TechSmith Snagit Review

Hey there sea changers and welcome to my TechSmith Snagit®  Review. In short, Snagit is screen capture software that allows you to capture screen images, edit and crop images and share them to relevant media. And this review continues our journey into the tools, tips and tricks you will need, or can use as you grow your online business.

In this review, I will run through what Snagit is, how it works and what it can do for you. I will be honest in my appraisal of this software, however, in the interests of transparency I will let you know now that I have only recently started to re-use it after spending quite a bit of time and effort working with the free options. So if I had free options, why would I pay for this one? My review will outline my reasons for readopting this program and that I recommend this software. Read on to see why.

Why do we need this type of software?

With the explosion of the internet and social media in particular, the world is becoming more and more

visual meaning that the days of long-winded printed documents are long gone. It is critical then that we are able to quickly and easily create high quality graphics to include in our posts and media outputs – especially in the world of affiliate marketing where we are trying to attract readers and prompt them to purchase our products. Obviously, with the quality of cameras that they possess these days, we can just whip out our mobile (cell) phone, take a picture and upload it to our site. However, with software programs such as Snagit, we can also:

• Crop and edit the pictures – We may only want part of the photo in our post
• Add text, call outs, logos, symbols etc. to our pictures
• Create our own memes, cartoons etc.
• Create animations
• Merge two pictures – such as adding the company logo to a product picture
• And so much more

SEO

Another critical aspect when it comes to adding graphics and pictures to our websites in particular is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Search engines such as Google and Bing will rank pages with good quality graphics a lot higher than those without. Not to mention that Alt tags give you an extra way to get those keywords into your post. However, there is another way that good quality graphics can assist with search engine rankings and that is by keeping readers on your page.

You see Google and Bing use massive, complicated algorithms to determine whether your page is going to make it to #1 on page one ( last time I checked there were over 200 influencing factors). Two of those influences however can be improved via the use of good graphics:

• Dwell time – this is a measure of how long a reader stays on your page – word count is another ranking factor for search engines however pages with 2000 – 3000 words can have trouble keeping readers interested for that long – unless a few well-placed, relevant and good quality images are in place to maintain attention and give the eyes a break.
• Bounce rate – search engines measure how many readers jump off of your site after reading only one page – this is often due to the fact that they quickly determine what it is that they are after and whether your site can help. If not, the reader will ‘bounce' pretty quickly if they don't see value. Have a think about your own behaviors – how long do you give a page to prove its worth to you – I can tell you the average time frame is only a second or two. A good graphic can not only allow them to see that information quickly, but also convince them to stick around and view a few other pages to get the info that they need.

What is Snagit?

As outlined above, Snagit is screen, image and video capture software that contains the following functions:

• Full capture suite of tools – full screen, rolling page, selection captures etc.
• Ability to remove or change background and remove objects – magic wand
• Full suite of image editing tools including:
  • Blurring of sensitive information
  • Text addition, change removal
  • Cutout
  • Image stamps
  • Call out and step graphics
  • Pen tools
  • Borders
• Animated GIF Creation
• Onpage video recording of software programs

Snagit at a glance

Product Name: TechSmith Snagit®

Founder: William Hamilton – TechSmith Corporation

Product Type: Video and Screen Capture Tool

Price: Free Trial (30 Days), USD $49.95 – Upgrades to new versions (usually yearly) require re-purchase – Discounts apply for multi license purchases.

Best For: Writers, Instructional designers, technical writers, website developers

Recommended: Yes

Who is it for?

Snagit is suitable for anybody who creates a LOT of online documentation, web pages, training materials, images for social media or effectively anybody else with a need to capture and manipulate graphics for online use.

What does it do?

Let's have a look at some of the functionality that is available within Snagit.

Screen capture tool

The screen capture tool is the Snagit Software's main method of capturing screens, photos or anything else that you may need for your posts:

Within this tool, you can:

• Select the relevant region to be captured – including selection, screen, rolling screen (for web pages), text or import a new file (video had selection and full screen only)
• Add effects – Add effects as you capture – including borders and edges, colour adjustment, shadows and watermarks
• Share directly to other programs – including Camtasia, email, FTP, Microsoft programs and cloud drives
• Set preset options – save your favourite capture settings to allow for fast future captures.

