Wyoming Business Tips for July

An occasional look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Tyler Schanck, marketing, communications and database manager, Wyoming SBDC Network

In today’s visually driven market, captivating graphics are no longer a luxury -- they’re a necessity. For Wyoming’s small businesses, however, the cost and time associated with professional design can be daunting.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is democratizing graphic design, offering powerful, accessible, often free or affordable tools to create visuals that elevate your brand. These new tools can be a versatile asset for small businesses, offering customization at scale, enhanced quality and brand consistency -- all while saving time and money.

In this article, I will explore how small businesses can leverage free and affordable AI image generators to make their small businesses stand out online.

Free and Affordable AI Image Generators

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, with new image generator tools emerging constantly. Here are some of the top contenders offering free or budget-friendly plans in 2025. Free options include:

-- Google’s Gemini (with Imagen) 3/ImageFX: Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, integrates with Imagen 3, allowing you to generate high-quality, realistic images directly within your chat. ImageFX is a stand-alone experience offering similar capabilities.

-- Canva: While known for its user-friendly design platform, Canva now offers AI image generation with 50 free credits on its free plan, along with AI-powered features like Magic Resize and Background Remover. This generator offers a limited free tier with 10 weekly credits and is lauded for producing great-looking AI-generated images with accurate text.

-- Ideogram: This generator offers a limited free tier with 10 weekly credits and is lauded for producing great-looking, AI-generated images with accurate text.

-- Reve image: Provides 20 daily free credits, known for sticking well to prompts.

Cheap and affordable options -- often with free trials or limited free tiers -- include:

-- Midjourney: Lauded for its artistic quality and ability to create AI videos, Midjourney plans start around $10 per month.

-- Adobe Firefly: Trained on Adobe Stock images and licensed content, this makes it a safer option for commercial use. Firefly has a limited free tier with watermarked images, and stand-alone plans start around $10 a month.

-- ChatGPT (withGPT-4o): OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) offers excellent image generation capabilities with GPT-4o, allowing for refinement and editing directly within the chat.

-- Leonardo.Ai: This AI image generator specializes in artistic image creation with a limited number of daily free credits (watermarked images), and paid subscriptions remove watermarks.

-- Stability (Stable Diffusion-based): Stability offers affordable plans starting around $10 per month for 900 credits and is known for continuous development and a user-friendly interface. Many platforms also offer Stable Diffusion as an underlying model for their generators.

For most of these images, I had to input several different prompts to generate the type of image I was looking for. As with any AI image generator, it is important to look at your images closely to examine them for errors. For example, I prompted an image generator to create a field of windmills. The scenery looked great but, upon inspection, I noticed the windmills had a varying number of blades -- some had three while others had four.

Hands, fingers, legs and eyes are common areas for image generators to make errors. Many AI generators also struggle with text and use jumbled characters to substitute for letters on signs, papers and computer screens.

Users may want to refrain from using prompts that are too simple, as these can produce images that are generic and repetitive. When asking AI questions, the more specific you are, the better (usually). If you find you are getting the same type of image repeatedly, refresh your page and start from scratch.

Ways Wyoming Small Businesses Can Apply AI Graphics

There are numerous ways that small businesses in Wyoming can apply AI graphics in their work. Practical AI graphics applications for small businesses include:

-- Social media content creation: Use AI image generators to create eye-catching graphics for daily posts, promotions or event announcements.

-- Website design and landing pages: Elevate your online presence with custom visuals that reflect your brand. Generate images for your website’s homepage; unique banner graphics for landing pages; or even subtle background textures that enhance the user experience.

-- Ideas for product mockups and visualizations: Showcase your products in a professional and appealing way and get inspired for new ideas by experimenting with prompts. Some image generators allow the ability to upload photos or images as a style or visual reference.

-- Branding and logo concepts: Brainstorm and refine your brand’s visual identity. Generate logo ideas, color palettes and stylistic elements.

-- Advertising creatives: Produce engaging visuals for online ads across various platforms. Create multiple ad variations for A/B testing, featuring different product angles, customer demographics or emotional appeals.

-- Email marketing and newsletters: Make your email campaigns more visually appealing and effective. Generate relevant images for your email newsletters, such as seasonal promotions, new product highlights or event invitations.

-- Presentations and internal communications: Create professional visuals for pitches, reports or internal training materials. Generate custom illustrations, icons or visual metaphors that enhance your presentations and make complex information more digestible.

Key Considerations

 When using AI-generated images, there are numerous things for small businesses to consider. These include:

-- Prompt engineering: The quality of your AI-generated images heavily depends on the clarity and detail of your prompts. Be specific. Experiment with descriptive language, styles and moods.

-- Ethical use and copyright: While many free or cheap tools offer commercial usage rights, always double-check the terms of service for each platform to ensure compliance. Adobe Firefly, for example, is noted for its commercial safety due to its training data.

-- Human touch: AI is a powerful assistant, not a replacement. Use AI to generate initial ideas and iterations, but always review and refine the output to ensure it aligns with your brand voice and messaging. A human eye can catch subtle nuances and ensure authenticity.

-- Start small, scale up: Begin with the free options to get comfortable with AI image generation. As you see the benefits and your needs grow, you can explore the more powerful, paid platforms. A business may be wise not to over-saturate their audience with AI images, but rather intermix them with its own personal photos, videos and text.

By responsibly embracing the power of AI for graphics, Wyoming small businesses can overcome design hurdles, enhance their visual presence and, ultimately, attract new customers.

All opinions, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). 

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2024, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 46 new businesses; support 1,870 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $2.9 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922.

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