words and PICTURES

I am a writer by trade.  And don’t get me wrong, being able to string a few meaningful messages together is a valuable skill when it comes to marketing yourself (and other people).

But I try not to forget the old adage – sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  It’s true.  But so often I see business communications that are so tied up with spelling out the perfect message, that the visual gets overlooked.

Here’s my top tip for the week.  Regardless of whether you’re putting together a web page, a case study, a fact sheet or even a good old presentation, spice it up and make it engaging with some well chosen imagery.

There are loads of photo libraries around.  i-stock is a good one if you haven’t got lots to spend.  But flickr has been an absolute revelation to me.  It’s a repository for people’s snaps (from happy snappers like me, through to amateurs and professional photographers).  It’s easy to search and in a lot of instances the photographers are happy for you to download and use at no cost.  But in some instances they do request a credit, or levy a charge.  So just make sure you read and abide by the rules. . .

Sara is a marketing specialist with a wealth of on-line and traditional experience. With award winning credentials as an advertising writer, her career also spans the disciplines of planning and strategy for both B2B and consumer clients. Having worked for one of the the UK's biggest non-London agencies, Sara now works on a consultancy basis for clients large and small. http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/blog