Adding a visual component to your blog posts is very important. Actually very important is an gross understatement…
Adding a visual component to your blog posts is an absolute MUST HAVE.
Seth Godin can go text only… You and I cannot (at least not yet).
Images lend character, personality and tone to a blog post that text alone cannot.
But finding free blog graphics and images can be a pain in the ass…
…and I’m sure as heck not paying stock image prices every time I want to publish a new post.
So what do we do?
We scrape the Internet using Google Images or Flickr or some other service to find an image or free blog graphic that fits our post.
WARNING: People don’t like it when you steal their work… Especially photographers that make their living from those photos.
And we all know this which means there is always little feeling of hesitation every time we post a scraped photo or graphic (even using flickr I get this feeling). Is this going to be the photo that gets me in trouble?
I hated that feeling.
So I said screw it… I’m just going to start creating my own free blog graphics.
The following video outlines exactly how I do it…
And the best part it takes less than three minutes:
(if you can’t see the video Click Here)
If you like these How-to videos you can subscribe via YouTube and see them all.
The Rub
The blog graphics I create are not Fortune 500 design quality… But they are original and they do get my point across.
Especially with social sharing (Think Pinterest).
A big graphic that says exactly what the post is about will attract more attention than an obscure image or photo which could mean anything.
So if you’re looking for a quick way to create free blog graphics of good quality to use with your blog posts I think this is the perfect process.
And if you want more tips, thoughts and ideas on running a successful blog as well a free copy of the No Bullshit Guide to a Success Blog simply Click Here.
Thank you and Good luck,
I am Ryan Hanley
SPEAK YOUR MIND: How do you create or gather images, photos or graphics for your blog? Do you have a better process for creating your own graphics? What do you think of the graphics I create?
Super useful. I didn’t know picmonkey before. It was so much fun redesigning the logo for my site. So freaking easy too! And it looks so much better then what I had before
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Thanks Planeta… I’m glad you found the tool useful!!
Torrent seems to be a great tool (Right now, I am using G+ image editor and Pixlr – both have great features, the only problem is the quality, it isn’t as great as what you would get with Photoshop). Anyways, I will give pic monkey a try and let you know how it goes
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This is a great share.Now I will use image in my blog because untill now i didn’t.I think good graphics done well add so much to a site…
Images are very important… Thanks for stopping by!
This is a great share – thanks! Using infographics seems to have taken off and can do a lot to enhance a blogpost. I usually use istock for my blog images but really keen to try this. Have watched the video and looks simply enough.
Midge,
it really is simple… Let me know if it works for you!
Ryan H.
Thanks Ryan, this is a pretty good tool to boost up my blog a little. And yes, I agree that images plays a vital role on blog pages to make your page look attractive and could catch up more attention to readers.
Images also help with sharing!
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Ryan,
Really excellent post. Still now I don’t use image for my blog. But now I will use image in my blog. Thanks for sharing this great article.
I don’t use images for my blog, but I do use them for my fan page (I normally use Photoshop for all that, but for the past few days, I haven’t been able to do that).
Picmonkey seems to be a great tool (Right now, I am using G+ image editor and Pixlr – both have great features, the only problem is the quality, it isn’t as great as what you would get with Photoshop). Anyways, I will give pic monkey a try and let you know how it goes
Thank you Ryan for the video tutorial!
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No problem buddy…
Let me know what you think!
Hi Ryan I have bookmarked this so I can go through it as I do it. Because I will admit I haven’t done this before. And I think good graphics done well add so much to a site…
Great info thanks lee
Thanks Lee appreciate the feedback buddy.
Excellent Ryan!
You’ve explained and discussed an important topic that was an essential. I highly appreciate your efforts, and want to express what do I?
Well, I’ve been using FreeDigitalPhotos.net for images and Google images too. And felt that it’s a crime like activity. A while back at my old blog that’s a failure, for that I used to design my own images for blog posts published there using the same technique with Picnik by Google, but still I wasn’t satisfied because they aren’t ones that are fully resplendent like those images that are stolen.
