Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare

Last updated on April 9th, 2019 at 05:19 pm

You may have heard so many people talking about the Social Warfare plugin. Well, there’s a reason for that, it’s an awesome plugin that gives you control over which social media images you want to be shared. In this tutorial, I thought I would show you how I create my Pinterest images for Social Warfare.

Now I am NOT a graphics designer. But the great thing is that you don’t have to be to start using this method. I even share where I get my images I use.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare. #SocialWarfare at susanvelez.com ‘” quote=”Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare. #SocialWarfare at susanvelez.com ‘” theme=”style4″]

What Is Pinterest?

I am assuming that you already know a little bit about Pinterest, if not then read this. I am not going to tell you my secret Pinterest Strategies or reveal what’s actually working for me. Because to tell you the truth, I’m learning as I go along.

If you do need some Pinterest Training then search Google and I am sure that you will find someone who can show you how to get started.

Heads Up: This plugin has helped me grow my Pinterest followers without lifting a finger!

Why I Am Using Pinterest For My Blog

To tell you the truth, when I started this blog, I didn’t start using Pinterest right away. I had no clue what Pinterest was. I had heard people talking about it but I really didn’t want to take the time to learn it.

Plus when I started this blog, I was getting ready for my Disney World trip. So my main concern was creating fresh content for my WordPress editorial calendar, so my blog would have fresh content while I was on vacation.

However, when I came back from Disney World I figured it was time to start learning about Pinterest. I purchased this course because it fast-tracked my learning curve.

I don’t like to spend time browsing YouTube or the Internet for free information. If the course is right and helps me learn faster, I am all for it, after all, time is money.

Getting Started With Pinterest

Before you can get started with Pinterest. There are some things that you’ll have to do to make sure your blog is Pinterest friendly. I actually wrote a guest post on making your WordPress blog Pinterest Friendly, in case you need help with that.

So head on over there and get your WordPress blog ready for Pinterest. Be sure to come back as I am going to show you how I create my Pinterest images for Social Warfare.

What Is Social Warfare?

This is the social sharing plugin that I use on my blog. This plugin has helped me increase my social shares on my blog. It’s an amazing plugin that makes it easy for other people to share your content.

Related posts on the Social Warfare Plugin:

• Is Social Warfare the Right Social Sharing Plugin?
• Why I Use The Social Warfare Plugin
• Customizing the Click to Tweet On Social Warfare
• Setting Up The Free Social Warfare Plugin

Read this if you want to know if it’s the right plugin for you. You can also read how I set it up and customized it.

Why You Need A System For Your Images

One of the bad things (or good things, however, you want to look at it) is that you have to create images for every blog post that you want shared.

I am NOT a graphics designer by no means. I am just sharing the process I use to create my Pinterest images in hopes that it will help you out. You don’t have to use this method, this is what I do to make it easier for me.

I’m all about creating systems for my blog that help me get things accomplished as efficiently as possible. After all, I only have 24 hours in a day and I still have freelance clients that need work done.

I don’t want to be spending all day working on images only to find out that’s all I’ve accomplished in a day.

If you want to learn from a graphics designer then I suggest you visit this blog.

What Do I Mean By A System?

You need a system that is going to help you create your Pinterest images quickly. You want to get to a point where it only takes you 5 minutes to create your Pinterest images for every new blog post.

Otherwise, you’ll never have time to grow your blog.

As soon as you start using Social Warfare, you’ll need to create Pinterest specific images. This means that you’ll have to create a separate image for every blog post you write.

Now I know what you’re thinking, you’ve already created images for your blog. Most of us have several different images on our blog posts. Just because you have an image on your blog post, doesn’t mean that’s the image you want people sharing.

The great thing about Social Warfare is that it will let you create a specific image you want to be shared on Pinterest. Yes, it is more work for you.

However, as a blogger, it’s important to control which images you want people sharing from your blog.

Before I started using this plugin, someone shared one of my blog posts on Pinterest and the image looked like crap. This woke me up and made me realize that I needed to start controlling what people were sharing.

Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare

If you’re like me then you love writing your blog posts in advance. You use your WordPress editorial calendar to write 2-3 months worth of content in advance.

In the blogging world, this is known as “batching.” This means that I will focus completely on writing blog posts. I won’t do anything else while I am writing.

I won’t create any images Nope, I just sit and write. If the post requires screenshots, because I create a lot of tutorials about WordPress, I’ll quickly grab a screenshot with Snagit and save them to a folder on my iMac.

Once I have finished writing all the blog posts I am ready to start creating my images. Don’t worry, I’m going to show you how I create my images on Pinterest.

Once we’re done, you’ll have an image you can upload to your Social Warfare plugin.

Where I Get My Images

I am not a professional photographer by no means. That’s actually why when we went to Disney World, I invested in their Memory Maker plan. Plus I don’t even own a camera, besides the one on my iPhone.

