Book Marketing Toolbox - Stock Photos and Illustrations

If you're looking for just the right image to use on your website or books, you can find photos and illustrations online at reasonable prices.

Here are just a few of the ways you can use stock photos and illustrations:

• Illustrate blog posts to reinforce the message and break up large blogs of text.
• Use images on covers for books and ebooks.
• Find arrows, buttons, guarantee seals, and other graphics for web pages.

The toolbox photo on this post came from my favorite stock image site, iStockPhoto.
Bigstock is another good source. Right now, Bigstock is offering a 50% discount on the first image purchased by new customers. I'm not sure if the offer has an expiration date.

Other good sources for photos and illustrations include Dreamstime and Crestock. On Stock.Xchng you'll find free photos mixed in with links to paid images on iStockPhoto.

All of these sites offer royalty-free images that can be used for marketing purposes, but check the license agreement if you have any questions about the specific uses that are allowed. The cost is usually about $2 to $3 for small photos suitable for online use. Prices are a little higher for larger, high-resolution photos and for illustrations, but still reasonable.

For free photos to use in blog posts, check out the Creative Commons section of Flickr. Use the search box on this page to look for an appropriate image. When you find a photo you like, check the License section in the right column to find out how you may use the photo and what attribution is required.

For more tips on buying and using images, see this article.

Now, go forth and illustrate!

Comments

[Astrid]

I thought I'd give you and your readers some more resources.

www.publicdomainpictures.net and
www.public-domain-photos.com

Both sites are small, with only a few thousand pictures, but they may provide what some bloggers and writers need. And since the pictures have been released in the public domain, they can be used commercially for free.

If you're looking for something more, you can also try Fotolia and DepositPhotos. These are similar to Dreamstime, BigStock, and iStockPhoto. But make sure to read the license agreements because some are more restictive than others.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks for the tips, Astrid. Someones when you're looking for a very specific image it's good to search several sources. And free is always good!

[Pat W. Kirk]

Dana: Your blogs are a total education. I usually don't gush, but I can't tell you how much help you have given me.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks so much Pat - I'm so glad you find the blogs helpful and I wish you much success with your books!
Dana