Content Marketing

It’s damn hard finding the perfect high-quality photo that’s FREE to download.

But no longer.

Below is the complete list of 56 free photo websites for you to download high-quality photos, at no cost, and do with them as you want. The list is updated frequently.

All the listed free photo websites have been summarized to include information about:

• any copyright restrictions.
• whether photo attribution is required.
• search capability on the site to find photos.
• whether signup is required.
• link to the website.

Unless specified in the summary below, photos are free of copyright restrictions which mean you can download them and use them for commercial or personal purposes, without attribution.

Photos available to download from free photo websites are released under various types of Creative Commons licenses that may or may not require attribution.

The most common is a CC0 Creative Commons license which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the free downloaded photo for commercial or personal purposes, without asking for permission or giving attribution.

I’ve listed the sites in my order of preference. Obviously, high-resolution photos are foremost, as is diversity and range of images. Having a search function on the site is important, as are well-tagged photos.

I hope you get tremendous value from this article in finding that magic photo to compliment your work.

UPDATE (New Additions):

All updates are included in the list below of free photo websites.

1. Pikwizard
2. RAWPixel

56 free photo websites in order of preference

Unsplash

One of my favorite sites for high-resolution copyright-free photos. There are no copyright restrictions on photos and they can be used for any purpose without attribution. Unsplash has search capability.

Website: unsplash.com

Streetwill

Streetwill contains high-resolution, high-quality photos from various contributors. All photos are free from copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: streetwill.co

Picjumbo

The site was created by Viktor Hanacek, a photographer and online entrepreneur from the Czech Republic. Picjumbo contains an enormous number of high-quality photos that are categorized and searchable. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions.

Website: picjumbo.com

Pexels

Pexels is run by Bruno Joseph, Ingo Joseph and Daniel Frese to help designers, writers, artists, programmers and other creators get free access to beautiful high-quality photos. All photos are tagged and searchable, and available without copyright restrictions. Attribution is not required.

Website: pexels.com

New Old Stock

Recapturing history. Vintage photos from the public archives and free of known copyright restrictions. Although without search capability, it is rewarding going through the photos individually available on New Old Stock.

Website: twnsnd.co

Thomas Hawk

Thomas Hawk is a photographer who has over 110,000 images available to download on his Flickr page. Photos have been curated into albums. Although there isn’t a search function, there is a page containing all the photo tags. There are two main copyright restrictions on photos – they can only be used for private purposes (they cannot be used for commercial purposes), and attribution must be given by providing a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Website: flickr.com/photos/thomashawk

Kaboompics

High-resolution photos to download and free of all copyright restrictions. To find photos use can either use the Search Box, click #Tag under the photo, or choose a Category to see the images you’re looking for. New photos are added daily to Kaboompics.

Website: kaboompics.com

Life of Pix

Download beautiful high-resolution photos by Leeroy Advertising Agency in Montreal and their network of photographers. There are no copyright restrictions and photos are added weekly. Life of Pix has search capability.

Website: lifeofpix.com

Minimography

Minimography is a project from Lauren Mancke and Brian Gardner that enables you to download royalty-free minimalist photos for your personal or commercial projects. There are no copyright restrictions although an attribution link back to the site would be appreciated, but not required. The site has search capability.

Website:  minimography.com

Morguefile

Founded by Michael Connors, Morguefile is a free photo archive “for creatives, by creatives.” Its large database of high-resolution photos is searchable and are available without copyright restrictions.

Website: morguefile.com

SplitShire

Created by Daniel Nanescu, SplitShire offers free high-resolution photos with no copyright restrictions. Photos have been categorized and can be searched by tag.

Website: splitshire.com

Stokpic

The site was created by Ed Gregory who decided to give away his photos for free. You can either subscribe, and get 10 new high-resolution photos sent every 2 weeks, or search by category or search bar to choose photos. All photos on Stokpic are free from copyright restrictions – attribution is not required.

Website: stokpic.com

Albumarium

Unlike other free photo websites, photos are organized into albums. Searching for a photo is replaced by searching for an album which contains similar photos. Photos on Albumarium are free of copyright restrictions, but photo attribution is required.

