The Wrong Way to Use Images in Your Blog

Curious as to the inspiration for this post? Here she is:

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there is some excellent content to this post, but I couldn’t help but be completely distracted by, while laughing hysterically at, the picture of the dolphin in a post about Facebook.

I seem to come across this problem quite often. You know the one, where people are told to stick some pictures into their posts so they search do a quick search for images on Google based on a few words they’ve used. This method is wrong. This method will only have people distracted from your content, or in my case, peeing their pants with laughter; both of which aren’t exactly ideal.

Here are a few tips for incorporating images into your posts without causing people to write entire blog posts about them:

  1. Use screen shots – A better idea than the dolphin in the above mentioned photo would have been an actual capture of the idea they were discussing. It’s always a better idea to show people what you are talking about, not tell them; as is the case with the photo of the dolphin.

  2. Paparazzi App - This little app allows you to enter in a URL and capture the entire page in a single jpg (it’s what I used for the photo above.)

  3. Give them a purpose (not to be confused with porpoise) – If you’re going to use photos in your post, they should serve a specific function (i.e. laughter, supporting graphics such as a logo you are referring to). Otherwise, lose ‘em. They just distract the readers from what you’re really trying to say.

  4. Make your own – Open up Photoshop, Illustrator, or even Paint and manually create the image you are trying to convey. What better way to have relevant images in your posts?!

  5. Make sure you place them properly – I know I struggle with this one all the time, do you place your pithy little supplementary photo before or after the content that outlines it? I like to think of them as ice breakers; they go in front of the copy about to discuss them so the reader has a general idea of what the next chunk of text will be. The only time I forgo this rule is when I am unveiling or introducing the imagery that follows.

  6. Limit the number - Unless it is a design post, or perhaps even a photography post, don’t overwhelm your content with images. People like visuals, so if you give them too many, that’s all they will look at; which makes all of your well-crafted copy go to waste!

  7. Set a theme – Introducing imagery in the middle of your post with nothing preceding it just confuses your reader. Set a tone by either including an image or two right off the bat, or don’t use any at all. Just a side note, if you’re not going to use any imagery, make sure your text doesn’t look daunting to read by adding bullet points, numbers, etc.

Stop messing up your blog posts today, save a dolphin tomorrow.