Are you feeling just as burned out as I am right now? It seems like my mojo went on vacation and decided not to return.

When this happens (not the first time, ya know?), I look for inspiration in the words of others. I search online for the pep talk – the “go get ’em!” words – that I need to restore my focus and energy level.

Here are 10 powerful quotes that are helping me get my balance back. If you need a little help right now, too, they might inspire you in the same way.

10 powerful quotes

These motivational, just-do-it messages are from sources as diverse as Confucius and Thomas Edison.

Want to save and share any of them? Right click on the image, then select “save image as” in the dropdown menu.

Create your own quote graphics

Want to create similar images with your favorite quotes?

To create these 10 images, I used the premium version of the WordSwag smartphone app ($3.99). It’s available in both iOS and Android versions.

I used the app exclusively for these, searching WordSwag’s extensive database of images to find one with just the right mood or setting for each quote. It’s a versatile, easy-to-use tool for creating image quotes to share on social media or elsewhere.

What’s your favorite motivational or inspirational quote? Please drop it in a comment so we can all appreciate it. 

Research shows that images improve your social media success and engagement.

More specifically:

• Quick Sprout reveals that tweets with images receive 200 percent more engagement.
• BuzzSumo reports that Facebook posts with images generate 2.3 times more engagement than posts without images.
• Research published in the Journal of Marketing Research shows that including an image in tweets about air travel increases the number of retweets by 119%.

Here are three types of custom images you can create that support your book marketing messages while they increase social media engagement.

1. Image quotes/picture quotes/quote cards

No matter what you call them, these social media graphics that place words on images are versatile and powerful.

For the text, use inspirational quotes, a pithy message from your book with attribution to your book (not yourself), or a snippet of text from your blog post (that’s what I’ve done with the example below). There are so many ways to approach this — my suggestions are just a start.

Please don’t quote yourself saying something you feel is wise or profound, though. I know that so-called gurus do this, but it isn’t going to position you as a thought leader. You earn that title when others  believe that what you say is so worthwhile that they have to share it.

Rather than quoting yourself on your road to social media success, quote others you admire — and tag them when you post the image online.

Create these types of images with any of the many web-based and/or smartphone tools available for this. I used Canva to create the three images above. The kitten photo came from  Depositphotos; I’ve got links to free photo sites here.

2. Tipographics

Tipographics — also known as tip-o-graphics — are tip lists. I’ve got a collection of them I created from blog post content on a Pinterest board. Each Pinterest image links back to my original blog post on the topic. While I share them on Pinterest, they can be shared on any social media platform you use.

Here’s one example:

During the first two months I started sharing these on Pinterest, traffic to my site from that social network increased more than 300 percent. I’ve recently added a few more and will watch the numbers to see if traffic jumps again.

When I first started creating these, I used a PowerPoint template (download a PDF version of it here). Now that Canva is an option, I’ll test that tool to see which approach is easiest.

If you’ve got design skills, you can make yours look a whole lot nicer than mine. I opted for simplicity, as you can see.

3. Infographics

Infographics incorporate images and text to walk you through a process or simplify complicated data. 

Of the three image types we’re discussing, infographics are the hardest to create. First, they need to tell a story. Second, they’re graphics-intense — they’re the opposite of my tipographics above.

And yet, I love them. They get my attention — and when they do, they nearly always have information I can use. They give me an opportunity to share helpful information with others, as I did in my recent blog post about world reading habits in 2021. I was happy to build an article around that infographic when the creator offered it to me.

Here’s an example of an infographic that’s designed to inform and influence authors.

To create your own, look for templates online.

HubSpot offers 15 free PowerPoint infographic templates that can simplify the design process. Canva has infographic templates, too. Australian designer Donna Moritz also offers links to infographic templates in her article, “4 Easy Infographic Template Tools for Stunning Infographics” on her Socially Sorted site.

If you don’t have design skills or don’t have the time for this, it might be easier to search Fiverr for a designer who can do it.

Increase social media success

Increase engagement and improve reader connections by creating and sharing social media images, whether it’s any of these three or other types. You’ll indulge your creative side while making your time on social networks more productive and meaningful.

