Michelle Shaeffer

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Create Perfect Free Images for Your Blog Posts

If you find yourself searching free graphics sites like Morgue File, Stock.exchange, or royalty free sites like StockFresh, iStockPhoto, or BigStockPhoto but unable to find the perfect graphic for your blog post, try these sites instead where you can create exactly what you want.

What can you do?  Feature the best quote or line from your post on a sticky note or tag, name a street in honor of your post, create a cloud of the main words from your post or set your words on fire!

Wigflip

Wigfip allows you to generate various graphics with your own text on them.  You can also create images like the three below.  www.wigflip.com

Wordle

This site lets you create a “cloud” of words from any text or feed you’d like.  These two examples are generated from my blog feed and words I’ve used frequently in recent posts.  You can choose the colors, fonts and style.  www.wordle.net

 

Flaming Text

Set your text on fire, make it brushed metal, or try one of dozens of other effects.  www.flamingtext.com

Cool Text

Cool Text is similar to Flaming Text but also allows you to put your text on buttons like this panic button. www.cooltext.com

Fake Magazine Cover

Put yourself (or any photo you’ve got) on the cover of dozens of different magazines.  www.fakemagazinecover.com

Your Turn!

What are your favorite places to find graphics to add to your blog posts?  Please share in the comments!

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  2. i am egoistic
    i usually create my graphics on my own.

    but i like your links
    i am hot on the wordles and the magazine cover
    have to try that definitly.

    maybe it is also a good idea for bloggers to look for freeware graphic programms
    they can help to do better graphics, to reduce photos in size etc.

    some say that “the gimp” is a good programm, i don.t know, because i use photoshop.
    but those who recommende “the gimp” say that it is compareable to photoshop.

    maybe worth a try.

    hope you don.t mind.
    wrote a blog on how to find free pictures for blogs

    http://helz-design.com/2011/09/07/where-do-i-find-photos/

    love helen
    helen bogun recently posted… Billy – staff of the MonthMy Profile

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  7. Great tips there Michelle – I’ll be looking forward to trying some of those resources – which would you say is the quickest one to use? ( quick is good for me!)
    I mostly use istock, or presentermedia – I went down the paid route – quite low $ though – but I use a lot of them on sales pages etc, not just for blogposts.

    I never know whether you can use a photo from somewhere like wikipedia (ie an open source type site) as long as you reference where it’s from – do you know?

    thanks
    Tanya
    Tanya Smith recently posted… Is Indecision Robbing your Business and your Life?My Profile

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    • Wigflip and Cool Text are the quickest for me. Wordle I end up playing with forever, and the Magazine cover one is a little tricky to get the photo placed on a cover that fits well.

      I use StockFresh for the majority of my photos.

      My two cents is that if I can’t find permission to use a photo (like a creative commons license or other noted permission on the page), then I don’t use it. Some images, even with attribution, can’t be used legally if that permission wasn’t granted. Many seem to take the wild west approach and just use whatever they find online, but I figure it’s better to be on the safe side. :)
      Michelle Shaeffer recently posted… How I Found My Blogging Magic–And How You Can Find Yours, Too!My Profile

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  23. I was just thinking about how I need to add more graphics to my blog, but was not sure where to get the ones that I would want to use. Thanks so much for these ideas because now I can make my own!! Super helpful.

    Reply

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