Do you have Office? I would go with Front Page or Dream Weaver to start. That's all you need. Then buy a search optimized affiliate web site template from
www.goldenpinecone.com. Maybe use a generic desgn like this. http://www.goldenpinecone.com/catalogue.php?exp=114|119|396|&cat=397
Going this way you would hardly need to do much web design, but would learn as you go so you could be self sufficient.
Paying someone else puts the power in their hands, if you never learn you will not be able to make your own changes. You won't be able to scale. In the beginning you wont earn any money so it won't be cost effective to pay someone. PLUS hiring a cheap web designer - well you get what you pay for.
Most web designers aren't good at SEO either so even if the site looks good you may not get any traffic which is the name of the game.