Picture this – Use an avatar or illustration to promote your freelance writing blog

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but what about an avatar?

If you’re using a blog or Website to advertise your freelance writing business, including an avatar, illustration or cartoon version of yourself can say a whole lot more than a photograph about you, your business and your attitude about what you do.

Susan Johnston, who blogs as The Urban Muse, has used this illustration of a hip chick working at a desk for the past year and a half and says people seemed to really like it, although she’s considering changing the design now that she’s attracting more male readers.

Rachel Weingarten, an author, PR pro and all-around style maven, created this avatar, which graces her book cover and various Websites. Weingarten, who has a fine art and greeting card design background (that woman does everything!) says she came up with it because she hated the initial design for her book Career and Corporate Cool.

Here are two other examples of writers who use avatars or cartoon-y versions of themselves on their blogs:

Michele Nicolosi, assistant managing editor at Seattle PI.com maintains a personal Website called M&M for herself and her S.O. Mark. The Simpsons-esque characters totally works because Michele really looks like that!

Deborah Ng, who runs the very popular Freelance Writing Gigs blog, uses an avatar that’s similar to Johnston’s of a writer at her computer.

Know other writers who use avatars or illustrations on their Websites or blog? Feel free to share.