One of the easiest methods I use to advertise to myself is to simply print a picture of what I want. Images can have a lot of impact on us because our brains learned to respond to visual cues long before we invented language. Advertisers know that; it’s why they use them so much.
The internet is a rich source of images for your personal ad campaigns. Do you want to work somewhere? Download their logo. Go somewhere? Find some great photos of that place. Own something? It’s easy to get a picture of it off of a website. Read something? Grab a copy of the book cover from Amazon.com.
It is easy to download any picture you find on the internet. Do be aware that all photos and graphics are the property of the website owner, and it is not legal to re-use them publicly or for commercial purposes without permission. But we only need the material for our personal use, which is fine.
Download an image to a PC
- Find a picture on a website that you want to download and click on it with your right mouse button. A context menu will pop up offering a list of options.
- From that menu, select Save Image As… and then choose a location to save the file. The default location that most Windows PCs will pick for you is usually My Documents > My Photos, but you can save it wherever you want by clicking on the folder of your choicer.
- Click Save.
Your mileage may vary slightly, depending on which version of Windows you are running – for example, older versions might say Save Picture As…
Open the file and print the picture
Once the image file is saved to your computer you need to open it in a software program that knows how to deal with pictures. Any one will do for now.
The easiest method on a Windows computer is to just double-click on the image file. In most cases it will open up the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.
- Click the little printer icon at the bottom of that window to open up the Photo Printing Wizard.
- Click Next a couple of times until you see the picture.
- Pick the size you want under Available Layouts
- Click Next one more time to print your picture.
If double-clicking does not open the default image viewer it is usually because you have some other image editing software installed on your computer. That’s fine. Just figure out how to print your photo from that program. If you’re not sure, click on Help on the menu bar.
Download and print a picture on a Mac.
- Drag the picture from the web page to your desktop.
- Then double-click on the icon. That will open a window in Preview.
- Pull down the File menu and select Print.
- Click the Print button.
Install the ad in your environment
Now place your photo someplace where you are likely to notice it every day. Bulletin boards are good. So is the refrigerator. I’ve noticed it can be effective to put it someplace where there is other stuff you have accepted as normal, like photos of your family, take-out menus, cartoons, phone numbers, schedules, business cards, etc. Maybe integrating the image into the familiar helps the outlaw idea slip by the part of our conscious minds that would normally want to argue with it. On the other hand, if you really want it to be in your face – literally – put it on the bathroom mirror.
That’s all you need to do. Leave the photo up for as long as you have positive feelings about it. If you notice a negative twinge more than once, or it feels neutral for a sustained period of time, I’d suggest that you take it down and try a different image.
