Daryl Devoré is back to show us how we can make teaser trailers for books using Canva…
I’m not artistic and I’m not good with computer programs. But authors need to advertise and teasers are a good way. So how to I do it? I use two photo manipulation programs – Canva and GIMP.
GIMP is just like Photoshop – but GIMP is open source so it’s free, but it’s a bit complicated. Canva is simpler and for something like a teaser it’s a useful program.
Also, Canva is free. There is a version that you can pay for. But I like free.
What is a teaser? It’s like a meme for your book. It could simply be the cover and a great line from your story. Or, it could be themed photo and a short snippet.
I have a Christmas release called Christmas in a Flash. I went to Pixabay and searched for photos which would work with my chosen snippet.
Warning – wandering through photos here is addictive. They have glorious FREE photos that you can use without having to give credit to the photographer or designer.
Here are three I chose.
Open the Canva site and choose what it is you wish to design – a FB ad, a Twitter banner etc. Choose which size and shape works best with your idea.
Then you upload your photo and place it in the white space. There are points on the photo where you can increase or decrease the photo to fit the canvas.
Click on text. This is tricky as it puts a tiny text box on your screen and fills it with “Text Placeholder.” I’d suggest not erasing “Text Placeholder” until you have typed some of your snippet. Odds are your snippet won’t fit – no worries – the text box is expandable and moveable. Place it where it fits best on the photos.
Above the photo you are working on are the fonts and the font sizes. Play around with them until you find one that’s perfect. Also, you can change the colours. White letters on a black background or possibly green letters on a red background.
At the moment, fonts and colours is where free Canva is limited. You must use what they provide. But if you aren’t great with techy things this is fine.
Lastly name and save your photo. The two showcased below I called Reese Teaser and Winters Chill Teaser. When you download it, it always suggests .png and I save it that way. Then I go back and save it as a .jpeg – because some places just prefer jpegs.
There you’ve made a teaser.
Here are 2 I made for my latest book. I’d say they took less than 10 minutes to make.
Link to Pixabay – https://pixabay.com/en/photos/
Link to Canva – https://www.canva.com/
Link to Gimp – https://www.gimp.org/
About Daryl
Two writers in one. Daryl Devoré writes hot romances with sexy heroes and strong heroines. Victoria Adams is Daryl Devoré’s alter ego when she’s inspired to write sweet romances with little to no heat.
Daryl (@daryldevore) lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, two black cats – Licorice and Ginny-Furr Purrkins – and some house ghosts. Her daughter is grown and has flown the nest. Daryl loves to take long walks on her quiet country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer, kayak along the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a moon rock, a mammoth, and a meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over Niagara Falls in a helicopter, and used the ladies room in a royal palace. Life’s an adventure and Daryl’s having fun living it.
Blog – Romance – Sweet to Heat
Buy Link
Available on KDP
Pinterest Board for Christmas in a Flash
Thanks for letting me stop by and talk about how to make teasers.
Hope it helps someone.
Tweeted.