Are you struggling to get your head around images? I know I am. Is it worth it?
Images are important because they make your posts more attractive to your readers. You are more likely to get Pinterest Pins, Facebook likes, etc. if you have images in your posts.
What Kind of Images?
Photos
You need to have a photo editing program that you are comfortable using. You must be able to resize and crop photos using your editor.
I use an ancient program called Xara Webstyle 4 that uses slider controls for every function. This program is no longer available new, but search eBay and you might get lucky. Otherwise use simple photo editing software like Google’s Picasa.
Photos in teasers make them more appealing. I use Webstyle to resize my post images to 66 x 66 for these. Some themes automatically resize your post images. I have not yet learned how to do this using Thesis.
There are numerous sources of free images on the Internet. I use Art.com (link back to art.com is required), morguefile.com and Microsft Office images (https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/??lc=en-us).
Word Jumbles
At the end of each post I use an image of all the important word in each post. Some visitors like it; others don’t, but it is easy to ignore.
Visit Wordle.net (free) and you can paste in your post text and get a ‘wordle’. You can change its appearance by hitting randomise until you get one you like.
To get a large image of your wordle you need to use a screen copy utility. I use a ScreenShot Pro, but there is a free version. Once you have your sceenshot you can crop and resize it on your own computer.
InfoGraphics
These are the hardest. I spent three hours with pen and paper trying to map out an infographic for one post. I know what I am going to do now, and that’s a job for a quiet Monday morning.
Infographics can get you lots of links from other sites, so they are worth the effort. I intend to use MyBlogGuest.com to show mine off and get links and grow my user-base.
I have downloaded Dia, a free flowchart program, from Gnome.org. I am still learning to use it and this is slowing down my infographic production. I did have the idea of including an infographic with each post, but that is going to take too long, so I will keep those for occasional use.
Icons
I have never used graphics before and found a free source of icons that you can download. You do need to register.
I wanted people icons, currency symbols and arrows and managed to find everything I needed on FindIcons.com (https://findicons.com/). Some of their images can be downloaded as 256 x 256, which gives you another source of free post images.
Clipart
The best source of public domain clipart is Clker.com ( https://www.clker.com/clipart-4603.html). You need to have this at your fingertips whenever you are writing a post.
Over to You
Are images a distraction or a necessity?
What editing software do you use?
Which image sources do you use?
Have you tried Wordles or Infographics yet?
Written by Phil Turner, an ex-teacher from Ireland. Phil believes that to succeed in anything you have to help others and share your own knowledge. He makes a living mostly by writing on his own sites, which include HowToMakeExtraMoneyWriting.com and 21CWoman.com.
Related articles
- 4 Sites To Get Free Images for Your InfoBarrel Articles (infobarrel.com)
- 5 ways to tell you brand’s story visually (prdaily.com)
- 10 Free Tools To Create Visually Appealing Infographics (smashingapps.com)
{ 0 comments… add one now }