Are you one of those bloggers who wants to bury your head in the sand on hearing how VISUAL the online world is these days — who wails inwardly, “But I’m a WRITER!”?
Does your knowledge of “adding visuals” stop at copying and pasting clip art?
Do you envy magazine-article and picture-book writers who can leave the whole task of finding visuals to the publisher?
I understand; I could answer “yes” to all the above. But let’s face it: you can’t be an entrepreneur and expect the market to make all the allowances for taste. So here’s a simple guide for word-brained writers to get to grips with creating visual media for their blog posts.
Wanted: Visual writers
Like it or not, the bloggers’ market today prefers its posts well-illustrated, if only because their customers — who read the blogs we create — want it that way.
Well-managed photos and infographics bring in new prospects and help keep the regulars loyal. On a page of search results or social media postings, it’s the boldest image that gets the first close look.
Plus, good visuals, tagged and captioned, are a major factor in the search engine optimization that gets a link to the top of the search results.
And visuals have other advantages:
- They give online shoppers a direct look at what they can expect—a major factor in purchase decisions.
- They put a human face on a business, especially when the images go beyond formal headshots. Photos of staff members going about their work get prospects thinking, “Hey, these look like nice everyday people to do business with.”
- They build rapport and teamwork among your clients’ own staff. Anyone photographed for a shot destined to go public will think, “The boss is proud of me, and I’m one of the gang.”
If that’s not enough motivation to learn visuals, just remember: your clients’ competitors (and yours!) are already doing it. If blog clients want to hold their own in the “get noticed” contest, and you can’t deliver the material needed, someone else will.
And don’t think you’ll escape the need for visuals because your niche is super-technical or guards clients’ privacy like Area 51. The competition isn’t making “that’s non-illustratable” excuses; it’s posting tutorial diagrams, cartoons, infographics, and non-classified photos of real people in real places.
Okay, but where do I start?
You probably have basic starter tools already at hand:
- the camera on your smartphone
- the graphics capabilities in your word-processing software
- the presentation and newsletter apps that come with basic software packages
Most of these are simple enough that you can teach yourself to use them; otherwise, computer stores and community centers offer classes free or at low cost.
Once you’ve learned the basics of making visuals, you — and, through consulting with you, your clients — are ready to plan ways that blog visuals can be used to increase positive attention and to further specific business goals.
Before we get started on that, here are a few vital points to remember with any visual:
- Keep the image relevant to the text. Don’t just drop something in because it’s “cute.”
- For maximum SEO value, think keywords and hashtags when writing captions.
- Avoid tagging images with “invisible” text which has no close counterpart on the visible page; searchers who find the site through those keywords will feel cheated.
- A sloppy image may be worse than none at all. Leave out any blurry or miscolored pictures, no matter how unique and perfect the subject is for your purposes.
- When using a picture-and-words image — especially with infographics — beware the tiny-print trap. Try to spare the viewer from having to choose between seeing the whole picture at once and having the text large enough to read. Not always easy, especially with tiny smartphone screens, but worth aiming for.
What kind(s) of visuals?
The days of Visuals = Clip Art Illustrations are long past; traditional clip drawing style now looks too “cheesy” for most purposes. Alternate types of visuals include:
- infographics
- charts
- diagrams
- cartoons
- “wordles”
- presentation slides
- screenshots
- logos
- photographs
The question of illustrations vs. photos can be complicated. It’s so easy now to snap and upload a hundred pictures, many people hardly consider it worth the trouble to make a real drawing, let alone a complicated chart or infographic.
On the other hand, it’s at least occasionally necessary to illustrate the specific parts of a device, turn straight statistics into an interesting image, or present a series of facts or ideas as concisely as possible — any of which requires a words-and-visuals combination beyond straight photographs.
If you aren’t sure whether to use a photo, a photo-with-words, or an illustration, ask yourself:
- What’s the overall tone of the post or blog you’re working with? If it’s emphasizing something exotic or super-innovative, an illustration will underscore the implication “this isn’t your everyday stuff.” If the purpose is to emphasize a business’s human side or the post content’s applicability to the real world, photos are usually best.
- How many “sub-images” does this call for? An image depicting “one big scene” or “a few real people” looks good in a photograph; conversely, a photo is hard to arrange for emphasis on separate aspects or small details. (Infographics with multiple small images have special need to be plainer and crisper than can be photographed from real life.)
- Is this an image that needs backing up with words? A few written words can be superimposed on a photograph; but when clarifications go beyond one short sentence per comment, or 3–5 comments per image, an illustration nearly always works better.
Your visuals are moving!
Of course, the question of combining visuals with words leads to the question of audiovisual media, especially now that videos are easy to make with mobile devices.
Many blog publishers have opted to forego text entirely and turn their blogs into vlogs (posts consisting entirely of video clips), in which case the freelance blogger would become a scriptwriter and perhaps a final critiquer.
If you’re consulting with a client who wants an all-video blog, my advice is: if you aren’t already interested in video editing, and you can’t talk the client out of the idea, suggest they hire someone else.
