Is photoshop worth learning for a internet marketer?

37 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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I'm in the stage of learning web design. I'm going to eventually start building niche sites and doing IM. I've been spending some time learning Photoshop and have a basic grasp of it now. I'm wondering if it is worth it to put more time into it to get to an intermediate level. I just had to get an eBook design and I gave up and went on fiverr and got it done beautifully for $5.

My question is, do you guys think it would be worth it for me to put in another 100-150 hours learning Photoshop or can I just outsource to fiverr? I guess I'm wondering if being able to do most of my own work in Photoshop will save me a significant amount of money and/or allow me to create better sites since I am not going to outsource the entire design process. Will I reach a point where Fiverr won't cut it anymore and outsourcing can get expensive?

So what do you guys think, would it be worth my time to learn Photoshop better?
#internet #learning #marketer #photoshop #worth
  • Profile picture of the author Oifahad
    An internet marketer should learn Photoshop
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  • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
    If you have Photoshop, you should learn to use it. Whether or not you lay out the $$ is another question. If you have to stretch your budget, you can get by with less expensive or free tools.
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    ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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  • Profile picture of the author NateJasper
    I have bought Photoshop.
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  • Profile picture of the author Farish
    Why does it have to be 100-150 hours. It doesn't take much to do a lot of basic stuff in photoshop.

    Just search for tutorials. Here is an example for ebook cover.

    How To Make Your Own Free 3D Ebook Cover – Template 1 | Better Blog Images
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by Oifahad View Post

      An internet marketer should learn Photoshop
      Total BS... I know several internet marketers that don't know how to use Photoshop - and they are still making 6-digit income!

      Originally Posted by Farish View Post

      It doesn't take much to do a lot of basic stuff in photoshop.
      Well, there is quite a stretch from being able to do "basic stuff" (for yourself) and being a web designer making excellent job for other that is worth to be paid for...
      ___________________________


      As for the OP question: internet marketers don't need Photoshop.
      Webdesigners - besides having talent - should know the most important tools of their trade.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigemperor
    NateJasper - If you are learning just for your own sites, you should be able to master a few things that will help your sites immediately and you can generate them quickly in PhotoShop. Things like WordPress banners, squeeze page images etc. Probably need to invest about 20-30 hours to understand how PS works (layers/text/psd files etc) and start generating some very simple images. I am not an expert on PS but I use it 3-4 times a week for basic stuff across a lot of sites. And once I create an image I like, I'll use Photoshop to duplicate it (with different text) and put it on multiple sites which saves a lot of time.

    However, if you are thinking about Web design for others, then I think a high level knowledge of PhotoShop is essential (your 150 hour scenario). One reason is that clients may want you to give them the PSD files after the job is done (when I hire designers, I always insist they design in PS compatible files and that I get all the editable files when the job is done).

    I see that you bought it, so good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Corey Geer
    You don't have to learn it, no.

    Also, please don't go to Fiverr. It's $5, what do people expect from sites like that? For small clients, you'll basically be the jack of all trades as a developer and a designer. It's essential for you to have a firm grasp on the basics of Photoshop but ideally you'll have a web designer doing all of that for you.

    I'm pretty handy with Photoshop but designing logos was never my strong suite. I blank out when I'm asked for ideas on a logo.
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  • Profile picture of the author OfficerIM
    yes definitely, if your down to build as many skills as possible to contribute towards your endeavors, do it but only if you can afford the time putting in learning it. If you plan to learn web devo. too you should focus on HTML and CSS, PHP and other things are more advanced unless you want to get into that kind of code, but it is not entirely necessary, you can always learn that after you make money online.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anton Yulianto
    I think , essential for you to have a firm grasp on the basics of Photoshop
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  • Profile picture of the author WPcrew
    Just build a basic skills to be able to edit minor changes, so you don't have to pay for every little thing. Here's a great video resource, some vids are 10, some more, some are less then 5min. Take a look:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z3N...D20EBB30C2C341
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  • Profile picture of the author MonopolyOnline
    Adobe Photoshop is great, but Photoshop is designed for photography - managing high resolution images (tiff, raw files, hi-res jpegs, etc.). Sure you can eventually output Internet lightweight graphics and photos, but that is not it main function. You work on high resolution images and then output them to low-resolution Internet stuff.

    Adobe Fireworks is the little brother to Photoshop. Fireworks is designed for creating and outputting lightweight Internet graphics and images (png, gifs, jpeg). In other words, you work with lower resolution and output lower resolution (a much faster process working just with small file sizes). The learning curve for Fireworks is much simpler and the price much lower.

    From Adobe:

    Adobe® Fireworks® CS6 helps you create beautiful designs for websites and mobile apps in a snap - without writing code. Deliver vector graphics and bitmap images, mock-ups, 3D graphics, and interactive content for popular tablets and smartphones.

    Photoshop: The world's most advanced image editing app lets you enhance, retouch, and manipulate photographs and other images in any way you can imagine.

    Adobe's site is so screwed up (imo), that I could not find a price.

    Adobe.com/products/fireworks.html


    The wife uses Photoshop and I use Fireworks (wife's a photographer - I do web apps).

