I’ve been blogging for many years. I write to encourage, educate, and inspire. I love to hear from readers. I like to know my words are getting out and making a difference!
Over the last year, Pinterest has revolutionized my blogging. Blogs that used to get a few hundred readers get readers in the thousands or tens of thousands. Most of these readers come from Pinterest and Facebook.
Readers are inspired, educated, and encouraged by my words, but the first step to getting readers is creating graphics that capture their attention. Here’s how to do that easily.
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1. Create a watermark
This is my most recent watermark and matches the branding on my website. Watermarks are your blog’s branding. That simple watermark will represent you. Readers will start looking for it!
You can also make your own watermark. One easy way is to use PicMonkey.
PicMonkey is my favorite, and it’s free. (Although I did upgrade for more features. To upgrade is only $5 a month!)
Trish a Mom on Time Out explains how to create your own watermark here.
2. Find Stunning Photos
If you’re a great photographer you can take them yourself.
I use some of my own, but I also love photos from Thinkstock.com. I found a special deal where I got a 30-day trial for $99, and I was able to download 25 photos a day. I was faithful to download every day! That’s 750 photos!
Places to get FREE photos:
Pixabay: http://pixabay.com/
Pikwizard: www.pikwizard.com
Morgue File: http://morguefile.com
Compfight: http://compfight.com/
Creative Commons: Free Picture Pool
CreationSwap: http://www.creationswap.com/
Unsplash: unsplash.com
Check out Canva’s great list of websites with free photos, too!
Non-expensive options:
Dollar Photo Club: http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/ <– This is my new favorite! Click the image below to sign up!
And for non-cheesy Christian photos, Lightstock: https://www.lightstock.com
3. Use Picmonkey.com to create graphics
With Picmonkey you have four options:
- Edit photos you have.
- Design with their tools (no photo necessary)
- Create a collage
- Touch up your photos
The easy way to edit a photo
Click EDIT
Download photo
For the most attention on Pinterest, crop the photo it so it’s tall, not wide. This takes up more space on Pinterest.
Click Text to add words
Click Effects to add drama
Add your watermark
Then SAVE your finished graphic!
I love these tools. They making creating Pinterest-worthy graphics easy! The best part is that I’m able to connect with even more readers to inspire, educate and encourage!
What about you? Do you have any tips for great graphics?
