7. Use A Unique Image

Your article is only two-thirds of the final product. The other third is arguably more important — it’s the attention grabber. Alongside your title, it’s the best weapon you have to stop a reader scrolling right past your work. What I’m referring to is, of course, the feature image.

Many writers are guilty of getting sloppy at this stage in the excitement of getting their work published. Don’t get complacent and throw in the first stock image you find under a vague term like ‘writing’ or ‘work.’ If it’s in the first few results, you can bet your life it has been used to death. - Stephen Moore