should include engaging content, including images and written content. They should look highly professional and aesthetically appealing, so people are encouraged to read them. Another thing to consider is the method you want to send the newsletters. Picking the right platform can save you time and energy, especially if you have a large readership.

The good news is that there are a variety of available platforms that can help you make great-looking emails. These services can also make it easier for you to send newsletters.

Let’s take a look at some of the best newsletter platforms available:

1. HubSpot

This is a name that needs no introduction among digital marketers. HubSpot offers several powerful marketing platforms with valuable tools and features to help any marketing campaign succeed.

HubSpot’s email marketing tool includes easy drag-and-drop tools that make it simple even for novices to write killer newsletters.

When you choose HubSpot’s email marketing tool, you will also have access to its powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform. HubSpot’s CRM platform includes various email automation tools like follow-up email tools and helps you personalize your newsletters.

HubSpot’s marketing tool includes a free plan that provides access to some of the platform’s powerful email marketing features. The free plan limits users to sending 2,000 emails/month, and paid plans start from $50/month.

2. Mailchimp

Here’s another name that is well known among marketers – particularly concentrated marketers that focus on email campaigns. Mailchimp uses a drag-and-drop email editor that helps just about anybody create professional-looking newsletters and emails.

Mailchimp also has A/B testing tools to help you fine-tune your campaigns and cross-device tools that ensure your newsletters look great on any platform.

The platform offers a selection of newsletter templates to help you get started and make it easy to manage your contact list. The platform allows you to automatically resend newsletters using different subject lines if the recipient didn’t open previous emails.

Mailchimp offers a free plan that manages up to 2,000 contacts and sends up to 12,000 emails/month with limited access to other features. Paid plans start at just $11/month per 500 contacts with access to more services. Other plans range from $17/month per 500 users to $299/month per 500 users, increasing access to Mailchimp’s tools.

3. AWeber

AWeber is a popular choice because it is so easy to use. It’s another platform that uses drag-and-drop design technology that requires no coding knowledge. The software allows users to add carousels for a truly professional look.

The platform also includes tools that simplify list management and segmentation. AWeber features 6,000 royalty-free stock photos, and it can be integrated with other platforms, including WordPress.

Some people might find that AWeber isn’t as advanced as other options and doesn’t have some of the features they need. However, the platform is ideal for smaller companies and people just getting started with newsletter software applications.

AWeber offers a free plan that lets you add up to 500 contacts. Paid plans start from $16.15/month, and other pricing plans are available to users who need to manage more contacts.

4. Sendinblue

With an expansive template gallery and efficient drag-and-drop design technology, Sendinblue is another platform that helps people create professional, aesthetically pleasing newsletters. It lets users select display conditions that determine which content recipients see.

The software offers a range of features that help automate sending numerous newsletters, including the ability to send according to the recipients’ time zones. It also provides analytical tools to show how well your newsletters are performing.

Sendinblue offers a free plan that allows you to send up to 300 emails/day. Paid plans start from $25/month for the Lite plan and $65/month for the Premium plan with 20,000 emails/month. Each tier gives you access to more features, and prices increase if you want to send more emails.

5. GetResponse

GetResponse has been around for longer than most other newsletter options, so they’ve had plenty of time to get it right. With the platform’s fluid design features, it’s easy to create impressive newsletters and emails that look professional.

Other features from GetResponse include segmentation and lead scoring features, autoresponders, and automation workflows. In addition, you can have your newsletters sent at optimal times and take advantage of A/B testing tools.

The platform’s free plan lets you manage up to 500 contacts with unlimited newsletters.

GetResponse also provides a Basic plan from $12.30/month, a Plus plan from $40.18/month, and a Professional plan from $81.18/month, each of which lets you have up to 1,000 contacts. Each plan gives access to more features than the other, and you can pay more to manage more contacts.

Start Sending Professional Newsletters Today

Choosing the best newsletter software for you depends on various factors. These factors include which tools you need from the software, your technical ability, and how much you can afford to spend.

As with any product, it’s a good idea to shop around before making any decisions. Most platforms offer free plans, allowing you to try them out first without paying a penny. If you need more advanced features or hope to scale up at some point in the future, it’s probably best to look at platforms that can do more for you.

Featured image via Pexels.

The post 5 Best Newsletter Platforms for Startups in 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

6 avril 2022/par Service comm.