Now I know you’re probably going to be looking for free places to get images if so you can get started here. It’s important to make sure that your images look awesome, otherwise, they won’t get shared.

I get all my images from Creative Market. This saves me a lot of time, and I don’t have to spend hours trying to find free images online. Remember, time is money 🙂

I purchased some social media templates that I could use over and over. So don’t go crazy and buy a bunch of templates.

I Use Photoshop For This Tutorial

There are many people who use Canva and PicMonkey for their social media image creation. However, I use Photoshop because it makes my process easier.

So if you don’t have Photoshop you can still use my process, you’ll just need to learn how to create your images on the other platforms.

• Here’s a great article that will teach you how to create Pinterest images using Canva.
• This article that will teach you how to create your Pinterest graphics using PicMonkey.

Creating My Template Sizes

The Social Warfare plugin will provide you with the ideal image size to create. This means your images will look amazing when someone shares them. No more worrying about people sharing the wrong size image on blog.

As you can see we’ll need an image size of 735 by 1102. If you want to know some of the other Pinterest image sizes, here’s a great resource.

So now it’s time to create our template that we’re going to use over and over.

Here’s what my template looks like. It’s usually a png file, but I had to add some color to the background so you could see it.

As you can see, I have my Website URL at the bottom of my template. It’s important to always include your URL with all the images that are shared on Pinterest.

This way people will know what your blog is. Plus it will prevent other people from using your images…(although we know that doesn’t always stop people.)

Adding Our Creative Market Image

If you’re not using Creative Market that’s fine, you can use any image you want. However, once you see my system, you’re going to realize why I use Creative Market along with Photoshop to create my Social Warfare images.

When I open up my image (make sure that all the templates you buy come with PSD files) that I purchased you’ll see how I am able to create my Social Warfare images quickly. You’ll want to open up your PSD file inside of Photoshop and head on over to layers.

Look for a layer will say “Insert your Screen.” Double click on that layer and you’ll see this. Your PSD file may say something, however, every PSD file should be easy to change and add your own elements for your Pinterest images.

Click Okay.

Now as you can see a canvas opens up. We now have the opportunity to add whatever it is we want to this canvas. So what I like to do is add text to it. You can add images and text if you choose.

The first thing I do is create a new layer and give it the same color background as my green color on my blog. Use your blog colors for your Pinterest images, this will help you with the branding of your blog.

I write something that is specific to my blog post. You want to let people know what your blog post is about. The more specific you can be the more clicks you’ll get.

Once you’ve added your text, click on save and Photoshop will save your canvas and you can then place it on your pre-made template.

You may have to change the background to match your image. This is how my finished template looks like.

I’ve gotten really good with my system, that it now only takes me about 5 minutes per Pinterest graphic. It may take you a while when you first start using this system. You may even tweak it to suite you better.

However, just like anything else, the more you practice the better you’ll get.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare. #SocialWarfare at susanvelez.com ‘” quote=”Steal My Pinterest Image Creation System For Social Warfare. #SocialWarfare at susanvelez.com ‘” theme=”style4″]

Repeating The Process

I have 3-4 pre-made templates that I use over and over. Don’t think that you always have to create a totally different image for all your blog posts. This process has helped me speed up the process of creating my Pinterest images for Social Warfare.

You’ll want more than one template to see which image template gets the most shares.

Upload Your Image to Social Warfare

Once you’re happy with your Pinterest image, you’ll want to upload your image to the Social Warfare section of your blog post. Don’t forget to add a Pinterest description, otherwise, people won’t share it.

Now you’re in control over which image is actually getting shared on Pinterest. So you won’t have to worry about people sharing the images you don’t want to be shared, like this one.

As of date, I still haven’t taken the time to create a Pinterest image for it. That was actually one of my very first blog posts and I didn’t think that anyone would share it.

Goes to show us, we don’t know what people are going to share on our blog. Isn’t it great that Social Warfare now helps us control what gets shared?

Final Take Away

As a blogger, there’s always a ton of things to do. The last thing you want is to take the time to create Pinterest images that you want to be shared. However, if you’re not controlling the shares on your blog, then you don’t know what people are actually sharing.

Hopefully, my tutorial showed you how easy it can be to create a pre-made template you can use over and over. You don’t have to spend hours creating your images. The best part is that you don’t have to be a graphics designer.

I use this process each and every time I create a new blog post. If you’re ready to get more shares so more people see your content, then you can pick up the Social Warfare Plugin here.

Hand Picked Articles For You

• Is Social Warfare The Best Social Sharing Plugin?
• Social Warfare Setup And Customization Tips
• The Complete Beginners Guide To Using Plugins

Are you using a social sharing plugin? Are you using Pinterest for your blog? Let me know what plugin you’re using and if you’re using Pinterest, by commenting below.