Website: albumarium.com

FancyCrave

FancyCrave is a free stock photo site created by designer & photographer Igor Ovsyannykov in February 2015. He publishes two high-resolution photos daily that are free of all copyright restrictions. The site has search capability.

Website: fancycrave.com

Foodiesfeed

FoodiesFeed is a resource of free realistic food photos in high resolution and free digital goods related to food. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: foodiesfeed.com

Free Nature Stock

Free Nature Stock photos was created by Adrian Pelletier. All photos are free of restrictions to use as you want without or attribution. In short, do whatever you want. The site has search capability and is updated daily.

Website: freenaturestock.com

Gratisography

Gratisography has free high-resolution pictures to download and use on personal and commercial projects. New pictures are added weekly by photographer Ryan McGuire and are free of all copyright restrictions. Photos have been categorized for convenience and the site has search capability.

Website: gratisography.com

Jay Mantri

High-resolution images by photographer Jay Mantri are available to download free of all copyright restrictions. The site does not have a search function. Attribution is not required.

Website: jaymantri.com

Magdeleine

High-resolution photos are submitted and hand-picked by the team at Magdeleine for free download without copyright restrictions. Some photos do, however, require attribution. The site has search capability, and photos are categorized. A new photo is added every day.

Website: magdeleine.co

Pikwizard

Pikwizard has free high-resolution pictures to download and use on personal and commercial projects. There are no copyright restrictions on photos and they can be used for any purpose. Attribution, although not necessary, is always appreciated by the photographer. Pikwizard has search capability with good tagging. Photos can either be downloaded or copy and paste the code to link directly to the photo.

Website: Pikwizard

Mophoto

Mophoto is a subscription-based service that also offers free images. If you sign up, you’ll receive a selection of seven free high-resolution photos each week that can be used in any way you want. The site has search capability and photos are without copyright restrictions.

Website: mopho.to

RAWPixel

High-resolution copyright-free photos to download. There are no copyright restrictions on photos and they can be used for any purpose without attribution. RAWPixel has search capability and login is required.

Website: rawpixel.com

Skitterphoto

Established in 2014, high-quality photos are uploaded daily. They can be found by browsing the categories or by search. Photos on the website are authentic and not from other sites. All photos were taken directly by Skitterphoto creators and users. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions.

Website: skitterphoto.com

Bossfight

Bossfight aggregates photos daily from other popular free photo download sites that are free of restrictions. You can download photos individually, subscribe for free, or get a downloadable zip file of EVERY image once a month. The site has search and 8 photo categories. There are no restrictions and attribution is not required.

Website: bossfight.co

DesignersPics

All photos have been captured by Jeshu John, web developer and designer, whose frustration with the lack of free quality photos available inspired the sites creation. Photos are uploaded daily and are without copyright restrictions (attribution would be appreciated but nor necessary). DesignersPics has search capability.

Website: designerspics.com

Free JPG

Free high-quality stock photos for commercial and personal use. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and Free JPG has search capability.

Website: freejpg.com

Good Stock Photos

Good Stock Photos was created by Steven Ma, a web designer and online marketer. Photos are organized into collections as well as the site having a general search function. Every day a new photo is uploaded. All photos are high-resolution and free of all copyright restrictions.

Website: goodstock.photos

Pickup Image

Pickup Image is one of the largest collections of free high-quality photographs. The site is searchable and photos are free of all copyright restrictions. To download photos, you need to sign up to create a free account.

Website: pickupimage.com

Pixabay

A large collection of photos uploaded by contributors. Pixabay is a comprehensive site that is searchable. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions.

Website: pixabay.com

StockSnap

Hundreds of high-resolution images added weekly. All photos are free from copyright restrictions – no attribution required. StockSnap has search capability.

Website: stocksnap.io

The Light Painters Loft

Founded by Sabrina Milazzo (photographer, designer, and blogger), the Light Painters Loft is a resource for high-quality free stock photos to download and do as you please. All photos are free of copyright restrictions – attribution is not required. Search either by using category or the search bar.

Website: thelightpaintersloft.com

Best Stock Photo Free

Best Stock Photo Free has a good selection of photos which can be found using search or from the curated 19 categories for photos. Registration to obtain a free account is necessary to download photos. Attribution is required for all photos and some are restricted to only non-commercial use.

