4 Subtle Reasons Why You Should Use Personal Pictures For Your Articles

Full disclosure, I stole this idea off of a famous internet writer, Nicolas Cole.

When I first started writing online, I read all the top online writers daily. And Nicolas stood out. Not because of his storytelling skills, which are phenomenal, but because he went the extra mile to attach a high-quality image of himself on each and every one of his articles.

This gave his writing a feeling of professionalism that even the most well-written articles with their stock images lacked. I immediately recognized the branding benefits this brings — and then proceeded to copy Nic shamelessly. Hey, imitation is the best form of flattery, right?

But after a year of fiddling around with the concept, I realized that the benefits of using personal pictures go beyond branding alone. I’ve compiled four subtle reasons why you should use your own images to adorn your articles, and they are as follows:

• To stand out from other writers.
• To funnel traffic to your own websites.
• To expand your internet footprint.
• To help readers connect with you.

So without further ado, let us begin!

Stand Out Immediately From The Crowd

You are inimitable.

You are the only person in this blue space-rock of 7 billion that is, well, you. A good rule of thumb in marketing is to double down on what makes you unique, and seeing how humans are hard-wired to recognize faces, there are very few things in the world that can help you stand out as much as your own mug.

Professional athletes, musicians and actors all invest heavily in their image. They get professional-quality pictures of themselves taken and are not shy about pasting them everywhere. As writers — and whether we like it or not, fellow entertainers, we would do well to follow their example.

Think about it; the same Unplash pictures have been reused Ad Nauseaum by thousands of writers. But you are the only person who has access to your own pictures. Capitalizing on this little-used advantage will make your articles one-of-a-kind.

It’s already difficult enough to distinguish yourself as a writer — we wielders of the pen only have 24 letters and a blank page to play with. Personal pictures are a simple and effective way to help you stand out like a crimson streak in a sea of grey, a silver shark in a school of herring.

And in the crowded world of online writing, standing out is a very good thing.

Increase The Foot Traffic Of Any Website You Choose

If you use someone else’s picture for your stories, an unspoken rule is to credit the photographer by providing a link to his page. To not do so is considered a little rude.

However, if you’re using your the images you own, you owe no such courtesy. You can link that image to wherever you want, since, well, you’re the one who owns it! This is where things get interesting.

For example, if you’d like your readers to connect with you on Instagram, a good strategy is to subtly link your Instagram account at the bottom of your picture. This way, should your readers be keen to know more about you, they can click the link provided and follow you in two, easy fuss-free clicks. Scroll up to the top of this story to see this technique in action. Like Gary Vee says,

“Don’t watch what I say, watch what I do!”

Here are some ideas where you can direct traffic to:

• Your personal website
• A blog that you write on
• Your Twitter
• Your Facebook Page
• Your Instagram account
• Your LinkedIn profile
• And more

To put it bluntly, there’s no reason to draw attention to another creator when you can use the above method to get your readers to follow you instead.

This is rudimentary funnel marketing in action. It adds layers to your content, allowing you to draw people deeper and deeper into your story, into your brand, into your craft. This not only helps you gain more followers for the same amount of work, it makes it easier for you to convert casual readers into loyal, true fans.

And true fans are the lifeblood of every artist.

Expand Your Internet “Real Estate”

If you Google “Alvin Ang”, my social media accounts appear on the first page. Should you search my name on Google Images, the first image you’ll find is my profile picture on one of the sites I write on. Here’s a screenshot:

I’m not showing you this to be narcissistic. I’m showing you this because there is an opportunity here, an opportunity that very few creators are capitalizing on.

Gary Vee believes there will be a land grab for internet real-estate in the next 5–10 years. I’m a little bit more pessimistic. I believe that the land grab is happening as we speak, and that the winners will be decided in about half the time that Gary projected.

This won’t affect you if you’re a 9–5 worker, but if you intend to make a living as a creator, then you might want to sit up and pay attention. Projections state that 90% of the world population will be on the internet by 2030, an increase of nearly forty percent from 2018. In layman terms, the internet right now is akin to New York City or San Francisco before the property boom.

If owning content on the internet can be likened to owning property, then attaching personal pictures to said content is akin to plastering billboards on a skyscraper. It will put you in the best position to make the most of the boom when it comes, and it will do so by helping you:

• Build credibility
• Increase your SEO visibility (can be helped further along by alt-text)
• Making your visual brand more recognizable
• And more

The simple act of attaching your own images to your stories is an easy way to increase your digital footprint. And in the swift-approaching world of the future, anything that helps contribute to your online presence is a valuable asset.

Help Readers Connect Emotionally With You

This last point is, to me, the most important.

All of the above points can do wonders for your professional writing career, yes, but writers should never lose sight of the fact that we write not for ourselves, but for our fans. Research shows that our brains process visual images in as little as 13 milliseconds. That’s 90,000 times faster than we process words.

Including your own images on your stories lets your readers put a human face to the words on the page, to connect with you on a deeper level. Additionally, your pictures will help create what’s known as an “Attractive Character” in your reader’s minds, one of the best ways to get people emotionally invested in your journey.

This may sound a little far-fetched, but I assure you it’s not. Using charismatic authority figures to further a cause is a technique that has been employed with great effect since the dawn of human civilization.

People prefer connecting with a fellow human being over a faceless brand. Even die-hard advocates of certain companies tend to follow the CEO’s of those companies over the corporations themselves. Elon Musk has more followers than Tesla, Bill Gates has more followers than Microsoft, so on and so forth.

Including your own pictures to the stories you write helps provide a much-needed visual component to your words. Without them, you run the risk of becoming yet another disembodied voice in a sea of millions. However, with the simple addition of personalized visuals, you become something more; something with feelings, something relatable, something…human.

And that human element is exactly what is needed to convert a casual reader into a lifelong fan.

Bonus Tip: Collaborate With Budding Photographers

The easiest way to get good quality pictures without paying out of your nose is to collaborate with budding photographers.

Now, I’m not telling you to exploit a fellow artist for free work. I’m suggesting you find a win-win situation and double down on it; because let’s face it, unless you belong in the top 1% of online writers, you’re probably not making much bank — and professional photos can be expensive.

Photos taken by a practicing photographer, however, come cheaper. Ideally, you’d like to eventually form a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with one or more photographers, but in the beginning, a great way to source images is to approach students majoring in courses like Photography/Photojournalism and ask if they need a model for their schoolwork.

Chances are they’d be happy to shoot you in exchange for modeling services rendered. You win, and they win. Another great method is to seek out photography enthusiasts looking to hone their skills on established Facebook Groups. Approach them with the same win-win deal; practice in exchange for pictures.

Remember, you don’t necessarily need tip-top, superstar-quality pictures for your articles — save those for your wedding. As long as they’re professional-looking and somewhat appropriate for the story you’re writing, they’re perfect for the job.

In Summary: Use Your Own Pictures As Much As You Can

Have you ever had your mind blown by a great novel, then proceeded to google the author only to unearth little to no information? He or she might at most have an old website with a blurry headshot taken five years ago, and an Instagram account with a weird username and nothing on it but pictures of cats and coffee.

I mean, I don’t even know what some of my favorite authors look like! I wouldn’t recognize them if I passed them on the street. This thought makes me a little sad.

Adding personal images to the stories you write is a simple way to avoid this fate. It’s a subtle but powerful move you can implement to help you simultaneously stand out, funnel your readers to any website you choose, expand your internet footprint, and most importantly, foster a deeper relationship with your readers. And in the hyper-competitive world of online writing, all of these are very, very good things.

So use personal pictures to adorn your next article, and take your online writing game to the next level.