NewsPaperYOUR GRAPHICS HUB FOR 2022

With over 51 million YouTube channels and counting, it’s critical to find a way to stand out from the rest and make a great first impression. A custom-designed YouTube banner allows you to present your brand in the best light and makes your YouTube channel look professional. But how much do you have to pay for a decent YouTube banner?

Designing a YouTube banner can cost you $25 to $100 if done by freelance designers on sites like Upwork and Fiverr. However, design companies and some top designers charge $600 to $800 for one banner. You can create your own banner for the price of the software you’re using.

The benefit of the latter is that, no matter how much the YouTube banner maker software costs, you can usually make unlimited banners and other YouTube channel art.

The rest of this article will explain the reason for this huge cost disparity and shed some light on what makes an effective YouTube banner.

Factors Affecting the Cost of a YouTube Banner

A lot goes into setting the cost of a YouTube banner design, and it will vary depending on the professional. However, the most important factor is your budget.

If the designer asks for $800 and your budget is $100, there will be no working relationship between the two of you. If you’re a YouTuber who has just started your channel, you’ll likely have less of a budget than someone who has been doing it for years. That said, the amount you’re willing to pay also depends on how much value you place on YouTube channel art.

With that in mind, let’s look at other factors that determine the cost of designing a YouTube banner and how you can get one within your budget.

Type of Designer

In every field, there are service providers on different price levels. A graphic designer is no different. If you want to hire a graphic designer for your YouTube banner, you have three options.

Freelance Designer

Your first option is to contact a freelance designer online.

You could simply google designer profiles. However, a safer option is to go to freelance sites like Upwork and Fiverr and browse designers who fit your budget and preference. After you post your project, you’ll receive offers from different designers.

After you choose a designer, be sure to describe precisely what you want, send the images, and agree on the price. Because the freelancer is probably working from the comfort of their couch and has no employees, their fees are usually relatively low.

This is an excellent idea if you already know what you are looking for and all you want is the design work. It’s also a great option if you are on a budget because, as you can get a banner design for as low as $25.

Design Contest

Another option is going for a design contest. In a design contest, you pay a company that holds these contests to publish your requirements. You will give a brief description of what you are looking for, color palette, type of content you publish, demographic, and anything else you deem important.

Tens of designers from around the world will then take this information and submit concepts for you to choose from. You will select the best and get a few finalists to give you a revised design. After all that, you get to choose your favorite and work directly with them until you get the YouTube banner design you want. This route is fantastic if you have no clear image of what you want because it will give you various ideas to choose from.

However, these are experienced professionals you are dealing with, so the cost will be around $149 per banner design. Paying for the contest site also costs money.

Graphic Design Agency

The third way to get your YouTube banner designed is to go to a design agency where they can create banners using your brand kit, profile picture, and even your own images.

A design company is the best for YouTube channels that are already making good money and expanding to more channels and other social media platforms. They will submit unlimited design requests and revisions for a monthly rate, reducing the stress of finding contractors and designs.

The only issue with design companies is the recurring monthly fee or high one-off cost, typically hundreds of dollars for one banner design. However, they provide value you can’t get elsewhere.

Hourly Rate vs. Project Rate

The third factor to consider is whether you’ll pay the designer an hourly or per-project rate. Again, this depends on the type of designer you decide to go with and your budget. 

Many freelance designers charge by the hour. The hourly rate can be as low as $15-$50 per hour, which is quite affordable. This, however, requires a designer who already knows how long it takes to design the YouTube banner so they don’t work more hours than you can afford.

On the other hand, design companies and well-known designers charge a flat fee for the entire project. These people have a lot of experience doing similar projects, so they fully understand the scope of the job, profitability, and other nuances. A flat rate is usually better for clients because they know upfront what they will pay, preventing scope creep down the road.

CLICK HERE TO Discover how to grow your business with YouTube graphics!

