You CAN Design Your Own Promo Images: Lessons from the Savvy Author’s Toolkit

I spent a not-insignificant portion of this past weekend learning how to install new fonts into my trusty old version of Adobe Photoshop CS6. For a while, I thought I was going to have to either upgrade to Adobe’s CC subscription service, or start outsourcing my graphics and covers in order to keep them from looking outdated.

Fortunately, I had my brilliant, tech-savvy Sister in Smut, Mischa Eliot, to set me straight.

After learning I could, in fact, update my fonts, I picked up this gorgeous script-style font package for $15 over at Creative Market. I’ve been having a blast playing around with all the different fonts and logo templates. I could wax poetic all night about Rosefield’s playful, swirling loops and the crisp, classic lines of Dayleen Sans Serif, but don’t worry, I won’t.

Why am I’m so excited about these new fonts? It’s because upgrading my fonts means I can make attractive book covers and graphics for my new releases.

Although I am, first and foremost, a writer, there’s no denying that high-quality covers and promo images can really take your author brand to the next level.

If thinking about this kind of stuff makes you want to rip your hair out, I get it. We’re writers, not graphic designers (unless you’re also a graphic designer), which means our job is to wow the people with our words, not our Photoshop skills. It wasn’t until recently that I even considered designing covers and promo for other people.

But here’s the thing: the quickest way to entice folx to give our words a chance, is to grab their attention with a tantalizing visual.

A sexy photo of a blindfolded woman is going grab people’s attention a lot faster than a simple line of text that says, “Read my sexy story! It’s hot, I promise!” Promotional graphics are a must for visual-based social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, and they’re great for getting around the wordcount limits on Twitter.

Here’s a graphic I made for my erotic story “House Rules.”

This story has been read over a whopping 95,000 times since it went up on Bellesa in January, and I have a hunch that this graphic has had a little something to do with that. It’s my most popular pin on Pinterest, with over 1,800 views (small potatoes for some, but not too shabby considering I don’t pin all that often). Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t click this image/link on my website.

Of course, you’ll want to bait the hook with alluring quotes and excerpts. If you pair those quotes and excerpts with perfectly tailored, mouthwatering images, there’s no way you won’t get bites.

Here are a few more examples of graphics I made with Photoshop, this time for the release of my story “Unconventional Methods” in the anthology Surprising Myself (no longer in print).

Sure, I could have just posted those quotes and a picture of the cover on Facebook, but incorporating images not only gives the excerpts context (half of the story takes place in a bedroom, the other half, a coffee shop), they also set the mood. They tell the reader, You’re going to want to read this in bed with a cup of something steamy.

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Ready to make some promotional images of your own? Not sure where to start?

Personally, I think it’s best to start with the background image. I don’t always know what I’m looking for when I sit down to perform a search. Sometimes it takes a little while and a few searches to find the perfect fit.

You can use free stock images from sites like Pixabay and Pexels, or pay for high-quality images from popular sites like Deposit Photos, BigStock, and Shutterstock. Just be aware that some licenses limit what you can do with certain images. Always read the fine print!

Pro tip: Keep your eye out around the holidays for deals on image credit packages. I almost never license images for more than a dollar apiece.

Okay, you have your photos. Now, what do you do with them?

You’re going to need a way to add text. If you can’t afford or don’t want to deal with the hassle of learning Photoshop, you can try Gimp: an open-source, cross-platform image manipulator very similar to Photoshop, but without the high price tag.

Another great option if you’re looking for something a bit more user-friendly is Canva.

As it turns out, Canva allows you to search for and purchase stock images while you’re designing, so no need to go searching for your own stock images first if that’s too daunting. It’s free to use, with premium features and elements that you can purchase if you’re so inclined, but that you certainly don’t have to. It doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as Photoshop, which makes it an excellent option for beginners. You can drag and drop your way to some really nice promotional graphics.

I made this one for the re-release of my short story “Unconventional Methods” on Bellesa, using only the free elements on Canva and a licensed stock image from Deposit Photo:

I could have gone back and edited the first three graphics to include the current publisher, but frankly, the other images look dated to me. Times change, and so do trends in composition and fonts. Creating fresh promo images to announce a sale or re-release is an excellent way to breathe new life into old material.

I hope these tips have inspired you to try and create some of your own promotional images.

Sure, you could pay someone to make them for you, but for authors on a budget, sometimes DIY is the only option. And making them yourself means you don’t have to plan as far ahead.

If you’ve never made promo images before, remember that the only way to get more familiar with something is to practice, all the while studying how other people in your genre are doing it, and then coming up with ways to make it your own. Consider what types of fonts people are using, what kinds of vectors, photographs and color schemes. Your favorite authors’ Pinterest and Instagram accounts are good places to start for inspiration.

Connect with me on Twitter @storyofwoe, at rachelwoe.com, and Subscribe to my Author Newsletter.