The idea of stock photography is nothing new and has been included on the web for decades. Premium accounts and online shops are just recently building up even more traction, but this also means new content is getting filled via free services like Flickr. Unfortunately the quality just cannot match up when you compare the other alternatives.
In this post I want to go over some more ideas for writing good web copy online. Obviously this will require a topic and some handy writing skills. But you also need to know how to space out words and use imagery for drawing users further into the site. Stock photos are some of the easiest choices because they fit nicely into the layout without cramming everything close together. Images will provide a seamless break in the content where your readers have the opportunity to pause for a moment and space themselves from the content.
Flexible Content
When choosing a photo provider you want to make sure their library will accommodate your needs. This means you should look through their options and figure out what will be published on your own website. Of course this will take some time and effort, but it is worthwhile if you are stuck picking a solution on your own. A great website to start browsing is 123RF Stock Photos which has a myriad of descriptive categories.
Every photograph is offered in small, medium, and large + extra-large sizes. You may download any number of photos provided that you have the credits in your account. 123RF has the neatest organizational system which is categorized using tags and a single photo category. If there is something useful in their database, you can surely find it with just a few keywords. But also consider their other stock options when writing similar web copy.
I have found a lot of great details from the inner pages on their website. Namely the fantastic vector artwork can also be used as a featured image thumbnail. Online blogs and magazines will need these images to break up the flow of their posts. Getting started in their gallery should provide a good point to think about your content and what type of images should be used.
Deeper Impact
You need to write content which will keep a visitor’s attention span long enough to finish through the page. Using images with an impactful purpose can only help this endeavor. Getty Images provides a similar database full of related photographs and stock vectors. You can search by category or based on the rights of each photograph. Their content is focused more specifically on specific sites, Hollywood celebrities, and other distinct scenery you may know about.
Check out their homepage and try visiting a few of the photo categories. You may be pleasantly surprised to find things you would have never expected! Getty runs a small network of stock media marketplaces online where you can purchase any number of these items. It will certainly help when building content and putting out an image for your website.
A Conservative Approach
The product releases on many premium websites often have strict rules for usage in your content. This is of course on purpose since the photographers have a right to choose how their media is published. I think a good example of this approach is on Jupiter Images which has been a recent staple of many writers.
The site is easy to navigate and provides a collection of useful images for publishers. You can browse through royalty-free images and pinpoint exactly what you are looking for. The search feature is perfect and works exactly as you might expect. I will quip that the gallery interface lacks some more detailed points. But overall this is a fantastic website if you are looking for a cheaper and more agile solution.
Closing
Not every writer online will have a need for stock photography. But I would advise that people try it out at least a few times, as there will always be opportunities for new blog posts. And you can test the results by your visitor’s opinions and how quickly blog posts are gaining attention and traffic. Professional writing and photography is not a sure-fire bet. However it is a great place for getting started and moving forward on your own time. If you know about similar techniques for writing solid web copy please share with us in the discussion area below.
