In her series of posts about posts, Dr Tanya @ Salted Caramel asks about using images.
1. How important are images to a blog post?
I didn’t use to place importance on images, unless a post was about travel or a recipe. To me, blogging is writing, not comics. And I feel the same about twitter. But I am in the minority ~ people are visual, even on these alleged written media. To grow an audience, you have to give the people what they want. At first, I didn’t care about that, but when I began to care (around the time I published my first Kindle book), I started using more images. Now, I wouldn’t dream of posting without an image (if I don’t, my pink cupcake icon will still show up with my post in readers), though I’m fine with bloggers who don’t bother with images. In fact, I have to respect them for that.
2. What is tbe role of images in blog traffic and reader engagement?
I don’t know. I assume they help drive it up because I read this when I looked for tips. But I don’t have a direct comparison of my own before/after, since at the same time I began using more images I also began posting more frequently and commenting more often on new blogs.
3. How many images on average do you use in a blog post?
For a prompt post like this with a few questions I use one image only, and the same goes for a poem or a piece of flash fiction. I also generally use a single image for my own prompts: The Monday Peeve, Thursday Inspiration, Flashback Friday. When a post is longer, I may use more images. In my series fiction, I’ve been up to 3 or 4 in an 800 word post.
I’ve become stressed out over images for the series fiction, and I wish I’d just stuck with the same one from the beginning all the way through. First, it’s super hard to find what I want. Sometimes I spend longer looking for the damn images than writing the story… and even then they’re not right. Second, I can’t get the same person in the images, which bugs the hell out of me. So, Kevin grew a beard? Ugh. Third, the free sites that allow you to use unattributed images are so limited, and often their stuff is ridiculous, so I’m forced to google and hope I haven’t stolen something. It’s really stressful! I won’t write this way again. One image, straight through. That way also, people will know it’s the same story coming up.
~*~
©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.
I enjoyed your comments on the use of images. I rarely use them, because I usually forget. I write about old radio shows, the media that is meant to be listen to, and not looked at.
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Thanks for commenting!
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Thank you for your input Paula.
I too am on WordPress primarily because I like to write. But you are so right, the web is very visual.
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I’m still learning after all these years 🙂
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One stops living if one stops learning. 😍🐱
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Using images makes the post more appealing on an aesthetic level. Sometimes images are essential for the post as well.
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Thanks for commenting!
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You’re welcome
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some seem to have a knack of selecting the right image … I tend to use my own and often an image inspires me to write.
You will see free google images on my site when they better match a post than my pics 🙂
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Nice 🙂
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Great answers, Paula.
When I began that Halloween story, I had to stick to one image… It made writing the piece so much easier because house was the main character.
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I think that’s a better idea.
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It’s just plain easier on yourself too. 🥰
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I prefer an image of some kind to add some color. It’s also a visual way of telling posts apart when you’re scrolling through on a cell phone.
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Agreed, now that I also only read via phone.
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I’ve always tried to put a photo (mostly those I take myself) on each post. It’s fun, and I like seeing the ones others put on theirs. Not the GIFs though – they are so distracting.
On my fan fiction story I don’t put any. It seems when reading fiction a person gets a mental image of the characters, and if I were to put what I think they look like, it would be totally different to someone else.
On the photo challenges, sometimes I put quite a few. 🙂
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Yes, I find the bitmojis fun ~ there’s always a cute one for any mood. But when I began adding them into my stories, eek. Should have not… 🙂
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I like the bitmojis you add – so cute! 🙂
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Thanks!
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Reblogged this on Salted Caramel.
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For me, images are important. People not only read my words but they also look at my pictures.
When I first started blogging, I used a lot of free images, which I see used on several other blogs as well. Something about it lacked authenticity so now I use a mix of my own images as well as the free ones. It takes a lot of time finding the perfect images so I can see the appeal of leaving out the images on blog posts.
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Thank you. Yes, that lack of authenticity bothers me too sometimes. I appreciate your comment!
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i dont use images a lot. i do post quotes in a picture form sometimes, and of course my own photos, but other than that, I dont use them!
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