Blog: FREE back-to-school illustrations; how to market to women over 40; and more YouTube help

Plus, a clear look at the cloudy world of plastics and how we depict them today [shutterstock]( [IMAGES]( [FOOTAGE]( [MUSIC]( [BLOG]( [Wednesday, July 28, 2021]( [Come on home]( [Click here to subscribe to this newsletter >]( [People often ask me how to make their content stand out in a crowded marketplace--and to that I say, speak softly and repeat yourself frequently. In times like now, when the world is extra confusing and the trajectory unclear (is Covid winding down or ramping up? How do we make massive changes to confront climate change? What is the future of democracy?), it is that much more important to be clear on your own message and your North Star. If it’s impossible to make sense of the world, is it at least possible to remain focused on what you offer, and how you can be helpful to your customers? Every brand has to answer those questions for themselves, but for this blog, it’s this: We offer creative guidance in a changing world. The next time you need to make something, we hope we can be useful, and we try to deliver on that every day.]( [Happy creating!]( [jen]( [Jennifer Braunschweiger]( [Senior Director of Content Marketing]( [DREAM IT]( [Watch: Tips for Showing "Mature Female Friendships"]( [I have a lot of pet peeves (hahaha) and one of them is about how bad most marketers are at reaching women over 40. Seriously! Have you seen J.Lo’s bikini photos from her 52nd birthday? It’s time for everyone to catch up with what aging really looks like. (No, we don’t spend all our time drinking tea--or wine--or gazing adoringly at our family members from the background.) That pet peeve had the good fortune to collide with another interest of mine--making good content for cheap--so here you see me, in the middle, with two former colleagues I really admire, Didi Gluck (on the left) and Tanya Jones (on the right). Both of them were kind enough to come sit on my stoop in Brooklyn (because Covid) and chat with me about their areas of expertise. In this edition of Shutterstoop, you can listen to me and Didi crack ourselves up talking about how brands can do a better job showing women over 40. (Stay tuned for Tanya’s video, which we’ll share next.)]( [Read more]( [MAKE IT]( [How to Make an Engaging Playlist for Your YouTube Channel]( [Pretty much everyone knows what Darth Vader sounds like, thanks to some of the best character-building music ever. Music is a powerful tool to set the mood, so here’s how to build a great playlist for YouTube (yes, we get technical). We’ll leave the cape up to you.]( [Read more]( [SELL IT]( [15 FREE Kawaii Back-to-School Clip Art Illustrations]( [You starting to think about going back to school, and everything that might mean for your business? Yup, us too. Fresh pencils, friends, new challenges--that’s the glass-half-full approach, and I'm sticking to it (for now). Not sure we're ready to crack those books quite yet, so we're easing back in with a great free (FREEEEE) pack of illustrations.]( [Read more]( [TALK ABOUT IT]( [How Plastic Became a Symbol of Consumerism]( [What if we valued plastic as the ground-breaking invention it is, rather than as a disposible, planet-killing nuisance? A writer reflects on what sustainability might look like if we better acknowledged plastic's contributions to our world. Show your values!]( [Read more]( [shutterstock]( [images]( | [footage]( | [music]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Instagram]( [Vimeo]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe or Change Email Preferences]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( Shutterstock, Inc. | 350 Fifth Avenue, 21st Floor | New York, NY 10118 | USA © 2004-2021 All rights reserved - Shutterstock®