Article Marketing - Creating Images For Your Blog Posts In 10 Easy Steps

By Author: Jack Simmons
Total Articles: 38
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Creating images on your own is easier than you might think.
Normally, for any of my article marketing image needs I would go to one of the image services, like BigStock.com, and choose a relevant image. This could take quite a bit of time, since for most topics there are lots and lots of images to go through. But, hey, the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," so spending the time to find the 'right' one is sometimes necessary.
While this is a good strategy, again, it takes time.
Suppose you just wrote an excellent blog post and want an 'on target' image to go with it. If you're like me, you'd have to search through the images you already bought, or you'd have to go into an image resource site to find and buy the image you want.
You could also check out MS Office ClipArt, which has some pretty good images. But, if you're looking for something 'on target' and you just can't find it, you might have to settle.
This goes with the blog posting territory.
Well, last week I wrote an article, and just couldn't find an image that 'hit home.' I didn't want to waste too much time finding ...
... one, so I decided to throw something together myself. And, I did it with Microsoft Office 2010. It took around five minutes.
My article was on video marketing and I wanted an image that would quickly reflect the topic.
This is what I did:
1. I opened a Microsoft Word (MS) doc and typed "Play Video."
2. In Word's toolbar, I used Text Effects in Home: Font and tweaked the text.
3. Then I highlighted the text and chose an orange color for the background from Home: Paragraph: Shading - there's actually a reason I chose that color, but that's another story.
4. I highlighted, copied, and pasted the pre-image into MS Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.
5. I inserted that jpg into the Word doc I already had open.
6. I clicked on the jpg and went into Picture Tools Format (it appears at the top of the Word toolbar when you click on a jpg).
7. I chose Picture Effects - Preset #11.
8. Then, I highlighted the image and chose the orange 'shading' again.
9. For this step I couldn't simply highlight and copy/paste into Paint because of the special effects, so I clicked on Print Screen (Prt Sc). Be careful when you use Prt Sc, because anything on your screen or in the image will be visible.
10. I copied the newly revised image into Paint, cropped it, and saved it as a jpg.
That's it. I had a quick and easy 'on target' image for my post.
And, if I want, I can upload that image to image sites and sell it.
Tweaking an Existing Image
You can also use an image you already have (one you bought or use for free) and tweak it into a more 'on target' image. Just remember you can't sell that revised image, or claim it as your own design.
To revise an image you purchased or are using for free, just use the Picture Tools Format.
I used this technique for another of my posts on guest blogging. I had a SUCCESS image and added the text "GUEST BLOGGING" to it, using MS Word 2010. Then I used the same process as above to create a new jpg.
The newly revised image read: GUEST BLOGGING SUCCESS.
Again, quick and easy.

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