Find The Best, Copyright Free Pictures

If you are a small business, often finding good inexpensive pictures to use in advertising or on your blog can be a challenge. Even if you find a good picture, the copyright may keep you from being able to publish it or alter the content in the way you need to for your purposes. As a result, finding pictures becomes hard and you end up with a product that is either not what you want or expensive.

Knowing where to find good, inexpensive, and copyright free images is key. Also, knowing how to determine what the copyright rules are on an image is also important. To help make your job easier, we have compiled a list of great resources to look for general copyright and royalty free images and other media with some tips on copyright.

Generally, anything listed on any of these sites under Public Domain of Creative Commons are free for your use and alteration, commercially or non-commercially. Each site however will have its own specific guide with clear labels.

Pixabay – This is a great resource for copyright free images as all images are released into the public domain under “Creative Commons CC0.” This means that the images can be used in almost any manner including commercial and print use. While attribution is appreciated, it is not required as part of using the image. This service is also free.

Flickr – This is an awesome source for images that range in copyright restrictions. Like Pixabay, Flicker has some images that are released into the public domain. In addition however, they also have some images with some copyright restrictions that are clearly labeled. For example, some simply require attributions. What level of copyright can be clearly determined on each picture and the site provides a helpful outline of what is required of each level. While this site has some restrictions, they are reasonable and still allow for flexibility, and the slightly higher restrictions generally lead to better, higher quality images.

National Park Service – If you a looking for some awesome nature scenes, check out the National Park Service website. Any media credited to NPS that does not have a copyright symbol are public domain, and therefore, up for grabs.

SoundCloud – This is a great resource for finding sounds and music that are copyright free. From sounds effects to audio tracks, everything in the creative commons section is public domain and free for your use. Be careful to check to make sure the media is available for commercial use, as some may not be.

Again, keep in mind that with all of these sites there may be some exceptions, so be sure to check the copyright on each image that you use to make sure it is safe. However, generally these sites should be great resources for copyright and royalty free images and other media.

How To Design A Killer Business Card

Having a small business means you must learn how to function in many roles. You are the owner, the manager, the accountant, and the marketer all in one. When people meet you for the first time, how will they remember you? Making a great first impression is important, but having a killer business card is key. You might think a business card is meaningless in today’s technology-savvy society. However, business cards are a timeless piece of marketing material that actually work. Your business card is not the end-all be-all, but if done effectively it will create a lasting impression on customers that will make them remember you when they need your services. Take a look at our tips for designing a killer business card.

1. There’s two sides for a reason

Nothing looks more unprofessional than a one-sided business card. Sure a two-sided full-color card may cost a bit extra, but it’s worth it to make customers know you didn’t forget to finish the other side of your design. Plus, when you are only working with a 3.5” x 2” space, wouldn’t you want to double that by using both sides of the card? We think YES!

2. Design

Of course the design is important, but did you know your aesthetic choices have actually been proven to make a difference based on human psychology? Spacing, font choice, white space, and colors are all perceived differently in the mind. For example, red displays power, while blue represents peacefulness. Be cautious what customers will interpret about your business based on the design.

3. Content

Just as important as the design of your card is the information on it. Your business card must contain a tagline that quickly explains who you are and what you do. Regardless of your profession or how complicated your job may be, your tagline needs to be a quick, simple explanation of what you do. Your card needs to explain what you do when you first hand it to someone, remind someone who has had the card awhile what you do, or show people who are passed along what you do. All of these functions require a tagline explaining what you do! In addition, you should add basic information about your business. Feel free to include social media icons or links, but be sure to have a nice balance between imagery and text. If you are unsure of what information to put, just stick with the basics: name, website, email address, physical address, and phone number.

These are the basic elements to a great business card. If you need help designing your customized business card, contact us today!

It’s A Great Day To Be A Small Business Owner

Being a small business owner can be stressful, but luckily your marketing doesn’t have to be. It’s the golden age for marketing. There are so many platforms and opportunities available in today’s world that our ancestors couldn’t have even imagined.

  • Social media gives us free access to a global audience
  • YouTube is like a free TV spot. You can post your own content for the entire world to see.
  • Ebooks allow us to publish our own content without a publisher or contract.
  • Website Building Sites like Wix or WordPress allow us to create our own website for little to no cost!
  • Podcasts give us our own radio station – were we can pick who talks and what is said.

All of these sources are available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Smartphones have changed the game so now you can reach your customers with just the click of a button. The great part about all of these options is that you are in charge. There’s no TV producer, no magazine editor, no news reporter to pick you. You pick yourself, and that is the beautiful thing about the golden age of marketing.

With these new technologies you can reach a wider audience, move at a faster pace, tell more interactive stories, and customize your content. Research and analytics can show you who buys what, and how and why. You can get inside your customers head and tailor your message specifically for them. You are able to give the customers what they need and value based on the power of analytics.

With platforms like Twitter, you can market real-time to real people. Customers can engage with your brand in front of the entire world. You can interact with global issues that are happening now to make your brand seem more “human”. Your marketing now not only gives customers information, but also gives them an experience.

Transparency is everything. Show your customers who you really are and give them a behind the scenes peek at what you do. New platforms make marketing much less formal so your customers can get to know the real you and what your brand is all about.

With technology ever changing and the global market growing, you have a lot to consider when creating a marketing strategy. Luckily, many platforms make it simple to express your brand in any way you want. The next age of marketing is yours to do with what you want. You have the freedom and the power to define your own marketing.