Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Using Images in Blogs






Even the simplest visual can add a whole new element to your blog and help to capture the attention of readers. Some blog pros often suggest adding images whenever you can to make the reading experience more pleasant for the reader.Endless lines of content can make reading information uninteresting and even tiring, but adding an image or two helps to break up the content. This improves the flow of the article as well as boosting the quality of the blog.

Finding Pictures

That said, there are a few considerations to be kept in mind when you want to add pictures to your blog. Legal implications are probably among the most important, since you don’t want to gain a reputation for copyright infringement. So the first thing you want to do is make sure you have the right to use the image, which can be done by:

•    Taking the picture yourself
•    Paying someone to take it
•    Purchasing the image
•    Requesting the right to use the image and giving credit
•    Using free photos from sites that grant the right

Most bloggers don’t have much of a budget to begin with so buying pictures may not be possible, at least for a while. Public domain sites that offer free images could be the answer to this problem. On top of this, once you have the images you have to know how to use them effectively. A few suggestions in this regard are:

•   Place photos/pictures at or near the top of the article. Putting them after 
your blog serves no purpose and they could end up being missed.
•    Make sure images are suitable for the content being provided.
•    Edit the photo so that it fits the layout and to keep it from being too large
•    Search for information on crediting your picture sources if this is not already provided on the websites themselves.

Don’t hesitate to dress up your blog and keep it from being an almost endless stream of text. Otherwise you might want to consider shortening the blog to make sure readers don’t get bored. Readers losing interest is not necessarily an indictment on your writing skills. Just remember that you are competing for the time of people who really don’t have a lot to spare. Anything that makes your blog more entertaining is worth the effort. Web content writing is much more than great copy.

2 comments:

  1. I have to admit, I don't use many photos on my posts. I have quite a lot of stuff going on over on the sidebars so I just think adding another photo to the mix doesn't work as well for my blog. But, I do understand for SEO purposes, I need to get my head in the ballgame! LOL

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  2. Great tips. I love to look at blogs that have a visual element. It is more engaging and definitely allows me to see the creativity of the author.

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