[modern soapmaking] A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ...
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts What’s one of the most powerful ways...
To convey a message in a post? With an image.
Yes, blog posts are all about the content and message. But remember the old adage:
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS This handy dandy little guide from Modern Soapmaking will tell you everything you need to know to use images properly in blog posts, from using images (and fonts) legally, where to find relevant and beautiful photographs, and how to create eye-popping gorgeous graphics.
READY TO FIND OUT HOW?
[Modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts LET’S TALK LEGALESE: LEGALLY USING IMAGES It’s a common misconception that doing a quick Google Image search is the best way to find photos to use in blog posts and other marketing materials. A lot of people assume that if you can find an image on the web, you are free to use it.
AND THAT’S JUST NOT THE CASE. Imagine if someone found one of your product photos on a Google Image search and decided to use it in their blog post or marketing materials for their own indie biz. That wouldn’t make for happy times, would it? Images are copyrighted works of art. Immediately. As soon as they are created. Even if there is no copyright statement or symbol to be found. The image creator is the image owner unless otherwise stated. When an image creator decides to grant rights to others, this is called licensing.
IMAGE LICENSING ISN’T AS SCARY AS IT SOUNDS. This simply means that the image owner lays out their terms of usage for an image. Some images are completely royalty and attribution free, which means anyone anywhere can use them however they like. Others require attribution (which means credit to the owner) without any financial outlay. And so on. There are plenty of different ways images can be licensed, the most common ways are by using a Creative Commons license variation. (Click here to check out the different CC licenses) So, when you go looking for an image to use in a blog post, always check the license and see what is needed in order for you to use it.
AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS SO YOU ARE USING IMAGES COMMERCIALLY. NON-COMMERCIAL LICENSES DON’T APPLY!
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts WHERE TO HUNT A GOOD PHOTO DOWN There are tons of resources for free (no-financial commitment) photos and images on the web that can be used legally for commercial purposes. Hurray, good news! Before using any photo, remember to check it’s license to see what you need to do to use it legally.
IMAGES YOU CAN USE BUT NOT EDIT • GETTY IMAGES made headlines last year with their new service that allows you to embed photos from their database using their own code to display the image - http://www.gettyimages.com/ embed
PORTALS THAT SEARCH DATABASES FOR FREE PHOTOS • PHOTO PIN searches FLICKR for images that are marked by their owners with Creative Commons licenses that allow them to be used by others - http://www.photopin.com • CAN WE IMAGE searches WIKIPEDIA COMMONS for images that can be used by others, including images in the public domain - http://www.canweimage.com
CURATED ARTISTIC + EDITORIAL PHOTOS • UNSPLASH posts ten new high resolution photos every ten days that are donated by photographers. They are always totally free to use in any way you wish without attribution - http://www. unsplash.com • GRATISOGRAPHY is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by a single photographer, Ryan McGuire, with new images added weekly. Completely free of terms or attribution requirements - http://www.gratisography.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts CURATED ARTISTIC + EDITORIAL PHOTOS (CONT’D) • UNSPLASH posts ten new high resolution photos every ten days that are donated by photographers. They are always totally free to use in any way you wish without attribution - http://www. unsplash.com • GRATISOGRAPHY is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by photographer Ryan McGuire, with new images added weekly. Completely free of terms or attribution requirements - http://www.gratisography.com • SUPER FAMOUS is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by photographer Folkert Gorter. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which means you must credit the photographer - http://www.superfamous.com
EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS OF PHOTOS DELIVERED VIA EMAIL • LITTLE VISUALS is a collection of seven high resolution photographs emailed weekly. Past weeks are available for download. Completely free to use - http://www.littlevisuals.co • DEATH TO STOCK PHOTOS is a collection of high resolution photographs emailed monthly. There is a photographer-specific license in place that is viewable - http://join.deathtothestockphoto.com
PUBLIC DOMAIN + VINTAGE IMAGES • PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTURES is a database of images that fall in the public domain. Free to use, however, commercial usage may require a model release. See each photo for specifications on how they may be licensed - http://www.publicdomainpictures.net • NEW OLD STOCK is an image archive of vintage photographs. Free of any known copyright restrictions - http://nos.twnsnd.co
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts ROYALTY FREE IMAGE DATABASES • PICJUMBO is a database of completely free photographs to use in personal and commercial work with the exception of reselling the photos themselves. - http://www.picjumbo.com/ • IM FREE is a collection of free resources for use in personal and commercial works, including photographs, templates, icons, and other elements. Each item has it’s own license, so pay attention! - http://www.imcreator.com/free • RGB STOCK is a database of images that are available under different licenses (attribution requirements) but are royalty free for personal and commercial use. Check individual licenses before using any images. - http://www.rgbstock.com • STOCK VAULT is a database of user submitted photographs and images. Check each individual image’s usage guidelines for license details. - http://www.stockvault.net • MORGUEFILE is a database of royalty free photos contributed by the community that has been around since 1996. Pay attention to individual image licenses. - http://www.morguefile.com • PIXABAY is a database of royalty free stock photos that are free to be used, modified, distributed, and used in personal or commercial works (public domain images.) - http://www.pixabay. com • FREE IMAGES is a database of royalty free stock photos that are free to be used, modified, distributed, and used in personal or commercial works. You may NOT use images of people to endorse products, or resell the images. - http://www.freeimages.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts MAKING THE PRETTIES PRETTIER Now that you’ve found amazing photographs and illustrations to use in your blog posts and marketing materials, it’s time to pretty them up! Don’t have Photoshop? No problem.