Scope and Quality of Work

Finally, you have to consider how extensive the design project is. While YouTube banners can look the same to an inexperienced eye, there is a huge difference between an original design and a modified template. Professional designers plan the entire YouTube banner from scratch by considering your brand, colors, the feelings you want visitors to get, the message you want to convey, and you as the channel owner.

Besides that, banner design cost will be determined by how much content you want added to the design. For example, some designers have a basic package that includes three images or less and a premium package that includes many pictures, stories, highlight covers, and much more. The more items you add to the YouTube banner, the more expensive it gets.

Here are some questions you should discuss before deciding on a designer and the price:

• Will the design be original or based on templates and stock art? This is a crucial point, as you don’t want your brand identity to look like thousands of other YouTube channels. It’s also impossible to trademark designs featuring templates and stock art because the images don’t belong to you. It may cost more to get a designer who does truly original work, but it’s often worth it.
• Does the designer protect your Intellectual Property? Original designs always belong to the creator until they transfer property rights to you. Otherwise, someone else could steal the design, trademark it and sue you. The designer himself could also use the design for another client and cause issues for both of you. For that reason, get a designer who will transfer any original design’s intellectual property rights to you using a custom legal agreement.
• Will the designer keep you updated? Between the commissioning of the image art and the delivery, you and the design team need to be in constant communication. This ensures the job goes on without hitches. The designer should also be available to make corrections even after delivery.

Importance of a YouTube Banner

There are two questions we should get out of the way:

• Do I really need a YouTube banner?
• Can I design the YouTube banners myself?

The answer to both questions is a resounding yes.

A YouTube banner, also known as channel art or header image, is the large banner you see on top of the YouTube page. Its purpose is to visually communicate the channel’s brand, personality, and purpose. The banner is the first thing viewers will see on your YouTube channel, and it can make or break that first impression.

In other words, a YouTube banner plays a role in how many subscribers and viewers you get. If you are a business channel, it’s a marketing tactic that attracts or repels customers. But more importantly, it conveys a clear message of what that channel is all about so you can stand out among all the other channels in your category.

A YouTube banner is used to convey key information such as:

• Tagline and slogan
• A look at what viewers can expect from your channel
• Logo
• High-quality images
• Readable text
• A call-to-action

How To Create a YouTube Banner

As for designing your own images and YouTube banners, it is possible with the right software or YouTube banner maker, even if you don’t have any design experience.

For the most part, what you need is easy-to-use design software like The Graphics Creator. It has a huge selection of design assets and is the best way to cost-effectively design YouTube banners and YouTube channel art, logos, virtual covers, social media graphics, and more. Plus, you can create these in minutes using templates and/or design elements.

You can use the included elements or import your own graphics, including your logo design. In a few clicks, you can create banners even if you have no design experience. The result will be a professional-looking YouTube banner or thumbnail! It’s a great way to save lots of money on YouTube channel art and get unlimited graphics to use on your YouTube banners.

Graphics Creator online version – FREE graphic design software with 100% access to templates plus template design elements

Graphics Creator downloadable version– FREE software with YouTube Channel Art templates

Final Thoughts

All said and done, design of any kind is speculative. Whether you rely on a designer that costs $25 or $500, you won’t know what you’ll get in the end until it’s delivered. When this happens, and you are completely unhappy with the deliverable, you probably won’t be able to get a refund from the designer because they’ve already put in their time and expertise.

So, you can look for a design company or designer who offers a 100% money-back guarantee at all costs. After all, the cost of designing a YouTube banner is not small and you should get your money’s worth.

However, as a money-saving alternative, design your own awesome YouTube banners using graphics software. This way, you can create unlimited designs for all social media platforms, save and modify your own images, and create a stunning banner design the second you need it.

Helpful Reading:

• How Much Does It Cost to Design a YouTube Thumbnail?
• 7 Ways to Promote Your YouTube Channel!

