Infographic tools for dummies

A lot has been written about the use of infographics. Just Google “Why use infographics” and dozens of articles appear. I don’t need anyone to give me five reasons why I should be using them, I know I should, the challenge has been how to start.

I will be the first to admit I am no artist, my stick men even need help, so I wasn’t sure that creating infographics was the way to go. However, I found a number of websites that have allowed me to become more creative, by either working with pre-existing templates or, as I have become more adept, creating my own.

Here are a few that I have tried. All are free, but do offer more if you pay.

One that I have been using a lot – mostly because of its simplicity – is canva.com. This website allows you to create not only infographics, but also posts for social media including memes, Facebook covers, Instagram posts, Twitter posts, magazine covers, etc.

I like this one because you can use an existing template, modify an existing template or create your own template. Changing backgrounds, fonts and layouts is simple and, although they offer a limited amount of artwork for free (you can get more for the paid version) you can upload your own art as well. I created this infographic using canva.com

Easel.ly is another free site that allows users to create infographics from scratch, or start from one of the pre-made "Vhemes." I have used this site as well and found it to be as easy as canva.com. What I like about it is that others share their infographics, which is great when you are looking for ideas for your own infographics. I created this visual with easel.ly.

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If you are into making charts and graphs, then infogr.am is for you. You will find templates that allow you to plug in your own statistics and then customize the template using either what is already provided, or by adding your own media, photos, maps and charts. I have been sniffing around this one, but so far I have not had the chance to try it out.

If you are into marketing you may have heard of Hubspot, an inbound marketing and sales software platform. It offers ten free infographic templates in Powerpoint. Personally, I have tried these in the past and I am not a fan, but if you are comfortable working in Powerpoint you may like this platform. You can check it out here.

There are a host of other infographic creators out there including venngage.com, piktochart.com, and visme.co, to name a few. Each has its pros and cons and how well you can use them will depend on your own skillset. Each also offers free versions, with limitations. Each offers more options with the paid versions.

Infographics are visually appealing, easily shareable and share complex information in a simple way. If you haven’t tried, give it a shot, it could make your content go viral. If you have created an infographic on a site I haven't mentioned please share your experience.

Susan R. Miller is founder of Garton-Miller Media, a full-service, South Florida based public relations firm. Susan is a former journalist with more than 30 years of experience.