Expand Your Team Part 2: What Does A Design Assistant Do?

Since tweaking my services to work as a design assistant I’ve been asked a handful of times… what does that even mean? What do you do? How do you work with people? The answer is pretty open ended, but it doesn’t have to be complex. Basically, think of anything and everything you create for your business that includes some sort of visual elements… I do that.

You might not think you have a lot of ‘those sorts of things’ currently in your business. I urge you to reconsider your visual impact. People remember visuals significantly more than just words (especially on social media). Having a cohesive and compelling visual impact will promote authority and reassure your audience that you are the expert. Your business will grow and your presence and impact will grow when you start bringing a more polished and professional look to the table.

"Cohesive visual presence will promote authority + reassure your audience that you're the expert." [Tweet That!]

Still not sure what a design assistant can do? Here are some ideas:

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SOCIAL MEDIA + BLOG GRAPHICS

This is definitely the main task that I take on for clients (and luckily one of my favorites). I know there are tons of statistics about this, and I’m not one for throwing out numbers, but I did a little research for this post. According to Hubspot tweets with images are 150% more likely to be retweeted – AKA 150% more likely to spread your message (and information) to other audiences.

So, that being said, if you don’t currently have images that tie into and support your blog posts being shared on social media – you are behind! A simple blog post graphic like what is at the top of this blog post is great because it is also formatted for Pinterest and makes re-pinning and sharing this blog post significantly easier.

A design assistant can be an incredibly useful asset in this regard – creating the original template can take a few hours and requires a good eye for taking your existing “look and feel” and re-interpreting it in the required sizes for a few different social platforms. Then for each blog post you create they can tweak the template for that post specifically, format it in the different required sizes, and send it back to you or to your social media assistant to share and get circulating on different platforms.

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CONTENT UPGRADES + DOWNLOADS

Now within those blog posts you hopefully are including content upgrades to help grow your email list with warm leads. Those content upgrades should showcase just how awesome you are – so the content should be stellar, but it should also LOOK amazing and easy to understand and use. Another circumstance where a design assistant could be a great addition to your team.

Writing blog posts is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your expertise and value to your audience or potential clients, but if you really want to see business growth and success the secret lays in creating content upgrades for download associated with those blog posts. The REAL secret to that is having the content upgrades be useful, memorable, shareable, and totally impactful. A key component in that is how good do they look? How well is the information showcased? How easy it is to use and better yet, will people do something awesome like post an Instagram of them using the upgrade? How fantastic would THAT be?

Well, if you take the time to develop all this content you better believe you should be making sure they look amazing – and that’s where a design assistant can come into play. You might have the best information in the world, but if no one looks at it or uses it, then what does it matter?

"Why spend time making amazing content if you're not going to present it in an impactful way?" [Tweet That!]

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COURSE + RETREAT MATERIALS

Another task that a design assistant can take on is polishing your course and/or retreat materials. These days it seems like you have to have a course or summit or retreat going on in your business – which is amazing and super exciting! But having these high value facets of your business NOT look polished and designed well is a huge error.

A design assistant on your team can take your existing branding and interpret it in a multitude of ways to cover your latest course or retreat. That way it still ‘looks’ like you, but it also reads as a separate exciting project and part of your business.

Not focusing on having these elements feel professional and high end can lose you sales. I definitely would be more likely to buy something that felt like the business owner put time and energy into making it high quality and perfect. It’s hard to ensure the course or retreat content is going to be worth the price, but having a professional and visually appealing look can set the groundwork of trust and reliability.

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CLIENT FACING COLLATERAL

An element that a lot of business owners will forget to hand off is their actual client facing collateral – such as onboarding documents, welcome packets, etc. We focus so much on what is super external (social media, etc.) but forget that our actual clients deserve to an outstanding experience with our business – starting with clean and easy to understand visuals.

If you don’t have client onboarding in place yet, that is something I would also take time to focus on. Think about all the information you need and want someone you work with to have and understand. Let your design assistant take that information and create a visual experience for clients. It can be a workbook or a series of worksheets sent out separately. This will only boost your client’s experience and therefore your reputation as being an organized, efficient, and easy to work with business owner.

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WEBSITE UPDATES/TWEAKS

Another part of my day to day involves small website updates and tweaks. I don’t offer full developing services, or anything extreme that is better suited for a developer, but I can go behind the scenes and help update press pages or featured in banners. I can update icons or logos, as those evolve. I can tweak how your category icons look, and so on. There are small visual details that will elevate your business and help you to showcase your professionalism and expertise, and that’s what a design assistant should be helping with.

Overall there are countless tasks that you can pass off to a design assistant that can give you back so many hours per day or week to focus on your strengths and growing your empire. If you’re ready to set up a consultation and see how I can help you, click here!

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Expand Your Team Part 1: Is It Time To Hire A Designer?

