What does marketing design cost for a small business in the UK?

Most small business owners know they need to look more consistent professional, on social media, in their emails, across their marketing materials. What they're less sure about is what that actually costs, and whether it's worth it before they have a big budget to play with.

Here is an honest breakdown about what marketing costs, based on what businesses at that stage typically need:

Social media content

If you're posting regularly on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook but your graphics look inconsistent or take too long to put together yourself, outsourcing your content design is usually the first thing worth investing in. A single branded graphic typically costs between £60 and £95. If you need a set of five, for a campaign or content batch, expect to pay in the region of £220 to £280.

For ongoing monthly support, retainer packages are usually the better route. At Nova Creative, these start at £425 per month for eight posts on one platform, scaling up depending on how many platforms you're active on and how much content you need.

Campaign assets and print materials

Beyond social, there's often a need for one-off design work - a flyer for an event, a one-pager to send to prospective clients, or a brochure for an event. A poster or flyer typically sits between £125 to £185. One pagers - the kind you'd attach to a proposal or leave behind at a meeting, usually come in at £190 - £250. For brochures, a four to six page document tends to range from £315 to £500, with longer formats going higher from there.

If you need a full suite of assets for a campaign - social graphics, a one-pager, and a newsletter header, for example - bundling these into a campaign pack is more cost-effective than briefing each piece individually.

Presentations

A branded slide deck makes a real difference when you're pitching to a client or presenting to stakeholders. Up to ten slides typically costs between £300 - £500, with larger decks priced accordingly. If you want a reusable branded template you can update yourself going forward, that's usually in the region of £375 to £625.

What pushes the prices up

A few things add to the cost: tight turnarounds (a rush fee of around 25-30% is standard), more revision rounds than what's included in a package, or a particularly complex brief. Coming with clear examples of what you like - even a rough mood board - genuinely speeds things up and keeps costs down.

Retainer vs project work

If you need design support regularly, a monthly retainer is almost always better value than one-off projects. It also means you get consistency - the same person, the same eye, the same understanding of your brand each time.

Retainer clients at Nova Creative also get 10-15% off any additional project work they need outside of their monthly package.

Where to start

If you're not sure what you need yet, the best first step is just a conversation. No hard sell, just a clear picture of what would actually make a difference for your business right now.