67% of online shoppers rated high-quality images as being “very important” to their purchase decision – even more than reviews and ratings.
93% of consumers consider visual appearance to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision.
People trust the photos that they see in your listing; they’ll be as disappointed as me on my last Hinge date if it shows up and doesn’t look like the photo. Dealing with refunds is a pain in the ass as it is, but creating quality photo content is one ass-pain that can be avoided.
You’ve got two choices:
- Use stock photos
- Hire a photographer
Occasionally, hilarious and often cheesy (and sometimes dark) stock photos are more cost effective and easily accessible to businesses, which is a big draw as a means of saving some cash.
However, stock photos are easy to ignore and aren’t as effective in marketing as the real deal.
You may end up using an image that turned out not to be as free as you thought, or you might unknowingly be using the same photo as your competition.
Here are my key tips for using stock photos:
- Check out who else is using that image by using a reverse image search like TinEye.
- Use typographic design on a stock image to give it your own spin.
- Obtain a rights managed license and make sure that image is all yours.
If you are going to use stock photos, it should really only be a temporary solution. Once you’ve got the cash flow, hire the real deal.
It might be expensive, but you get what you pay for: a pro that can make your product look good. Plus, you don’t have to worry about your stock photo ending up on a competitor’s listing.
Best case scenario? Just make friends with someone with a nice camera or a newer phone and keep an eye on lighting.
