1. Bloggers frequently say they consider graphics when deciding which blogs to follow.
If you dig deeper, most people will admit they don’t follow a blog only because of the design or the images and that the written content does matter to some extent. However, nearly every time I see someone write a “things that make you want to follow your blog” post (read mine here!), they mention blog design. A beautiful theme or unique photos that you take yourself can be the first step to getting someone to stay on your blog long enough to read your posts and become a follower.
2. It helps with branding.
There are a lot of blogs on the Internet. Having a recognizable theme or imagine style can help you build your brand, as you’ll stick in people’s minds, and they’ll be able to recognize your brand if they come across an image of yours on social media.
(This doesn’t necessarily mean that all your images need to look the same, but having a unique photo style or using similar colors and fonts on images can help you build a brand.)
3. Images Catch People’s Eyes in the WordPress Reader
If you use the WordPress Reader, you know that it tries to pull at least one image from every post to display next to the review. If a blogger has unique images (such as an image customized with the title of the post), this is much more attention-grabbing than a generic image (imagine the reader pulling my star/moon divider as the “featured” image ).
4. Unique Images Are Easier to Share on Social Media
I’m trying to up my Pinterest game because people keep telling me of the wonders of getting blog traffic from Pinterest, and part of that is pinning other people’s images (because you don’t want to be a spammy person who only pins your own stuff and only promotes your own posts). To this end, I’ve been trying to pin images from book blog posts I find interesting, and I have learned quickly that…not a lot of the book bloggers I follow have pinnable images. (Which would mean something like an image I have at the top of this post, one that has the title of the post in it.) A lot of book bloggers barely have images at all. These people are missing out on my attempts to give them free promotion because they don’t have images I can share.
Similarly, posts that have unique images are more attention-grabbing on other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, since they (like the WordPress reader) try to grab an image to display with any shared links.
How do you use images on your blog? What do you notice about others’ images?
I love everything you said in this post!! To be honest, I’m terrible at putting pictures on my blog, mostly because I don’t have the time and energy to take them. One of my goals for 2019 is to work on this! This was a lovely post, and it’s giving me lots of motivation right now! Best wishes for 2019 ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
I also struggle to find time to take photos sometimes, but a lot of the ones I use for the header images are actually from Unsplash. I only really take photos of books.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree with you completely. Photos and graphics do make a difference.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have never cared about blog post images till now, but after reading this post i completely agree with you more than content if the images is eye catchy readers will come and give it a read. Thanks for sharing the info, it was really helpful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
For me, this is a real breaking point since I am legally blind and therefore can’t do anything with images or blog design. So I really have to focus on the writing. However, I notice fellow bloggers who are on bookstagram and everything will get much more review copies. I have had none for my own blog, but I have for a community and I use these for my blog to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! This is something I really struggle with since I don’t tend to blog when the sun is out so taking photos in natural light is pretty much impossible. I’m going to try more in the summer when I’m not leaving for work and coming back in the dark!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, yeah, I often have the same problem when taking my own photos, and editing can only do so much for bad lighting, but I do what I can!
LikeLiked by 2 people
your photos are lovely! definitely give yourself some credit there!
LikeLike
That’s because you don’t see all the terrible ones I take! :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha fair!
LikeLike
This is a very true thing! I know I sometimes cannot read through a wall of chunk and having images and headers to break up text and break up the page a little helps me focus, even. I’m still trying to find my niche in terms of images on my own posts. Thanks for this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I’ve found that even just using headings in some of my posts seems to make them more “popular,” so I think you’re not alone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I mostly read blogs on the WordPress app on my phone so I’m not completely convinced images and branding come through as they should on that but I do tend to be drawn more to posts with images than without. As far as images on my own blog, I really struggle with them. I do think you need them but I find it so difficult to produce something that looks good as I’m not a naturally creative person.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really don’t pay too much attention to graphics when I’m deciding whether or not I want to follow a blog, I pay more attention to the content and the overall design aesthetic. Even if a blog is aesthetically pleasing, I put content first. If I don’t like the content then I’m not gonna follow a blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t really look at the graphics that much either, but I’ve seen a large number of people say that they do!
