Marc, our 3 kids, and I just spent a week in hot, humid Florida visiting family (for the first time in 2 years!). Naturally, we thought we’d get some work done while we were there. But, not surprisingly, we didn’t accomplish as much of our to-do list as we planned.
It’s hard to get a lot done when you’re “on vacation”.
The truth is that some businesses find that sales slow down as summer heats up. That’s how it is for us… especially as late July and August hit. Businesses need a way to keep moving forward.
So, as we head into higher temperatures and distractions that keep us away from actual work, here are some ways to keep your customers engaged:
Stick with the tools that work for you. Zapier connects more web apps than anyone, and we add new options every week.
Our tool of the week helps us automate tasks while we’re away (or anytime really). It’s an online tool called Zapier… rhymes with ‘happier’. There’s a free and a paid option.
Zapier connects the many tools we use in our business quickly and easily. For example, when we published this newsletter, Zapier also automatically published this newsletter to our Facebook page and blog page. Plus, it sent out a tweet letting our Twitter followers know this newsletter is available. Saved us a TON of time.
With Zapier, you can create push notifications for activities like new support tickets, new calendar events, new YouTube videos you may be following, and lots more.
Further, Zapier alerts us on our iPhones to new support tickets that need to be answered!
Automation is a powerful (and much needed) function of an online business… especially when you’re away.
So, now that it’s summer, you just might need to take an extra step to get attention to your biz.
This is a great time to create special offers or discounts. Not only will you remind customers that you’re still around, but you can also motivate them to take a closer look at that special offer!
Use The Graphics Creator’s pre-designed Certificates and Coupons Templates to quickly design a captivating offer (right before you leave for vacation!).
Always use a call-to-action (CTA) in every piece of content you put out there. From social media to advertisements… in a lead magnet, or on your landing pages… tell visitors what to do next!
If you’re having a sale, tell them what coupon code to use and tell them how or where to use it. For example, “Enter the coupon code in your shopping cart”, or “Get your 25% discount by clicking here”.
And, guess what? You can use your CTA on a coupon design!
That’s a lot to take in for this week!
Let us know what you think of these newsletters ????
Welcome to issue #3 of the Creatorpreneurs Newsletter. (if you’ve missed past issues, take a look at them here).
Every week, Lisa and I will show you some awesome tools that’ll make your online life easier and show you some unique ways to grow your business… with graphics!
This week, I was asked by one of our awesome Laughingbird Creatorpreneurs if The Graphics Creator could ever import Photoshop files. (alas, as of now… no. But it’s not impossible one day ????).
Which brings me to our Tool Of The Week:
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CREATORPRENEUR TOOL OF THE WEEK!
I needed a “Photoshop like” tool and found a really excellent solution: PHOTOPEA
Photopea is a FREE image editor that works similar to Photoshop and runs completely on your device, (just like Sketch or Photoshop does). It doesn’t upload any of your files to the internet. You can load Photopea.com, disconnect from the internet and keep using it completely offline. None of your files ever leaves your computer.
And! it opens Photoshop files
Photopea: advanced photo editor — www.photopea.com Photopea Online Photo Editor lets you edit photos, apply effects, filters, add text, crop or resize pictures. Do Online Photo Editing in your browser for free!
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GRAPHICS CREATOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Here’s a quick video I created showing how to use Photopea WITH The Graphics Creator to create some really nice images! ????
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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK.
The Greatest Show Template & Elements Set — www.laughingbirdsoftware.com Ever feel like the spotlight is on you… and the pressure is so great for you to perform that you just stand there in shock? Well, with The Greatest Show templates, there’s no need for you to perform. These designs will help you stand out in the crowd with confidence!
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CREATORPRENEUR TIP OF THE WEEK
This week’s Creatorpreneur tip of the week sort of comes from Nike, just do it. ????
And I don’t just mean “just start it”. I mean stop overthinking, stop questioning whether you’re making the right call, and just do it.
New entrepreneurs can sometimes be well on their way with their business or their creations, only to have their thoughts literally get in the way.
But that only delays your success. Will you make mistakes? You bet. Will there be challenges? Sure! and you’ll need to jump high to get over them. But isn’t this what you signed up for?
Entrepreneurship is about going all in. It’s about taking big risks so you can live the life you want. The goal isn’t to win the award of perfection. The goal is to build a business that helps people solve a problem. And the sooner you can do that, the sooner you can make people’s lives better. That’s the impact your business can have on someone’s life. So the sooner you finish your project, the more people you can help.
I’ve been writing for a new niche blog that I’m really excited about. I can’t wait to share it with you (I’ll give you the details soon)!
