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Using Images to Take Your Posts to a New Level

Posted By Darren Rowse 13th of November 2007 Blog Design, Video Posts 0 Comments

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With millions of blog posts being added to the web each day – bloggers need to consider more than just the content that they are posting and think about how they can design their posts to grab attention.

One element of this post design is adding images to posts.

Images enhance posts in any number of ways including by giving posts a visual point of interest, grabbing attention (great for making your RSS feed readers stop and read), drawing people’s eye down a post beyond the first few lines, illustrating examples, giving your blog a more personal touch, engaging the emotions and senses of readers and giving posts more authority.

In this video I look at some of these reasons and then give some examples of different types of images that can enhance a post (I’ve been experimenting this week with using some screen shots and moving screen captures in this video which I hope gives it more interest – I’m still learning my video editing though – so be patient with me!).

A few posts from the ProBlogger archives for further reading on different aspects of this post:

PS: yes my ‘Mo’ is growing. Don’t forget to sponsor me for Movember!

PS2: The theme song was composed by Fokissed.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. good tipps,

    in my blog i allways use images to make the article more interesting for the readers.

    greetz
    Sebamueller.net

  2. We make a point of using images on http://www.eatingbritain.com and have just got some new equipment in to take some far better photos of products we review and things that we cook!

    We will look to make use of your tips too!

  3. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in adding images to my posts is being aware of the photo dimensions and your alignment placing of it.

    A long post can be broken up easily by a large horizontal image, and a short post can seem much more substantial with a vertical image.

    Another thing to realize is if you put the wrong text alignment with the image, the photo will actually become a distraction. If you choose a right or left alignment with a horizontal image, it take up more room so there will only be 3 or 4 words per line of text.

  4. OK Darren, you convinced me. But now a new question arises: where to get quality images that can be used on commercial blogs. On some of my blogs I put photos made by myself, but the others lack a good source of graphics…

  5. Where do people get good images that can be used in blog posts?

  6. Miracle: Horizontal image which splits the post can be mistaken for a banner. And we all know how visitors don’t like banners :)

  7. I have to agree with how important images are in your blog and many times what I blog about comes from the images that I capture on that day! I have a hard time reading long blogs that have no photos in them!

  8. I search for Creative Commons images on Flickr that fit the topic I’m writing about. I completely agree that it gives the blog entries some pop!

  9. I love images and I agree they are really good to use in blog posts.

    The only thing that holds me back from using them more is knowledge – what is the best format, colour and size to use for the image when you upload it to a blog?

    Do you adjust them when in the WordPress editor? I would love to use images more, but when I do I don’t seem to be getting the best out of them because of how I have produced them. I use photoshop elements to save them for the web. Can you help?

  10. haha, Darren’s a rapper!

    Those are great tips for using images in posts. There are far too many blogs that either don’t use images at all or use images that have nothing to do with the post topic, leaving the post rather stale in my opinion, so I find I don’t stay around to read the entire post.

  11. To the people asking where to get the images from, there are many sources but here is one that I use almost exclusively:

    http://www.sxc.hu/index.phtml

    They are both royalty free and cost free which is nice if your blog is not a money maker.

    Btw Darren, I can’t seem to play this video – it asks me to save an FLV file. Is there some kind of viewer available? Shame it doesn’t play embedded.

  12. Ugh sorry to answer my own question – if I view this in Firefox it plays fine but if I view it in my offline reader (Feed Demon) it doesn’t. FD uses IE as it’s browser engine I think but I don’t know what version. It plays fine in IE7 too – you might want to check older versions of IE.

  13. I always like to use images to add interest and color to a post. Particularly because I use a black background and this I feel helps the images ‘pop’.

    I am in the learning stages of video and will be implementing my own video in the near future.

  14. Please don’t try to be rapper anymore we like you as Problogger better :)

    Nice intro !!

  15. Your music is hilarious. :)
    There is a reason most ads in magazines use images. I also doubt many magazines would even sell if there were no images.
    It probably works the same for blogs.

  16. You can find a great source of free images at Stock.Xchng (www.sxc.hu)

    I did a review about them on my blog that details the most important info about using their site. There are just a few restrictions — amazingly few for the quality of images you can get there. You can read the review at http://b2bcontent.wordpress.com/book-reviews/stockxchng-free-photography/.