LikeLike
Everything you said is so true! I love your images and graphics and always admire the work you put into them. Actually doing that on my own blog is another story. You should do a tutorial on how you create your images/graphics. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Writing primarily about comic books, I feel the images have to play a central part in my posts. First, comics are a visual medium as much as a text-based one so I want to capture that. Second, I lack the professional knowledge/training to discuss art the way I can discuss a narrative so I want to let the art “speak for itself” as it were. The twin struggles I face are how to showcase the art without giving away major reveals that should be experienced inside the comic narrative and striking a image-to-writing balance that feels right. I never want a post to feel like I took a bunch of images from the comic and wrote next-to-nothing about it. I always want the art to supplement what I’m saying/analyzing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These are great tips! I really enjoy taking blog photos so I definitely want to focus more on it this year, and maybe improve my camera skills!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am terrible at these fancy book pictures, which is why I try to include as many gratuitous baby pics as possible (especially pics of the baby holding a book!).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those count!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great point! Considering how visual the Internet has become with Instagram or similar apps, as well as various photo editors, the photographic aspect of blogging has also become more relevant. Everyone loves beautiful photos 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! I agree that graphics are an important aspect to any blog. A cohesive design makes a big difference in whether or not a website looks amateurish or more professional. I like to use Canva for most of my post headers – it’s so easy to use and they have stock images right there that you can use if you haven’t had time to take photos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! Canva is a really great recommendation! I use it, too, and I think you can end up with good graphics even if you think it’s “not your thing.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love me some gifs in everything.
LikeLike
Haha!
LikeLike
Another great post!
I’ve been on a ‘redesign’ of my blog recently because I felt it was lacking an aesthetic and by that I mean something that just identified it as mine and was consistent throughout. I’ve only been blogging since April and so I think a lot of that time was spent working out what I wanted to do but now I feel like I can ‘tweak.’
If I’m honest, I find that I will follow blogs that aren’t visually appealing *to me* (as everyone has their own taste) if I enjoy their content BUT I am drawn more to the ones that I like the look of initially. I will unfollow if I realise that their content doesn’t gel with me even if their style does. So for me it is substance over style but style does a better job at getting me hooked initially!
It’s all personal taste as to what’s appealing though and luckily I follow a lot of very pretty blogs with great content!
LikeLiked by 1 person
For someone just starting out, this was insanely helpful! Same with everyone in the comments. I think I’ll be having lots of trial and error with taking nice photos/graphics this weekend between grading papers. Thank you for your wonderful post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you found it helpful! Welcome to the community!
I know a lot of the comments mention original photography, but I do use Unsplash for free stock photos, as well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome advice! Looking back to my early posts, I can definitely see a big improvement in my graphics which is good! Requested to join the group board 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same! Some of my earlier graphics are a bit questionable, but at least I’m always learning!
LikeLike
Briana, you bring up some important points. I’ve been frustrated while trying to figure out the formula for which image is chosen when I post my blog (in messages or on readers or twitter, etc.). Like, I’m trying to figure out how to make it select the image I would like for it to select. Ugh! Anyway, I appreciated this post as I’m coming up on my blog anniversary and am preparing to make some necessary changes. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have the same problem! Sometimes the worst photo gets pulled, and it makes no sense!
LikeLike
I am doing the basic things about my blog graphics right now. But I am working on making them better to align with my branding. Great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck!
LikeLike
I think the main reason I like to see images on a blog is because they give you a ‘visual summary’ of the post and they can break up what would otherwise be text-heavy posts. But usually by the time I finish writing a post, I can’t be bothered to make an image to go with it 🙈 One of my 2019 goals is to put more thought into my blog design, though, so I will keep pushing myself to add more images.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Images are definitely time-consuming, and I freely admit I do not always want to spend my time dealing with them either. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my gosh. Images are SO important. Also I have no idea how to create pinterest images but I think I want to figure out how to.
LikeLike
I usually use Canva. They have some free layouts for vertical images with text.
LikeLike
Love this post! I’ll confess that I’m not the best about bookish photography—I just don’t have the best eye for it. But I do create a graphic for most of my posts, except reviews. I might have to change that…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been playing with the idea of a graphic for reviews and I haven’t come up with anything I like yet.
LikeLike
Thanks for this post. Graphics really has an impact that’s why although I am not so artsy, I make blog title graphisc to my posts. Canva is a great help for me. I am planning to learn more about Pinterest, too. 🙂
Jennilyn @ Rurouni Jenni Reads
LikeLike
I love using Canva, as well!
LikeLike
Great point on the pins. I never thought others might want to pin my images.
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I try to pin other people’s posts all the time, but there are really only a handful of bloggers I follow that have pinnable images!
LikeLiked by 1 person