Videos are easy enough to make, but tricky for a words person to edit well. And if your client’s target audience is the all-videos type while you wouldn’t follow anything that can’t be literally read, you’re probably not a great fit for each other anyway.
Still, even a text blog benefits from the occasional video clip, especially if your client has something to actively demonstrate. If photos help the reader relate to a businessperson as one human to another, actually hearing someone talking and seeing them in motion is all the better. To decide when to recommend a video in place of the usual written post, consider:
- Is this a topic that should let the audience “see ’em in action”? A post that emphasizes the results of a project doesn’t need moving video; one that walks the audience through a “you can do this yourself” process might.
- Does it showcase something that actually happened? If your client has recently filmed an interesting event (or caught a funny one) that fits the blog focus perfectly, there’s no sense letting good footage go to waste.
- Is it important to convey the real-person aspect of those involved, yet impossible to illustrate the situation with a single image? In that case, video is probably the way to go.
- Just how long is the video? If the blog’s regular followers are used to reading posts in five minutes, it’s risky to drop a 30-minute clip in a “post spot.” Chances are that for every one person who raves about the video, ten will be disgusted that they got something so different from what they’d come to expect.
- If you must use a video longer than the usual reading time, warn people in the introductory text (you always need a written introduction) and explain why you think this is worth so much more of their time. Better yet, write a normal post on some closely related topic, and turn the video into a “recommended resources” link.
To go the extra mile, include a full transcript with any video you use; the I-want-to-navigate-this-at-my-own-speed crowd will be grateful.
It’s a bit different, but I like it
The question of when and how to use video clips in a mostly-text blog invites the question of how much visual variation can be allowed from post to post without alienating your client’s regular readers. Any regular blog follower expects a strong level of consistency; still, the most ardent fan may eventually go away complaining if “all those posts are the same.”
By all means, experiment with a variety of visual options from post to post — as long as they all reinforce the tone, topic focus, and style of the blog as a long-term whole.
This is a good point to research and learn from the experts; follow the top blogs in your niche and catch the feel of how much they vary their visuals and how often. For example, these three posts at Smart Blogger each use different image styles and quantities, but all lead with a similar “funny headshot” photograph.
Speaking of experts, you’re bound to someday run up against a client who wants to hire an experienced graphic designer or professional photographer, or at least use expensive stock images. That may be a good idea for a long-term image such as might be put on a website’s home page; but for a blog post? Not necessarily.
See, a blog post will be displaced from the front of the archives next week, so a photo taken by everyday means or an illustration designed with basic graphic software is usually adequate. The primary exception is when an image is to serve a purpose beyond the immediate blog—when it’s to be archived as an advertising image, for example. In that case, you’ll score extra points with a client if you have a graphic designer or two in your contacts book, ready to recommend.
And understanding the basics of visuals will score you extra points with any client. Yes, visuals are tough for a words person to understand. But with a little practice and a willingness to learn, they needn’t be your worst nightmare.
In fact, they can make you the dream of every “words person” client. 🙂
Let’s get a discussion going! Do you have any tips to share about blog visuals? What tools do you use, and what are the things you found hardest to learn?
Elvis Michael says
Awesome stuff, Katherine. Nice to virtually meet you.
“Keep the image relevant to the text. Don’t just drop something in because it’s “cute.”” — Except for kittens. Newborn kittens will always fit into any post 🙂
The truth is, we all have to adapt to new trends if we expect to survive as bloggers.
The great thing about visuals is that they’re so easy to implement. Infographics, for example, don’t have to always be created by the writer; simply get permission from someone else and use theirs on your post with a nice backlink.
Another alternative includes the use of YouTube videos, especially since embedding them is as simple as pasting a URL.
Thanks for the great read!
Elvis
Katherine Swarts says
You’re welcome, Elvis!
Jean McKinney says
Great points in this post. It’s tough for writers to deal with, but you can’t be :”just” a writer in the digital age. You have to be able to incorporate the visual, even in small ways, and there are so many tools available to do that even if you don’t want to become a graphic designer. It’s interesting though that the perspective has shifted. Only a few years ago, when I, a longtime writer, went back to school to study photography and digital design, well meaning friends and family told me kindly that I was losing focus on my career, changing horses in midstream, etc. etc. Today, knowing at least a little about some aspect of image making is really essential unless you’re willing to outsource everything. It also leads to some new opportunities for writers who can offer the whole package of words and images.
Katherine Swarts says
Great points, Jean.
Obviously, your circle never read any professional advice on writing for magazines, which were paying extra for freelancers who supplied their own photos long before everyday people were using computers and digital cameras.
Diana Marinova says
Oh, I am so bad at visuals. Even though I have read plenty on the topic, and I do have a feel for good design (I think), I still cannot force myself and do it as I like. After many months of frustration and bad images for my own blog, I finally gave up, admitted defeat and made the best decision under the circumstances – I outsourced the task.
