In the last 2 ½ years, I have rarely used images that were not my own in blogposts. In those posts, I’ve credited and often have even sought permission first for use of the image.
This blogpost tells how I am going back and cleaning up my old posts and content for better SEO and search results. It IS helping!!!
I’ve even taken loads of time going back in older posts, trying to make sure all the images I have on my blog are at least properly credited.
They still are not done (I want to make that perfectly clear and be totally up front about that) and really it is unlikely I’ll ever get to all of them (since I am still trying to run a design business).
I am plowing through those older posts, trying to do the right thing with crediting and even changing out or deleting images, even deleting old blog posts, in my major blog clean up that I am attempting to get done this year.
Using Your Own Images On Your Blog Will Make You Sleep Better :-)
Whenever I hit on an old post of mine from my archives, that has others’ images, my heart just sinks a little bit.
I’m so disappointed that I used so many images creating blog content and I could just kick my old self for thinking just because everyone else was doing this that it was okay.
You see, it may be okay by law. It may be fine if you use an image and add content, POV, even parody to it and publish it on your platform.
However, there are people out there, sometimes the people that created that image or the work in the image, that may take offense to what you do.
It has caused me to reevaluate how I create content and really had me digging into my stats to see what my readers were coming to me for and how I could produce that content without using others' images.
While I love having beautiful images and used to find it so easy to just skirt through Pinterest and seek out all images that exemplify one design topic or another to create a blogpost, it is not just all about the images these days.
Blogging Is Not Just All About The Images anymore
These days, to have a successful blog that can be monetized (and really, we are all hoping for a little piece of that pie, aren’t we?), you have to do more.
So, the question at hand is....
....how can you create consistent, remarkable content for your blog or social media using your own images?
Luckily, especially as designers, we have this wonderful little piece of equipment, our phones, right by our sides most of the time. We can shoot anything, anytime, and really don’t need a professional photographer to get some great shots.
Not That Good At Taking Photos For Content?
Of course, it behooves us to do the best we can with our photos.
I’ve been learning a lot from the blogposts of my friend, Linda Holt, about how to edit and take great iPhone pics. I am also really excited about her new photo editing service which will make some of my dud photos look even better!
You Can Create Great Content For Your Blog Using Your Own Images
If you are a content creator, primarily with a blog, you have to think about many things when shooting images.
Trust me when I say that you CAN create great content without using others’ images in your posts.
Party at Design Bloggers Conference - I was standing behind Linda Holt and caught her in action. I used this image on my Instagram account. It works here in this post very well too, right? ;-)
You have to be purposeful and understand the kind of content you want to create, but you can basically take many of the photos yourself and be a successful design blogger, without using a photographer for every single image and without using others’ images.
(I totally condone getting pro photos of your work when finished with a job, btw. However, we just can’t afford to do that with every job sometimes, so we have to learn to get some photos ourselves for use on a blog or social media.)
I recently created this guide to help YOU create the content you need to attract potential clients, show off your skills, and gain authority in this field, using your own images.
I have blogpost examples, ideas for content you can create, and tips on how to train yourself to keep an eye out for photo opportunities during the day that can render a great blogpost on down the road.
Let me just say that I know lots of people use others' images and do it just fine with no problems.
However, these days, it behooves us all to be cautious when posting others’ images.
We never know what kind of copyright infringement direction the law might go in the future, after your blog gets really big and image heavy with tons of great SEO packed in with those images you used, do we?
Because guess what?
All it takes is one image. All it takes is the use of one image that might get you into trouble.
Click through to get this valuable guide to help you with your design blog and marketing.
Thank ya much! :-)