Writing quality content is the foundation of an exception blog. However, you still need to draw your readers into the post before they can commit to reading even the most well-written content. There are two simple ways to do this: writing catchy headlines, and including interesting pictures.

We’ll leave headlines alone for now. Today’s post reviews a Wordpress plugin that allows you to find and drop photos into your posts without leaving Wordpress.

Photo Dropper Flickr plugin gathers photos from Flickr based on the search terms you type in, allowing you to find relevant photos on almost any topic you blog about.

The most powerful part about this plugin is that the resulting photos are under the Creative Commons license, meaning you can use the photos without fear of breaking copyright law — which I’m sure you were diligently following in the past.

Installation is fairly simple, and the plugin isn’t obtrusive in any way. The plugin adds another box to the “Write” section of Wordpress, allowing you to search and insert photos without leaving the post you’re working on.

Unfortunately, while there is a high volume of photos available, the quality greatly varies. If you’ve got a specific photo or image in mind, you’re better off taking the picture yourself or scavenging through Google. However, you definitely want to add some type of graphic to your post, and this plugin is a great way to add generic objects and places.

Pros:

• easy to install
• very unobtrusive when not in use
• pictures are under a “creative commons” license
• allows you to insert different sizes
• it’s free, which isn’t a guarantee anymore

Cons:

• pictures vary in quality
• photo credits are difficult to keep next to image
• search results are not always relevant

Overall rating: 8.0 out of 10

Popularity: 29% [?]