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TECH: Getting Started with Making Sidebar and Banner Ads in PicMonkey

Published on March 22, 2014 By Emily. Updated on March 22, 2014

As the blogging world continues to evolve, more and more bloggers are hosting their own ads and creating their own buttons for their site.  You’re probably sick of me telling you that if you’re a blogger, you can submit an ad to be hosted on Relishments for free.  But perhaps the reason you haven’t made any ads or buttons to display on your site or someone else’s is because you don’t know how.  Good news – you can create ads, banners, badges and Pinterest-friendly images online for free.

I’ve been kind of obsessed with PicMonkey ever since I saw a presentation about it at last year’s Healthy Living Summit.  Though I’d used the site prior to that, I’ve been extra interested in it since.  I’ve used PicMonkey to help create many of the banners and buttons on my site, as well as editing my images and adding text to them for Pinterest.  It seemed only fair to let you all know how you can do the same, whether you want to make something for your own page or to share somewhere else.

Disclaimers of all sorts:  this is the first time I’ve used my laptop, Jing and Screencast to create videos to share.  Please let me know what you think.  That said, I have no affiliation with PicMonkey, Jing or Screencast beyond the fact that I find them to be really useful, free tools.

Getting Started with Making Sidebar and Banner Ads in PicMonkey (direct video link)

In case you don’t have time or interest in watching the 5 minute video above, here’s the basic rundown:

  1. Go to PicMonkey.com
  2. Select “Edit” on the homepage, then choose a photo from your computer, Facebook, Flikr or Dropbox
  3. PicMonkey will start you out in the Basic Edits section of its tools.  Select “Crop” to change the picture to the required parameters for the space of your choice (in my case, that’s the “square” option available in the drop down menu)
  4. Scroll down to “Resize” your photo to the required dimensions (125 pixels by 125 pixels for the free blogger ad spots here on Relishments)
  5. Get creative! The left side of the PicMonkey editor screen provides access to a wide variety of options.picmonkey toolsFrom top to bottom, the editing buttons on the far left are Basic Edits, Effects (such as filters), Touch Up, Text, Overlays (shapes and other graphics you can place on top of your images and each other), Frames, Textures, and Themes (sets of editing features such as effects, texts and overlays with categories like “School U”, “Zombies”, “Winterland” and “Celebrate”).  The best way to figure out what you can do in PicMonkey is just to experiment with all the options.  There are also tons of other people who have made videos and shared posts with instructions for accomplishing specific effects in PicMonkey, as well as the PicMonkey blog.

Please let me know your thoughts and questions regarding this post.  I’d love to do more web tool tutorials like this one, if people are interested.  If nothing else, I hope it inspired you to get creative with your photos and your blog.

Related Posts

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Follow Up 1: Top Chef Finale
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: tech, technology Tagged With: advertising, blog, photos, websites

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Comments

  1. katie says

    March 22, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    Awesome job! I’m not tech gifted, so I have lots of troubles with editing. I just go no frills and crop. But I do want to learn more!

  2. Jasmine says

    March 24, 2014 at 12:51 pm

    Nice tutorial. I recently forced myself to become more familiar with PicMonkey. In fact, I did my bog header using it. It’s a very useful site. Have you considered purchasing the upgraded version? I’ve pondered it.

  3. Morgan says

    March 30, 2014 at 6:37 am

    I’ve just started exploring picmonkey myself..thanks for the tutorial! I thought your video was good once I got it loaded :)

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photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

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Emily
Spring has finally come to the Berkshires! It has Spring has finally come to the Berkshires!
It has been such a joy to finally spend time outside regularly and see everything in bloom.

I bought myself a bike and, after the initial adjustment of learning how to ride again after a nearly 25 year hiatus, it's become one of my favorite ways to experience the outdoors. (None of these photos was taken while riding. I barely stay upright with both hands on the bike.)
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #AshwillticookRailTrail
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
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