Precision Capturing

Use the Snagit Pixel tool to ensure assist with precision captures of your content:

Snagit Editor

As the required screen/area has been captured, the following edit screen is displayed:

Use the relevant tool icons and menus to edit your image as required.

Video Capture

Click on the video below to see a very quick demonstration of the Snagit editor taken utilising the video capture tool.

What are the alternatives?

I am not going to lie, there are numerous free alternatives out there that can do a similar job to Snagit. Free tools can be very beneficial whilst you work out what it is you really need or if you only create a small amount of graphics. Commonly however, these tools are limited in their functionality and/or quality of capture. Some of these include:

• Snipping Tool – This is the tool that I had been using to date as it is free and comes with my Windows operating system. It allows for different capture types (full screen, selected section etc.) but has extremely limited editing capabilities. If you are still working out what you will need and have windows – this is your tool.
• Greenshot – an open source platform that allows for multi capture modes with a fairly decent editor. However, it does not do any video capturing.
• Free Screenshot Capture – download a small software package to capture screen shots with some minor editing functionality.

Others with similar functionality include

• Lightshot
• TinyTake

Why have I included these here?

I have only recently made the decision to pay for and use Snagit again – I did use it exclusively for a number of years in my instructional design (training material development) days after playing with a few of the ‘freebies' for a while. I will outline my reasons for this later in this post however if you are only new to the online world, then funds are often scarce so why not use all of the free tools you can for now. You can start to pay for better quality software (such as Snagit) once you start to make some money.

You Are Reading This Because of Wealthy Affiliate

That's right! Wealthy Affiliate provided me with all of the tools and training I needed to get this post in front of my audience - a.k.a YOU!

You too can start your very own online business here that can make you money from anywhere in the world!!  

See How I Built My Affiliate Site Here

Pros

• Screen capture tool is fast, simple and easy to use.
• It can capture document ready screen shots immediately without the need to render or reedit
• Pixelated capture window allows for precision selection
• Extra features – borders, filters, watermarks etc. can be added at time of capture
• Handles rolling and delayed screen shots extremely well – very good when you want a drop down list in your screen shot
• Can seamlessly connect to many video editor software packages
• Video with voice-overs can also be saved as an MPEG for fast sharing/training/support purposes
• Images captured on previous versions of Snagit can simply be imported and edited without the need to re-capture.

Cons

• It doesn't remember your last file type save (I.e. .jpg or .png) so it needs to be re selected each capture.
• Its video editing functionality is a little short on features – but I guess that is fair enough as TechSmith is also the manufacturer or Camtasia.

How much is it?

TechSmith provide a number of licensing plans for its Snagit software (all prices in $USD):

• Free trial – 30 days – full functionality for 30 days
• 1 license – $49.95 (loadable to two devices)
• 5-9 licenses – $39.46 each
• 10-24 licenses – $34.96 each
• 25-99 licenses – $29.97 each
• 100-249 licenses – $24.97 each
• 250+ licenses – Contact vendor

Further discounts apply for Education, Government and Not-for-profit agencies

Snagit 2019 licenses are a one-time purchase with additional costs to upgrade to the latest version (usually each year). TechSmith does offer an annual maintenance agreement for a USD $12.49 annual fee which comes with an auto-upgrade guarantee at no extra cost.

Do I recommend it?

Let me start this section by fully responding to a comment I made earlier in this post around the fact that I have only really started using Snagit again after a bit of a layoff. I used Snagit originally when I was writing training materials for software – you know – click here, type this, click Next, type that and so on. Snagit was easy to use and allowed me to get my screen shots into my documents quickly and effectively – I could capture then copy and paste straight from the editor (most free programs did not allow this at the time). When I changed jobs, I didn't have access to Snagit so I just started using the Windows snipping tool. It worked for what I needed it for at the time and had until now.

It was a few weeks ago and I was doing screen shots for another Make that Sea Change review when two problems surfaced:

1. I couldn't highlight sections of the pages like I used to do when I used Snagit last time
2. I couldn't blur out names and pictures of people on one of the forums I was taking shots of

And most importantly

3. The screen shots were ‘blotchy' and pixelated when up uploaded them to my post.

So, I tried a couple of the other free ones that I listed above and they were fine, but some has some functionality and some had others – none really had everything that I needed. So I purchased Snagit and haven't looked back.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely I do! Does everybody need it? probably not! But at the end of the day, if you want to be able to do precision captures that render to a web page in high quality with all the tools in one spot then I truly believe that Snagit is one of the best tools you can buy.

