Humor me for a moment and go dig out a copy of the White Pages — you remember, it’s that 10-pound behemoth gathering dust under the sink. Now, flip it open to any page and tell me the truth? Are you pulled into the content? Do you have any desire to continue reading or have you already closed it up and moved on to the next thing?
Online or offline, people constantly come across content and make a split-second decision about whether to stay or go. Often, the decision is made before the content is even assessed. It’s a sub-concious decision to leave based purely on looks.
Your visitors are no different. When readers arrive at your website, they have a choice: continue reading or hit the back button. Their decision will be based, in large part, on how your content looks. You can make it inviting and pleasant, or you can make it just about as appealing as the innards of the phone book. The only difference? Images.
Images, photos, illustrations, or other graphics — are often the first thing visitors look at. If the image is compelling, visitors stay to check out the text. If the image is poor quality or unappealing — or non-existent! — visitors leave. It’s really that simple.
Here are some ways effectively using images enhances your blog:
1. Use images to break up long passages of text. Facing a page of black-and-white text is daunting. Images can give the eye a place to rest, breaking up the flow of an otherwise monotonous page.
2. Use images pull the viewer into the text. Since people look at them first, images provide a starting point for the rest of the blog post. Good images are like flashing arrows that say, “START HERE.”
3. Images are an effective way to introduce your blog topic. Picking an appropriate, related image gives the reader an idea of what to expect from the post. For instance, a photo of a street sign that says “Bumpy Road Ahead” lets the reader know that the post is about challenges or change.
4. Use photos and illustrations to reinforce your post’s content. A diagram, graphic, or other image can further illustrate the post’s content. A flow chart of a sales funnel, for instance, gives you another way to explain the concepts you’re presenting.
A picture, some say, is worth a thousand words. Don’t neglect this opportunity to say in images what you can never say with words. Photos and illustrations add depth to your conversation, and can make a dull blog post feel active and alive. If you need help finding photos for your blog posts, check out this article on 25 Places to Find Awesome Stock Photos (Free and Cheap!).
What do you think? Do you use pictures, illustrations and photos in your blog posts? Why or why not?
You gave me something to think about. My blog WebsitesMadeRight.com is mostly devoid of images. I think a post title image as part of a theme or for branding would also be appropriate.
Barbara; As an illustrator, I thank you for the spirit of your post… now if only it had been designed with more images to break up all that grey text! ;^)
Awesome article, and yes, I’ve tried to be consistent in using images in almost every blog post. I try to use real image and not just stock stuff, I think it makes the post a bit more personalized. Great post.
as an animation student your tips are really valuable for me… now i can design with more power and perfection of art… thanks a lot…
This is true not only on blogs, but any web content. Let’s face it, it’s harder to read text off a computer monitor than paper. I think we know it subconsciously and a “wall” of text triggers a negative reaction. Images are fine, our brains have no problems with them, so sprinkling images among the text is like a spoonful of sugar when taking medicine…
Really Good, I try to use real image and not just stock stuff, I think it makes the post a bit more personalized. Great post.
Great post, even I try to use images and sometimes videos in my blog, I think it is a great way to introduce a blog and visitors gets attracted soon…
Very true, I always have a main headline image with every post but sometimes feel even that isn’t enough. Particularly in things like tutorials or where you’re explaining something, images really help break up the text and give a much clearer idea of what you’re talking about.
Good post.
Hi, Thanks for an interesting read, I whole heartily agree with what you are saying and images if used correctly they can add impact and more relevance to your post, they can be eye catching and draw the viewer further into your content. However I would also like to add that a clever use of typography can break up a post equally as well, appropriate line height, headings, colour and attention to detail can all transform a dull boring block of text into and exciting thought provoking piece. All in all a good post with lots of great information. Thanks!
Really nice article. I agree with your article. People don’t want to read paragraphs and paragraphs and text on their computer screen. Running a blog myself, this was a really interesting read. Thanks!
I believe that in addition to images on the page should be video and audio. All of this dilute monotonous content. Thank you Barbara for a fascinating post.
I totally agree. There’s nothing worse than a text heavy article. It could be the most informative article in the world but you’ll lose a lot of people just from the appearance of it
I think Alan makes a good point about typography being able to break up a large paragraph of text. I think images are a great way to do the same thing though used in the correct way. Good article and I look forward to reading more
Does anyone know if there is a student/trainee version available for photoshop? The full version is too expensive for me. Thanks guys
One more advantage of adding images is I guess the visitor traffic. Someone search a image using Google images, Google finds it in your webpage and directs a user to your website…
Images will get you more attention to articles. But is that possible to add images to all blog posts?
Thanks,nice post.
Nice post and you are so right. An image says more than 1000 words. That is why images are so important.
I couldnt agree more great read
Nice post. Images are self explanatory than texts. They speak and mean a lot that words.