2 Create a Website Blog » Graphics/Images

Cool Banner Rotation Script For Your Site

lisa — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:35:24 +0000

Ever since I redesigned my blog, I’ve been getting quite a few questions about the banner rotation script at the top of the page. I used a free script called Magic Image and it is provided by EchoChrist.com.

Unlike a lot of banner rotation scripts, you are not restricted to one banner size within a given space. So if you want to rotate both 120×240 banners and 120×600 banners in the same space, you are free to do that.

You can also select how many seconds the banners will display and there is an optional text description for each banner.

One feature I wish it had is the option to shuffle the banners. You must show the banners in the same order every time the page loads. The only way to change the order is to manually change them in the script.

That’s really the only downside to Magic Image. It’s very easy to setup and I’ve provided the instructions below…

1) Download it.

2) Edit the magicimage.js file (there are instructions in the script)

3) Upload the banners and magicimage.js file to your server

4) Add the following lines of code inside the tag of your page.

Happy Rotating!

Create Amazing e-Book Covers for Free

lisa — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:09:45 +0000

Ever seen those 3D e-Book covers and wonder how people created them? Some develop them from scratch in programs like PhotoShop, Illustrator or Paint Shop Pro.

Others seek out sites that offer online e-book cover generators. (Although, most of them come out looking like crap because the online design options are severely limited and the image quality is often very low.)

Finally, there are people like me who buy e-book graphic templates and go from there. I can make my way around PhotoShop pretty well, but not enough to create a presentable, 3D e-book cover.

So about two years ago I bought some PhotoShop Actions from VirtualCoverGenerator.com.

Well, I just happened to pop over to this site the other day and discovered the author is now offering these PhotoShop Actions for free!

Darn, if I had only waited a couple of years.

What are Actions?

PhotoShop Actions are similar to macros for Excel. They are pre-recorded actions that you can load into the program to complete multi-step tasks. And trust me. If you are not PhotoShop savvy, creating an e-book cover would definitely land in the “multi-step task” category.

In other words, VirtualCoverGenerator.com has done all the work. All you do is load the Action file in PhotoShop (sort of like a template), add a title, image, etc. to your book, click “Step 2″ and your e-book cover will be generated in seconds.

Pretty cool, eh?

You’ll be able to customize your e-book cover any way you want by adding your own custom colors, fonts, text, images, etc.

There are also Actions for a CD cover, newsletter, and a software box. So if you offer any of these items from your site or blog, you can use these Actions to create a digital cover or box.

It took me all of 60 seconds to whip out that software box you see on the left. All I did was open the appropriate Action, add my text, customize the colors and let the Action go to work for me.

I cropped the image down a bit, saved it as a JPG and published it to the Internet.

“So What’s the Catch?”

You know the drill. There’s always a catch with free, right? Well this is certainly no exception.

Of course you need PhotoShop (version 6 or higher). Second, you have to provide Fairuz (the owner) your name, email (so he can send you additional offers, no doubt) and agree to his terms and conditions. Then you’ll be presented with an offer or two (which you can graciously decline if you wish).

Finally, you’ll need to create a password to the site’s members area. Once you’ve done that you’ll be taken to a page to download the Actions (zip file).

Whew! Yes, it’s a bit of work, but a small price to pay if you need a high-quality e-book cover.

“This is Useless Info to Me”

You may be reading this now thinking, That’s great, Lisa but I don’t have any e-Books that I offer from my site or blog.

Well, my response to that would be…

Why not?

e-books can be amazing, viral marketing machines for you. You can create a useful, free guide that is relevant to your niche, provide links back to your site/blog in the book, embed affiliate links and offer it as a free download.

Before you know it, friends will email your book to their friends. Webmasters and Bloggers will recommend it from their sites. The possibilities are endless. And the more useful your product is, the larger the circulation potential.

Pretty soon you’ll be able to sit back and watch the viral magic happen!

I’ve been offering e-books (the PDF variety) from my sites for nearly 5 years and when I check my stats, at least one of my books has generated a commission for some product almost everyday. There’s nothing like doing the work once and getting paid for it over and over and over again.

Of course, you can also sell your digital product. You don’t necessarily have to give it away for free. Thanks to PayPal and other online payment sites, collecting funds from digital good sales is more convenient than ever.

So what are you waiting for? Get those juices flowing and get started on your e-book? Then dart on over to VirtualCoverGenerator.com and scoop up those Actions before Fairuz decides to sell them again.

Free, Unique RSS Icons & Buttons

lisa — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 03:38:11 +0000

Why use the same, boring orange RSS icon? Call attention to your feed and add an ounce of flavor to your site with a refreshing button or icon.

Your RSS feed will never be ignored again.

Notes:

Please “Save As” to your own PC and upload to your Web server. That way if I ever move or delete these icons, they won’t appear as broken images on your site.

The icons marked “Transparent GIF” will blend in with any background color.

Enjoy and please Stumble this post if you find my graphics useful. Thanks.

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	(Transparent GIF)	(Transparent GIF)	(Transparent GIF)

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	(Transparent GIF)

(Transparent GIF)	(Transparent GIF)


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(Transparent GIF)

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(Transparent GIF)

Cool PhotoShop Text Effects for Your Site

lisa — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:26:17 +0000

I was stumbling upon some sites this morning and came across a very useful website.

It’s called TutorialsGarden.com and they provide tutorials on PhotoShop, Flash, CSS, HTML and more.

I’ve dabbled in PhotoShop over the years, but never mastered it by any means.

I’ve always wanted to learn to do more with text for logos, headers, etc. but never found a site that was easy to follow.

What I like about TutorialsGarden.com, is they break down the steps for you and provide screenshots. All of their tutorials are organized nicely into sub categories so it’s easy to find the kind of information you’re looking for.

They have a very comprehensive section on PhotoShop Text Effects that I found quite useful. In fact, I created the graphic above using their easy-to-follow tutorial on creating “Animated Glitter Text.”

It took all of 5 minutes… literally.

I also used their tutorials to create reflective text for the header on my site flat-stomach-exercises.com. (Something I’ve always wanted to learn.)

So if you’re looking to improve your proficiency in PhotoShop, Flash, HTML, CSS, Adobe Illustrator and more, TutorialsGarden.com is a great place to spend some time.

And as you can see, StumbleUpon is not only useful for promoting your website. You may stumble upon sites that can help you out as well.