7 Worst Fails in Email Marketing

The email channel is known for multiple advantages. It is convenient to implement practically, offers many options, and has a fantastic ROI of up to 4200%.

But we also face problems, the most disappointing of which is people ignore emails, not performing the desired action, or worst of all unsubscribing. Why does it happen?

The web is constantly progressing. It offers many tools like modern HTML template builders, ESP services, and other digital assistants that help us at all stages. But even the best tools are not enough; the secret of success still rests with us.

In this post we’ll cover the 7 cardinal sins of email marketing, to help you avoid them.

1. Being Too Late

I can define this mistake as probably the worst. It’s worse than broken links, incorrect dates, or prices. Even more harmful than ugly design.

We lose a lot when postponing email strategy implementation. Beginners often focus all their attention on the content, social media activities, SEO issues… All that is important, right. But ignoring email campaigns is a hard fail.

Thousands of visitors never come again to your website. In other words, they leave the very first levels of the marketing funnel. While regular emailing keeps them engaged and prevents churn.

So delays here are only profitable for competitors. Don’t wait until you collect “enough” contacts. Start as soon as possible.

Frequency matters too. Don’t bomb people with emails; it annoys and causes unsubscribes. Email frequency is an individual parameter depending on many factors.

2. Disregarding Clients’ Expectations

A fundamental axiom: people unsubscribe when emails are irrelevant. The same goes for neglected expectations. Even the best content with next-gen features won’t save the situation.

I mentioned the email frequency a bit above. Notice that if you announce the weekly emails but send them every day, this is an example of ignoring expectations. Be honest with readers.

Another typical issue is off-topic. If your subscribers are waiting for content related to smartphones, send them newsletters about smartphones, not dresses or domestic turtles :)

But in some cases, getting off-topic can be good. It all depends on the target audience, actual situation, and communication style.

3. Bad Segmentation

Once again, relevance is vital. So we must avoid generic emails. Instead, especially if your contact list is extensive enough, apply all the possible parameters: age, gender, location, customers history, etc.

Where to get the respective data? A typical solution is to use update preferences forms in emails or on the website. Let clients choose the topics that are interesting for them.

Use surveys, sign-in forms, AI-based techniques of segmentation… Smart algorithms are great helpers that track clients’ behavior and then process the data for segmentation purposes.

The better we know our subscribers, the deeper we segment the contact list. It allows sending precisely targeted newsletters to respective segments.

4. Insufficient Personalization

As Hubspot stats say, personalized emails’ open rate is 26% higher, and their click-through rate is 14% better. But even besides index data, poor personalization is just nonsense today.

Clients are looking for content that matches their preferences, so marketers have to consider these expectations. Segmentation and dynamic range are essential here, but they are not the only techniques.

Everything is much more sophisticated here, in addition to personalized subjects and content. Another solution is to generate recommendations that include the previously browsed products.

AI-powered automation comes to help. Machines will upgrade the classical personalization to the next level called hyper-personalization.

5. Underestimating Mobile-Friendliness

It’s simply unacceptable to send non-responsive emails today. With so many people opening email on different devices, this is a huge fail.

The modern world is full of gadgets and devices. Email has been opened on smartphones more frequently than on desktop PCs and notebooks in recent years. Up to 70% of readers will read messages on mobiles very soon. No wonder that responsivity turned into a mobile priority.

Regarding layout and design, there are no problems: modern template editors are featured with automated responsivity. But mobile-first means not only layout/design adjustment for mobiles, full-width buttons, or larger fonts. We have to work with content too. Don’t overwrite text remember that recipients read inbox emails on the run.

Just imagine yourself reading emails in the cafe or cab. And ask yourself: is everything convenient? Would you take the desired action on the run?

6. Non-Professional Approach

People are quite skeptical of new brands. We need to do our best to attract them. So everything must be done professionally.

The best solution: be a perfectionist. If newsletters look amateurish, they are likely to repel.

Being amateurish will also ruin your brand identity and reduce customers’ trust. Pay close attention to design, stick to your corporate style, analyze each detail in the context of overall harmony.

7. Overlooking Tests and Improvements

Testing is vital. Before sending an email campaign, check it via Litmus or Email on Acid to be sure that message looks just as planned. These tools allow testing email rendering by +90 combinations of email clients, devices, and OS.

Knowledge is power. Always try and test your marketing strategies. Are you satisfied with your actual performance? Run A/B tests and focus on the most significant wins and failures.

