Cheap Graphics: The 10 Best Places to Get Graphics Online

Do you love your slides? Does the quality of your presentations tell your audience you are the best-of-the-best? Now, look at your marketing materials. Are your printed documents overcome by bad clip art or, worse, do they drown the reader in a sea of text? At a glance, does your website tell visitors that you are a one-person company struggling to make ends meet? If so, now is the time to fix the problem.

Your current and future clients expect quality materials from quality presenters and consultants. You can't tout your professionalism to your audience by showing a low-quality presentation and marketing materials. Doing so will cause your clients to question your abilities—100% of the time. You don't need that obstacle, too.

Great news! You can add quality graphics—and quality is critical—to your presentations and marketing materials for very little money, but you need to know where to look to get low-cost, high-quality graphics. Below is a list of the top ten sites I use to develop quality graphics and help my clients achieve even the most loftiest of goals (like winning $1.3 billion dollar contracts).

There is no substitute for the benefits derived from using a qualified, experienced designer; however, in these challenging economic times, presenters are searching for ways to cut costs. Unfortunately, cutting the quality of your materials will increase your risk of failure. In the short term, use one of these low-priced solutions to weather the storm without sacrificing quality.

This list is by no means comprehensive. There are other websites that sell graphics but these are the sites I use most often and recommend.

1. Dreamstime.com ($1-$50 per photograph and illustration) (http://www.dreamstime.com)
Dreamstime is a library of almost 5.5 million photographs and illustrations. Users purchase credits and use those credits to download graphics. The more credits you buy, the cheaper the per credit price. Users can also buy subscriptions, which further lower the cost of each download.

2. iStockPhoto.com ($1-50 per photograph and illustration, $15-$100 for videos, and $1-$10 for Flash files) (http://www.istockphoto.com)
iStockphoto is by far my favorite. They cost a little more but I find it easier to use and often find what I need in less time. Plus, they offer certain images exclusive to this site. It is set up similarly to Dreamstime. Users have a choice between credits and subscriptions. The more you buy, the lower the price per download.

3. ShutterStock.com ($3-$10 per photograph and illustration) (http://www.shutterstock.com)
Shutterstock requires a subscription (as low as $49) to download from their 6.6+ million-image library. If you are a high-volume user, this is the best choice, because larger subscriptions equal low-cost graphics.

4. StockExpert.com ($1-$25 per photograph and illustration) (http://www.stockxpert.com)
Credits and subscriptions give you the graphics you want from their huge library. This site is owned by Juniper who owns other stock image sites (like Photos.com). However, I prefer the user experience and the better selection of graphics at StockExpert.

5. Stock.XCHNG (free) (http://www.sxc.hu)
Stock.XCHNG is a great site if you need basic, professional images. Plus, all their images are free!

6. BigStockPhoto.com ($1-$50 per photograph and illustration) (http://www.bigstockphoto.com)
Choose from a library of over three million images. Like other sites, users purchase credits and use those credits to download graphics.

7. BrandsOfTheWorld.com (free) (http://www.brandsoftheworld.com)
Thousands of popular brand and corporate logos from around the world are available to download for free. Most logos are vector, which means they are resolution independent and can be scaled to any size.

8. Pixellogo ($39 per logo) (http://www.pixellogo.com)
One hundred pages of high-quality logos from which to choose. I recommend owning Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator if you wish to modify your new logo. Exclusive rights to use the logos are available for more money.

9. StockLayouts ($39-$99 per brochure, newsletter, or other marketing document) (http://www.stocklayouts.com)
StockLayouts offers thousands of brochures, flyers, newsletters, business cards, letterheads, postcards, posters, ads, and more in almost any format you choose.

10. Cool Home Pages ($40 per website template) (http://www.coolhomepages.com/store/)
Do you need a website but don't want to spend thousands on design? At Cool Home Pages, you can find your dream website and download it for almost nothing compared to the cost of a custom design. I recommend hiring a web designer for backend programming and adding any extras to your new design. They can do it faster and better for a small investment on your part. Plus, it will still be cheaper than paying them to design and layout a new site.

Now you know my favorite graphic resources. Use them to increase the quality of your presentations, websites, and marketing materials. Success will come faster and your income will rise, because perception is reality. What your audience sees plays a BIG role in what they think and do.

At times you need to squeeze 10 pounds of content into a one-pound space. The challenge we face is how to include all of our information in a graphic without sacrificing quality, clarity, and impact. Here are seven tips to guarantee that your graphics are as compact as possible.