Have you incorporated images in your social media plan? Are you seeing more, less, or the same engagement among your followers and connections? Please tell us in a comment. 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2015. It has been updated and expanded.)

Book promotion quote graphics – also known as “image quotes” and “quote cards” – are social media images that excerpt praise about your book from:

• Book blurbs (testimonials and endorsements)
• Reader reviews (with permission)
• The book’s contents

You create these graphics to show that your book is respected by influencers and readers, or to give a small, intriguing sample of the book’s content.

Easy to create and share, they let you use other people’s words to say, “People like my book, so you will, too.” (Which is way classier than using your own words.)

What do book promotion quote graphics look like?

You can use a number of different approaches or treatments, but simple works best. Here are a couple of examples from major publishers for books you might recognize. (Click on the image to see the examples in a larger format.)

You’ll see that only one of these three includes the title. I pulled each from their book’s Amazon sales page, so in that situation, there’s no question about the book title.

I prefer to create them so that they stand alone anywhere, even without an explanatory post accompanying the image. To do that, you’ll want to include the title in the image.

A note about permissions

As you think about how you might duplicate what the big publishers are doing in those examples, keep in mind that Amazon requires authors to get permission from the reader to excerpt reader reviews on that platform. This is because the reviewer owns the review copyright.

To be safe, apply that permission policy to reader reviews from any other retail site or platform, too, including Goodreads.

By definition, you’re allowed to use anything from pre-publication testimonials and literary/trade/media reviews in quote cards and other book promotion materials.

How do you create them?

My favorite tool for creating social media images like these is Canva. I used it to create these promotional quote graphics for the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms. (Click on the image  to see the examples in a larger format.)

Online tools that are similar to Canva include:

• Stencil
• Snappa
• Quozio

I gave the MockupShots image generator a try, too. MockupShots incorporates your book cover into hundreds of backgrounds, so with that tool, your book cover will always be in the image.

I’m not sure how I feel about including the book cover, though. What do you think of this one I created for my e-book with MockupShots?

Design tips

As you use any of these tools, work to keep it simple. Less is more (which is why I’m on the fence about the image that includes my book cover).

Be consistent with your quote images by using the same or similar templates for all book promotion quote graphics. For example, if you’re creating three for your newest book, all three should look similar for branding reasons.

Speaking of branding, be certain to incorporate book cover imagery and/or colors into your quote card.

To make sure your image has your cover colors, use the free Eye Dropper tool for color matching. Get instructions and a demo video in my article, “How to use Eye Dropper for consistent author branding colors.”

Using book promotion quote graphics

There are a number of ways you can use and share your quote cards. Here are just a few; I’m sure you can think of more.

• Share on social media with appropriate text and a purchase link in the accompanying post.
• Add to your author website.
• Distribute to your launch team to share with their networks

Don’t miss this easy opportunity to make the most of endorsements, reviews, and pithy gems from your book. You might even have fun with it!

What are other uses for book promotion quote graphics? How have you used them for your book?

They’re the social proof you need to convince people to buy your books.

But did you know you can make glowing reviews work harder for you?

Give your five-star reviews new life by incorporating them into your book marketing and promotion campaigns and material. Here are nine ways to use reader reviews in book marketing. You can get started using them immediately.

EDITED TO ADD: Helpful commenters below remind us that the reviewer owns the copyright on the review, so ask for permission before using it.

1. Add them to social media headers.

Use one (or two!) in your Facebook page cover image, Twitter and LinkedIn headers, and Instagram profile.

Here’s how Jamie Jo Hoang showcases a starred Kirkus review of Blue Sun, Yellow Sky in her Twitter header.

2. Showcase them on your website.

Where you place them on your site depends on your site design and purpose, but many authors can find a home for a good review next to a book cover image on the home page.

Do you have a page on your site for each of your books? Add the positive reviews there, too, in a large font.

3. Create quote cards with them.

I’m a big fan of using quote cards (also known as “image quotes“) to share good news on social media. They’re perfect for every social network you use.

I created several from the positive reviews of the new Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms. Here are two of them.