I am a loyal reader of several blogs and I really like the images of one particular blog. It happened so that I was in contact with the blogger on several occasions, and I asked her if she offered a service that I needed (to do the images for my blog for a fee) – and viola! I breathe so much easier since she started doing images for me 😀
So, Katehrine, while all the tips in your post are super useful, I just wanted to chime in and encourage everyone who still cannot do their images (even after reading your awesome tips) and just outsource the task. Even if you write for clients and as part of the contract, you need to offer visuals – you can still outsource it. Just need to find the right fellow freelancer who is good at that, and reliable.
Thanks for writing!
~Diana
Katherine Swarts says
Well, Diana, I did a little “outsourcing” myself on this post–about two-thirds of the visual-editing work was done by blog administration. Still, I believe that everyone should understand the basics, if only to help choose and direct the right contractor. (I know that, when I’m the contractor, client instructions that stop at “take a quick look at our blog/website and write whatever you think we need” is major turmoil waiting to happen.)
Diana Marinova says
agreed! 😀
Jane M says
I have been trying to include more graphics in my posts lately – the initial learning curve is steep but once you get some templates set up for common graphics you might use, it gets easier.
My biggest tip is to always include a Pinterest friendly graphic: that is, one that is tall enough to command attention on Pinterest boards. The ideal size is around 735px wide by 1102px high, but any tall image will give Pinners the goods they need to make a great pin out of your content.
J
Katherine Swarts says
I love Pinterest–get more shares there than on any of my other social media accounts!
Neale says
Katherine, thanks for the excellent tips.
You may want to check out “Pablo by Buffer” as a visual means of breaking-up text and reinforcing key points. It is simple to use and I think that it is a free service.
Katherine Swarts says
Do you have a link for that, Neale?
Neale says
Yes, here’s the link
https://buffer.com/pablo
Katherine Swarts says
Thanks!
Kelly says
Great material, Katherine! It came in handy to me. I want to start my blog, and I’ve been exactly debating about the visual aspect. I’m a big fan of infographics, which I believe is a valuable and interactive way of add visuals. Not only that, but it also gives more credibility to one’s material as well as support another writer’s work (If properly embedded/credited from another website).
Katherine Swarts says
Hope you’ll let us know when it launches, Kelly!
Personally, I don’t believe that EVERY blog requires a visual on EVERY post–but once you’ve established it as part of your regular format, you’ve made a tacit promise to include it every time. Even if it’s just a single cute headshot over the lead.
Sneha Tipnis says
Dear Katherine,
Thank you for a very detailed blog post. I felt very informed to know the emerging importance of visuals in the writing of our Digital Age.
Keep writing!
Best wishes
Katherine Swarts says
Thank you, Sneha!
Rachel Nichols says
Thanks for the info Katherine!
Katherine Swarts says
You’re welcome, Rachel!
Kim Willis says
Hi Katherine,
This is my first time here – and mighty glad I came!
(I was referred by Elna)
Everything you’ve got here is first class. Giving a post more visual appeal is vital. Having good pics make a difference, and not only aesthetically. As you say, there’s a hell of an SEO benefit too.
Infographics have become popular in recent years, and the one you feature here is a good one, but ultimately I think there will always be a significant place for predominantly text-based blog posts.
Regarding video, there is no doubt that a large number of people prefer video over text. However, you are correct to point out that if someone has a text based blog they need to be careful as to how they use video. Soon I will be making a change to one of my three blogs. I’ll be including much more video content than previously. For me the advantages of video are threefold:
1. Panders to that section of the market that only watches video
2. Ranking benefit when hosted on Youtube
3. Quick and easy to produce
Thanks a ton for your comprehensive guide!
Kim
Katherine Swarts says
You’re very welcome, Kim. Thanks for adding your insightful remarks!
Matt Duczeminski says
Hey Katherine,
First of all, great post! This is something I definitely struggle with (along with the hundreds of other things I struggle with as I get started on this freelance blogging expedition of mine!). I think for me the problem is two-fold:
1. I’m an avid reader, so I don’t mind when a blog is all text. I’ve started to come to terms with the fact that I’m not writing for myself, though; I’m writing for my audience. Gotta give them what they want, right?
2. I love writing, so much so that anything else pertaining to my blog is an afterthought. Many times, if I include links or photos, it’s just for the sake of doing so. I’d be just as happy finishing up an entry and hitting “post” right away. Though, again, I’m not writing for myself, right? Your post did a great job of explaining the value in collecting resources BEFORE I start writing, and including them intentionally and for a specific purpose rather than haphazardly and “just because.”
I’ll definitely keep all of this in mind before posting my next blog entry! Thanks!
Katherine Swarts says
Thanks, Matt! I love reading, too!
Lynette says
Katherine,
Thank you for this post. It really helped me. I am a new blogger and I am new to writing for money. I love reading words but I do think pictures add value to the words. I insert pictures in my blog when I think it is necessary. I am not very tech savvy so I just use simple pictures. My fiance is a graphic artist and I don’t know why I have not thought to ask for his help with the visuals I use on my blog before now. Thank you for opening my eyes to the resources I have.
Katherine Swarts says
Glad you found the post, Lynette! And best of luck with your next step!
Katherine Swarts says
Not a blog exactly, but I just edited my home page banner (www.houstonfreelancewriter.com) and am very proud of myself for figuring out the basics!