That’s all, I’ll be pondering over this for sure.
Thanks a ton mate for unique post.
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You’re very welcome Mairaj and I appreciate you sharing your experience. Finding good images that you’re comfortable with is definitely a challenge and darn right pain at times…
Thanks!
Hey Ryan this is a great tips and great tutorial video for creating free blog graphics.These free tools are just as easy and actually lets me do more. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Erda… I’m glad you found the tool helpful!
Ryan – very nice. I like having different options for creating pictures or text boxes and I didn’t know Studiopress had those backgrounds!. Thanks for sharing.
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Tom,
Studiopress actually provides a bunch of free resources for wannabe wed designers… like me.
Thanks for stopping by buddy.
This is great thanks Ryan. I occasionally use Powerpoint to build similar images but this makes things 1) a lot easier 2) look like they have higher graphics. Not to mention the quality and ease.
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Zachary,
If you use a couple different tools then you’re images will look different from post to post. Thanks!
Ryan H.
Ryan — The video and the tip were both well done!
I sometimes use photos from Flickr and also use a paid stock photography site for photos. I agree with your “WARNING: People don’t like it when you steal their work… Especially photographers that make their living from those photos.”
Another tip to find photos is to find a museum or nonprofit website that has photos that fit what you need; sometimes they will exchange photo usage for a link to their website since it builds traffic and awareness for them.
Charles
P.S. For another blog, I suggest (if you haven’t done it already): “How to Create a Video with Live Website Images.” You could talk about how you make your cursor visible as you navigate and how to capture screen shots.
Charles,
I like the idea of connecting with a museum. That’s excellent.
I just wrote down the Video Learning Video idea… That’s coming soon.
Thanks,
Ryan H.
Hey Ryan this is a great tips and great tutorial video for creating free blog graphics. Really helpful for all the new bloggers . Just wanna thanks for such a great post
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Thanks Firdosh… Appreciate the feed back buddy and I’m happy to help.
Hi Ryan,
This graphic tip is awesome, thanks so much for sharing it. That will work great when one needs something quick. A tool(s) I like to use, (when I have time to create something on my own) can be found at my site. I can use the software to create all sorts of photos, (yes, you can cut out part of a photo and put it on another photo or image), they have animation software, popart, graphic packages, publisher packages, and the list goes on. I like to use it to create flyers, brochures and so forth as the possibilities seem to be endless. Yes, it is not free for the premium software, (sorry), but they do have numerous free downloads so you can try some of it out prior to purchase. Their support is fantastic, their is also a community support forum, and all the premium software is priced so reasonable, that once you do make a purchase and see what you can create with it, you will feel that you definitely didn’t pay enough for it. You can find it through my bloglink. But once again Ryan, thanks so much for this tip plus the video tutorial.
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Thanks D Hayes…
If you want professional looking stuff then you have to spend money and do it right no doubt.
Thanks for sharing…
Ryan H.
I usually try to do simple stuff myself with free online picture editors. For complicated things I usually spend 5 bucks on fiverr whcih usually turns out good.
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Eyern,
I use Fiverr quite a bit for odd tasks that are just outside my skill set.
Thanks!
Ryan, This is great. I actually pay $49 per year for a site that lets me do that. That will go away today. These free tools are just as easy and actually lets me do more. Thanks for sharing.
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Pat,
That’s awesome… I’m glad this tool will work for you. You can also to image overlays. Just let me know if you want me to show you how.
Thanks!
Ryan H.
Thanks Ryan. I will let you know.
Pat Alexander wants you to check out… Blogging for Engagement Not for Numbers
Hey Ryan, can totally relate to “that hesitation”. Never thought of creating my own – I’ll have to check it out.
I was recently led to http://photopin.com/ and really like it. You can select “commercial” use, that way you know that the photographer approved the photo for commercial use, it is free, and provides you a snippet of code to add to your article giving attribution to the photographer.
Brent,
I’ll have to check that one out. For The Murray Group site I actually use a similar service at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
Same type of deal.
Thanks!
Ryan H.