Creating effective social media graphics is a difficult process, which leads business owners to outsource their social media graphic designs. Before hiring a professional graphic designer, I’m sure you’ve asked yourself how much a Facebook post or Instagram post will cost. Naturally, it will depend upon their skill level.

Established freelance graphic designers typically charge about $140 for a social media graphic, whereas beginner freelance designers charge as low as $20. Design agencies charge hourly rates between $85 and $100 to design a social media post.

To compare pricing, here’s an idea of the average cost associated with asking expert designers to create an image for social media.

But before you hire a freelance graphic designer, there are some alternatives you need to know about. Stick around to learn answers to related questions, such as whether you can make your own social graphics, how to make your graphics, and how long it takes to make a social media graphic.

Can I Make My Own Social Media Graphics?

You can make your own social media post design as long as you have the proper software and skills. Freelance graphic designers or social media managers can charge hundreds of dollars per post because graphic design is a skilled trade. More experience will help you in your graphic design.

However, there are ways to create your own graphics without any graphic design experience.

Is It Cheaper To Make My Own Social Media Graphics?

Making your social media graphics will be cheaper in the long term when compared to hiring a freelance graphic designer. However, creating your own social media graphics could be more expensive in the short term because of the cost of software, stock images, and templates.

Assuming you’re a beginner graphic designer, let’s take a beginner graphic designer’s rate: $20 for a simple post.

Now I’ll add up the cost to make social media posts. The first thing you’ll need is software.

How Much Does Graphic Design Software Cost?

Graphic design software can be as cheap as free and as expensive as USD 29.99 per month. The most expensive range of design software is the Adobe Creative Suite, which costs $29.99 per month and includes Photoshop. There are free alternatives, such as The Graphics Creator.

I recommend starting with free software. Free software will save you a boatload of money, and it’s also usually easier to use.

Photoshop is a great program, but it is not beginner-friendly and takes a while to learn. Free software like Laughingbird’s is simpler to understand for newbies plus offers templates to make design easy.

How Much Do Social Media Graphic Templates Cost?

Typically, social media graphics templates cost between $20 and $40 per template. The price may seem expensive, but after your first purchase, you can easily make cohesive, powerful graphics in minutes.

As you can see, templates alone will push you over the cost of hiring a beginner freelance graphic designer. However, you’re only getting one design from a freelancer, whereas you get unlimited designs and revisions by using design software. Thus, if you stick to free software and purchase a high-quality template set, you will save money in the long term.

If you’re looking for some powerful templates, my favorite free graphic design software offers awesome template sets you can use over and over. You can even save your designs to modify again later.

How To Make Your Own Social Media Graphics

Making your social media graphics isn’t always easy, but thanks to new technology, it’s getting easier every year! Anyone can make graphics thanks to professional design software that streamlines the design process (as in the video above)!

Here is how to make your own social media graphics:

1. Sketch your design. Before you get started, you may want to roughly sketch your final graphic. You don’t have to follow the sketch perfectly, so don’t stress too much about it! This sketch will serve as a guide to help you when you get stuck on later parts of this tutorial.
2. Choose your design software. I’m a huge fan of Laughingbird Software. The Graphics Creator is a free alternative to more expensive programs like Adobe Photoshop, but it still offers all the functionality needed to create impactful social media graphics. Plus you can add on templates and graphic elements if you want to get more creative, still for far less money. You could also go for the very basic programs like PicMonkey or Canva.
3. Create a new file. This step isn’t as easy as you think. When saving a file for a graphic, you need to choose the correct pixel dimensions. For example, a standard Instagram graphic should be 1080px by 1080px. Check out The Complete Social Media Image Size Cheat Sheet for more social media graphic sizes.
4. Create or grab a template kit. You can make your own design templates or purchase them. Having a template kit will allow you to continue designing social media posts with a similar style on each post. If you’re struggling with your template, refer to your sketch and find or make something similar.
5. Add in the important info. If you have your template set up, you’re well on your way! Now we need to add in the important info. Think of what you’re trying to advertise and what the reader would want to know. For example, if you’re promoting an upcoming concert at your bar, include the time, date, and location in your graphic.
6. Don’t forget a call to action. A call to action (CTA) is a graphic element that encourages your audience to do something related to your brand. For example, with our concert example, the call to action might be “buy your tickets today!” Make sure your call to action pops and catches your audience’s attention.
7. Export for screens. Exporting files is like creating a new file—more complicated than you’d think. When exporting a graphic, make sure your pixels per inch (PPI) are set to 72, and your color mode is RGB. These are the standard quality and color guidelines for web graphics. However, in The Graphics Creator, all you’ll need to decide on is the correct canvas size. This is easy because each social platform tells you exactly what size is best for different uses.

