The 2021 Visual Content Toolkit for Bootstrapped Marketers

60 Apps, Hacks & Resources for Creating Brilliant Marketing Visuals on a Budget

G R A P H I C S

DESIGN

Free and low-cost tools to create beautiful graphics for non-professional designers.

• Canva
  Still the best all-around tool for non-professionals to create and edit all kinds of visual content — from logos and social media assets to presentations and websites. Pricing: Free with limited features. The Pro plan is $119.99 annually or $12.99/month for up to 5 users.
• Canva Stories
  Canva’s free mobile app for adding graphics and text to social media videos and stories.
• Adobe Spark Post
  For all of its strengths and uses, Canva can feel a little overwhelming to some. In that case, Adobe Spark is a nice, more streamlined alternative that still offers plenty of templates and an intuitive user experience. Available as both an online tool and a mobile app. Pricing: $9.99/month
• Creatopy
  Easily create batches of banner, social media and display ads in multiple sizes and formats along with other graphic, animated and video content. Best for users whose primary creative needs are digital ads. Pricing: $17 per month/user.
• Thinglink: Create and embed interactive images, maps, presentations, videos and 360 tours on your website and social media. Also integrates with Canva. Pricing: Annually billed plans start at $25/month for single users.
• Artboard.Studio
  A delightfully easy-to-use, elegant mockup and scene creator for showcasing your physical and digital products. Pricing: $99/year or $15/month.

Sample mock-ups from Artboard.studio

LICENSE

If you can’t find what you need in the libraries of your chosen graphic design tool, or you just need stand-alone graphics, icons or fonts, check out the following sources for free and budget-friendly creative assets.

• Google Fonts
  Open source repository of over 1,000 fonts and icons.
• Reshot (By Envato): Free Icons, Illustrations & Photos with no attribution required.
• Undraw
  Open source illustrations customizable by color palette.
• Storyset
  A growing and highly customizable repository of illustrations, all free with attribution.

Storyset illustrations

• Whoooa.rocks
  A small but mighty collection of 156 hand-drawn vectors. Pricing: Free for your first 20 vectors

If your graphic needs are more specific or you prefer to work with raw files, the following paid options may be better suited:

• Envato
  A vast and varied database of creative assets available for license on an affordable monthly subscription. Pricing: Plans start at $16.50/month
• Creative Market
  Comparable to Envato but with a more graphic and illustration focused inventory available for individual license from independent creators. Pricing: varies per asset
• Flaticon.com
  Largest database of flat icons, available for a monthly subscription fee. Pricing: $99/year or 12.99/month

LEARN

A selection of articles, online courses and videos on graphic design for beginners

Articles:

• Principles of Graphic Design
• 25 Graphic Design Tips for Non-Designers & Beginners

Courses:

• Content Creation Using Canva (Via Canva)
• Skillshare’s Graphic Design for Non-Designers (Using Canva)
• Skillshare’s Social Media Content Creation in Canva

Tutorials:

• How to use Adobe Spark — Beginner’s Tutorial:

• YouTube Video: How To Use Canva For BEGINNERS [FULL Canva Tutorial 2021]

HIRE

For some design needs, it just makes sense to hire a professional, particularly for logos and identities. Investing in a professionally designed brand identity, including fonts, color palettes and iconography, will also help simplify your DIY design process while ensuring that all your visuals reflect a single, cohesive brand.

• Fairpixels
  A name your fair-price design studio specializing in elegant logos for promising start-ups.
• Logology.co
  Budget-conscious logo design for start-ups. Pricing: $49-$99 for an existing logo concept from their catalog or $399 to have one custom designed.
• Oblik Studio
  A “Pre-design” studio that creates thoughtful and complete logo identities for early stage start-ups. Pricing: Approximately $2,000 for a complete logo package.

A brand identity designed by Oblik Studio.

If you have ongoing design needs for things like social media and other collateral, you might consider one of a growing crop of subscription design services, where for a monthly fee you get a dedicated designer to handle your creative needs.

• Penji, Design Pickle, Kimp.io
  Subscription design services that start at under $500/month.

P H O T O S & V I D E O

SHOOT

Tools and equipment for shooting better photos and video from your smartphone.

Apps:
Note: you don’t necessarily need to shoot your photos or videos with an app, but these tools are helpful should you want more manual control or want to add special filters or effects.

• ProCamera
  Camera app that upgrades even the most advanced mobile cameras. Price: $13.99
• ProCam X
  A comparable Android alternative. Price: $4.99
• FilmicPro
  Advanced, 4k video shooting app, for both iPhone and Android. Price: $14.99
• Life Lapse
  App for shooting stop motion video on iPhone or Android. Pricing: Free with in-app purchases

Equipment:

• Foldio3 Portable Product Photo Studio Kit by Orange Monkie
  Complete kit for shooting product photos for e-commerce. Price: $279
• Mobile Creator Kit
  A solid starter kit for anyone who wants to hit the ground running with mobile video creation. Includes a phone case, lens, handheld tripod, phone clamp and entry-level mic. Price: $214.91
• Portable LED Light: Small but powerful LED light with temperature controls that easily attaches to your phone. Price: $90.00

For more equipment recommendations, check out the embedded videos below.

