I notice they didn't use hand-drawn elements to try and emphasize the "P.S. Contact us today to increase your conversion rate!". Of course, using them on that specific article might not have helped, since examples of the elements are used, and so it might look like just another example to most readers.
I agree that certain design elements draw the user's eye, but paying for someone's doodles seems like a bit much. If you're doing webdesign, can you -really- not find anyone with a Wacom and a steady hand? Heck, get a random girl to draw that squiggle.
I don't know if you noticed,most of the links given in the article were for free resources.