  17. Images can also be used wrong: it’s kinda sad to look at images that aren’t related to the blog post.

  18. No doubt adding an image to blog post will increase the effectiveness of the post itself.

  19. You need images for your posts because a picture says more than a 1,000 words and really makes people take notice. It’s easier to describe what you’re talking about with a picture and gives your readers a better idea of what you’re talking about.

  20. Yeah visual aids of any sort really help enhance the post.. I’ve been placing 1 image on every post that I do daily..

    Not to mention that I get hits on Google image searches. One of my blog get thousands of hits a day because of the images..

    But I don’t think that is significant because usually people just want the image and don’t bother looking at your blog.. what do you think?

  21. the mo is actually taking the trucker mo shape. amazing!!

    well, Images can enhance content when appropriately used. The saying “a picture worth a million words” is still valid as when it was coined. But when images are used inappropriately make your writing look cartoonlike. That’s why Dosh Dosh is not my favorite site.

  22. I think pictures with every post can help with your sites branding. It’s like doshdosh does with his site and the Japanese characters. It’s perfect for branding your site. I don’t do it yet on my hunting tips blog, but i’m going to start adding a picture of a deer or animal that is related to my post to every post. This i hope will help my branding which is key in blogging.

  23. While your at it, if you want to learn about doing food photography (even or especially with your point and shoot camera) come on over and be a part of our Food Photo 101 class!

    See a review of last week at this link: http://nikas-culinaria.com/2007/11/11/fp101-1-review/

    Register and play along as we get you hooked up with GOOD photos for your blog.

    Nothing is more buzz-killing than a dark static photo.

    BTW – I think images on blogs are NECESSARY. But thats just me, a food photographer and foodie.

    You can build a following based on your images alone.

    Nika
    ______
    http://nikas-culinaria.com
    http://nikaboyce.com

  24. Hi,
    Actually this is my first read in this blog. I was really surprised to find a video post. Here the author talks about using images to stand out from the rest. but in reality, he stands out from the rest by this video posts. This is just awesome and the information is really worth.

    I also learnt that pictures and videos are mandatory for blogs today.

  25. I get my images for free at http://www.office.microsoft.com and found that it makes all the difference adding an image to my articles by the comments I have received.

  26. This is for sure the next thing I need to start doing to my blog. I like the content , but it looks so boring. An image a post would do a lot for it.

  27. Since I run a Blog that is all images, it work well and seems to be pretty sticky. I had heard the reverse…you need more writing.

    RobG

  28. 5 Timeless Ways of Including Images in your Post:

    1. Sprawling Header – A header image with the title of the post written on it.. its mighty useful if one uses the more tag .. let the image capture attention and draw readers to read more of what otherwise would have been a very bland topic

    2. Logos – Like Darren says in the video as well as what we see in his regular posts.. there are many advantages of using logos during product reviews.. one of th key benefits is that it gives us the leverage to come up with catchy headlines than a “my review of bonsai trees”, while leaving the image to tell what is it that we are talking about

    3. Images instead of bullets – This is mighty useful in blogs.. it adds value and also improves scan-ability of posts..

    4. Line breakers – This can be used by those who write long and winding posts.. these posts can be a drag at times, and using images at the right junctures can make sure people at least scan the entire thing if not read…

    5. Brand & Style – Images can be great branding tools.. Maki’s blog provides the best example for this.. but this doesn’t mean you start using animes on your blog…the point is to use images constantly at a certain point in your posts… to develop an identity or style.. for instance I always used to put an image with some funny quotes right at the end of all my posts in one of my erstwhile blogs.. gave me quite a good following till i stopped abruptly…

    Thanks Darren for allowing me this guest post on your comment box.. :)

    Catchy Headline courtesy Brian Clark

    Flashy Comment – Idea by Caroline M

    Additional credits
    For anything else that didn’t go down well with you guys .. – My parents

  29. Darren I have been experimenting with images more lately. When I first began blogging my posts were all text, but I’m much more conscious of the presentation of that text now and try to add more visual interest.

    Whitespace can work well to add visual interest. Lists are great for this. Quotes work well too. Anything that’s styled differently than a typical paragraph can add visual interest.

    I’d be interested to know where you find the images you use. Screenshots and logos are obvious to me where they come from, but do you use a specific stock photography site to find images? What do you use to create the charts and graphs?

    A post on the tools you use to find and/or create images would be very useful.