EDIT

The less editing you have to do to a photo the better, but for small tweaks and style enhancements, the following apps are solid bets:

• Snapseed: iPhone / Android
  Free mobile photo editing app by Google with a solid range of professional-like editing features.
• Lightroom: iPhone / Android
  For more advanced but still accessible photo editing needs. Lightroom presets are a nice added feature to add interest and consistency to your photos. Pricing: Free with premium upgrades

Note: Canva has recently added more settings to their photo editing tools. And outside of Photoshop, their “Remove the background” feature is second to none.

Edit and enhance your videos from your mobile phone or desktop with these tools.

• Kinemaster
  A mobile video editing app that strikes just the right balance between ease of use and professional level capabilities. Pricing: $4.99/month or $39.99 annually
• Biteable
  The most complete online tool for creating and editing a range of video content, using your footage, their assets or a combination of both. Pricing: Premium plans start at $19/month or $228/year.
• Descript
  All-in-one desktop audio & video editor, known for it’s simplicity. Pricing: Free with limited features and watermark with paid plans starting at $15/month or $12/month with an annual plan.

LICENSE

Unless you plan on using only original images, at some point you will need to license photos as part of your marketing efforts. The following platforms should give you plenty of options for imagery, either for free or at an accessible price. Just make sure you read the licensing terms.

• Unsplash
  Free, open use images that don’t look like traditional stock photos.
• Death to Stock Photo
  Artist owned co-op that offers access to a growing collection of authentic, non-stocky photos and videos for a monthly subscription fee. Pricing: Plans start at $12/month.
• Burst by Shopify
  Royalty-free photos, free for personal and commercial use.
• Twenty20 by Envato
  Well organized collection of stock photos with a less “stocky” feel than their enterprise counterparts. Pricing: Unlimited downloads for $16.50/month as part of an Envato Elements subscription.
• Mixkit by Envato
  A library of free stock video assets including clips, music, sound effects and templates.
• LifeofVids
  Small but exclusive collection of authentic-feeling stock videos, clips and loops, all available for free.
• Distill
  Well-curated collection of HD videos, free for commercial and personal use.
• Storyblocks
  A library of stock video assets, templates and music combined with a user-friendly video editing tool. Pricing: Monthly plans start at $10 and go up to $30 for unlimited downloads.

LEARN

Articles and courses on smartphone photography and videography for business.

Articles:

• Smartphone Product Photography Guide
• Super Budget-Friendly Guide to Product Photography

Courses:

• Creative Live: Tabletop Product Photography Price: $19
• Natural Light iPhone Photography Price: Included in a Skillshare subscription for $13.99/month or $167.88 billed annually
• How to Make Short-Form Videos for the Internet (with your phone)
  Price: $99
• Shoot High Quality Video with an iPhone for Your Brand or Business (focuses on interview content). Price: Included in a Skillshare subscription for $13.99/month or $167.88 billed annually

Video Tutorials:

• How to Make YouTube Videos on Your Phone:

• How to Film Like a PRO with Android Smartphones:

• How to Shoot High Quality Videos with an iPhone (best for talking head videos):

• Overhead Video Tutorial — How to Shoot Top Down Video:

HIRE

For more complex shoots, like editorial photography or situations where the lighting is a challenge, it’s best to hire a professional.

It can’t be overstated how important having good quality images are, no matter the size or stage of your company. Know your limitations and be willing to invest when your needs out-scale your capabilities.

The same rule applies to video — behind the scenes, social media-style content can and should be handled internally as this kind of footage needs to feel authentic. But for higher stakes video needs, like company reels or e-commerce listings, especially where lighting and audio consistency are key, you’ll be well served hiring a professional.

The following resources make it possible to work virtually with professional creators and editors or match with vetted, local photographers and videographers for live shoots:

• Snapshop
  Shoot better quality product photos using Snapshop’s app, and then have them edited by a professional. Pricing: Plans start at $20/month and $2.50/photo for 8 photos and go up from there. Or pay as you go for $3/photo.
• Square Photo Studio
  You ship, and they shoot and edit your product photos for a budget-friendly price. Pricing: 3 High-Res, Retouched photos for $9.95 / 360 photos for $29.95 each
• Soona
  A la carte photo and video content creation for your e-commerce brand. Options range from simple product shots to fully styled, editorial shoots complete with models. Pricing: $39/photo & $93/video clip

Made by Soona

• Snapwire
  A platform that connects you with a global network of creators for all types of local photo and video content production. Their free plan gives you access to select (read less experienced) content creators and royalty free images. Pricing depends on the scope of your needs and the provider you end up selecting.

What did I miss? Please drop any of your favorite resources for creating better visuals in the comments below!