Freedom From Fees
In this post, we are going to talk about how to get the most for your money when starting or running any business.
We’re not talking about cheating or lying here as there are many free ways to get what you need and alternatives to expensive options for software.
Whether you’re an accountant, a graphic artist, author, marketer or photographer, we will list some places to get your needs fulfilled for free.
1. Photography
Photography of some kind is an almost a necessity in web creation these days. Some say it’s an absolute must, but how do you go about getting said images?
In general there are two ways to get your images:
- Take your own pictures: This is pretty much the best option as you have complete control over everything, composition, subject matter, etc.
- Stock Photography: This is the other option. With this option, you go to a stock photography website and from free to several hundred dollars, you can get an image to use for your website.
Taking your own pictures.
You can technically take your own pictures with your cell phone all the way up to a $10,000 camera. The real bottom line is the end result. Can you get a “professional” level final image with your equipment, after all, it’s been shown that better pictures improve sales.
If you can’t get the right quality or you don’t have the time to shoot and edit, but you do have a small budget, have professional images done. Here at SoBeCoWorks, we have a studio that shoots nothing but small items with simple backgrounds, think eBay and Amazon type shots for a very fair fee.
Another option not mentioned earlier:
You can go to WiKiCommons which has many thousands of images. Some images are copyright protected and will need attribution, which means you must put a link on your page to the authors original photo. If you’re ok with that, great. Some images do not need attribution, but be careful to make sure that you can use it for commercial works and that you do NOT need to attribute it.
DO NOT DO
Do not just grab an image off of Google Images or any other search engines. These images are most likely copyright protected and in the best case you will be sent an order to take it down and in the worst case you may end up in court.
And I know, “Everyone does it.” That does not make it right or legal.
Stock Photography
The great thing about stock photography is that, unless you create your own product such as soap, furniture, photography, etc., you can use this medium in order to get photos on your website.
As an example, if you’re a CPA and writing an article about tax season, there is no need for you to create a visual representing “tax season” there are plenty of them out there already. Many are free.
On the other hand, if you do create one yourself or have it commissioned, it will be yours and yours alone and may help you stand out from the others who are all using the same graphics and images.
Stock Photo Sites with at least “some” free images
There are many more, but I am familiar with Pixabay and Pexels and have used some of their images on this site. I did a cursory pass over FreeImages and they seem pretty good as well.
Reader submissions:
- Freepik – Not really free, but recommended by a reader
- IconFinder – Again, not free, but reasonable
- DepositPhotos – Not free, but reasonable
The above list falls under what is called “Royalty Free” images. This means that there is a fee to use them (read and understand their terms and conditions as different prices may cover different rights) but there are no license fees for long term usage.
You can see what I mean here: DIYPhotography.net
Software
We actually have a post about alternative software options at Awesome Alternatives to MS Software. We update that list regularly, so check it regularly.
Music
If you need music for whatever reason for your business, whether it be for an ad, a YouTube video or most any other reason, in a similar fashion to photography, you can NOT simply grab a song off a CD, the internet or anywhere else and make use of it.
But people do it all the time
People do lots of illegal things, that does not make it right. The music world is very protective of their turf. If they find out you’re using a Rihanna song for your YT video, they will come after you.
There are alternatives to grabbing anything
There are places on the internet where you can get free or very cheap music from, legally.
Royalty-Free/Free Music Sites
- YouTube Audio Library
- HookSounds – Not free, but low priced IF you use a lot of music
- Purple Planet Music – Free with credit (very specific credit) or small fee based
There are many more, but I am only personally familiar with YouTube Audio Library and have used some of their music on other projects. I did a cursory pass over Purple Planet & HookSounds and they seem pretty good as well, although not totally free in certain cases.
Another option
If you have a musical friend who fits the style of music for your needs, see if they will create or let you use something they already have for a few bucks.
How about furniture & office supplies?
You may not be able to find a lot of stuff for free in this area, BUT… sadly, businesses go out of business all the time and sometimes they just give away their furniture and supplies. Keep your eyes open.
Where I am from, Bethlehem, PA, we have a store near by called, conveniently enough, the ReStore. They have all kinds of business furniture and other supplies for business to save a huge amount of money from. Now, some of this product may be a bit dinged, but when you pay $5.00 for an item sold at full retail for $75, there really isn’t much reason to complain.
So, what what are some of your tips for saving money? Let us know in the comments. Also, feel free to let us know of any tips we missed.
Twitter: @SoBeCoWorks
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