Category: DIY

Fixing up Photos

29/10/2019

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It's now easy to quickly fix and improve your photos with Free online software and Apps

Make your photos look great for your website, Blog, or Social Media.
Adjust your photos so they'll print beautifully for display, marketing, or gifts.
Make beautiful photos to sell online or as prints.
Or get creative with photos, text, & images and make your own digital designs to print or put online.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO EDITING

To make photos look their best most photographers & designers usually do some or all of the following:

Straighten the photo
Adjust the light, dark and mid tones
Adjust the colours
Crop off unwanted areas
Remove marks, scratches, or objects
Sharpen or Blur areas of the photo

SAVE AND USE PHOTOS

The next step is all about clever saving:

Save, name, and File the photo
Resize the photo for different uses
Save the photo as different useful formats

SOME EXAMPLES

Here's some everyday examples of before and after photo editing...

Before 1

After 1

Before 2

After 2

Before 3

After 3

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBSITES

pixlr.com
www.photopos.com
www.befunky.com
www.picmonkey.com

www.gimp.org
www.getpaint.net
www.fotor.com
Adobe Photoshop Express

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_formats

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CREATE A BUSINESS CARD

Business cards are easy and fun to make and can be used for all sorts of things. Print a business card as a mini portfolio, a quirky invite, a list of all your contact details for family & friends, or as part of your business marketing.

MAKE YOUR OWN BUSINESS CARDS

Collect a photo or two and/or your logo
Decide on some text and/or your contact details
Design your card online using Apps or a Printer website
Order your card to be printed and posted to you, or print it on your own printer
Hand around your cards...

The most difficult part of a business card is deciding on a design. Luckily many online resources have lots of beautiful and professional designs that can help get you started. Use galleries for inspiration or use a template and adjust it with your own images and details.

JPD BUSINESS CARD DESIGN TIPS

Choose a type style / font that is easy to read when small
Have a relevant image on one side
Choose 1-3 colours – appropriate to topic or audience
Print out a copy of your design before ordering prints – to check it works as expected

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBPAGES

www.carddsgn.com
cardview.net
www.cardnerd.com
cardobserver.com
www.moo.com

www.vistaprint.co.nz
www.wsprint.co.nz
www.zazzle.co.nz
www.canva.com
www.gotprint.com

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Create a Blog

14/10/2019

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ENJOY BLOGGING!

Blogs are fun to read and explore, and now they are easy to create! Make a blog design in a few hours with easy-to-use online blog builders. Create a FREE Blog and start sharing what-ever interests you. Or use a Blog to share your business ideas with clients and aid your website SEO.

MAKE A BLOG IN 6 EASY STEPS

Visit a Blog Builder website (there are many, some below)
Choose a design or template
Adjust the design / template to suit you
Add some info about you and how visitors can contact you
Write a Post. Add images or video...
Publish your Blog to the internet so everyone can read it!

SOME THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR BLOG

Your story
Inspirational articles
Advice: Hints and Tips
Photos and Videos
Reviews
Step-by-step
A beginner's guide to...
Lists – Benefits of... Things to avoid... Top 10...
Create an Instructional graphic, flyer, or video
Info about online resources, information
Client testimonials or case studies
Behind-the-scenes
Ask visitors what they'd like...

SOME PLACES TO MAKE A BLOG

www.blogger.com
www.jimdo.com
www.wix.com
wordpress.com

www.weebly.com
sett.com
www.webs.com
medium.com

Images at top: two sample Blogs online at heleneinbetween.com and bountifuldeparture.blogspot.com

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DIY Marketing

30/7/2017

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You can do DIY Marketing!

A small business on a tight budget can save a lot of money doing all their own marketing. Sole traders can combine managing their marketing with networking. Increase your business profits by managing your own marketing, or combine hiring professionals for the tricky bits and doing the rest yourself.

“You don't need a corporation or a marketing company to brand you now: you can do it yourself” ― Ray Allen

MANY DIY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE

FREE online apps and resources can help you quickly and easily make your own publicity images, text, and other content.
Online shops and services can help you create and print advertising, stationery, and promotional items.
FREE Social media sites and many other online places can help you connect with customers.
Website builders can help you to easily create your own Website, online shop, or Blog – with FREE options available.
Business focused websites can help you create a FREE newsletter, surveys or forms for clients, and many other useful small business items.
There are also many many wonderful websites available online that can help you with every step of the process. Topics like how to create branding, copyright, what to write, what to put on Social Media, or your Blog, etc etc.

All it takes to make the most of the available opportunities is a little time to upskill, and a willingness to explore what may work for you and your customers.