Summing Up

Of course, threats are not limited to these seven failures. The last piece of advice: never ignore trends.

Accessibility? Don’t forget about clients with special requirements. Get whitelisted and incorporate these technologies in your campaigns.

And constantly strive for perfection. With this doctrine, you’ll win!

Featured image via Pexels.

The post 7 Worst Fails in Email Marketing first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

23 février 2022/par Service comm.

The Top 5 Form Types to Use in Your Web Design

There are a lot of factors that contribute to a better user experience on a website. Pages need to load quickly to give users peace of mind and efficiency. Navigation must be clear and straightforward, with direct pathways for visitors to follow when finding your contact pages, blog posts, and products. Your colors need to work seamlessly together while providing just enough contrast in the areas that need it most.

Excellent user experience needs to be considered for every part of your website that acts as a touchpoint with a potential customer or user.

One of the most significant touchpoints of all is your forms.

All websites need some form of interactive content to thrive. Users need to be able to do something with the site, whether it’s looking for information with a search bar, contacting a team for a quote, making a booking, or completing a purchase. Forms power the majority of the interactive activities available on websites.

If you know how to master great UX on a form, you can contribute to more meaningful interactions between your brands and their customers. But not all web forms are the same. Here are some of the top types of forms you need to master and how you can optimize them.

The “Opt-In” Form

The Opt-in Form is probably the best-known form in the digital landscape. It’s essentially a form that asks visitors to “opt-in” to a specific offer. Sometimes, this means signing up for a webinar; other times, it’ll be agreeing to an email newsletter or a regular series of blog updates.

Opt-in forms grab attention quickly and ask for something specific from the audience. For instance, this example from HuffPost encourages visitors to “Subscribe to the Morning Email.”

Opt-in forms are all about generating action.

Sometimes, they’re placed at the bottom of a landing page after a company has had a chance to explain precisely what they’re offering. Other times, you’ll find the opt-in form situated on a sidebar of a website, constantly enticing people to “sign up” if they like what they see on a blog post or article.

It’s also common for opt-in forms to appear as pop-ups and exit pop-ups on modern websites. For example, a brightly colored opt-in form that promises an immediate benefit to a customer could encourage them to hand over their details before they abandon your website.

How to Design a Great Opt-In Form

So what kind of best practices go into an excellent opt-in form?

Start with simplicity: If you’re asking your visitors to do something, don’t overwhelm them with too big of a request straight away. Keep the form short and simple, so it doesn’t seem like too much extra work for the visitor. Something like “Subscribe to our newsletter” should ask for nothing more than an email.
Highlight the benefits: Most customers won’t want to give you a place in their inbox or the opportunity to interact with them further unless you can offer something in return. Even if you’re asking for something small, like an email address, let the customer know what’s in it for them. In the HuffPost example above, the company highlights that you can wake up to the day’s “most important news.”
Give the visitor the power: Let your visitor know they’re in control here. They want to see that they’re getting exactly what they need from you in exchange for their contact details. This means reassuring them that their email address won’t be used for spam, like H&B Sensors does here:

The Contact Form

The Contact Form is another crucial part of building an effective UX for your website – but it’s also an element that web designers and business owners often overlook. When customers decide they want to learn more about a business, they need a quick and easy way to get in touch.

Contact forms need to be easy to find and use on any website. Usually, your user will expect to see a link to the contact form situated somewhere at the bottom of your webpage. It might be called “Contact Us” or “Customer Support.” Avoid anything that would go over the user’s head.

Aside from being easy to track down, your contact form also needs to reassure an audience that they’re making the right decision by getting in touch. Therefore, the content needs to be short, sweet, and authoritative—highlight why the user might contact your company and how they can do so.

Avoid any unnecessary information in the contact form. For example, you don’t need to know your client’s age and their job to answer a question about where their nearest physical branch is. Keep form fields to the point, or you’ll chase customers away.

How to Design a Great Contact Form

Design something personalized but straightforward to make the most of your contact form. Use features like smart content and conditional logic, if possible, to adapt the page to the user’s needs. Dynamic content is becoming increasingly valuable these days. Other best practices include:

Set the right expectations: Let your customers know how active you are and how quickly they can expect to hear back from you. Imagery and the right fonts can also set expectations about the kind of communication your audience can expect. For example, this contact page from the Marvel app is fun and playful, like the company itself:

Provide multiple options: If your customer doesn’t want to use your contact form, give them another way to get in touch. Ensure the contact page includes information like where to find you on social media and your professional phone number.
Simplify things on your end: To ensure that you can contact your audience as quickly as possible, allow your customers to choose a specific subject that their query is connected to. Allowing them to choose “Sales” or “Order issues” means you can automatically direct the message to the right team member on the back-end.