THERE ARE A TON OF GREAT FREE TOOLS FOR IMAGE EDITING + CREATION! Whether you want to add some text, create a collage, or design an infographic, there are plenty of resources out there. Want some directions? Here’s your map:
FREE DESKTOP IMAGE EDITING PROGRAM • GIMP is free and powerful graphic editing program that’s strikingly similar to Photoshop. You can use it to edit images, including photos for blog posts but also for editing product photography, marketing materials, and more! - http://www.gimp.org
FREE BROWSER BASED IMAGE EDITING SOFTWARE • PICMONKEY is free graphic editing program that is super sweet because it’s browser based. It’s great for basic editing, like what you need for blog posts. There are free and premium versions, with the paid access granting you more tools, filters, fonts, and the like. New features are added often! - http://www.picmonkey.com • CANVA is free graphic editing program similar to PICMONKEY. It’s also browser-based with a variety of tools for basic editing. Unlike PicMonkey, Canva has it’s own free stock photos, images, and graphics to use built into the software. AWESOME. - http://www.canva.com • BE FUNKY is a browser based photo editor similar to Canva or Picmonkey, however, it’s focus is on photography editing and collage making rather than general graphics. - http://www.befunky.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts OTHER COOL IMAGE CREATION AND EDITING TOOLS • SOCIAL IMAGE RESIZER is a tool that is just too cool not to mention. While you can’t fully edit images, this tool will resize any image to dimensions needed for common social media image placement, like Facebook cover photos or website favicons. - http://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/seo-tools/favicon-generator-crop-images/ • PHOTOVISI is a tool for creating collages of images that look like scrapbook pages, rather than the linear collages that are created by PICMONKEY. - http://www.photovisi.com • RECITE THIS is a tool to create those cool quote images you see on social media everywhere. Pop in your quote and create away. It does tag the bottom of the image with the RECITE THIS logo and information. - http://www.recitethis.com • QUOZIO is a similar tool to RECITE THIS, with predefined styles and an easy to use interface. While the styles are more limited, QUOZIO does not tag images with a logo! - http://www. quozio.com • PINWORDS is similar to both RECITE THIS and QUOZIO, however, you can use your own images. It does tag the bottom of images with PINWORDS’ url and information. - http://www.pinwords. com • PINSTAMATIC makes pins. For Pinterest. This tool is really cool, and is a must-see for any Pinterest addict biz owner. - http://www.pinstamatic.com • EASELLY is a tool for creating visual ideas, like infographics. - http://www.easel.ly • INFOGR.AM is a more robust tool for creating infographics. - http://www.infogr.am • PIKTOCHART is (in my opinion) the most robust tool for creating infographics, and has the option of free or premium accounts. Premium users receive access to more features and tools than free users. - http://www.piktochart.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts USING YOUR ROCKSTAR IMAGES IN BLOG POSTS Here’s some super tips on using images in blog posts in the best possible way to optimize all that hard work.
BEFORE UPLOADING Before you use any images in blog posts, rename them and include relevant keywords in the file name. Yes, it matters. SEO loves you, too. Resize images to the appropriate size that you will be using in your blog post. Uploading images that are bigger in size than what you need with take up valuable real estate on your website storage space and slow down the loading time.
BEFORE PUBLISHING Images cannot be seen by search engine spiders, so you must use your newfound SEO knowledge to make the best of the situation. Make sure to fill in your ALT tag on any images used. In Wordpress, this is the Alternative Text field shown in the Image’s Media Library entry. Use relevant keywords in your ALT tag. If you need to do this with HTML, here is what your image’s code should look like: Also, every time you use an image in a blog post, create a caption for the image if your platform supports them. Wordpress offers the Caption field right next to the Alternative Text field. Again, use your keywords and relevant text!
AND A LITTLE TIP BEFORE WE PART WAYS: Why not masterbatch your image collecting and editing for multiple blog posts at one time? It saves time and gives you something to look forward to! It’s like a reward for blogging!