Conclusion

So there it is, my honest review of the Snagit Screen Capture Tool based on my own uses and opinions. As I have said, it is probably overkill for some. But if you are doing a lot of captures, or just want something that is high quality with a little extra functionality to really bring your images to life, then Snagit is the one! Do you agree? disagree? or have any questions? If so please do not hesitate to comment below and I will be sure to respond.

Are you looking to start your own online business?

If you are ready to go now and are looking for a comprehensive training platform that can give you step by step training, 24/7 support, tools to develop and host your very own website and access to some of the best affiliate marketing minds on the planet, then click on the following link to read more about Wealthy Affiliate.

Until next time

Have fun

Paul

Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.

Introducing Wealthy Affiliate, My #1 Recommendation for Setting Up Your Own Online Business

When I started, I knew I wanted to work online, but had absolutely no idea where to begin! You see I had watched friends of mine run a sales party to sell essential oils and someone asked if they could just sell them online?

Then, as I sat on the bus heading into my office job, I started to wonder if I could do just that, sell essential oils online.

Anything to stop having to catch this bus to and from work every day right!

The trouble was, as I mentioned above, I had no idea how to even start.

So of course I started to look around online and found all these courses! They all promised me riches then took my money but left me with no riches!

Then I stumbled across the program that didn’t promise me riches, but told me it could help me get started even with no experience!

So I did that, joined Wealthy Affiliate that was it, and the rest as they say, is history!

But it doesn’t come without work!

That is the key here! I began on their starter membership and did the training! I then joined as a member and did some more training!

Each night after work, I would do a little more, then a little more.

And to cut a long story short, after 10 months I realized I didn’t really like writing about essential oils, so I sold the site for about $2000. But I had learned so much that I started another – about fishing and camping!

Then, after 18 months (by which time it had earned me close to $10k), I was offered $17k for the site, so I sold it too.

Now, through my travel blog, I’ve been able to fund my passion for travel and explore different places around the world.

In the past few months, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to some amazing destinations, including Bali, Los Angeles, Dallas, Vancouver and Las Vegas.

The success of my travel blog has allowed me to fully fund my travels and explore new destinations with my family.

Try the Wealthy Affiliate as a Starter Member and Build your First Hub!

As you start your journey, Wealthy Affiliate is there for you with the most comprehensive training package I have ever seen – And as I have mentioned, I have used a few in my professional career trust me.

To get you started, Wealthy Affiliate has recently introduced the Hub.

The Hub

The hub is an AI based niche and website creation tool that will get you up and running with the foundation of your OWN business in just a few minutes. This includes:

• Your website – hosted and inclusive of a WordPress editor
• Your brand
• Your ‘done-for-you’ research
• Your blueprint
• A task list that is going to help you drive the creation and growth of your business moving forward.

The hub makes the website creation process simple which allows you to get started on the training with a solid base and understanding of the processes.

All you need to do is choose your subject – which is known as your ‘niche’ – and follow the steps on the screen.

Oh, and as you run through the training below you may realize that what you created above is not exactly what you want. That’s ok, you can just create a new hub!

Access All the Tools You Need to Start Your Online Business Here

Wealthy Affiliate Training

Then as you continue your journey, the Wealthy Affiliate Hub is there for you with the most comprehensive training package I have ever seen – And I have used a few in my professional career trust me.

Above we discussed the use of the Hub to set up a website. Once you have done this, you will be able to access the “Step-by-Step Core Training”.

This is available to all members including starter members and will give you everything you need to know to continue to create your online business.

Member Training

There are also Live weekly classes taught by REAL industry experts on a range of topics like artificial intelligence (AI), SEO, YouTube, WordPress, PPC marketing and more.

Great, What Else Does Wealthy Affiliate Have To Help You?

