I get it. You start looking at those gorgeous free images and before you know it, the afternoon has been sucked into a black hole and you have nothing to show for it. I hate it when that happens.

That’s why I’m going to give you an actionable plan to create a bunch of quote graphics that you can have on hand to use.

You already know that social media updates with images get commented on, liked and shared much more than ones without images. And it is those Comments, Likes and Shares that improve your reach – or how many people see your stuff. And that’s the goal, right?

So here’s a little system you can use to help get some images “in the bank” so you can use them. You’ll be “batching.” You are going to do Step 1 before moving on to Step 2, and so on – and you can, if you want, just do one step a day.

Step 1 – Get Your Images

Create a folder on your computer called Quote Images or something like that.

On the Internet, go to www.MorgueFile.com (and choose the free images) or www.Pixabay.com or another source that you have for free images.

Set the timer for 15 minutes. Browse and find as many images that you like as you can, and save each one to your folder. You should be able to save at least 10 images in 15 minutes.

Don’t overthink your choices. If you like it, grab it.

Ding! You’re done.

P.S. If you just want plain colored backgrounds, you can skip Step 1 and move directly to Step 2.

Step 2 – Get Your Quotes

There are quotes everywhere, of course, but if you are stuck, you can Google something like “quotes about habits” or “friendship quotes,” and you will get thousands of ideas. You’ll even see how other people have created quote images. And, actually, that’s a great place to pick out good quotes about your topic. Just remember to include the author of the quote when you create your image.

Or, if you can’t even think of a topic to look for quotes about, you can go to www.QuoteGarden.com and you’ll find at least 300 topics with quotes.

www.BrainyQuote.com is another option. Their content is categorized not just by topic, but also by author. Want a quote by Yogi Berra? Zig Ziglar? Audrey Hepburn? This is your place.

Now, what are you going to do with them? Open a Word Document or something like that. Copy and paste all your favorites.

Set your timer for 15 minutes and get as many as you can.

Okay, so you have a bunch of images and a bunch of quotes. Now what?

Step 3 – Let’s Make Quote Images!

There are many online and offline photo editing programs. I’m going to walk you through just one of them today.

Go to www.PicMonkey.com. You don’t even have to sign up for an account.

From the options across the top, choose Design.

If you are going to use a picture from your computer, click Open at the top and then find it on your computer. Select it and click the Open button.

To add your quote, click the text button along the right side. It is the one with the capital and lower case Ts. Click the Add Text box at the top, and paste (or type) your quote into the box that appears on the image.

You can change the font, size, color, alignment, and blend modes. You can even flip the text horizontally or vertically (uh… why?). And you can move it around on your image. You can make more than one text box, so you can put the main quote in one box, the author in another box, and then your web address in yet another box.

What you can’t do is upload another image to use as a watermark (like your logo). But since you can put your website address on it, I think that’s a fair trade for being free.

When you have it just the way you want it, save it. You can save it to your computer to use later, or you can immediately share it to any of several social media sites. You can even email it to somebody.

Now if you want to use just a plain background, and not an image, it is even easier. When you first arrive on the blank canvas, you can choose your background color.

Then add your text the same way.

You can also add a frame or overlays. Just play and have fun!

Step 4 – Go Post!

Not “postal,” of course… But do go post your images.

Try to get enough images “in the bank” so that you have a cushion, and then make a commitment to yourself to post one every day. Or twice a week. Or whatever…But plan it out, be consistent, and DO IT!

Some people like to do one whole image from start to finish. Others get bogged down in that and would rather chunk their project as I suggested above. Do what works for you, but… DO IT.

You have been made in the image of Creator God. No, you can’t create something out of nothing, but you can use the tools freely available to you and create something that will encourage and uplift others. So… DO IT!