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While for a typical blog post it is the text, the writing and the “story” being told that is important, the use of images is important to create not only an interesting blog but creating a blog that captures its audience’s attention. Of course those images should reflect what the blog is about therefore matching the needs and wants of the targeted audience. Improving the reader experience, it is also important to remember it is the placing of the image as well as what the image is portraying.
Your choice of image is important. In most editorial compositions images are used and become an important and recognizable part of the bloggers message and “story”.
Images can be used as headers that direct the eye to the main points, dressing up the post and making the reader want to “hang around” and read more.
The use of a particular image in an article, give extra information in an easier readable form, and entertain. These images could be photographs, either stock photographs or self-taken photographs, remember, be sure that they are a of a good quality high resolution. You can obtain great quality free photos at Pexels.
A high quality photograph can also be enhanced, edited or even by creating collages (or even hide the odd blemish!) you could use professional image editing software like Adobe Photoshop. Or you could find the free alternative using Pic Monkey.
There are loads of free options to help create outstanding images for your blog. You may even consider paying for the more advanced features if you wish to. However the great thing about this site is that it is incredibly easy to use!
Using images help to create a wider audience as they can easily be shared, perhaps through Facebook, Tumbler or Pinterest. Every share, every click can bring in further audience members to your blog.
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Humor is also an interesting way to capture an audience’s attention. Thus, funny cartoon illustration is another great choice. Cartoons can be drawn up, designed and inserted into the blog, or perhaps the use of stock cartoons. For royalty free cartoons you could find them at Shutter Stock
or download free cartoons here. And of course you can hire professional artist like me :).
Using infographics – which are visual presentations of information – use elements of design to portray the complicated subject or even turn something boring into a captivating image. These graphics should be visually catching and should contain a subject matter which is linked to information and text in your blog, so appealing to your target audience. It is a great way of presenting data quickly and concisely, illustrating a point and clarifying the data being displayed.
Good illustrations that can be created, scanned and saved as jpegs and added to a blog or perhaps even through the use of stock illustrations. Remember that you don’t have to use your own – just do a quick search and you will find many websites that provide illustrations for no cost to you! If you lack artistic ability – don’t worry – there are many source on the net that can assist. One brilliant sources for free blog images is Flickr.com, with a wide variety of images available through creative licenses. For an explanation of the different types of licenses and tips on searching Flickr for blog post images look at which is a complete guide to finding and using Flickr images. However remember you can’t use any photograph, read their policy before using their image on your blog.
Another great point when using images is that images can be optimized for search engines adding a SEO element to your blog. SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and is a way of manipulating your blog and images to improve your chances of your blog appearing higher in web searches – that’s if course if you want to drive more internet users who have a similar interest or are of your target audience to your blog. It’s complicated but try reading this first – it’s a simple definition and explanation of what you would need to do.
Images also can provide another way of being listed in web search results – The Google Webmaster Tools article provides tips on getting your images returned on search results.
Have you thought of creating a logo for your blog? Vector images are a great way to create a logo, these are “flat” images that can be resized but still hold their resolution and shape. And while you could create your own there are also loads of sites that you can obtain free vector downloads.
You can also create a logo through other free website logo creators, one great logo creator is Create Your Own Logo where you can create and download your logo to use on your blog. Remember though that a logo should be simple, appropriate and more importantly memorable, matching your target audience. Just think of brands who have a simple but eye catching image that portrays the brand and is instantly recognizable. That’s what you want your logo image to be!
So, I hope this guide is useful for you. Just think before you place an image into your blog. Is it relevant? Does it reflect what you want to say? Is it in the right place, as placement is very important, you want to keep your audience’s attention to the very end of your blog, keeping them reading and want to come back for more! Can you use the images to improve search results? Can your blog be higher in a general web search for the interests and topics your blog has?
Putting images into your blog is easy and straightforward, so try it and see the improvement of how your blog is read and how your target audience reacts favorably! Give it a go!
And if you need a professional cartoonist or an illustrator with low budget, you can always contact me 🙂
