It’s true, a well placed image that has been carefully chosen for your blog post can be a real enticement for your readers. I am always disappointed when I come upon a well-written blog that doesn’t use an image or two to help illustrate the intent of the posts being displayed. Come on be honest now, the above image got your attention better than just the clever blog title, didn’t it?

While I advocate adding images to blog posts, there are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure positive results. So, in keeping with one of my favorite activities, making lists – here is a list of things to keep in mind when adding images to blog posts:

1. – Don’t add more than one or two images per post. More is not better, it’s only more. One or two images should be more than enough to help compliment your article. After all you’re adding images to your blog post to act as a garnish, not the main course. Too many images will detract from your words. The exception is how-to and tutorial blogs, where more images are necessary to illustrate how to accomplish a specific task.

2. – Don’t use images that are too large and overwhelming. Keep the images down to an easy-on-the-eyes size. Again, the goal is to compliment not beat people over the head with the image. Less is more, and more is just too much.

3. – Use images that are easily related to the post.Your images should in some way have something to do with your post. It can be a real challenge sometimes to find an image to illustrate your words. I struggle with this, as much of what I am writing about does not easily lend itself to illustration by image. I often use images as a metaphor for what I am blogging about. In order to make this more obvious, I make liberal use of captions. Which brings us to the next item in the list…

4. – Captions can go a long way to linking an image to your blog post topic. If you are using images in a clever metaphorical way to illustrate the point of a post, you may find it helpful to add a caption. I often do this, as I did with the image for this post. Captions can help readers make a strong connection between the blog post image and the content of the article.

5. – Make sure to resize images in an editor and reduce their file size. Images can be cropped and resized in an image editor. This will cut down the image file size and reduce the time it takes to load the images on your blog. Too many images that are too large can slow down the time it takes to load your pages. Don’t have an image editor? Check out this post to find free editors oline.

6. – Use only your own images or images you are licensed to use. There are many places online where you can download images. Check out this post for a list of free image sources. Always take the time to review the liscencing information and display credit appropriately. If you have doubts you can try using Zemanta for adding content to your blog posts. It will offer you a selection images related to your post content and automatically add the proper credits to the images that you choose to insert.

So I hope to see you using images to help illustrate and compliment your blog posts. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, speaking volumes with out saying a thing. Adding images to blog posts is a powerful way to enhance your blog and capture your readers’ attention. Don’t you think?

If you have more insight to share with regards to using images in blog posts, please leave a comment. I always love to hear what you have to say.

An attentive Blog Angel awaits your comments.