1. Exclude extraneous words and descriptors. Change “Our Systematic, Quality Evaluation Process” to “Evaluation Process.”

2. Use known acronyms. For example, “quality control” becomes “QC.”

3. Use a sans serif, narrow font like Arial Narrow. (If your document does not embed the font, make sure the end user has the font.) Sans serif fonts are cleaner looking and easier to read for short chunks of text and small sizes. Narrow fonts shorten the width of each character, which allows more content in the same space.

4. Decrease line spacing. For page-limited documents, I recommend using a .85 multiple line spacing in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and the same line spacing as font size in Adobe products (for example, 10-point line spacing for a 10-point font).

5. Use short arrowheads.

6. Remove all unused space.

7. Delete extraneous imagery. If an image quickly communicates information, keep it. However, if the image merely supports the information, delete it.

You now know the seven tips to increase your chances of success even if you have little space in which to do it. Practice makes perfect, so be sure to remain vigilant and use these tips until they become habit.

Nothing is perfect but, let's face it, some things are broken. A few processes in your organization introduce challenges time after time. They create extra work and frustrate you and your team. The following 5 steps ensure your recommendations for change are heard and implemented.

Whether you want to revise your graphic development process or update your corporate style guide, the challenge is the same: How do you affect change in an organization that is (very) reluctant to change? During an event I attended, this question was asked, and the best answer came from the audience, "After a big loss [or during a time of pain], offer your solution to [a reoccurring] problem."

A significant loss or struggle may cause your entire organization to question their process and become more open to change. Strike while the iron is hot.

When the time is right, use the following five steps to compile your case before meeting with decision makers to guarantee executive and peer buy-in.

Step 1: Identify the Problem
Explain the problem (remain positive and avoid finger pointing). Back up your opinions with facts. Offer empirical evidence to support your assessment. Connect the dots. For example, prove that it takes one hour to edit one page of text. It then becomes obvious that leaving five hours to edit 50 pages results in a grammatically incorrect, confusing document. If possible, present one page from the document that had too little time for editing and one page that was edited properly with error totals for each. Alternatively, ask your boss to read a page properly edited and a page that had little time to edit. You can also share the client's relevant negative comments.

Step 2: Offer a Solution
Offer a solution to the issue. Support your solution with evidence that it will work. For example, was the solution effective elsewhere? What were the results? Who agrees with you and why is their opinion valuable? Back up your information with numbers when possible. (I recommend that you never highlight a challenge without offering a solution. Finding fault without providing a resolution labels you a complainer as opposed to a problem solver.)

Step 3: Link to Benefits
Link your solution to organizational benefits. Show how everyone will benefit. Make it clear. Never assume the benefit is obvious. Always put the most valuable benefit first. Do not build up to it.

Step 4: Empathize
Empathize with your audience. Does your solution mean more work for them? Why would they be reluctant to embrace it? Anticipate and answer their objections early.

Step 5: Be Quick
Keep it brief. Get to the point and ask for questions. The questions will help you determine your audience's opinion of your solution. Ultimately, their feedback will help put your solution in place. The more you listen to what they have to say, the better.

Use this “win-win” approach to present your recommendations for change and management (as well as your peers) will realize that you have everyone's best interest in mind.

Download clear, compelling graphics and tailor them in PowerPoint 2007 for use in PowerPoint, Word, Adobe products, and other software. Save 10% (on credits) or get 10 free downloads (for subscriptions) if you buy your new graphics before June 19th. Go to BizGraphics On Demand now and use the following code: SCEZINE8.

1. Mike Parkinson and 24 Hour Company have been chosen to receive a grant from the Association of Proposal Management Professionals National Capital Area to test the effectiveness of a conceptualization process.

2. New graphics are added all the time to BizGraphics On Demand. Check now.

Do you need clear, communicative, compelling design for your presentations, proposals, marketing, website, and multimedia? Then contact the graphic experts at 24 Hour Company now for a free consultation!

Graphics are often used in proposals and presentations in pursuit of government contracts. Winning these contracts is challenging and requires a strong commitment from the team coupled with know-how. My colleague Olessia Smotrova-Taylor is teaching a great webinar series, The Art of Capture, starting on July 15. Olessia delivers exceptional value. She has years of experience competing and winning government contracts, and will teach you the very best strategies and practices.

Because Olessia is a long-time colleague, she has extended an opportunity for us to save money on her training. If you register before June 22nd, you will receive 10% off the total price (for individuals or groups) by entering the following coupon code: A164539.

Go to http://www.ostglobalsolutions.com/art-of-capture to learn more now.

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