With an estimated 152 million blogs in existence as of 2018, it is now more challenging than ever before to make a new blog stand out. Although not all of these blogs are active or seeking monetary gain, thousands of individuals have turned to blogging as their source of part-time or even full-time income. Aside from content, one of the more crucial components of any blog is the choice of images used. In addition to making your blog visually appealing, the use of engaging photography has been proven to boost social shares and search engine visibility. If you’re looking for some of the best ways to stand out as a new blogger, explore some of the important reasons you should use your own images for almost every post.
Your audience has already seen common free stock images
According to the experts at CanvasPop, using your own images for everything from your home decor to your blog is essential for many reasons. In the marketing/blogging sphere, thousands of individuals have started taking advantage of free stock image websites for their imagery needs. However, because so many people are using the top free commercial stock image sites, your audience has likely already seen the images that you plan to use. To ensure that your images are fresh and never-been-seen, it is important to hire a photographer, or to take your own high-quality images.
Avoid potential copyright issues
Many bloggers are still unclear as to what images they can/cannot use legally for their blogs. While some bloggers think it’s OK to take a screenshot of any image they find and use it for their blog, others have a healthy sense of caution in this area. The reality is that, although many images are shared on social sites, it is not OK to take images without permission for your blog. Bloggers who do not follow this important rule can open themselves up to legal issues with the image owner. Additionally, if you are unclear about which sites allow free commercial use of stock images, you could be unintentionally opening yourself up to copyright issues. The safest bet is to use your own images for each post to avoid any potential legal problems.
Create engaging images for each blog post
At a pinch, stock image sites can provide a “good enough” image for a post. However, if you want to keep your posts highly relevant and engaging, using your own photos can achieve this goal. Stock image sites usually offer images that are general, and do not feature the specifics that you might be discussing. For example, if you’re a fashion blogger planning to talk about your latest finds, you could include a generic stock image of something fashion-related. Alternatively, you could make your post much more engaging with an image that features some of the exact wardrobe pieces that you plan to talk about.
Despite the usefulness of commercial stock image websites, nothing helps your blog stand out quite as much as your own images. Capture your audience’s attention with bright, highly-relevant pictures that visually capture what each post discusses.