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.”
―Michael Hyatt

MY TOP 7 DIY MARKETING TIPS

Start Slow with What You Know: gradually build your knowledge & skills
Have Consistent Branding: keep it similar across all media
Utilise FREE Online resources: Check out the latest apps that can help you and/or your clients
Utilise FREE Social media: go where-ever is appropriate for your clients
Have a Website, Blog, & business email – FREE options available
Check with Customers: check what clients enjoy or want – check statistics, try different marketing options, try out content marketing...
Make a Newsletter, PDF Booklets, eBooks, Video, Podcast, Postcards, Business Cards, Posters or anything else your clients may enjoy.
Try it out! Give things a go & see if they work for you & your clients.

“Don’t be afraid to get creative & experiment with your marketing.” ―Mike Volpe

SOME HANDY WEBSITES

www.canva.com
pixabay.com
www.freepik.com
www.dropbox.com

www.vistaprint.co.nz
mailchimp.com
www.techradar.com
www.openoffice.org

“Make your marketing so useful people would pay you for it.” ― Jay Baer

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eBooks – make your own books!

20/7/2017

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eBooks Rock!

I'm passionate about eBooks. I started my career in magazines/books just before computers took over and completely changed the publishing industry. In the magazine house we designed by hand with little strips of text, tape lines and black & white images pasted down onto impositions. These were later converted into film, plates, and printed on a Press at the printers. I loved all of it!

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

Now anyone can make a book on their own computer with a wide range of software or Apps. These digital books or eBooks can then be printed, or distributed via email or to eReaders (like Amazon's Kindle). And it's all easy and accessible – it can even be done for free.

“It’s not too late to write your best story.”
― Bryan Hutchinson

There's loads of options and scope for creativity and networking with others. Including: just write the text, or design a cover and images, make a designed PDF booklet, make a simple Amazon novel, create a promotional booklet and offer it on your website, or make an interactive booklet (where you can hear the pages turning!)

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
― Anaïs Nin

To me the most exciting part is that you can self publish your eBook then get an ISBN and have your book in the National Library of New Zealand - all for free, and what fun!

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Fixing up Photos

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO EDITING

SAVE AND USE PHOTOS

SOME EXAMPLES

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBSITES

Business Cards

CREATE A BUSINESS CARD

MAKE YOUR OWN BUSINESS CARDS

JPD BUSINESS CARD DESIGN TIPS

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBPAGES

Create a Blog

ENJOY BLOGGING!

MAKE A BLOG IN 6 EASY STEPS

SOME THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR BLOG

SOME PLACES TO MAKE A BLOG

DIY Marketing

You can do DIY Marketing!

“You don't need a corporation or a marketing company to brand you now: you can do it yourself” ― Ray Allen

MANY DIY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.”
―Michael Hyatt

MY TOP 7 DIY MARKETING TIPS

“Don’t be afraid to get creative & experiment with your marketing.” ―Mike Volpe

SOME HANDY WEBSITES

“Make your marketing so useful people would pay you for it.” ― Jay Baer

eBooks – make your own books!

eBooks Rock!

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

“It’s not too late to write your best story.”
― Bryan Hutchinson

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
― Anaïs Nin

Meet Shelley

joyful pear design blog

Message Me

Categories

Fixing up Photos

PROFESSIONAL PHOTO EDITING

SAVE AND USE PHOTOS

SOME EXAMPLES

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBSITES

Business Cards

CREATE A BUSINESS CARD

MAKE YOUR OWN BUSINESS CARDS

JPD BUSINESS CARD DESIGN TIPS

SOME HANDY ONLINE WEBPAGES

Create a Blog

ENJOY BLOGGING!

MAKE A BLOG IN 6 EASY STEPS

SOME THINGS TO PUT ON YOUR BLOG

SOME PLACES TO MAKE A BLOG

DIY Marketing

You can do DIY Marketing!

“You don't need a corporation or a marketing company to brand you now: you can do it yourself” ― Ray Allen

MANY DIY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.”―Michael Hyatt

MY TOP 7 DIY MARKETING TIPS

“Don’t be afraid to get creative & experiment with your marketing.” ―Mike Volpe

SOME HANDY WEBSITES

“Make your marketing so useful people would pay you for it.” ― Jay Baer

eBooks – make your own books!

eBooks Rock!

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison

“It’s not too late to write your best story.”― Bryan Hutchinson

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”― Anaïs Nin

Meet Shelley

joyful pear design blog

Message Me

Categories

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.”
―Michael Hyatt

“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison

“It’s not too late to write your best story.”
― Bryan Hutchinson

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
― Anaïs Nin