As of June 2018, I have been book blogging for one full year. It has proven to be a great way to 1) keep in the habit of writing regularly, 2) keep an account of the books I’ve read & reviewed, 3) connect with others who love reading and discussing the books they read.
I haven’t learned everything there is to know about the process but as I reflect on my year, there are some things that I’ve picked up along the way that I thought I would share through a series of posts about book blogging. I hope you’ll find these tips helpful. Feel free to tell me what you’ve been learning too in the comments.
Today’s post will cover Tip #3: Use Images. Break up text with relevant images throughout. Use FREE resources, like Adobe Spark to create a clean, professional, engaging blog post. Don’t miss my Design Gallery Walk videos at the end of this post made with Adobe Spark Video.
Reflecting on My Journey | How well did I do using images in my blog posts this year?
I’ll stick with the Q&A format that I used in the first two blog posts in this series that covered Blogging Regularly and Getting Social on Twitter.
Q: How would I compare my initial blog posts to the content that I am creating today?
A: You’ll see in older posts that my content was text heavy with a few small images sprinkled in. These images in most cases were those that I pulled in from what I created first on my Goodreads account. The book’s cover image is already in the embed code and I try to also insert an image of the author when I write my reviews on Goodreads. The thumbnail of the book’s cover and the author’s photo then is what I included in most of my posts.
Moving forward to the present, I have been working on incorporating relevant design elements into each blog post. I started out designing using PicCollage on my phone. Watch the video at the very end of this blog post to see the gallery of designs I made with PicCollage. I do like using PicCollage but sometimes my eyes grow tired from designing on such a small platform (my phone). I wish they had a web version for me to design on.
Today, I rely on Adobe Spark for the creation of beautifully clean, polished and professional designs. Let me just say this, I am an amateur who loves to spend time creating graphic designs! It is therapeutic sometimes and a great deal of FUN. Adobe Spark is my new secret (not so secret) weapon of choice when it comes to designing for my blog and social media posts. My account is completely FREE! Of course, there are options to upgrade which would remove their logos, allowing you the chance to add your own unique branding but I’m simply not at that level yet. The free version does everything I need it to do. I even used it to design my new banner for my blog and to create the two Design Gallery Walk videos that you will see at the end of this post.
Q: What steps did I take to feel more confident designing with Adobe Spark?
A: Play. That’s how I learn most things. I test drive and go through the process of failing and succeeding. I did the same thing to learn how to best use PicCollage. With Adobe Spark, the other thing that I did more recently was to watch their webinar that showed me some tips and tricks to designing engaging content for social media and my blog. It really helped. If you’re not already using Adobe Spark and you want to get some ideas about the design process, here’s a link to their free design workshop: Learn how to create engaging content for social and beyond.
GOALS | For the next 12 months as I continue on in my journey as a blogger, I will definitely continue to use Adobe Spark to give me that clean, professional look that I’ve been striving for. I am interested in exploring other platforms as well so make sure to tell me in the comments what you’ve been using to create your designs for your blog and social media posts.
Adobe Spark is my new secret weapon of choice when it comes to designing for my blog and social media posts.
Design Gallery Walk #1 | Designs Made with Adobe Spark Post
(Click Link to Watch Video)
https://spark.adobe.com/video/urZJfnG92CC2a/embed
Design Gallery Walk #2 | Designs Made with PicCollage & Adobe Spark Video
(Click Link to Watch Video)
https://spark.adobe.com/video/PuLULQzq0AMFq/embed
Gallery Walk #2 | A Collection of Shout-Outs to some of my Favorite Authors
(Listed in Alphabetical Order)Tomi Adeyemi
Elizabeth Acevedo
Dhonielle Clayton
Lindsay Currie
Josh Funk
Jarrett Lerner
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Nic Stone
Liara Tamani
Angie Thomas
Ibi Zoboi
CeCeLibrarian’s Book Blog 
I was thinking about starting to add images to my poetry. I was thinking it could add life it a visual even more so to the poem! Great tip!!!
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I will also check out Adobe Spark, I’m excited to see how it can give me a new challenge to be more creative!
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I really like Adobe Spark. It is easy to use and I have fun creating graphics with it that I use mostly for my blog but also sometimes on social media posts.
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I think it is a great idea to add some visuals. You might also be able to make a video, recording you reading the poem, with images in the background. That would be cool!
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That would be cool cuz, I was totally thinking about starting to post video while reading my poems on youtube, but if I can also add Adobe spark to the list.
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