Category: Blogging

March 5, 2014

How To Choose A Blog Image

There are a lot of ways to draw viewers to your blog: You can write a catchy headline or tweet something witty; you can write about current events or a hot button topic. One of our favorite methods however is to include an eye catching photo that is both relevant to the subject and visibly appealing.

Today’s society is heavily invested in aesthetics. If we see something we like, we’ll click on it, that’s why so many of those “Amazing Photos” and “Funny Athlete Pictures” Twitter handles and websites are so popular.

So how do you go about choosing an image for your blog? We’ve got some tips:

Actively Implementing Marketing Solutions 4 Tips for Choosing a Blog Image

Choose an image that matches your theme.

This is a blog that is all about images and how to choose them, so we chose an image that featured a series of scrolling images. Each of the images in the photo above is bright, cheery and clear. We’re hoping this blog is as well.

Is it eye catching?

When you are scrolling through images don’t just choose the first photo that matches your theme. Instead, spend some quality time searching for a picture that piques your interest, one that would make you stop and read the attached article.

If we’ve said it one, we’ll say it a thousand times over again: If you are writing (or in this case viewing) something that doesn’t interest you, it won’t interest your readers.

Choose an image that appeals to your clientele base.

We tend to represent clients in niche industries, and we market our blogs for the readers most likely to be interested in said industry. That isn’t to say we don’t welcome other viewers, but we know our clients and we cater to their needs, just as you should be catering to the needs of yours.

Use only royalty free images.

Check out this blog post for more information on that topic.

Photo – © stillkost – Fotolia.com

February 18, 2014

Writing a Strong Insurance Blog

We like to think that writing a strong insurance blog is an art form. Like art, it needs to flow, and it needs to speak to the viewer. Too many agencies out there are forcing it.

If the sole purpose of your blog is to generate sales, then you’re likely to fail. In your face marketing is a turnoff, so it begging for clicks and shares. The goal of your blog should be to attract fans.

Your fans are your biggest cheerleaders, they want to see you succeed, and they want to help you – usually by sharing your blog posts on social media.

And how do you attract new fans? By creating content that they will actually want to read. Let’s be real, insurance isn’t exactly a topic that gets people excited, which is why it is important to write on topics that interest a broad range of individuals.

As an example, we write for insurance companies, and yet our most popular blog post was on safety tips for riding your motorcycle in the wind. Our message wasn’t overt; it was subtle. As an insurance company you want viewers to know that you care about their wellbeing, it’s not just about turning a profit off of their potential misfortunes.

And guess what? Harley Davidson of all companies caught wind of the blog and shared it with their followers on Google+. Now here we are, nearly 20,000 page views later. That’s 20,000 sets of eyes focused on this one insurance company’s content. Here’s guessing not all of those page views came from current customers.

So here are the three Actively Implementing Marketing Solutions tips for writing a strong insurance blog:

Be subtle. You don’t always have to push your products. If viewers are interested in learning more, they will contact you for more information.
Write to a wide audience. Forget the jargon and lose the techy language – your blogs should be informal and easy to understand.
Share information that interests you. Our best, most viewed blogs are always the ones that we enjoyed writing. If you don’t enjoy writing it, how can you expect anyone else to enjoy reading it?

Photo – © Michael Brown – Fotolia.com

February 7, 2014

Is it OK to take Images from Google?

Speaking from experience: No, it is not OK to take images from Google and post them to your own blog or website.

Copyright infringement on the internet is a real thing and it can cost you big bucks; trust us, we know, and so do thousands of other bloggers. Ask Kari DePhillips of The Content Factory or Roni Loren over at BlogHer. Both were hit with copyright infringement penalties in excess of $8,000 for posting a copyrighted photo to their personal or their client’s blog without permission.

You read that right, $8,000 just for using a photo.

The problem is, where copyrights are concerned, a photo is never just a photo; it is another person’s intellectual property.

We did the same thing here at AIMS, and honestly, it was a mistake. We found a great picture on Google, linked it back to the original source and posted away; all the while thinking it would be fine because we provided a photo credit.

Several months and countless blog posts later we were hit with a fat fine and a notice to take the photo down.

Ignorance is no excuse and it is a lesson we have learned well. We were not operating within the Fair Use guidelines for images.

What is Fair Use? It is a provision in US copyright law that allows the use of a copyrighted material on a limited basis for a specific purpose without the permission of the copyright holder.

So, now you may be asking, is my use fair? To answer that question you should be using the four factor test:

1. What is the purpose of use?

Nonprofit, educational, scholarly or research tend to be the most acceptable forms of use.

2. What is the nature or type of work?

Content should be published and fact based.

3. Hoe much have you used?

Use only what is necessary – less is better.

4. What is the market effect?

If it is not possible to gain permission to use the photo, or it will not effect the market value of the photo it may be acceptable to use.

Our advice? DO NOT USE GOOGLE TO PULL IMAGES FOR YOUR WEBSITE.

We started using royalty-free images exclusively, and it has been worth the investment. If you want to avoid costly penalties or lawsuits, it would be in your best interest financially to do the same.