5 Best Tips to Help Writers Add Text to Images

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

Let’s face it, pictures are worth ... well, a lot. There are many kinds of memes: funny ones, political ones, life commentaries, inspirational ones, and more. But for this post, I’m focusing on book and author promo.

I love to use memes to promote my books. I’ve learned a lot about them over the last few years. 

My 5 Best tips for Making Memes

1. Software

You don’t have to have high-priced software. Canva is excellent, even in the free version. A few years ago, I found one I like. Swift Publisher 5 is a $20 program but it’s only for Macs. I love this program. It has layers, and neat things. The only problem with it is the user. I’m not so tech-savvy. However, I’ve managed some nifty banners we used in our Community Theatre with this program. There are free versions and paid versions of most software. There are other online resources as well as other software like Adobe photoshop. If you have a favorite, share it in the comments!

2. Free Photos

Be sure you use photos that are not copyrighted. Some resources are pixabay.com, pexels.com, morguefile.com. There are others. Be sure to check them carefully. I use Pixabay the most. Occasionally, I “buy a cup of coffee” or donate to the site for all the photos I use. I also upload some of my photos to Pixabay for others to use. If you’re a decent photographer, take your own pics. Be creative. Find an old window in a salvage shop and photograph it. Then slip your book inside that window. 

3. Speaking of be creative 

Be creative with the composition and with the photos you choose. Not a great photographer? Welcome to my lens. BUT (and I always have a big but) I started paying attention to the composition of Edie Melson's photography. I studied hers and began to make mine better. 

Think outside the box of convention. Eva Marie Everson caught me by surprise on this, when I was creating some memes for a book in which we did together. I made one for a Fall ad. She came back with a photo of a hot pink chrysanthemum. It suited the book cover’s coloring better than the typical fall colored photo I used at first. Even though it was pink, mums are fall flowers. 

4. QR Codes

You want to have a link to the book you’re advertising. That said, most memes don’t allow embedded links, but now we have QR codes. I already told you I'm a technidufus. I wasn't raised in the computer era. We didn't text; we wrote letters. Anyway, when I did an ad for a playbill at our theatre, the uber-talented Jacquie Bosma told me about putting a QR Code in my ad meme. Then anyone can scan it with their phone camera, and bingo, they land on the book. My wonderful publisher (Iron Stream Media) made a page of all my books, so I was able to get a QR Code to that page. Plus, can make them in color at QR Code Generator. MEME 2

5. Be succinct. 

Social media demands brevity. If they don’t see something of value to the in the first few seconds, people are on to the next post. The best memes have a great picture and few words. Especially if the meme is an advertisement. Don’t try to put your back-cover copy on the meme. I learned that when my first book came out. I was such a novice at memes. Well, I’ve done my homework, and now mine follow the old adage a picture is worth ... a bunch! 

Now it’s your turn. What are your best tips for making memes?

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5 Best tips to Help Writers Add Text to Images from author @AneMulligan on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five, she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist immerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram,Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Blog.