Images "speak" a different language than words and they convey messages faster, too. That's why one of the most important things you can do to put a finishing touch on any piece of content is to add an image. One of your goals is to create content that gets noticed and read, and great images make people stop and look. Images don't just draw viewers - they boost understanding (and retention). But not everyone is a photographer or has an unlimited image library at their fingertips and that is where stock and royalty-free images come in. How to find and use stock and royalty-free images in your marketing (with some handy search tips too): Stock, Royalty-Free and Public Domain Images: There are three types of images online - stock images, royalty-free images, and public domain images. Most of the time, all three types of images are referred to as stock images, but there are a few differences between the three. •Stock images have limited usage rights. You need to specify how you plan to use the stock image and use it only for that purpose. For example, if you purchased a stock image for an advertisement, you can't repurpose and use it on any of your pages. •Royalty-free images are less expensive and you can use them several times on different projects without needing to shell out more money. Royalty-free images are also high-quality, but they don't have the same resale restrictions that stock photos do. This means you will probably find the same image elsewhere on the web. •Public domain images are photos that you or a photographer you hired took. Public domain photos have no rights reserved and no usage conditions. You can change them, reuse them and place them anywhere without any extra cost or required attribution. They can be found under the creative commons licence on sites like Pixabay, Unsplash, etc. Great Images start with a goal When creating images for our marketing just like the words we need to look at the goal for the message the image will share will it: •Entertain - these images provoke smiles and spread goodwill •Educate - these images share information and build authority •Provoke - these images surprise and prompt an action •Inspire - these images evoke emotion, encourage, or uplift By knowing your image goal your image creation and search journey will be easier. Freemium Image Sites: Many of these photographs are free from copyright restrictions or licensed under creative commons public domain dedication. This means that you can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. However, some photos may require attribution. We've done our best to identify which license(s) they fall under, but we still advise you to do your own research and determine how these images can be used. •Pixabay: Pixabay offers a large collection of free stock photos, vectors and art illustrations. All photos are released under Creative Commons CC0. •Picjumbo Picjumbo is a collection of totally free photos for your commercial & personal works. New photos are added daily from a wide variety of categories including abstract, fashion, nature, technology and much more. •FoodiesFeed: FoodiesFeed offers thousands of beautiful realistic free food pictures in ...
