Lesson for the day (following random maze photo posted on its lonesome by mistake):

Some generous people have made their images available for free use under certain conditions through creative commons. You can find them though flikr. You can search for an image that fits your blog and post it directly from their site. It’s simple, and yet it’s not.

You have to type in copy for the post on the site. Otherwise, the photo will go out all alone with no explanation, causing people to wonder what you intended.

Although there might be technical difficulties and things may seem overly complicated at times, it is good to include pictures with your posts when possible. People like pictures. They can help to set the tone for the post, pique a reader’s interest, and reinforce your message. You can use the free ones from Creative Commons, buy some inexpensive images through web sites like veer.com, or take your own.

What should you look for?

• Relevance – cute puppies are great, but will your reader be disappointed if they’re not reading about them?
• Intrigue – as with a headline, a photo should grab the readers attention and shout “READ ME.”
• Quality- a high quality photo is more likely to get a good look (but the first two points are more important).