    Once my wife fixes her photos, she out puts 5mb to 60 mb images for printing. Then I get to resize them for her website and Facebook pages - using a batch process within Photoshop.

    Sure you can work within Photoshop at lower resolution, but it is not designed for that.

    If you are Internet only, then Fireworks is the correct tool.


    The Present and Future of Adobe Fireworks

    Fireworks.smashingmagazine.com/2013/12/19/present-future-adobe-fireworks/


    11 Reasons Adobe Fireworks Is The Best Design Software You Never Use

    Blog.crazyegg.com/2012/01/17/adobe-fireworks-design-software/
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    • Profile picture of the author TAZ87
      Originally Posted by MonopolyOnline View Post

      Adobe Photoshop is great, but Photoshop is designed for photography - managing high resolution images (tiff, raw files, hi-res jpegs, etc.). Sure you can eventually output Internet lightweight graphics and photos, but that is not it main function. You work on high resolution images and then output them to low-resolution Internet stuff.

      Adobe Fireworks is the little brother to Photoshop. Fireworks is designed for creating and outputting lightweight Internet graphics and images (png, gifs, jpeg). In other words, you work with lower resolution and output lower resolution (a much faster process working just with small file sizes). The learning curve for Fireworks is much simpler and the price much lower.

      From Adobe:

      Adobe® Fireworks® CS6 helps you create beautiful designs for websites and mobile apps in a snap - without writing code. Deliver vector graphics and bitmap images, mock-ups, 3D graphics, and interactive content for popular tablets and smartphones.

      Photoshop: The world's most advanced image editing app lets you enhance, retouch, and manipulate photographs and other images in any way you can imagine.

      Adobe's site is so screwed up (imo), that I could not find a price.

      Adobe.com/products/fireworks.html


      The wife uses Photoshop and I use Fireworks (wife's a photographer - I do web apps).

      Once my wife fixes her photos, she out puts 5mb to 60 mb images for printing. Then I get to resize them for her website and Facebook pages - using a batch process within Photoshop.

      Sure you can work within Photoshop at lower resolution, but it is not designed for that.

      If you are Internet only, then Fireworks is the correct tool.


      The Present and Future of Adobe Fireworks

      Fireworks.smashingmagazine.com/2013/12/19/present-future-adobe-fireworks/


      11 Reasons Adobe Fireworks Is The Best Design Software You Never Use

      Blog.crazyegg.com/2012/01/17/adobe-fireworks-design-software/
      Interesting. How does the learning curve of fireworks compare to photoshop?
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  • Profile picture of the author MonopolyOnline
    Okay, found a price:

    Adobe Fireworks CS6 $290 on Amazon
    Adobe Photoshop CS6 $649 on Amazon

    Amazon.com/Adobe-Fireworks-CS6-LEGACY-VERSION/dp/B007PMA8U8
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  • Profile picture of the author clickbump
    Photoshop is the gold standard in graphics software and if you can afford a copy, by all means learn as much as you can about it. I've been using it for the better part of my adult life and having PS skills is a definite plus in my business.

    However, you could spend years studying it and only ever use 5-10% of its features, especially if you are only using it for web graphics.

    For web graphics, you can do what you need to do with Pixlr.com (a freely usable, online photoshop clone of sorts which is streamlined for doing web graphics).

    Like Photoshop, Pixlr allows you to lay out designs in layers. It also supports full 24bit transparency for nice overlay effects and drop shadows. Unlike Photoshop, its free and is platform agnostic (since its browser based).
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  • Profile picture of the author sham2
    Hello NateJasper! Yes you need to learn Photoshop for your own business . Because it will save your money . When you have some free time then see Photoshop tutorial and learn from it . Photoshop need more and more practice...
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  • Profile picture of the author SJL
    Find a reliable freelancer that has skills you need and save your time and money. It takes years to actually master photoshop.
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  • Profile picture of the author idomagic
    Buy only if you want the best. There are other options and honestly, you can buy premade stuff galore. I own PSCloud
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  • Profile picture of the author chris07
    It is a matter of time. If you have the time to learn it ... then, you should. It is not a bad skill to have. In fact it's a very useful skill to have with respect to internet marketing. In cases where you need a quick banner....You can't have someone in Fiverr design you a quick banner within 2 hours (the quickest turnaround u can get is usually within 24hrs- 48hrs) but you can design it yourself within an hour, if you learn how to use photoshop.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe George
    Photoshop is very creative software by Adobe inc,

    You must have to learn this on and also need to learn Adobe After Effects.
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    • Profile picture of the author robertsullivan1
      Photoshop is good to learn but it won't enhance the internet marketing skills.
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  • Profile picture of the author greenstate
    It is not a must you learn it be specific about your business to bring the professionalism in you out. Outsource!
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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    It's a must learn. Don't listen to any of these outsourcing crazies who think they're Tim Ferriss.

    Imagine getting a logo and you just want to change one or two little things. You know photoshop means you can do it, you don't means you get to wait 24-48 hours for your design guy to do it or 5 minutes for yourself.