The Online Payment Form

Sometimes, when your customers have seen what you have to offer and they’ve checked out the competition, they decide to go ahead with their purchase. To facilitate this, you’re going to need an online payment form. Online forms ensure that your customers can safely enter their credit or debit card details to purchase whatever you have to offer.

Most payment processing companies like PayPal, Square, and Stripe come with payment forms included, so you can easily embed them into a website in minutes. However, there’s always the option to customize those payment forms.

For instance, ideally, you’ll need a payment form that keeps your customer on the same page, so they don’t have to log into another browser to make their purchase. The fewer transitions your client has to make, the safer they’ll feel.

How to Design a Great Payment Form

When designing any payment form, simplicity and security are the two most important factors. Your customer should be able to enter their information quickly and easily and get through the transaction process without worrying about their details.

Remember to:

Keep it simple: The fewer fields the visitor has to fill out, the better. Customers still feel uncomfortable sharing personal information and payment details online. Make the experience as painless as possible. If your client already has an account with your business, you might create a system that automatically fills some of the fields, such as their email address, name, and billing address.
Offer the right integrations: The proper payment forms will integrate with the payment services your customers prefer to use. Options include PayPal, Stripe, Square, Verified by Visa, and Mastercard. Get a developer to integrate the right APIs with your form to give your customers the broadest range of options.
Ensure security: Give customers peace of mind by providing as much security evidence as possible. An SSL certificate that places the padlock on the top of the browser next to the URL is a great way to make customers feel more secure. Integrating verification options so your customers can avoid fraud issues is another significant step. Sometimes just putting logos from the card types you accept on the page will make a customer feel more secure.

Support Forms

Some companies bundle the contact form and the support form together. Others have a separate support form to get their queries routed directly to the people most capable of helping them. If you want to take the second route, it might be a good idea to design a “help” section on your website where you can locate the support form.

The “Help” section on a site often appears alongside other links on the footer. For instance, it could appear alongside “About” links and “Contact” options. Here’s an example of Hubspot’s Customer Support options:

The best customer support pages come with various ways for clients to help themselves and find answers to their most pressing questions. For example, you might have a search bar where your audience can search for the answers to their queries or a knowledge base full of helpful blogs.

Hubspot allows users to choose between a blog, knowledge base, academy training center, community forum, developer discussion board, and assistance from a certified partner.

How to Design a Great Customer Support Form

Designing a good customer support form is about getting your audience the information they need as quickly as possible. Once again, you’ll need to stick to as few form fields as possible here to avoid angering an already frustrated customer. Also, remember to:

Ask for the right information: Find out what the query is about by giving the customer a drop-box menu full of possible topics to choose from. If you need a product reference number or something similar, ask for that at the top of the form, then allow the customer to provide extra information about their query underneath.
Set expectations: Let your customers know when they can expect to get a response to their concerns and provide them with advice on what to do next. For instance, you could invite them to check out your knowledge base while they wait for a response.
Keep it simple: Avoid using technical jargon on your support request forms. Be direct in your requests for summaries of the issue at hand, contact information, and other supplemental data.

Customer Feedback Forms

According to Microsoft, around 96% of customers say that customer service is crucial in determining their loyalty to a specific brand. Another 52% of global customers believe that companies need to respond to the feedback provided by customers.

To ensure your customer service strategies are on-par with what your customers expect, you need to get feedback from your audience. That’s where a feedback form comes in. Customer feedback forms often appear after a client has finished purchasing on the “thank you” screen. They may also occur after a customer has completed a service interaction online.

Here’s an example of an Apple feedback form:

How to Design a Great Customer Feedback Form

By leaving you feedback, your customer is doing you a massive favor. They’re giving you a chance to learn from your mistakes and improve the service you can give next time around. Feedback is one of the best tools for any business that wants to grow and thrive.

If you want your customers to use your feedback forms, you’ll need to make them as simple as possible. Your customers don’t have time to waste on a complex form.

