The big danger in using free stock image sites

Believe it or not, there is a big danger in using free stock image sites. In fact, if you’re using these types of sites, you might be thinking that they are the best thing since sliced bread.

After all, instead of paying some hard-earned money for images that go with your blog post, you just go to free stock image sites and pick out a free picture. How can you argue with free?

Well, there are certain dangers to these sites if you think about it hard enough. These dangers are not overblown. I’m not overstating it. These can truly harm both the quality of your blog posts and your ability to build a solid brand.

As you probably already know, if you want to be successful in the world of blogging, you have to build a brand and you have to do it quickly. Sadly, it’s very hard to do this if you are using free stock image sites. Here are the reasons why.

Saturation

There’s a reason why a lot of people love using websites that give them free stock images. I mean, after all, they don’t have to spend money. Well, the problem is people are lazy. So when they look for certain concepts or they use certain keywords on these sites, they keep getting presented with the same set of images time and time again.

Well, since people are lazy on average, they would pick the first picture that will come to mind or they would pick among a set of pictures that keep coming up. It is no surprise then that a lot of blogs show the same image.

Say you are writing a blog post on time management strategies for business owners. So, you hop on one of the stock image sites, and download the first image of a clock that you see. What do you think happens to your brand when their visitors see the same image on your blog featured on other blogs? Your blogs don’t stand out. Their blogs don’t look special at all. Their blogs fail to create a distinctive brand. How can they? They’re showing the same pictures like everybody else.

As you know, people are visual in nature. So when we see a picture, we assume that the content around it is the same. If we keep seeing the same picture over and over again, then we start getting the idea that all these websites are essentially just talking about the same stuff and all these content, for all intents and purposes, are the same.

Now, you know and I know that’s not true. You just happened to pick the most relevant picture. But the problem is you can’t be lazy and that’s precisely the danger you’ll run into if you use these websites that offer free stock images. Because if you’re like the typical American, you just don’t have the time. You wish there were more hours in a day, but there isn’t. So you just grab the first image and you run with it.

Unfortunately, that rash decision is going to hurt you. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to stop using free stock image sites. That’s not my point. My point is you can’t be lazy. So if you see that there are several hundred pages of results, try to start in the middle. Look for an image that doesn’t show immediately in searches for the keyword that you’re using. That way, there’s a good chance that your selected image won’t be saturated.

Picking images that are not on point

It’s very easy to get desperate especially if you are looking for a picture that tries to sum up an emotional state. As you probably are aware, there are many ways to describe an emotion or to describe a situation.

Depending on the word that you use, you keep pulling up the same image over and over again. It’s very easy to just give in to the temptation and say, well, this is close enough so I’ll just use this image. Well, here’s the problem. If you use that image and it doesn’t really do a good job summing up the emotions or ideas and nuances of your blog post, you’re wasting your blog post.

You’re essentially saying to the viewer that you really can’t encapsulate what it is you’re trying to say. Your message doesn’t come across the right way. Now, does this mean that they won’t read your content? Maybe they will. But a lot of the great first impressions that you could have otherwise made were wasted. It didn’t happen because you just picked an image that did a bad job getting your message across.

Remember, a really effective guest blog post speaks on many different levels. It speaks on the visual level and this is where your pictures come in. It also speaks on the textual level. And on the textual level, there are many levels. There’s the intellectual level and there’s the emotional level.

All cylinders have to be firing for your blog post to create the very best impression. And unfortunately, if you pick the wrong picture to sum it all up or to get the message across, you’re not doing your job right. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to make this mistake with free stock image sites.

Bad selection

There’s a reason why these websites are free. If you compare them to paid royalty-free image sites like Shutterstock, they don’t even come close. Those paid stock collections have millions of images to choose from. These free sites have very few. Depending on the topic or the keyword you use, they might even have a handful.

That’s why it’s a good idea to look for diversity. And if it means that you’re going to have to spend a few bucks here and there, go for it. Because this is ultimately an investment in your brand.

By following the advice above, you can steer clear of the dangers of free stock image sites. While having access to free images can help a lot of newbie publishers, once your business achieves profitability, it might be a good time to actually invest in paid stock image collections. You will probably maximize your ROI by going that route.