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I'm not saying that in order to be successful you need to have images, but it goes a long way in terms of conveying emotion, building a brand image and creating individuality and personality for your website.
Convey emotion by adding a picture
As humans we are largely responsive to visual cues (pictures) whether we like to admit it or not.
Pictures have the ability to make us feel happy, excited, disgusted, and curious among other things.
We can remember a famous brand just by looking at their image and can even reminisce 10, 20, 30 years into the past to a moment in our lives where we were affected emotionally by a specific event simply by looking at an old picture.
Images can also warn us or give us clues about to what's to come.
Magazines understand the basic nature of human beings and our inability to ignore powerful images.
Along with powerfully emotional headlines, pictures that capture stunning moments in time stand prominently in our view peaking our curiosity and changing our mood instantly.
Use images in your content to bring it to life
Adding a picture to an article or a post can add several advantages to your website.
First off aside from powerful headlines people are drawn involuntarily to the pictures they see on your site.
Images convey emotion about what you are talking about in a powerfully sensory based way and gives additional depth to your content.
Good images create an atmosphere that people want to invoke themselves in and be a part of.
If your visitors can relate to and connect with your images you've increased the likelihood that they will return.
Second, images can create a personality for your website and help your brand stand out amongst the crowd.
The more your images attract the eyes, minds, and hearts or your visitors and readers the more they will remember you and your brand, and the more likely you are to build relationships and gain return visitors.
Third, Images give your visitors and readers a break from all the content.
Overwhelm has an amazing ability to scare people away.
Give them something to focus on and relate to other than content and they will definitely appreciate you for it!
Pictures have the ability to make your website look more professional
As a small blog or business owner having high quality images can help make your site look more professional and high-end.
This can be helpful when starting out because visitors that aren't familiar with you are looking for reasons as to whether or not they should stay on your site, and having high quality pictures can give you a professional look that will appeal to those that question your websites significance or authority.
Remember pictures should be used as a way to create emotion.
Emotion is the driving force in all societies (at least that I know of) and your ability to convey it is what will either help build your brand or hurt it.
Why a picture is worth a thousand words
I'm sure by now you are well aware of the power images have over the human mind and how proper use of them can convey deep emotional connections with those who visit your site, but on a scientific (cognitive) level images are unconsciously persuasive.
They affect how we see ourselves and the world around us and enhance the likelihood that we will take certain actions to stay cohesive with our identity.
Yes, pictures are powerful and when used in the right way they can influence our readers, customers and our society, but they must flow well with our content or they may end up leaving a bad impression.
So, what about you? Do you believe a picture is worth a thousand words?