    Time is money! Learn some photoshop, at least the basics!
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    • Profile picture of the author NewbieLifer
      Personally I finally gave in and bought Adobe's Classroom in a Book on Photoshop. I try to complete 1 lesson per day. But prior to that, I used some great online tools that were simple to use. For info product mockups, I relied heavily on myecovermaker(.com). It was a lifesaver and is only $5 per graphic. Also, Picmonkey(.com) was also a lifesaver for quick,simple graphics. A very easy to use drag and drop option and it's free.

      With just those two online options, you can really just jump in and get done what you need to for your graphic needs. Then later you can focus on learning more advanced things like Photoshop. In the meantime, those two should cover most basic IM needs cheap and easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author wikiklix
    Sometimes it pays to outsource projects. Photoshop is an essential skill if you can master it your ability to put projects together as you want will be a valuable asset. Keep studying
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  • Profile picture of the author Robimx
    It's definitely worth knowing for internet marketing! There are so many graphics you need to make: from logos, to ebook covers, to sale signs, buttons, arrows, etc... it goes on for ever!

    Most of these you can get for free or for little cost but you still need basic Photoshop knowledge to customize them to fit your brand, your website and your product.

    Check out my Photoshop website, I have a whole lot of tutorials and free giveaways specifically geared towards to the online marketer

    Learn Adobe Photoshop in 10 Minutes - Photoshop tutorials and templates
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    • Profile picture of the author TAZ87
      Originally Posted by Robimx View Post

      It's definitely worth knowing for internet marketing! There are so many graphics you need to make: from logos, to ebook covers, to sale signs, buttons, arrows, etc... it goes on for ever!

      Most of these you can get for free or for little cost but you still need basic Photoshop knowledge to customize them to fit your brand, your website and your product.

      Check out my Photoshop website, I have a whole lot of tutorials and free giveaways specifically geared towards to the online marketer

      Learn Adobe Photoshop in 10 Minutes - Photoshop tutorials and templates
      What version cs5 or cs6 you have your tutorials on?
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  • Profile picture of the author guyd
    you dont have to but it will make your life a HECK of a lot easier. As a tip though just learn how to utilize free or paid assets rather than learning everything from scratch. If you learn how to drag, drop, edit fonts and modify colours you can start churning out awesome stuff on day1
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    Just helping out

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    • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
      Hi Nate -No, you don't need to learn Photoshop to be a successful web designer, but it certainly won't hurt. I bought Photoshop a couple of years ago and I've progressively learned a lot of its features. I've now reached the point where I automatically turn to Photoshop whenever I need anything related to graphics, rather than the less sophisticated programs I have installed.

      Not long ago someone recommended this tutorial: http://psmasterclass.com/ to me. I bought it and it's taught me a lot. BTW, I'm in no way associated with this program and have no monetary gain from recommending it.
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  • Profile picture of the author AZ-439
    Depends on if you are more interested in making money or learning software that is intensely complex with little or no return for your time. A basic grasp on photoshop is fine, more than that is a waste of time... I would spend time learning about WordPress instead...
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  • Profile picture of the author arianna143
    No...... an Internet marketer must have the knowledge in HTML not in Adobe photoshop because a SEO has some relations to HTML not to Adobe Photoshop.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chad Kimball
    Just learn the basic. You know photoshop is good for making banners, logo, ebook etc that is very useful in internet marketing. You can save a lot of money and time when you can also have skills to do those things.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adamlee123
    Yes you need to learn photoshop. If you need to become i professional internet marketer in graphic design you need to spend more time in learning of photoshpe. There are many other software that help you also. Adobe illustrator is become very popular for logo design. Spend some time to learn adobe illustrator hope you will get benefit of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author rendrabekool
    very important for internet marketer
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  • Profile picture of the author DaveDee
    You should work on your skills as long as you don't compromise what you really want to accomplish. I mean that if you're into web design then you should also develop your coding skills, like CSS, HTML, PHP etc, as well. At some point you cannot do everything yourself and may need to outsource, so hiring a good graphic designer is key. There are tons of skilled freelancers that are able to do jobs like these. If ever you decide to outsource, one option aside from Fiverr, is the freelancing service at Hubstaff. They are already skilled and trained before being outsourced so you don't have to worry about quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author abidasaalim
    A basic knowledge is a must as internet marketers also need to collect ideas for making a website.
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinm905
    If your serious about web design, Photoshop is absolutely needed. Not only do you have full control of what you want your images, banners, headers etc. to look like. You will also want to use it to optimize your images for your websites. Google does not want you using large file size images and slowing down load time, that will negatively impact your seo.
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  • Profile picture of the author NK
    As a self-taught Photoshop user for over a decade, I can say that you just have to learn what you need for the day. Need to learn to add or edit some text today? Find out how - there are plenty of online resources just a Google away. Don't worry about what you may need tomorrow. Just focus on the now.

    There is no need to learn as much as you can or master any of the tools in Photoshop. Just learn as you go, pick up what you need at the moment and not get distracted by the other cool looking tutorials. Even if your first attempt doesn't look as good, don't fret over it and within a short period of time you'll suddenly find yourself doing more by incoperating all your previously picked up skills.

    You'll be surprised with how much you can do with just a few basic skills and some creativity
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