Website: beststockphotofree.com

Cupcake

Photos on Cupcake are free of all restrictions which means you can use them any way you want. The site doesn’t have a search function. Although attribution is not required, Jonas Wimmerström, the photographer, would love to hear where his photos have ended up.

Website: cupcake.nilssonlee.se

FreeRange Stock

Freerange Stock was formed with the goal to provide free high-quality stock photos for commercial and non-commercial use. Free sign up is required to download photos and there are no restrictions. The site has search capability.

Website: freerangestock.com

Getrefe

Getrefe has high-quality stock photos for commercial and personal use. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and the site has search capability. Free sign up is required to download photos.

Website: getrefe.com

Jeshoots

This site showcases high-resolution photos by Jan Vašek (Czech Republic, Prague). Photos have been categorized as there is no search function. All photos on Jeshoots are available to download free of all restrictions.

Website: jeshoots.com

Lock & Stock Photos

Photos are provided by AJ Montpetit to download and do as you please. There are no copyright restrictions. Lock & Stock Photos has a search function and photos are categorized.

Website: lockandstockphotos.com

RGBStock

One of the largest collections of free high-quality photographs. RGBStock is searchable by tag or category and photos are free of all copyright restrictions. To download photos, you need to sign up to create a free account.

Website: rgbstock.com

Superfamous

All photos and images by Folkert Gorter. Photos are free of copyright restrictions, except attribution is required. Superfamous doesn’t have a search function.

Website: superfamous.com

Visual Hunt

High-quality free photos in one place. Visual Hunt curates the best free images from many online sources and pulls them together. Most of the photos are free from all copyright restrictions which means you need to check each photo for any restrictions they may have. The site has search capability and can be browsed by popular categories.

Website: visualhunt.com

Alexander Rentsch

Alexander is a Berlin-based photographer who’s uploaded his portfolio to Flicker curated into 4 albums. There is no search function, other than album categorization. Login is not required. Photo attribution is required and photos can’t be used for commercial purposes.

Website: flickr.com/photos/captain_die

Ancestry Images

The site is a free image archive of historical prints and images dating from the 17^th but mostly from the later 18th century and 19th century. Ancestry Images does have search capability. Attribution is not required and there are no copyright restrictions.

Website: ancestryimages.com

Death to the Stock Photo

They describe themselves as a photo & inspiration haven for creatives. What they offer is an email subscription service that sends curated photo packs every month. The photos are free of all restrictions and can be used in any way you want. Death to the Stock Photo doesn’t have a search function.

Website: deathtothestockphoto.com

Free Images

Free Images was launched in February 2001 as an alternative for expensive stock photography. The idea was to create a site where creative people could exchange their photos for inspiration or work. You need to sign up (for free) to gain access to hundreds of thousands of high-quality, hand-picked stock photos and graphics. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: freeimages.com

Good Free Photos

Good Free Photos has high-quality stock photos for commercial and personal use. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: goodfreephotos.com

LibreShot

This site showcases high-resolution photos taken by Martin Vorel. Photos have been categorized and there is search capability. All photos on LibreShot are available to download free of copyright restrictions.

Website: libreshot.com

Negative Space

Free photos are added weekly to Negative Space and all are released without copyright restrictions. Photos can be searched by category or using the site search function.

Website: negativespace.co

Snapwire Snaps

Every week, 7 free high-quality photos are uploaded to Snapwire Snaps to download and do as you please. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: snapwiresnaps.tumblr.com

WOCinTech Chat

The Founders of WOCinTech Chat are both professionals in the tech industry and women of color from New York City. One of their initiatives is 500+ images available to download on their Flickr page. Photos have been curated into 3 albums. Although there isn’t a search function, there is a page containing all the photo tags. There’s only one main copyright restrictions on photos and that is attribution must be given by providing a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Website: flickr.com/photos/wocintechchat

Bucketlistly

Over 2800+ travel photos categorized by country. There is no search function on Bucketlistly other than country categories, and photos are free of all restrictions.

Website: bucketlistly.com

IM Free

A free curated collection of photos and images for private and commercial use. Photo attribution is required but otherwise is free of all copyright restrictions. IM Free has search capability.