Now that I’m more focused than ever on writing, I’m digging deep into the world of blogging and learning a ton during my journey. Along with visual content, keyworded content is also essential to blogging!
That’s why this newsletter offers up a free tool that’ll help you make more of an impact with your writing, whether it’s for blogging, creating ads, or website copywriting. And, be sure to watch Marc’s video to find out how to create and use visual content on social media!
– Lisa
CREATORPRENEUR TOOL OF THE WEEK
The tool for this week is so simple to use and totally free! It’s an absolute must for writers, bloggers, and copywriters… IF you want to get found on the search engines!
If you’re working hard researching the best keywords for your article or website, then you absolutely must spend a little extra time making sure those keywords are actually being searched for on Google.
Instead of assuming that readers are looking for the 10 “best business tools”, throw that keyword phrase in Google Trends and put in an alternative as well.
As you can see below, you’re better off writing an article about the 10 “best business apps” (in red), as there are actually more people searching for this keyword than “best business tools”. Who would’ve guessed?!
That’s my point… don’t guess!
GRAPHICS CREATOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Despite the thumbnail on this video (created with The Graphics Creator of course ???? ), it’s first and foremost about creating perfectly branded graphics for your biz. Marc shows you how to easily create a “batch” of social media graphics… then he’ll tell you how to get help sharing it all!
https://youtu.be/FJb7RF8B78A
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
This is one of my favorite image sets because it’s perfect for getting noticed on social media! You can even use them as backgrounds in the examples Marc showed in the video above.
Cinemagraphs are a perfect blend between a still photograph and a video. They’re kind of like the moving portraits in Harry Potter, only they’re stunning images instead.
Each Cinemagraph loops endlessly, so you’re more likely to get seen! Just drag them onto The Graphics Creator canvas and add text or other graphics to make it yours!
CREATORPRENEUR TIP OF THE WEEK
You don’t have to constantly invent great content. Get creative and use what you have! Just change up your article or blog content to provide a fresh perspective using these ideas:
Turn your video into a blog article (or your blog article into a video)
Take an idea or two from old content and build on it to create more detailed content about that topic
Change your title and intro to catch the eye of a new group of people
Turn an article into a simple “list post”(just number important points and leave out any “fluff”)
Welcome to issue #1 of The Creatorpreneurs Newsletter!
We’re excited to have you join us on this journey as we explore the world of creating content, being an entrepreneur… and learning how to market ourselves a little better. ????
Along with videos showing you a few tips and tricks in using The Graphics Creator, Lisa and I will be showing you some new tools we find around the interwebs that will help make things easier on us all to market ourselves.
In our first edition, let’s talk about the tool we’re using for this very newsletter! We tried creating the newsletter on our own (pasting different areas of content from our site and around the web) into our eMail campaigns, but found it super time consuming and not really ‘pretty’.
That’s how we found Revue. It’s super easy to use (look! I can do it!) and it’ll give you a ton of ideas for creating newsletters for your own small business (or just for fun to family and friends!)
Hope you enjoy this format, and this first issue. If you have any comments or questions, leave a comment below!
– Marc & Lisa
CREATORPRENEUR TOOL OF THE WEEK!
REVUE – A newsletter tool for Creatorpreneurs This is the software Lisa and I use to create our weekly newsletter. It’s easy, fast and … fun! Transparency: It’s free up to a certain number of subscribers. The price goes up in increments of $5/month depending on how many people you’re sending to. Well worth it tho to have a powerful tool like this. www.getrevue.co
GRAPHICS CREATOR VIDEO OF THE WEEK
As a Creatorpreneur, being creative is easy. But marketing yourself and your new creations is a little harder. Here’s a cool way to get your name if front of others… design your own tShirts! Wear them around or hand them out to your friends and family. Watch this video to see how you can do this with The Graphics Creator.
https://youtu.be/WVRynlo4Ekk
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK.
Every week, we’ll bring you a new set of graphics that you may not have seen.
This is a collection of 100 PNG images (with transparent backgrounds) featuring Tank the tortoise and Caesar the hare. They’re toon style characters good for all your memes, blog posts, tShirt designs, even ads! Lance from SadDuck created these images.
86% of social marketers use Facebook ads, and the platform’s advertising revenue continues to grow. Meanwhile paid advertising options have come up on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and elsewhere. Social media platforms are tweaking their algorithms, making it clear to brands that paid promotion is a must if you want to get visibility. If you want your social strategy to maintain or gain momentum, then embracing paid social is a must.
Need a quick graphic for your social media post? Want to make one yourself, but don’t know where to start?
