5 Ways Visuals Enhance Your Writing
By Alyssa Marie Gampong

This article was featured in our April 2026 issue of Barefoot Writer magazine. Not a subscriber? Get the details here.

"A picture is worth a thousand words." — Fred R. Barnard

But which words? And which picture? When I was in grad school, I was introduced to the PechaKucha Presentation.

Twenty images. Twenty seconds per image. Four hundred seconds to share your message. That’s it.

Panic began to rise in my chest as the professor explained we would have to time our PowerPoint presentation so there was no chance we would linger too long on one slide.

That pressure of time forced students to put more thought and effort into focused and concise information. What do I really want my audience to take away?

It is no secret that we live in a world where most people’s attention spans have effectively gotten shorter with an overwhelming abundance of information via …

• the internet and AI,
• short-form videos,
• binge-watching, and
• multiple screens.

This means …

Though your work as a copywriter is not primarily image based, the visuals you use are more effective than you may think.

You may not choose to use visuals with your writing, or you may think they’re unneces-sary (it’s unlikely you’d use 20 visuals as a PechaKucha requires), but let’s explore the impact using visuals can have on your readers …

5 Ways Your Visuals Will Enhance Your Writing

1. GAIN Your Reader’s Attention

In a fast-paced world of scrolling through mounds of content, it’s difficult to immediately gain your reader’s attention.

In a 2025 article about visual storytelling by Content Whale, they share that

“people process visual content 60,000 times faster than text.”

Using a visual will draw in your reader way faster than your text (let’s not dismiss the importance of stylizing text, however).

But remember, selection matters. Take some extra time to find something that feels appropriate, be it photography, charts, illustrations, or graphics …

2.RETAIN Your Reader’s Attention

Okay, so you have your first visual — now for the telling portion of your story. This visual you’re presenting will continue to be a reference point for your reader. Everything you say will draw them back to the visual(s) and they will make connections.

Using multiple visuals across your piece will help to retain your reader’s attention.

According to SC Training, adults have an average sustained attention span of 67–76 seconds. Providing your reader with a new image means renewed attention.

3. LEAVE an Emotional Impact

Remember, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and this is a completely subjective experience without the context of a writer.

However, we cannot erase the emotional connection that an image manifests within an individual.

Your choice of visual and its content — the colors, the people, the sharpness, the focus … all conveys the tone, and therefore, emotional space, that your reader will enter.

And before anything else, they will remember how your writing and those images, as a whole, made them feel.

4.INSPIRE Action

The emotional impact of the visuals you use with your storytelling will ultimately allow you, as a copywriter, to reach your goal of inspiring action.

SC Training further explains that people retain 65% of information when visuals are used.

For you, this means that even if action is not immediately taken, your reader will continue to have you in mind for three days just because you used visuals.

5.Reason to RETURN

With a vivid narrative in mind, an emotional journey — your reader will remember you for the next thing. Whether your topic is broad or niche such as travel or exploring museums … whatever it is.

Using images in tandem with your writing is a tool that will allow you to create your own style and tone specific to you.

Your reader will remember what they saw, what they learned, and how they felt — just enough reason to return to you and even share what they’ve learned.

What is your relationship with using visuals with your writing? How intentional are you with your selection?

Because we’re copywriters, our writing is, of course, top of mind and most important. But the power of visuals can enhance what you work so hard on.

Finding just the right image can sometimes be hard.

Some of you might be photographers with the ability to use your own work. But if that isn’t the case …

Here are some sources for you to get started or up your game:

Best Stock Photo Sites for 2026

Best Websites to Hire Freelance Graphic Designers for 2026

The Best AI Image Generators for 2026

Keep these key points in mind during your next project and see what effect it has on your readership and engagement.