Website: imcreator.com

ISO Republic

ISO Republic was founded in October 2014 by Tom Eversley, a designer, and photographer from England. All images are high-resolution and free to download for commercial and personal creative projects. Photo attribution is not required (but would be appreciated). The site is searchable and photos are free of all copyright restrictions.

Website: isorepublic.com

MMT

High-resolution photos by Jeffrey Betts to download and free of all copyright restrictions. MMT has search capability.

Website: mmtstock.com

Moveast

This is a journey of João Pacheco, a designer born and raised in Portugal that decided every photo should be used for free. The high-quality travel photos from Asia can be found by searching Moveast and are available without copyright restrictions.

Website: moveast.me

Raumrot

High-quality photos that have been categorized into photo sets and image categories to download for free. Raumrot doesn’t have a search function. Photos are free of all copyright restrictions, except attribution must be given.

Website: raumrot.com

StockVault

StockVault is a large photo sharing website used by photographers and designers to showcase and share their work. All photos are free from copyright restrictions and the site has search capability.

Website: stockvault.net

Travel Coffee Book

A large collection of travel photos from different destinations. Photos are free from all copyright restrictions. Travel Coffee Book doesn’t have search capability.

Website: travelcoffeebook.com

4 Free Photos

The photos on this site are available to be downloaded for free and used for private and commercial projects. There are no copyright restrictions on 4 Free Photos. The site has search capability. Photo attribution back to the website is required.

Website: 4freephotos.com

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Some say email marketing is old-fashioned. But it’s not.

Actually, email marketing is the most profitable form of marketing online. Nothing else compares.

That’s because email is the best way to turn an interested prospect into a paying customer and it converts so well. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing gives the highest ROI (Return on Investment) on any form of marketing you can do – online or off.

That’s how powerful it is.

So what differentiates email marketing

It doesn’t sound sexy. It hasn’t got the pizazz of terms like social media marketing and search engine marketing (SEM).

But email marketing has something head and shoulders above the rest – it’s capable of making heaps of money.

That’s because, with email, you’re having a one on one conversation with someone whose shown interest in what you have to say and sell. In fact, you’ve been given the privilege of sending informative content directly to their inbox.

That doesn’t happen with social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or whatever the latest shiny social space is. Posts on the social networks are quickly lost in a stream of drama and few people see all of their messages.

Again, email is one-on-one – the start of a relationship.

What exactly is email marketing

Email marketing begins with obtaining permission from your prospect to send interesting and informative emails to their inbox.

It’s sometimes called permission marketing, a term coined and developed by the entrepreneur, Seth Godin in his book of the same name “Permission Marketing”. Seth writes:

Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.

By obtaining a person’s permission you’re able to add their email address to your email list. Known as subscribers, these people are your audience and they seek the information you provide. They want to find out more and be kept informed.

What email marketing does

On a regular basis, depending on the requirements of your audience, you’ll email them the niche-specific content they’re looking for.

They’ve opted into your email list because they dig what you’re on about and how you tell it. Frankly, it resonates with them, and they want to find out more.

This is the basis of content marketing, where you take your prospective buyer on a journey from not knowing you, through to wanting to buy from you.

Each email progresses that journey with information to enable your prospective customer to make a decision to purchase. In the process, trust is built, and trust helps build your business.

How email marketing works

Quality content your audience needs is produced and emailed to them.

Did you notice I just used the word “content”? That’s because it could be a:

• blog post or article
• video production
• webinar
• podcast
• Slideshare presentation
• and everything in between.

The email could be a one-off if you have a very small email list, or via an email service provider which is the norm.

The type of email your audience receives depends on their relationship with you as a prospect or customer. As an example:

1. They may have just joined your email list, in which case a sequential number of emails would be delivered by an auto-responder over time, so they get to know and understand you better.
2. They may have recently joined your list and are ready to be offered a product or service to buy.
3. An existing customer would receive a different sort of email.
4. Whether a prospect or customer, your audience should anticipate and receive regular and timely information to ensure that you are kept at the forefront of their mind.