Don’t make any fields mandatory: Don’t stop your customers from submitting a form unless they’ve completed every field. Allow them to enter the information they consider to be the most important, and that’s it. You can even fill some of the form out for your customer, if possible, by entering their name and email address if they’re already a member of your site.
Make it mobile responsive: Remember there are around 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide. You can’t afford to lose feedback because your form isn’t responsive. Every form should look and feel incredible on any device.
Include a rating option: If your customers don’t have much to say about your service, or they’re not wordsmiths, they might prefer a rating option instead. A one-to-five rating system that allows your customer to judge your product or service on a scale of poor to wonderful is a great way to gain quick information. Check out the Uber Engineering example here:

Though you can pre-enter some information on a feedback form to make your customer’s life easier, don’t overstep your bounds. Adding your customer’s email address to the form is fine if they’re already a customer with you. Pre-selecting the “very satisfied” rating above would look presumptuous.

Top Tips to Improve Every Form Design

The online form is an essential part of any web design project, but it’s also frequently overlooked. Unfortunately, without a good set of forms, your customers will struggle to interact with your company in a meaningful way.

When creating any form, remember:

Reduce friction: Reduce the friction for your customers by asking as few questions as possible. The less your customer has to answer, the better. If you can pre-populate forms with information like your customer’s name and email address, this could help.
Keep it simple: Make sure that the form is clean and easy to use. Your customers shouldn’t be confused about where to click or how to submit their information. A single-column design is often better than a multi-column option.
Be clear in error messages: Don’t just tell your visitors that something has gone wrong. Let them know what they need to do to submit the form successfully. If possible, use inline validation with real-time feedback to let your audience know that you recognize the information they’ve submitted.
Keep data secure: Make sure your audience feels safe by letting them know how you will use this information and why you’re asking for it. If you’re asking for an email address, make the benefits of entering that information clear.
Make fields optional: Allow your audience to add more information to a form if they want to – but don’t demand it. Give some freedom to the visitor.

The better your forms are, the more effective your interactions with customers will be. Remember, it’s not just the face-to-face interactions that your customers judge when making decisions about your business and whether to trust you. Today’s digital world has prompted a new demand for more meaningful virtual experiences.

Your form could be the first interaction you have with a client, whether it’s a contact form, a booking form, or something else entirely. Get that right, and you can improve your chances of your customers coming back to interact with you again later.

Featured image via Pexels.

The post The Top 5 Form Types to Use in Your Web Design first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

5 janvier 2022/par Service comm.

The Case for Building More Dynamic Landing Pages

According to Klipfolio research, users spend on average 52 seconds on a webpage. With minimal time to impress, you must consider how to best help your consumers understand what your product or service does and why they should care about it. It’s not enough to describe your value – great landing pages will go the extra step and show this as well.

One powerful method to do this is by providing a real-life, responsive teaser to show what your product looks like, how it works, and what value it can create. This means incorporating specific elements from your functional, responsive product into the landing page. However, this should be a “mini-product experience” that users can experiment with rather than a freemium version of your product. If done well, the dynamics will pay off in captivating users for longer, increasing their consideration time, and driving your conversion rate as a result.

Building more dynamic landing pages through product experience can change the game completely. These are some strategies to consider.

“Ask & Alter” for Greater Personalization

“Ask & alter” is valuable for services with multiple potential value propositions for different audiences. The simple fix here is to have a pop-up box that asks the visitor which profile they are (and alternatively a few more questions). You can then trigger the page to alter according to their input, ensuring a more customized experience and increasing their chance of conversion. By doing this, you’re taking the onus off the consumer to figure out what’s relevant to them, eliminating any potential confusion.

A great example of this is the Penn Foster University website. It has a developed UX optimized for organizations, high school degree seekers, and upskillers alike. Each has an entirely different, carefully designed interface, matching the diverse needs of visitors. For example, while a high schooler might enjoy browsing the career pathways section, an upskiller is likely to search specific career fields. Such distinction is key to consider, as intentional and strategic user experience can raise conversion rates by as much as 400%.

Real-Time Demos to Hook the User

Real-time demos mean that you take a full instance or version of your product that is clickable and responsive and embed it into the flow of your landing page. This way, the user can get a quick “test drive,” and you easily communicate the value that would otherwise be abstract or difficult for the user to imagine or even visualize. Additionally, users always want to know how a product could personally impact them, and live demos offer them a hands-on experience.

