Studies show over and over again that posts containing images for their blogs get far more views than posts that forego them. Author and blogging expert Jeff Bullas notes that post with images receive up to 94% more views! Adding one or more photos to each post increases your visibility because people tend to click on images and share them via social media.
If you’re a photographer you can, of course, use your own photos. If not, you have the option to buy them from a photographer or stock image website, or find free images. There are any numbers of places to find free photos available for public use. Most of the images fall under a creative commons license, so you’ll need to attribute them properly. Others have expired copyrights, meaning they have returned to the public domain.
Take a look at these five free stock photos websites. Free is always welcome when you’re content marketing on a budget.
- Death to the Stock Photo
Sign up for the email list and each month you’ll receive a selection of curated images. They also offer a $15 per month premium program where you have access to all their photos and receive a separate set of exclusive curated images.
- Unsplash
With free to use hi-res photos, the website refreshes with 10 new photos every 10 days. Lots of landscapes here, many with exceptional lighting.
- Picography
Visit if you’re looking for faces and events photos. The images are high-res and free to be used in any way you like. They also seek submissions. Every photo has a linked credit to the photographer, making it easy to find more of your favorites.
- New Old Stock
Features vintage photos and old advertisements from the public archives that are free of known copyright restrictions. Offers premium “pro photo packs” that charge a minimal fee for editing and curating.
- Little Visuals
The beautiful images here are still free but they now ask for donations in memory of the photographer, Nic, who died suddenly at the age of 27. Funds raised for the Hand on Heart Charity go supplying schools with portable defibrillators in Nic’s memory.
One final thought on free images. This is a terrific service that photographers and websites offer. Many spend hundreds of hours of their own time photographing the images, editing them and uploading them to their websites. They might ask for your email, to send an email blast of new photos every so often; we would recommend that you sign up to support their efforts and get an arsenal of great stock photos for your blog. If you need help producing blogs that get views, contact our ADTACK team today!