Generally, at the end of each email, there is a Call to Action (CTA) for your subscriber to do something. It could be anything, like buying an online course your offering, leaving a favorable review on a podcast, or reviewing the latest chapter of a new book your writing.

And finally …

Email marketing may seem a quaint old-fashioned term but it’s a powerhouse that gives you the best marketing ROI.

The main differentiator to other forms of online marketing is the one-on-one that email marketing provides.

This builds a relationship with your prospect and that, in turn, builds trust. When you know, like and trust someone, you’re likely to do business with them.

Have you ever had a brilliant idea for a new product or service, only to find there are heaps of people doing exactly what you thought was a spark of genius?

So back to the drawing board? No, that’s not necessary. It may seem counter-intuitive, but a crowded market with heaps of competitors should be embraced rather than ignored.

That’s because it’s all about positioning your product and finding a unique niche, no matter how crowded the market is.

The market where money is made

A crowded market represents a market where money can and is being made.

It’s fertile ground just like a rainforest with its complex ecosystem. If you were to plant something in a rainforest, it has a great chance of growing. The same is true for a market with many competitors.

Contrast the rainforest analogy to a market where there are no competitors. You’re the first! This is like being in a desert, looking around and seeing nothing growing. There are no competitors because the market or niche is not profitable.

It’s crowded out there and almost anything you can think of has been done or attempted. New products that come into the market are for the most part reiterations of products or services that already exist. It then comes down to finding the right niche that differentiates you from your competitors. This is called positioning.

Positioning your product

Positioning is what sets your product or service apart from your competitors. It’s not just a case of being different, it’s also being better.

So rather than trying to avoid competition, you want to successfully compete by positioning your product in a unique and better way, so people will buy from you and not your competitors.

Many marketers and business owners refer to this as the Unique Selling Proposition (USP). In its simplicity, the USP shows a specific benefit of your product to your potential buyer that your competitors don’t have.

There’s a problem with the USP as a stand-alone concept, and that is by offering your customers a different benefit doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a better one.

A lot more is required to uniquely position your product.

How to position your product

To successfully position your product, it needs to be:

1. Unique. Is it different from what your competitors offer, and in what way?
2. Beneficial. Does your product offer a compelling benefit that your competition doesn’t?
3. Positioned in the mind of your potential customers. What do they think of it?
4. Remarkable in a positive sense. Will your customers recommend your product and share with their networks?
5. Memorable. Will your product or service have an immediate and lasting impression?

By taking this approach, your product can be uniquely positioned as being different and better than your competitors.

With great positioning, you have carved a niche in the market where your product will resonate with the potential customers you’ve developed it for.

Understanding your customer enables you to position your product

It comes back to knowing your potential customer. Being able to empathize with them and understand their worldview. This is the ground floor for product success and getting your customer to buy from you.

It doesn’t matter whether you already have an audience, existing customers, or starting from scratch. It is an individual that will hand over her credit card to purchase your product.

Understanding why she would purchase from you and not your competitor means that your product has been successfully positioned for your potential customers. They will purchase from you.

Customer retention is also part of positioning

A lot of effort goes into getting a customer to buy from you. Once they do it’s not the end of the story and mission accomplished. Far from it.

Positioning is an ongoing process from all touch points with your customer. Examples are warranties, customer support, evangelizing about the product and additional purchases. You want your customer to be happy and to buy from you again.

This is known as customer retention and I believe it to be one of the most important components of positioning.

Success with customer retention is mainly determined by the culture within an organization and how they view and treat their customers. As an example, I think everyone has experienced the good and the very worst of customer support at some time.

The importance of customer retention is vividly shown by the following facts:

Selling to an existing customer is far easier than selling to a new customer

5-20% probability of selling to a new prospect vs 60-70% probability of selling to an existing customer (Source: Marketing Metrics)

What this means is that you’re 14 times more likely to sell to an existing customer than a new customer.

Acquiring a new customer is very expensive

It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one. (Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs)

This fact is self-explanatory yet only 16% of companies put their primary focus on customer retention.

In summary, great positioning sets you apart from your competitors. It’s not just being different, it’s also being memorable and worthy of recommendation. After the sale, it’s caring deeply about your customer and their experience going forward with you.

Frankly, you’ll just be better than your competitors.