I’m going to walk you through creating 5 types of social media images using The Graphics Creator! (And I’m going to show you how to create them all… for free ???? )
• and your social media graphics should contain SOME kind of “call to action” (‘click here’, ‘buy now’, ‘visit the website’, etc …)
That’s all there is to it!
Let’s launch the free Graphics Maker tool. The Graphics Creator is the best free tool for creating awesome designs and sharing them with your friends on social media. You can create, edit and download designs and use them on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and other social media platforms.
The Graphics Creator has a clean, simple interface that makes it easy to create custom images. You can use this tool for creating social media graphics from scratch, or by installing a few of the ‘add-on’ packages that contain pre-made templates. A super time saver!
The possibilities are endless!
Here are 7 social media graphics you can create instantly with The Graphics Creator
Create your own Facebook Post Image
Facebook post images are good for promoting your business or sharing information with friends.
The recommended size of a Facebook post is 1200 x 630 pixels.
Using the Graphics Creator, Choose “NEW” and set the canvas to 1200 x 630.
Now let’s search the stock photos area to find something that relates to our business. For our example, let’s assume we walk dogs for a living.
Push the “Photos / Videos” button and search for something like “Dog Walking”:
Just slide the image onto the canvas. Easy.
Now, let’s Include a Call-to-Action (CTA) so your social media viewers will “take action” on the your social media channels or blog post. Create some CTA words like “We’ll walk your dog! Visit our website for more info…”, or “sign up for tomorrow’s Dog-Walking Workshop!”
you can even get creative with your blog posts or social media graphics and tell your visitors to download your newsletter, ‘find the link in the first comment’ below. It’ll make them read your post and hopefully ask a question or two.
The Graphic Creator software has over 1000 fonts built in and you can also use the fonts that you have installed on your computer.
Here’s our final Facebook post image!
(you can use this image on Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform)
Creating videos for social media
You can create more than stationary social media graphics …another great way to stop your viewers from scrolling is to create a “motion graphic” and upload it as a Facebook post. Motion graphics will create a quick and easy way to show your visitors that you care about what they are watching.
Uploading a motion graphic may be the difference between attracting new followers… or not!
Here’s how to create a motion graphic for Facebook
https://youtu.be/oz-58ZQQa40
Create your own YouTube Channel Art
Now it’s time to get your YouTube channel art in order. The look and feel of your YouTube channel is most likely the first impression your potential customers will see when they visit your channel and it needs to be memorable, attractive, and most importantly – yours!
Using the Graphics Creator and The YouTube Add-on Set, you can choose from hundreds of templates or upload your own image and customize it however you like.
You’ll never have another boring video thumbnail again!
Choose one of the YouTube templates and Create custom YouTube thumbnail images
Create a Pinterest Pin – with a motion background!
Pinterest is one of Lisa’s favorite social media platform. The best way to get your pins noticed is by using a graphic with one of your keywords in the text.
Pinterest now allows you to create “video pins”. So using the Graphics Creator, you can create your Pin, then apply a video background (see the video above).
Did you know Pinterest’s Ai can actually read the words on your pin? It can! and it’s how you can rank a little higher than your competition
The great thing about the Graphics Creator is that you can create designs for any occasion. Maybe it’s somebody’s birthday or you just want to create some fun. You can make engaging social media graphics that are memorable for your Facebook or Twitter pages.
Whatever the occasion, you’ll be able to create eye-catching social media graphics and images that your viewers will notice.
Hop onto Google and type in “quotes for birthday” or “Quotes for the summer” – you’ll get a ton of great ideas and great quotes that are freely listed all around the web.
Next, open a new canvas and push the “Photos/Videos” button.
You can merge any of the quotes with photos to create stunning images and memorable memes. The Graphics Creator is a powerful creative tool.
Here’s an idea: set up automated timed released posts. Create 30 quote images and set them up to be released at the same time every day. Create an engaging social media posts that will magically appear on people’s feeds in the morning, noon and night.
It takes seconds to create a professionally designed quote with your favorite photo or video – The Graphics Creator is so easy to use:
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of time and money it takes to create social media graphics. But, you don’t have to spend a lot on either one! With The Graphics Creator app, you can generate free images for your blog posts or Facebook ads without any design experience necessary. You’re welcome ????
The Graphics Creator makes creating your own social media graphics a breeze Designing (and sharing) professional-looking visual content on your social media sites is fun!
Get started today! Create images that stand out – Simply sign up for a free account, open the app, select any of the professionally designed social media templates from our library (or upload your own images), customize with text and photos, then share!
If you have any questions about using this tool or want help getting started creating visuals for your brand’s next campaign, reach out to us! Just visit the support page.
