5 Free Tools for Creating Share-Worthy Visuals

If you still think plain-Jane, text-only content is good enough for your blog and social media posts, check out these statistics:

• Content featuring compelling images averages 94 percent more total views than content without visuals. (Source: MDG Advertising)
• Nearly two-thirds of all social media posts now contain some form of visual content. (Source: Citrix)
• Images shared on Facebook get more likes and shares than any other type of post. (Source: Dan Zarrella)​

Fortunately, you no longer have to shell out the big bucks for Photoshop to create eye-catching, sharable visual content. Check out these five easy-to-use — and free — resources:

1. Canva: Backed by social media guru Guy Kawasaki, Canva offers pre-sized templates that let you create images optimized for Facebook and Twitter, as well as presentations and even cover images. (We used it to create the image in this post.)
2. PicMonkey: This online app lets you upload your photos and add add special effects as well as text elements.
3. LiveLuvCreate: With this app, you can use either your own photos or a selection from their library and add text, borders, filters, and photo effects to create your own sharable image.
4. Paint.NET: This free download (for PCs only) offers many of the same features as Photoshop.
5. Easel.ly: Infographics are everywhere, and Easel.ly offers easy-to-use templates to help you create your own for sharing on your blog and on social media.

Do you have a favorite free tool for creating sharable images? Tell us about it in the comments!