Companies incorporating live demos have proven the power to engage a user’s curiosity and create a strong link with their products or services. Notion, for instance, uses a “templates” section with pre-built pages that can be easily opened and browsed through without needing to register or download anything. This product’s beauty lies in the simplicity and efficiency it offers, rather than overwhelming a user with a self-promotional copy. Even a simple live demo like that can help build considerable trust in the product and encourage users to make a high-value purchase.

Calculators Provide Value

Despite their simplicity, calculators can increase audience engagement by 38%. Their main benefit is undoubtedly providing a personalized solution to users’ actual needs and expectations. ROI and savings calculators can be particularly interesting, especially when they speak of value that isn’t easy to calculate or when the user wouldn’t intuitively know that there are savings to be had by using a particular product.

Butter Payment, uses this tool very effectively. As its customers necessarily don’t know they have an involuntary churn problem that is worth solving for, it uses a calculator on its site to demonstrate the problem and enumerate the value-add to potential customers.

HubSpot, too, has mastered the tool: Its Ad ROI Calculator visually presents the results that its software can bring. Then, HubSpot’s interactive website grader directs the user towards its comprehensive marketing offerings. It is this graphic visualization that companies must adopt to communicate real value.

The Charm of Experiential Interaction

Interactive design is said to drive the responsiveness and real-time interaction of a site through the roof. By incorporating an interactive or experiential page, even if it’s not directly on your landing page, you can craft a unique experience aimed at leaving a lasting, meaningful impression of your product or service.

Calm’s “Do Nothing for two minutes” is a simple yet effective way to show users the value of meditation in their daily life and lead them to download the app.

But it works great for consumer products, too: Nike’s Digital Foot Measurement tool is another excellent feature, allowing users to “try shoes on” with their cameras and scan their feet for the right measurement through AR.

Videos are Attention Magnets

Considering that viewers absorb some 95% of the message while watching videos, compared to only 10% when reading text, there’s no reason why you should avoid incorporating videos into your landing pages. Beyond that, videos can be incredibly straightforward: Insert a graphic illustration or real imagery to explain the product, show the step-by-step process, and convey value with raw, unfiltered footage.

Calendly, for example, has various videos on its landing page, including a 56-second, upbeat, colorful clip showing how simple it is to get started with the product.

Guiding GIFs to Visualize Product Features

As small animations, GIFs represent the perfect middle ground between images and videos. They allow you to show users the value your product adds, providing an engaging glimpse into the actual interface. The small scope of GIFs is both a limitation and a benefit: You can only show a particular feature of your product but can also focus on triggering an exact user emotion.

Grammarly, a grammar correction tool, relies on GIFs to give users a taste of their UX. With a quick overview of the product’s functionality across popular platforms, including email and social media, users can see exactly how the product can make their everyday lives easier. And by incorporating GIFs into the right side of the landing page, the scrolling experience of the user isn’t disrupted.

Interactive product experiences can both entertain and tackle pain points, adding dynamics to an otherwise static page. Particularly when customizing based on user attributes, the key benefit of these features is that the users engaging with them are likely the same people interested in the paid product. To ensure that the product experience doesn’t directly compete with the primary offering, clearly differentiate it and guide the user towards a direct call to action.

The post The Case for Building More Dynamic Landing Pages first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

24 décembre 2021/par Service comm.

7 UX Principles to Boost SERPs

User experience is one of the most important principles of web design. There’s no doubt that you focus on UX with every page you design on the web, whether it’s a portfolio, a profile page, or an entire website.

Unfortunately, what many experts forget is that UX doesn’t just apply to digital pages. That means that you need to discover the right UX strategies for everything from your website homepages to your email marketing messages and even your listings on Google.

Today, we’re going to explore ways you can apply UX principles to your client’s image on search engines.

Why Your Search Engine Listing Matters

Let’s start with the basics…

89% of customers start their purchasing process with a search engine.

That means that whether you’re creating a portfolio to sell your services or building a website for a client, the first connection a customer has with your design isn’t on the homepage.

Developers and designers know that first impressions count when it comes to succeeding online. However, they assume that those first impressions happen on a social media channel, a landing page, or a home page.

The truth is that most of the time, you’re driving a specific experience for an end-user before you even realize it. Before you can wow an audience with a beautiful site design or a fantastic CTA offer, you need to convince them to click on your Google link.

Just as UX on a website is all about giving your audience what they need in an informed and strategic manner, UX in search engine results works the same way.

