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Since I’ve recently decided to overhaul ProFreelancing’s appearance, I’ve been thinking a lot about design.

I’m strictly a writer with absolutely no artistic abilities, so I’ve often questioned the importance of design. Content is king, right?

Right! But I’ve come to realize that design is the crown on his head.

It doesn’t matter how powerful of a writer you are, if you don’t have a design to go with it you won’t grab people’s attention. A poorly designed business card with a world-class tagline will likely be equal to a well designed business card with an awful tagline.

Don’t get me wrong, writing is important. I hate the word “very”, but writing is very, very important. But graphics, design, layout, photos, and other forms of media will strengthen your content.

You’ve seen it all around you…

• Sales letters adding pictures, images, doodles, audio, and video to improve conversion rates.
• Bloggers paying hundreds of dollars for premium templates.
• Businesses spending thousands of dollars for their web design.
• Newspapers and magazines working around the clock to have a visual masterpiece.
• And so on…

I’m sure a designer could list twenty other examples of how important design is, but I hardly understand it all myself.

What I do understand is that I’ll rarely read something, regardless of how good it might be, unless it is designed in a way that is pleasing to me.

Does that mean you have to spend hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars on your design? Absolutely not. But you do need a design that works for your audience!

• Gary Halbert, one of the greatest copywriters of all time, developed a very simple format for his work.
• Craigslist has a very unappealing design, yet it is easy to follow and doesn’t distract from it’s purpose. I’d call that effective, wouldn’t you?
• The main page of Google is extremely simplistic, but for good reason.

Some times you’ll have to create some razzle dazzle to get attention, other times you just need a design that fits your purpose. Nonetheless, in every case, design is extremely important.

Content is still king, but the crown is what gives him the power!

I urge you to take a look at your design - business cards, website, blog, letterhead, logo, sales letter, and whatever else - to see how it can be improved. If you’re not quite sure, you might be a little too close to it all… Try asking a friend, a client, or a reader for their thoughts.

By improving your design, you’ll improve your message.

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Want feedback on your blog design? Go to Men with Pens for a Drive-By Consult…James gave me some great ideas for my new template and can offer you incredible value for yours as well!

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