Here’s one for The Wife Between Us. (Scroll down the page at that link, too, to see more of them that the publisher created.)

Create them using Canva.com or with a smartphone app that combines images and text. I like using WordSwag.

4. Print them on bookmarks.

Bookmarks are probably the most commonly used book marketing materials. They’re easy to create today, thanks to online services that include Moo.com (affiliate link).

A pithy reader review quote is one of my top five elements for a bookmark. The others are the book title, cover image, your name, and your website URL.

5. Add them to postcards.

No, printed postcards are not passé. Because more and more (and more and more) marketers have shifted away from postal mail to email marketing, printed marketing materials get noticed in a traditional mailbox.

Yours will make the best impression possible when you include a glowing reader review. You can order them online with VistaPrint (search online for a coupon code to use with your order) and Moo.com (affiliate link).

6. Add them to the back pages of subsequent books.

Each time you write a book, add reviews of earlier books to the back. This will help readers discover your “backlist” — your older books.

If you are stopping at one book, but will publish an updated edition, add those reviews to the front of the newest version. They will add the social proof you need for someone flipping through your book in a physical store or online.

7. Use them to improve your book’s description.

Did a reviewer describe your novel’s character in a positive, memorable way?

Did a reader add an observation about your credibility and expertise to a nonfiction book review?

When it makes sense, update your online description with this new information. For example, if a reader describes your twenty-something amateur sleuth protagonist as “a millennial Nancy Drew,” use it in the book’s description.

In the mid-1990s, when a journalist described me as “the Ermba Bombeck of the ’90s,” the publisher added that phrase to my first book’s back cover description.

8. Incorporate them into your next book’s marketing campaign.

Readers considering your new book are influenced by what others have said about your previous works.

Use that to your advantage by adding positive reviews on earlier books to:

• The inside pages of your newest book
• Printed marketing materials such as bookmarks and postcards
• Website
• Facebook page

Introduce those reviews with this simple sentence: “Here’s what readers have said about (AUTHOR NAME)’s previous books.”

9. Let them guide what you write in your next book.

Reader feedback can provide important insights into what your fans want from you.

For example, if readers adore one of your secondary characters, you can capitalize on that by giving her a bigger role in your next book.

Perhaps fans of your instant pot cookbook rave about your vegetarian recipes more than anything else. Give them a vegetarian instant pot cookbook, too.

Need help getting those reviews? You’ll love the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms. There’s one for fiction, another for nonfiction.

Each is a simple, easy-to-use fill-in-the-blanks form that you give to readers to help them write more reviews. Buy one form; share it with as many readers as you want. Learn more on the Reader Book Review Form information page.

How do you use your favorite reader reviews? Please tell us in a comment. 

Sharing your work with the world takes courage. It’s a risk. As authors, we ask ourselves a lot of “what if” questions:

• What if it’s awful?
• What if people hate it?
• What if readers talk publicly about how much they hate it?
• What if nobody buys it?
• What if I don’t earn back the money I spent to create a quality product?

I’ve got a short response to all of those questions: You will survive.

Yes, you might feel sheepish or embarrassed, maybe even humiliated. But in the grand scheme of things, you’ll just keep moving forward, right?

I’ve got a longer response, too: What’s the worst thing that can happen in this situation? Can you live with that?

I’ll bet that you’ve endured far worse things than a critically panned book. I know I have.

Quotes about risk

With that in mind, I’m sharing 10 quotes about risk that resonate with me. The first is one that addresses how I approach risk: Before I take a leap, I make sure my bungee cord is attached.

I hope they make you more comfortable the risks you face as an author.

“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” — General George Patton

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” — T.S. Eliot

“Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” — Jimmy Carter

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“Opportunity dances with those on the dance floor.” — Anonymous

“If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.” — Geena Davis

“Take risks. If you win, you will be happy. If you lose, you will be wise.” — Anonymous

“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”– David Lloyd George

“If you don’t play, you can’t win.”– Judith McNaught

Take a chance

Progress comes with risk. You won’t move forward without it.

Only you know how much you can handle, but if you want to succeed as an author, you’ll need to be able to take small risks, at least.