How to Make Your Search Listing Stand Out with UX

So, how do you begin to apply the principles of UX to your Google Search results?

It’s much easier than you’d think.

Step 1: Show Immediate Value

Delivering an excellent experience on a website often means providing end-users with the information they need as quickly as possible. Imagine designing a landing page; you wouldn’t want your audience to scroll forever to find what they need. Instead, you’d make sure that the value of the page was immediately apparent.

When creating an image for your search engine listing, you’ll need to take the same approach. This often means thinking carefully about two things:

Your headline
Your meta description

Around 8 out of 10 users say that they’ll click a title if it’s compelling. That means that before you do anything else to improve your SEO strategy, you need to make sure that the title of your web page is going to grab the audience’s attention.

The best titles deliver instant value.

Immediately, these titles tell the audience exactly what they’re going to get when they click onto the page. The promise drives action, while clarity highlights the informed nature of the brand.

The great thing about using an excellent title for a page is that it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked on the search results. Whether you’re number 2 or number 5, your customers will click if they find something they want.

It’s just like using a CTA on a landing page. Make sure your titles are:

Informative: Show your audience value immediately
Optimized for mobile: Remember, your audience might not see your full title on some screens. That means that you need to make the initial words count.
Easy to read: Keep it short, simple, and straightforward. Speak the end-user’s language

Step 2: Build Trust with Your URLs

Trust factors are another essential part of good UX.

When designing a website for a new brand, you know that it’s your job to make visitors feel at ease. Even in today’s digital world, many customers won’t feel comfortable giving their money or details to a new company.

Within the website that you design, you can implement things like trust symbols, reviews, and testimonials to enhance brand credibility. In the search engines, it all starts with your URL.

Search-friendly URLs that highlight the nature of the page will put your audience’s mind at ease. When they click on a page about “What is SEO” in the SERPs, they want to see an URL that matches, not a bunch of numbers and symbols

Use search-friendly permalink structures to make your listing seem more authoritative. This will increase the chances of your customer clicking through to a page and make them more likely to share the link with friends.

Once you decide on a link structure, make sure that it stays consistent throughout the entire site. If a link doesn’t appear to match the rest of the URLs that your audience sees for your website, they may think they’re on the wrong page. That increases your bounce rate.

Step 3: Be Informative with Your Meta Description

To deliver excellent UX on a website, you ensure that your visitor can find all the answers to their most pressing questions as quickly as possible. This includes providing the right information on each page and using the correct navigational structure to support a visitor’s journey.

In the SERPs, you can deliver that same informative experience with a meta description. Although meta descriptions often get ignored, they can provide a lot of value and help you or your client make the right first impression.

To master your meta descriptions:

Use the full 160 characters: Make the most of your meta description by providing as much useful information as you can within that small space.
Include a CTA: Just as CTAs help guide customers through the pages on a website, they can assist with pulling in clicks on the SERPs. A call to action like “read about the” or “click here” makes sense when you’re boosting your search image.
Focus on value: Concentrate on providing your customers with an insight into what’s in it for them if they click on your listing.

Don’t forget that adding keywords to your meta description is often helpful too. Keywords will boost your chances of a higher ranking, but they’ll also show your audience that they’re looking at the right result.

Step 4: Draw the Eye with Rich Snippets

You’ve probably noticed that the search engine result pages have changed quite a bit in the last couple of years. As Google strives to make results more relevant and informative, we’ve seen the rise of things like rich snippets. Rich snippets are excellent for telling your audience where to look.

On a website, you would use design elements, like contrasting colors and animation, to pull your audience’s attention to a specific space. In search engines, rich snippets can drive the same outcomes. The difference is that instead of telling a visitor what to do next on a page, you’re telling them to click on your site, not a competitor’s.

When Google introduced rich snippets, it wanted to provide administrators with a way of showcasing their best content. Rich snippets are most commonly used today on product and contact pages because they can show off reviews.

Install a rich snippet plugin into your site if you’re a WordPress user or your client is. When you enter the content that you need into the website, use the drop-down menu in your Rich snippet tool to configure the snippet.

Ideally, you’ll want to aim for the full, rich snippet if you want to stand out at the top of the search results. Most featured snippets have both text and an image. You need to access both of these by writing great content and combining it with a relevant image.

Step 5: Provide Diversity (Take Up More of the Results)

As a website designer or developer, you’ll know that different people will often be drawn to different things. Some of your visitors might immediately see a set of bullet-points and use them to search for the answer to their question. Other visitors will want pictures or videos to guide them. So, how do you deliver that kind of diversity in the SERPS?

