Having a touch of insomnia, I spent a few minutes finding the answer to a question which has occasionally passed through what passes for my brain. Does posting an image with a blogged poem increase the likelihood of comments? Are people drawn to read a poem by the pictures?
I looked back from now to the 7th November, excluding one specific repetitive blog which would skew the result.
85 blogs without pictures got 360 comments at 4.2 each. 52 blogs with images got 302 comments at 5.8 each.

If this is statistically valid (which is doubtful) you will, on average, get 38% more comments by including an image.

Right, I'm off to bed

This is really interesting Dave. I have recently tried to cut down on using images to go with poems, hoping that my poems would be taken more seriously! Honestly! What am I like! It's just that in "proper" poetry books there aren't any pictures are there? I feel a right fraud admitting it, but that was my hope anyway. But I like choosing images if I'm in the mood, being a visual arty type. My feeling is that it doesn't make any difference about the number of comments, but statistics have proved me wrong. Back to google images then! ;-) x

You MASSIVE geek! ;p

Dunno the answer. Stats can prove bloody anything if you want them to eh?

I didn't post pics at first, then got into it, cos I do like to add that little extra something sometimes, but then other poems just do not have any pics that you can put with them, or would want to in fact.

This fascinating post was brought to you by La Fee Verte inc.

I usually try to avoid focussing on an image until after I have read the poem. Sometimes an image can distract from the words and deflect natural imagination and emotional responses/feelings and is very telling in my honest opinion.
It is personal choice of course but my belief is that where a poem is strong enough to stand alone then an image is superfluous to a readers requirements and possibly shows some insecurity of its author.

A little credit for potential readers ability to visualize,feel and draw their own conclusions goes a long way ;-)

Re some of the images chosen, I have to check that I've not been accidentally jettisoned onto the Nuts Magazine (or similar lads' mag) website.

Dave
I put my pictures in because they are more interesting than my poems.
This way I get comments on the pictures to offset the vacuum of comments on the poems.
John

If you look at some of the more recent bestselling poetry books the visuals are becoming far more prominent. I think perhaps the visual generation are becoming the consumers now and whatever sells will become the norm.

From personal experience, not significantly linked. But that may be skewed as well as we don't have data as to whom and how many times have they clicked on and commented or not of poems with accompanying images as against those that don't. And gain, there is the issue of generation... there seems to be an increasing 'visualness' and multi-media related approach with the younger generations. But there would probably be lesser younger people who are truly into poetry anyways. Probably.

I'm a very visual person, went to art school, do painting and ceramics. To me, finding a suitable photo is all part of the fun of posting a poem. I think I've only ever put a poem on here once without a picture, because it was a bit of a personal sad subject.