With my recent business adjustments I’ve been doing a lot of explaining about exactly what it is I do for clients as a design assistant. It’s a position that people don’t always think about initially when it comes to outsourcing work, but it’s one that can free up an incredible amount of time in your schedule (seriously if a 50+ page workbook takes me 6+ hours, how long is it going to take you?!). If you’re not sure exactly when would be the right time to start expanding your team and passing off design projects, then this post is for you.

So, when is it time? Probably sooner than you think (ahem, now).

"Considering outsourcing tasks in your business? This post is for you!" [Tweet That!]

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YOU SPEND TOO MUCH TIME LEARNING PHOTOSHOP

If formatting your blog post is a hassle because creating the graphics and content upgrade sucks all the time away from your day, then it’s time to consider outsourcing that work.

Blog posts, in their best form, have multiple graphics and some sort of content upgrade. That content upgrade might be a worksheet, a workbook, a calendar, a list, and so on – but it’s an awesome way to get more people subscribed to your email list (which means more money in the long run, right?). If you’re skimping on content upgrades because you don’t have time or abilities to make them – then you’re missing out on growth and profit.

A large part of what I do for clients includes creating these weekly content upgrades – anything from a simple reminder checklist to a 15-page workbook that educates, entices, and builds rapport with their audience.

The other end of that is actually getting people to view your blog post – which usually ties into having a) an awesome title and b) an eye-catching graphic on Pinterest or Instagram or other social platforms. I know you can write some amazing information that will truly delight and benefit your audience IF you can get them read it – which is where a designer comes in. Creating blog post graphics for blog posts falls into my weekly tasks for literally every client I have – it’s important to show consistency across social media and to attract and entice viewers read (as well as share) your post!

Understanding all of that is one thing, but implementing it is another. Taking time to learn and master a new skill so that you can create these things – and actually have them look professional – is probably not the reason you got into business. Instead you want to be doing what you love – coaching, consulting, photographing, etc. NOT fumbling around cursing the Adobe gods.

"Writing useful content is one thing - getting people to READ it is another." [Tweet That!]

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YOU WANT TO LAUNCH COURSES, WORKBOOKS, ETC.

Chances are you’ve got big goals for your business that include a lot of awesome things like courses, retreats, eBooks, masterclasses, and more. Guess what all of those need? A LOT of design work! Guess what else all of those need? A LOT of your time to actually develop content, connect with your audience, and make sales. Wouldn’t you rather be focusing on the aspects you LOVE to do versus making a ton of workbooks, flyers, social graphics, etc.?

When you have a design assistant on your team they start to learn your brand and be able to better embody and showcase it across a ton of different avenues. So if you delve into a course or into a eBook, the designer will know how to take your existing look and feel and adapt it to those settings. Your audience will admire the consistency and trust you even more (even if this is super subconsciously) which will result in higher sales.

"Being consistent helps build trust with your audience." [Tweet That!]

This is an example you hear often with design, but think about going into Store A where they sell shoes and everything is sleek and clean and the chairs are comfortable and the attendant is well groomed and knowledgeable and not pushy and the shoes are displayed nicely and the boxes are all organized and stacked facing the same direction. Now think about Store B where the boxes are disheveled and some are on the floor and they only have those weird mirrored seats to sit on and no attendant to be found. There floor is kind of dirty and you honestly don’t really want to take off your shoes because, well, ew.

Now the thing is – these stores sell the same shoes. The same exact shoes. But where would you rather go and who do you hand your credit card over to willingly? I’m going to assume Store A. Store B probably gets a quick glance before you suddenly don’t really feel like shopping today and would rather go get a smoothie instead. Or Chipotle.

Sooo… that’s a metaphor for all the visual elements of your business – ESPECIALLY in the case of getting people to BUY things (i.e. courses, masterclasses, eBooks, etc.). You need to be able to support your worth with professional, compelling visuals. That will make you more authoritative and trustworthy, which in turn will result in higher sales.

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YOU'RE AN EXPERT IN YOUR INDUSTRY + WANT TO MAKE IT OBVIOUS

On that note – let’s take a second to talk about how GREAT you are. Whoever you are and whatever you do, you decided to go into business for a reason. You are following your passion, doing what you love, and helping people in whatever way that you do. That is important!

If you are the expert and you do have a message you want to share that will impact people then let’s DO that together. Being small isn’t an option. Start making strides in your business and stop wasting your time focusing on things that don’t matter.

The thing about successful business owners and entrepreneurs is that they know how to outsource the things they aren’t good at/don’t like doing and instead focus on their true skills and passions. Do you ever notice how when you’re really in your flow you can make wonderful leaps in your business but the second you have to do something you hate it seems impossible and the couch looks extra comfy? The trick is to just stay in your flow and stop doing the things you hate.

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