To convey a message in a post? With an image.
Yes, blog posts are all about the content and message. But remember the old adage:
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS This handy dandy little guide from Modern Soapmaking will tell you everything you need to know to use images properly in blog posts, from using images (and fonts) legally, where to find relevant and beautiful photographs, and how to create eye-popping gorgeous graphics.
READY TO FIND OUT HOW?
[Modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts LET’S TALK LEGALESE: LEGALLY USING IMAGES It’s a common misconception that doing a quick Google Image search is the best way to find photos to use in blog posts and other marketing materials. A lot of people assume that if you can find an image on the web, you are free to use it.
AND THAT’S JUST NOT THE CASE. Imagine if someone found one of your product photos on a Google Image search and decided to use it in their blog post or marketing materials for their own indie biz. That wouldn’t make for happy times, would it? Images are copyrighted works of art. Immediately. As soon as they are created. Even if there is no copyright statement or symbol to be found. The image creator is the image owner unless otherwise stated. When an image creator decides to grant rights to others, this is called licensing.
IMAGE LICENSING ISN’T AS SCARY AS IT SOUNDS. This simply means that the image owner lays out their terms of usage for an image. Some images are completely royalty and attribution free, which means anyone anywhere can use them however they like. Others require attribution (which means credit to the owner) without any financial outlay. And so on. There are plenty of different ways images can be licensed, the most common ways are by using a Creative Commons license variation. (Click here to check out the different CC licenses) So, when you go looking for an image to use in a blog post, always check the license and see what is needed in order for you to use it.
AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS SO YOU ARE USING IMAGES COMMERCIALLY. NON-COMMERCIAL LICENSES DON’T APPLY!
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts WHERE TO HUNT A GOOD PHOTO DOWN There are tons of resources for free (no-financial commitment) photos and images on the web that can be used legally for commercial purposes. Hurray, good news! Before using any photo, remember to check it’s license to see what you need to do to use it legally.
IMAGES YOU CAN USE BUT NOT EDIT • GETTY IMAGES made headlines last year with their new service that allows you to embed photos from their database using their own code to display the image - http://www.gettyimages.com/ embed
PORTALS THAT SEARCH DATABASES FOR FREE PHOTOS • PHOTO PIN searches FLICKR for images that are marked by their owners with Creative Commons licenses that allow them to be used by others - http://www.photopin.com • CAN WE IMAGE searches WIKIPEDIA COMMONS for images that can be used by others, including images in the public domain - http://www.canweimage.com
CURATED ARTISTIC + EDITORIAL PHOTOS • UNSPLASH posts ten new high resolution photos every ten days that are donated by photographers. They are always totally free to use in any way you wish without attribution - http://www. unsplash.com • GRATISOGRAPHY is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by a single photographer, Ryan McGuire, with new images added weekly. Completely free of terms or attribution requirements - http://www.gratisography.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts CURATED ARTISTIC + EDITORIAL PHOTOS (CONT’D) • UNSPLASH posts ten new high resolution photos every ten days that are donated by photographers. They are always totally free to use in any way you wish without attribution - http://www. unsplash.com • GRATISOGRAPHY is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by photographer Ryan McGuire, with new images added weekly. Completely free of terms or attribution requirements - http://www.gratisography.com • SUPER FAMOUS is a collection of high resolution photographs created and curated by photographer Folkert Gorter. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which means you must credit the photographer - http://www.superfamous.com
EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS OF PHOTOS DELIVERED VIA EMAIL • LITTLE VISUALS is a collection of seven high resolution photographs emailed weekly. Past weeks are available for download. Completely free to use - http://www.littlevisuals.co • DEATH TO STOCK PHOTOS is a collection of high resolution photographs emailed monthly. There is a photographer-specific license in place that is viewable - http://join.deathtothestockphoto.com
PUBLIC DOMAIN + VINTAGE IMAGES • PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTURES is a database of images that fall in the public domain. Free to use, however, commercial usage may require a model release. See each photo for specifications on how they may be licensed - http://www.publicdomainpictures.net • NEW OLD STOCK is an image archive of vintage photographs. Free of any known copyright restrictions - http://nos.twnsnd.co
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts ROYALTY FREE IMAGE DATABASES • PICJUMBO is a database of completely free photographs to use in personal and commercial work with the exception of reselling the photos themselves. - http://www.picjumbo.com/ • IM FREE is a collection of free resources for use in personal and commercial works, including photographs, templates, icons, and other elements. Each item has it’s own license, so pay attention! - http://www.imcreator.com/free • RGB STOCK is a database of images that are available under different licenses (attribution requirements) but are royalty free for personal and commercial use. Check individual licenses before using any images. - http://www.rgbstock.com • STOCK VAULT is a database of user submitted photographs and images. Check each individual image’s usage guidelines for license details. - http://www.stockvault.net • MORGUEFILE is a database of royalty free photos contributed by the community that has been around since 1996. Pay attention to individual image licenses. - http://www.morguefile.com • PIXABAY is a database of royalty free stock photos that are free to be used, modified, distributed, and used in personal or commercial works (public domain images.) - http://www.pixabay. com • FREE IMAGES is a database of royalty free stock photos that are free to be used, modified, distributed, and used in personal or commercial works. You may NOT use images of people to endorse products, or resell the images. - http://www.freeimages.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts MAKING THE PRETTIES PRETTIER Now that you’ve found amazing photographs and illustrations to use in your blog posts and marketing materials, it’s time to pretty them up! Don’t have Photoshop? No problem.