Once you get start pushing past your boundaries, even a bit, it will get easier. After awhile, you’ll discover that the rewards are worth it.

What risks have you taken with your book?

I pulled out a few of my favorites (below), but before scanning these and the full list at HolidayInsights, consider how you might leverage one of the many special days coming up next month.

How to leverage whacky holidays

Here are just a couple of ideas:

• Write a blog post about why one of the holidays resonates with you. For example, “Old Stuff Day” speaks to me as I spend a little time each evening donating, tossing out, or recycling some of what I’ve accumulated during two decades raising a family. I’m getting rid of “old stuff,” but maybe you’re hanging on to it. Write about why.
• Create a social media image for your favorite occasion in March and share it with a question that generates engagement. I’ll be doing that on the Build Book Buzz Facebook page on March 1, so I hope you’ll join the conversation there then.
• Write and distribute a tip sheet related to a holiday you can link to your book. Proposal Day on March 20 can lead to a tip sheet on how to propose marriage or anything else.
• Create a contest. Ask readers to submit a picture of their favorite food on a stick on March 28 and give a copy of your book to the winner.

I’m sure you can think of many, many more things you can do with any of these quirky holidays next month.

The quirkiest of quirky holidays in March

Here are a few of the whackiest special days, but be sure to check out the full list on HolidayInsights.com.

• March 1 Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day
• March 2 Old Stuff Day
• March 3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day
• March 6 National Frozen Food Day
• March 9 Panic Day
• March 10 Middle Name Pride Day
• March 11 Worship of Tools Day – guys, you can relate
• March 13 Ear Muff Day
• March 15 Dumbstruck Day
• March 16 Everything You Do is Right Day
• March 18 Supreme Sacrifice Day
• March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
• March 20 Proposal Day
• March 22 National Goof Off Day
• March 23 Melba Toast Day
• March 25 Waffle Day
• March 27 National “Joe” Day
• March 28 Something on a Stick Day
• March 28 Weed Appreciation Day

Which of these can you have fun with? Tell us about it in a comment.

I’ve created a short video that shows how to link your image quotes to any book sales page. Watch the one-minute video here to see how quickly you can be selling more books on Pinterest:

Prefer to read how to do it?

Here’s a loose transcript for those who prefer to read, not watch:

If you have an image quote on a Pinterest board that isn’t linked to your Amazon sales page, you could be missing out on sales. So, you want to make sure those image quotes are linked to your Amazon sales page. I’ll show you how using an example from my Pinterest account.

It’s three steps:

1. Start with “edit” at the top of your pin.
2. Go down to the website blank and paste in the URL for your book’s sales page on Amazon or any other online retail site.
3. Select save.

Click on my pin and you’ll see that it goes right to my Amazon sales page. It’s as easy as edit, paste, and save.

Do you think your Pinterest activity is helping you sell books? Why or why not? 

Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don’t do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals.”

I selected this quote to share because it reminded me of what I do when faced with a large, overwhelming project, such as launching a book. I break it down into smaller pieces because I am less overwhelmed by the individual actions I need to take than I am by the end goal.

Just one thing

So today, instead of dreaming about how you’d really like your book to be a New York Times best-seller or launch your speaking career, focus on doing just one thing that will bring you closer to your dream. Keep that dream in mind as you take one action step toward it.

Just one thing.

Just one thing today added to just one thing tomorrow will add up to significant progress by month’s end.

If you’d like a daily reminder about what to do, check out our “365 Daily Book Marketing Tips” — one tip a day via email for an entire year for just 99 cents total. Your first tip arrives in your inbox the day after you sign up for these daily gems.

Here’s one tip for today: Create an image quote like the one above with a sentence from your book to share on social media

If it’s nonfiction, use your book title for the source. If it’s fiction and it’s a quote from a character, use the character’s name plus the book title as the source. Learn how in the article, “How to create shareable images with quotes.”

What inspires you?

I’d love to hear from you about how you stay inspired and motivated while writing or promoting your book. We can all learn from each other. What tip would you offer other authors? Please share it in a comment.