  30. I am looking forword to your next video post.
    Cool music. ;)

  31. Since stopping by your blog around six months ago I quickly picked up that pictures were a must, and now I do use an image(s) in each post and somewhat become annoyed with bloggers who don’t include any pictures at all – not even a snapshot of a site or blog they maybe reviewing – very annoying.
    I also now use blogjet – recommended by you – and have found that this is sooo much easier to use than wordpress’s text editing software (not that great at html).
    Just like to add, that apart from pictures I also think that different coloured h1’s and h2’s are also good for bloggers to implement – what do you think?

  32. Hi Darren,

    It’s very interesting that you write about the power of pictures in blogs today. I was just catching up on my RSS feeds when the lead picture in your article “The Process of Going Pro as a Blogger” really caught my eye. I probably would have read the article anyways, but that picture really got my attention. Normally images attract my eye, but this one picture really really drew me in! It’s a perfect example of the power of images to draw in attention to the article.

    Regards,
    Steph

  33. I just realized I forgot to put the link to your article I mentioned in my above comment. It’s: https://problogger.com/the-process-of-going-pro-as-a-blogger/.

  34. I’ve never really used Images on my blog before. I’ve used video’s every now and then.

    Images have never really grabbed my attention from a posting side. I haven’t really tried it.
    What you say, Makes allot of sense. I’ll probably start using images more often now.
    I’ll try and use images on my next post. :)

    Thanx Darren.

  35. Thanks everyone for the comments.

    The theme song was composed by Fokissed.

  36. I try to include pics in almost all of my posts (every couple posts at the bare minimum). Surprisingly, my readers actually have requested more pics…of me! I run a cooking/weight loss blog so perhaps that makes my situation unique, but I think that helps me connect with the readers and when they see an interesting pic of me doing something, I think that makes them more likely to read the post.

    p.s. I’m digging the “mo”!

  37. My question is the time involved.

    (Thanks for the links to the sites to source images).

    To those of you who do use pictures: how do you not spend hours just searching through the thousands of images available? Is it that you have just put in the time and so now know where to go?

    I don’t blog full time so can’t spend too much time searching. One of my blogs is pretty specialist, acupuncture, and I haven’t yet found one image that I would want to use for it.

    So if you have strategies to speed up the search process I really want to hear.

    Thanks.

  38. Since my post tend to be one the shorter side, I usually go for one picture that captures the thought behind the blog. If it’s a how-to article, I’ll use something literal. If it’s a post about how I feel about something, I try to get a picture that illustrates my feelings.

  39. Nowadays, i am always using pictures on my blog, in between post that are long which could give the readers a little something to visualise.

  40. I’ve started putting pictures with almost all of my blogs and I’ve almost double my stats straight away. I actually surpassed my stats from last month by hitting 100,000 hits already this month.

    Cheers,
    Carlo Selorio

  41. Images are good to sustain existing visitor and attract new visitors to your blog. I always adding images to my post because it looks better with images attached on it.I think most of the peoples will started to read only if something could catches their attention.

  42. Hi,

    I compiled a list of photo repositories, for the so called “Free stock photos”:

    http://www.energybyte.com/web_design/2007/09/01/free-stock-photos/

    Read the usage terms before uploading photos to your blog!

  43. It is very correct, when i add some pics in my blogs, the reader is become more and more…

  44. I try to use an image in every post I make. The only time I don’t is when there isn’t an image to go along with the topic I may be writing about, or i can’t find a suitable one.

  45. I’ve been trying to get into the habit of using images more often. I really like how they make the posts look, and I’ve realized that I like seeing images when reading other people’s blogs.

  46. All hail the stache!

  47. I love using images, and with the short, sweet potential of the html tag. Positioning and size is critical to appeal. I do not bother with blogger’s tag creator, it adds a jumble of unnecessary resizing attributes which i just cannot stomach.

  48. Photo sources:
    http://www.istockphoto.com ($1-2, great for ideas)
    http://www.sxc.hu (free)
    http://flickr.com (free, images licensed under creative commons. don’t forget to add link to photographer/source)
    We also take a lot of photos ourselves at events or project sites.

    cat

  49. Definetly Darren! ;)

    Btw, for those you don’t know how to upload an image on the net, just follow my simple tutorial (with pictures) here: http://wakish.info/?p=27

    – Wakish –

  50. Thanks for the great advice. My blog really needs some more color and pictures would definitely spruce things up. I think the hardest part is getting pictures that I can use on the site.

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