Online Graphics & Content Tools that Make You Look Like a Pro
Three of the handiest do-it-yourself, cheap but not cheesy online graphic and image tools I use for content marketing are the following;
Canva
The word might be out on this online tool. But since I started using it over a year ago, Canva has added a ton of new features to help you create banners, presentations, one-sheets and info graphics.
It has a growing library of images, elements and fonts you can use to build really cool graphics for anything from your Facebook cover page to food and drink menus.
Some elements are free and others only cost $1 each. Yes, one dollar.
How to Use Canva
After creating the piece you can download it as a pdf or jpeg or share it right to your Facebook page or Twitter handle.
I find it easy to use. But if your artistic ability consists of how awesome you can make the smiley face on your stick figure, you can easily eat up the day creating your masterpiece. Selecting from a few thousand images, layouts, elements and fonts is a real time eater for me.
If you are going to use this tool, be sure you’ve got time to kill because you will kill lots of it.
Piktochart
Similar to Canva, Piktochart is an online graphics building tool that specializes in lots of elements including info-graphics.
They have a sizeable template library to choose from to help the artistically challenged blogger.
Many of these templates are free, but they come with a watermark at the bottom of the piece. You can remove the watermark, but it will cost you a bit to do so.
There are monthly packages, but the only package that will remove the watermark is the $29 per month option.
This photo library is a really good resource for quality images at different sizes and dimensions. There are some cheesy portfolios, but a good search usually yields good results.
How to Choose a Pixabay Image
The success of your photo selection is in the art of the search. The search bar is not very good at long tail search terms. If you keep your search pinpointed to one word, eventually you will find what you will need. Be careful though, the top row of choices are usually images from Shutterstock, a pay-to-play stock photo website.
A great library of royalty free stock images, Pixabay does ask for a contribution once in a while. Given the quality of some of the images, I suggest you make one to keep these starving artists less starved.
There are other tools out there for sure, but I found these sites are easy-to-use, have good libraries and are low in cost.
Let the Pros Handle It
There really is no substitute for custom graphic images and professional photography for your site and other marketing materials.
If you are not an artist and need materials to market your business, hire a good pro. It will cost more money, but your brand is at stake and your time is valuable.
I have the pleasure of working with a number of talented, cost-effective and available artists. If you have a project and want a professional touch, consider me a resource in helping you find one.
Janet D. Garraty
About the Author:
Janet Garraty of Write It Like You Mean It provides content writing and development services for businesses that want to generate stronger sales leads and more of them with useful, relevant and sharable information.
To receive more helpful information like this article as well as periodic announcements of classes, workshops and webinars, subscribe to our newsletter today HERE.