If you followed all the above steps, you’re ready to post your new graphic! All that’s left is to develop a clever caption, and you’re set to post your graphic on your social media channels.

CRAP: 4 Helpful Principles for Designing Social Media Graphics

Making your social media graphics can be tough for a beginner, so I’m here to give you some helpful resources. The most important foundation of graphic design is CRAP.

This stands for “contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity”. These four principles combine to build the foundation that all graphic design is built around.

Here are the four principles of CRAP explained:

1. Contrast. Contrast refers to making parts of your social media graphic pop. You can create contrast by manipulating size, shape, and color. This is important to consider when adding your business logo design to your post. Check out Yes I’m a Designer’s Color Combinations Every Designer Should Know for great color contrast tips.
2. Repetition. Repeating designs creates cohesiveness in your graphics and your campaign. If you’re using a design element like a polka dot background, you should make sure polka dots span your entire graphics background. Additionally, you can make a cohesive campaign by repeating polka dot backgrounds across posts.
3. Alignment. Alignment refers to where your elements are placed and the amount of white space you use. Check out Study.com’s Alignment: Principles in Graphic Design lesson for more alignment tips.
4. Proximity. Proximity is essentially grouping related elements. Imagine if you had a call to action that said, “buy your tickets here!”. However, the information to buy the tickets was in the far corner of the graphic. You should group related items to decrease confusion and create a feeling of unity in your post.

If you can learn and understand CRAP, you will be leagues ahead of the average beginner graphic designer. The importance of learning CRAP is why I’m going to recommend researching the principles further in video form:

Ashley Hoist does a fantastic job of explaining the principles of CRAP in detail, with aid of visual elements. Graphic design is a visual art, so learning important fundamentals in visual form is an important part of the learning process.

How Long Does It Take To Make a Social Media Graphic?

It takes experienced graphic designers about one and a half to two hours to create a basic social media graphic from scratch. Alternatively, you can make a graphic in about ten to twenty minutes (or less) with a template.

How Much Should I Charge for Social Media Graphics??

If you’d like to create and sell your own designs, you should charge between $20 and $140 per graphic. If you have a few years of experience and can deliver high-quality graphics, you can charge close to $140 per post. If you’re a beginner looking to pad your portfolio, you should charge closer to $20 or consider a low hourly rate.

If you’re trying to make your way into the freelance graphic design market, you might be interested in Side Hustle Nation’s How to Get More Freelance Gigs. This post and podcast effectively break down what it takes to be a top-earning freelance designer on websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for experienced designers, you can expect to pay about $140 per post; intermediate designers will cost slightly less. Unfortunately, the $140 price tag is too high to justify for many business owners, especially for just one post. And since they can design the graphic in about an hour, you’re looking at an hourly rate of about $140!

You can also consider using beginning freelance graphic designers for your lowest cost design projects.

Thankfully, if you’re scared off by those high prices, companies like Laughingbird Software have made graphic design easy and inexpensive (compare the cost of creating graphics). All you need to know are the basics of graphic design and you can let templates take care of the rest.

If you can find the right template set and nail down the foundations of design, you’ll pump out high-quality graphics with little effort or money!