THERE ARE A TON OF GREAT FREE TOOLS FOR IMAGE EDITING + CREATION! Whether you want to add some text, create a collage, or design an infographic, there are plenty of resources out there. Want some directions? Here’s your map:
FREE DESKTOP IMAGE EDITING PROGRAM • GIMP is free and powerful graphic editing program that’s strikingly similar to Photoshop. You can use it to edit images, including photos for blog posts but also for editing product photography, marketing materials, and more! - http://www.gimp.org
FREE BROWSER BASED IMAGE EDITING SOFTWARE • PICMONKEY is free graphic editing program that is super sweet because it’s browser based. It’s great for basic editing, like what you need for blog posts. There are free and premium versions, with the paid access granting you more tools, filters, fonts, and the like. New features are added often! - http://www.picmonkey.com • CANVA is free graphic editing program similar to PICMONKEY. It’s also browser-based with a variety of tools for basic editing. Unlike PicMonkey, Canva has it’s own free stock photos, images, and graphics to use built into the software. AWESOME. - http://www.canva.com • BE FUNKY is a browser based photo editor similar to Canva or Picmonkey, however, it’s focus is on photography editing and collage making rather than general graphics. - http://www.befunky.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts OTHER COOL IMAGE CREATION AND EDITING TOOLS • SOCIAL IMAGE RESIZER is a tool that is just too cool not to mention. While you can’t fully edit images, this tool will resize any image to dimensions needed for common social media image placement, like Facebook cover photos or website favicons. - http://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/seo-tools/favicon-generator-crop-images/ • PHOTOVISI is a tool for creating collages of images that look like scrapbook pages, rather than the linear collages that are created by PICMONKEY. - http://www.photovisi.com • RECITE THIS is a tool to create those cool quote images you see on social media everywhere. Pop in your quote and create away. It does tag the bottom of the image with the RECITE THIS logo and information. - http://www.recitethis.com • QUOZIO is a similar tool to RECITE THIS, with predefined styles and an easy to use interface. While the styles are more limited, QUOZIO does not tag images with a logo! - http://www. quozio.com • PINWORDS is similar to both RECITE THIS and QUOZIO, however, you can use your own images. It does tag the bottom of images with PINWORDS’ url and information. - http://www.pinwords. com • PINSTAMATIC makes pins. For Pinterest. This tool is really cool, and is a must-see for any Pinterest addict biz owner. - http://www.pinstamatic.com • EASELLY is a tool for creating visual ideas, like infographics. - http://www.easel.ly • INFOGR.AM is a more robust tool for creating infographics. - http://www.infogr.am • PIKTOCHART is (in my opinion) the most robust tool for creating infographics, and has the option of free or premium accounts. Premium users receive access to more features and tools than free users. - http://www.piktochart.com
[modern soapmaking] how to rock images in blog posts USING YOUR ROCKSTAR IMAGES IN BLOG POSTS Here’s some super tips on using images in blog posts in the best possible way to optimize all that hard work.
BEFORE UPLOADING Before you use any images in blog posts, rename them and include relevant keywords in the file name. Yes, it matters. SEO loves you, too. Resize images to the appropriate size that you will be using in your blog post. Uploading images that are bigger in size than what you need with take up valuable real estate on your website storage space and slow down the loading time.
BEFORE PUBLISHING Images cannot be seen by search engine spiders, so you must use your newfound SEO knowledge to make the best of the situation. Make sure to fill in your ALT tag on any images used. In Wordpress, this is the Alternative Text field shown in the Image’s Media Library entry. Use relevant keywords in your ALT tag. If you need to do this with HTML, here is what your image’s code should look like: Also, every time you use an image in a blog post, create a caption for the image if your platform supports them. Wordpress offers the Caption field right next to the Alternative Text field. Again, use your keywords and relevant text!
AND A LITTLE TIP BEFORE WE PART WAYS: Why not masterbatch your image collecting and editing for multiple blog posts at one time? It saves time and gives you something to look forward to! It’s like a reward for blogging!
