We are often asked where is the best place to get creative content for GoldMails, so I thought it about time to compile a definitive list. There are some tremendous sources of free photos, images, illustrations, and clip art avaliable if you know where to look. Of course (quite rightly) in most cases “free” comes with the caveat that you should attribute the content to the photographer or creator of the work. So, whether you use GoldMail for Sales, Marketing, Training or Internal Communications read on to discover where to find great content in seconds.
My first port of call when looking for free content is always to Search Creative Commons, the nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. They provide free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof.
Searching Creative Commons enables you to find images and photos from Google, Yahoo! and Flikr, and you quickly find authors whose work is marked as free to use with only “some rights reserved.” If you respect the rights they have reserved (which will be clearly marked, as you’ll see) then you can use the work without having to contact them and ask. In some cases, you may even find work in the public domain — that is, free for any use with “no rights reserved.” To learn more about Creative Commons licensing click HERE
Creative Commons also hosts an enormous 
Content Directory which lists all the organizations and projects powered by Creative Commons. This really is a treasure trove, and lists not only free images, but text, audio and video too.
PhotoXpress.com a Free stock photography and premier-quality image bank (with more than 350,000 images ready for download for personal or professional use) has just been launched by its parent compant Fotolia.com. Signup and you can download up to 10 images a day from 22 catagories, including a great selection of business images. Proper attribution is required.
Stock.xchange is a Hungarian site with close to 400,000 images to choose from. Join their community and you may use images free of charge in multimedia presentations, don’t forget to read their terms of use.
Other great sources of FREE images include:
MorgueFile.com Free images for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not!
ImageAfter.com is a large online free photo collection. You can download and use any image or texture.
FreeDigitalPhotos.net is a good quality site that carries thousands of royalty free photos for corporate and personal use in presentations. You must attribute their website.
Paid for photo sites: – with access to even a small budget you can get hold of superb stock photos in seconds at:
Stockxpert.com – over 3,300,000 images for download
Fotolia.com – has nearly 6,000,000 photos and illustrations
istockphoto.com – over 4,000,000 royalty photos and images
bigstockphoto.com – over 3,000,000 stock photos as low as 1$ each
dreamstime.com – nearly 6,000,000 images as low as $0.20 each
Snapvillage.com - High quality images from $1
gettyimages.com - The leading provider of digital media worldwide, but watch out, these are pricy.
Have we missed anything? where do you get your images from? leave us a comment, or better still, leave us a GoldMail.
Need a free soundtrack for your GoldMail Audio Slideshow? We’ll let you know where to get one next time. Don’t forget to Subscribe to this blog to keep up to date with all the latest hints and tips about how to use GoldMail for your business.
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