The easiest option is to aim to take up more of the search result pages. Google now delivers a bunch of different ways for customers to get the answers they crave. When you search for “How to use Google my Business” on Google, you’ll see links to blogs, as well as a list of YouTube Videos and the “People Also Ask” section.

Making sure that you or a client has different content rankings for the same keywords can significantly improve any customer’s experience on the search engines. Often, the process of spreading your image out across the SERPs is as simple as creating some different kinds of content.

To access the benefits of video, ask your client to create YouTube videos for some of their most commonly asked questions or most covered topics. If you’re helping with SEO marketing for your client, then make sure they have an FAQ page or a way of answering questions quickly and concisely on articles, so they’re more likely to appear in “People Also Ask”.

Step 6: Add Authority with Google My Business

Speaking of Google My Business, that’s another excellent tool for improving UX in the search results. It allows business owners to manage how information appears in the search results.

With this service, you can manage a company’s position on Google maps, the Knowledge Graph, and any online reviews. Establishing a company’s location is one of the most important things you can do to help audiences find a business quickly. Remember, half of the customers that do a local search on a smartphone end up visiting the store within the same day.

Start by setting up the Google Business listing for yourself or your client. All you need to do is hit the “Start Now” button and fill out every relevant field offered by Google. The more information you can add to Google My Business, the more your listing will stand out. Make sure you:

Choose a category for a business, like “Grocery store.”
Load up high-quality and high-resolution images
Ensure your information matches on every platform
Use a local number for contact
Encourage reviews to give your listing a five-star rating

Taking advantage of a Google My Business listing will ensure that your audience has all the information they need to make an informed decision about your company before they click through to the site. This means that you or your client gets more warm leads and fewer people stumbling onto your website that might not want to buy from you.

Step 7: Use Structured Data Markup to Answer Questions

If you’re already using rich snippets in your Google listings, you should also have a plan for structured schema markup. Schema markup on Google tells the search engines what your data means. This means that you can add extra information to your listings that will more accurately guide your customers to the support they need.

Providing additional schema markup information to your listings gives them an extra finishing touch to ensure that they stand out from the competition. For example, you might add something like a “product price” to a product page or information about the product’s availability.

Alternatively, you could provide the people who see a search result with other options. This could be an excellent option if you’re concerned that some of the people who might come across your listing might need slightly different information.

For instance, you can ask Google to list other pages along with your search results that customers can “jump to” if they need additional insights.

Baking structured data into your design process when you’re working on a website does many positive things. First, it makes the search engine’s job easier so that you can ensure that you or your client ranks higher. Additionally, it means that your web listings will be more thorough and valuable.

Since UX is all about giving your audience the best possible experience with a brand, that starts with making sure they get the information they need in the search results.

Constantly Improve and Experiment

Remember, as you begin to embed elements of UX into your search engine listings, it’s essential to be aware of relevant evolutions. Ultimately, the needs of any audience can change very rapidly. Paying attention to your customers and what kind of links they click on the most will provide you with lots of valuable data. You can use Google analytics to A/B test things like titles, pictures, featured snippets, and other things that may affect UX.

At the same time, it’s worth noting that the Google search algorithms are constantly changing too. Running split tests on different pages will give you an insight into what your customers want. However, you’ll need to keep an eye on the latest documentation about Google Search if you want to avoid falling behind the competition.

Like most aspects of exceptional UX, mastering your SERP position isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. Instead, you’ll need to work on constantly expanding your knowledge if you want to show clients that you can combine UX and SEO effectively.

Make sure you have plenty of tools set up to offer reports and insights into the kind of changes that you may need to make to align with search engine expectations.

Making the Most of UX in the SERPS

It’s easy to forget that there’s more to UX than making your buttons clickable on mobile devices or ensuring that scrolling feels smooth. For a designer or developer to deliver excellent UX for a brand, they need to consider every interaction that a company and customer has.

This means starting with the way a website appears when it’s listed on the search engines most of the time. Getting your SEO listing right doesn’t just boost your chances of a good ranking. This strategy also improves your reputation with your audience and delivers more meaningful moments in the buyer journey.

Don’t underestimate the power of UX in SERPs.

Featured image via Pexels.

The post 7 UX Principles to Boost SERPs first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.