By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

I know your dilemma in creating graphics.

• Your social media post is grammar correct.
• Vivid verbs and nouns entice the reader to continue on.
• Word count is according to the platform.
• The links are in place.
• But the graphic has you bewildered, confused, and paralyzed.

Adobe Spark is my go-to site when I’m read y to create an image or meme for my social media post. I suggest navigating to https://spark.adobe.com

Now that you’re on the website, set up your account. It’s free! Take a look at all the options and creative tools available to you. Focus, my friend, we’re going to create a graphic that enhances this post.

Click on the green circle with the plus sign. You’ll receive a prompt that says, What do you want to say? Type the title: Creating Graphics that Add the Wow Factor

Click continue. The site has provided an image, and that’s so nice of them. But it’s not what we want and neither are we finished.

Click the plus sign in the green circle located on the upper right hand side of the image. Click the T+ add text. Type www.BlueRidgeConference.com and click on save. We’re back on the image, but the website link is in the middle of our other text! Don’t despair. Click on the new text. It will look like this:

Drag the box down to the right hand corner. It will now be in the correct position.

See how easy this is? But we’re not finished yet. In the right hand corner, click on layout. There are lots of exciting things you can play with later, but for now, click on resize in the dark gray rectangle. Oh my! Do you see the list of pre-designed sizings available? Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blog post, and the options continue. Click on Blog post. Isn’t this amazing?

Next fun step is to click on Background. The Photo Filters for this image are listed in the dark gray rectangle. This filter can be used for any image. Take a look at the top of your image and click on Replace. This brings up another rectangle box that says Choose photo. You can use your own photo or click on the icon of a magnifying glass – Find photos. Other yummy tools can be explored later when you’re in the mood to play.

One of the outstanding features of Adobe Spark is every image the site provides is free to use. No worries about copyright infringements. Type into the white horizontal box for a photo idea. I really like this aspect because I can be quirky or serious with my image/photo selection. I typed in graphics and tapped return on my keyboard. Lots of options here. In fact too many, so I typed in color and tapped return. Color speaks to me, and I found an image and clicked it. Note some images speak more to text than others, and other images translate better into the size needed.

Now that I’ve found my image, I want my text: font, size, and color to add sparkle to the photo. I clicked on the text to bring up the white framed box then reduced the size of name of the blog post and centered it in the middle of the image between the two parrots. The font and color of what the site chose is very good, but I can find something else. Click on Text to pull up another gray rectangle box. The wheel with the green circle provides numerous fonts and colors. Below that are six criteria to help professionalize and individualize the text. Don’t forget to click Done when you’re finished or Cancel if you want to start over. This what my image looks like.

For additional tools: Note the small box in the rectangle that says Magic layout: Magic layout moves your text as you explore layouts. Below the box is the ability to manage Margin and Spacing.

For the advanced designer, more options are listed by clicking layout. Not only can you resize your image for various platforms, but you can also arrange images and text under the grid.

For more tips on creating graphics, Edie Melson has written a super instructional blog on creating memes.
http://bit.ly/2tvi7lJ

What are your questions about creating images?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Firewall, the first book in her Houston: FBI series, was listed by Library Journal as one of the best Christian Fiction books of 2014.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Suspense Sister, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Mountainside Marketing Conference with social media specialist Edie Melson. She teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.