Monday, September 14, 2009

How to use Images Online and How to find Free Images

As a contractor you know how important it is to make your work visually appealing. This is true about all your online marketing, from your website to your blog and your email newsletters and more.

The internet is a very visual medium that is becoming more and more visual with the advent of broadband and mobile web apps. The web is becoming more like your TV.

So if your websites lacks pizazz you can actually make it spiffier FOR FREE - just grab some videos from YouTube.com and photos from Flickr.com or similar sites. 

How to Use Images for your Online Marketing:
1) Each page on your website should have at least ONE IMAGE (photo, graphic, or video)
2) Each blog entry should have at least ONE IMAGE (photo, graphic, or video)
3) Each email newsletter entry should have at least ONE IMAGE (photo or graphic).

So you may be a hobby photographer and you have lots of your own photos. Use them!

If not, where do you get the right images? Do NOT copy them from other websites, unless you have permission and then be sure to include the copyright information.

Or you can use the list below to find images that you can use at no cost.

How and Where to find FREE IMAGES


Free Stock Photo Websites:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/
http://images.fws.gov/
http://www.flickr.com/commons/



Image Search Tools:
http://images.google.com/
http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search
http://pixsy.com/
http://www.picsearch.com/
http://www.sxc.hu/

If you know of any other great collections of free images please let us know.

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