So, let’s keep this short, Wealthy Affiliate is a one-stop-shop platform that provides:

• The Hub – this is the starting point and uses AI processes to assist you in determining your niche and creating your brand.
• Complete training programs to assist with the development of your own affiliate marketing website in your own niche.
• Website creation and publishing tools including access to WordPress editors and themes.
• AI Content article design and content creation
• Domain name purchasing (you get a free domain when you upgrade to the Premium membership).
• Website hosting, security and backup.
• Online help and chat forums.
• Weekly live training events.
• 24/7 support.
• Keyword access tools.
• SEO assistance.

The platform has been active for over 15 years with the original developers and owners, Kyle and Carson, still extremely active in its day to day operations – especially as they rollout their AI capabilities.

You Can Try it Yourself For Free

Now of course I can tell you all about how Wealthy Affiliate works (because it does) until I am blue in the face. But every other program out there – including the shams and scams – will tell you the same thing!

So how about you just try it for free yourself. The Wealthy Affiliate Starter membership is free to join and gives you access to everything you need to get started – all without the need to spend a cent!

With the starter membership, you get:

• 1 Limited Business Hub
• 1,500 AI Word Credits
• Try the AI Author Platform (BETA)
• 1 Practice Website
• Jaaxy Starter
• Limited Help & Support
• Core Niche Training (8 Classes)

And of course I will be there to help you every step of the way as well!

Look, in the interest of transparency, whilst Wealthy Affiliate does offer a free starter membership, this is designed to give you a look around, have a practice and see if it is worthwhile for you – which is a really great option.

However, as with all new businesses, you will need to make some investment so if you are serious about making money online , you will need to upgrade to a premium membership as this will give you access to all the tools you need in the one spot to succeed!

Afterall, every business needs tools to grow!

Access All the Tools You Need to Start Your Online Business Here

So How Much Does This Really Cost?

Wealthy Affiliate does not use upsells once you join – but as I mentioned in the video, to succeed here you will need to invest in a membership. There are a couple of options that provide access to all the tools, training and assistance that you could need – and a free domain as well.

Wealthy Affiliate offers a trio of membership tiers, as detailed on their pricing page.

You can opt for the Starter membership at no cost, the Premium membership for $49 per month or the Premium Plus+ membership for $99 per month. That’s the full extent of it – and you can absolutely build your website without having to spend another cent.

You won’t encounter any unexpected additional charges or covert fees and as a Premium member, you’re equipped with all the essentials to initiate, develop and expand a thriving online enterprise.

Those who opt for the Premium membership are provided with

• Hosting for their websites
• A complimentary domain name
• Access to hundreds of hours of current expert tutorials
• Various marketing and research tools
• Personal guidance from seasoned professionals in the field
• And much much more

And for those of you who want to make a serious investment into your future, there are some yearly options as well below to give you peace of mind that you have a whole year ahead of you to get stuff done!

Access All the Tools You Need to Start Your Online Business Here

And Don’t Forget the Personal Coaching

Once you join, not only do you get plenty of assistance from me, but you also have access to expert coaching, support and mentorship from real industry experts.

I mean, you can have access to all of the top-tier affiliate marketing training in the world, but inevitably, questions arise, particularly during the initial stages.

With an exceptionally dynamic and engaged community that boasts over 2.7 million members, Wealthy Affiliate offers an environment where you, as a member, can fully immerse and leverage this network.

You’re never alone; you have the collective wisdom of an entire community at your fingertips, ready to assist at any moment.

Plus, there’s always-on, rapid-response website support to handle any technical queries you may encounter.

Wealthy Affiliate Works: Real Results From Real People

As I have mentioned a number of times, Wealthy Affiliate has helped me make real money online though its training and tools.

I have made money each month as well as a sale for $17,000.

But again, those promoting other programs will tell you the same thing!

So let’s get away from me and see what others are saying:

To start with, Wealthy Affiliate has a 4.9 out of 5 Star TrustPilot rating, which is a remarkable accomplishment in any industry, let alone the online business industry.

And here are some of those reviews:

And this is what people are saying within Wealthy Affiliate as well:

So, Let’s Make a Decision!

Let’s be frank, you have read this far so why not go all in, click on the button below to get started on the way to your very online business.

Access All the Tools You Need to Start Your Online Business Here

And once you are in and have had a play around with the hub, look for the little envelope on the top right and there will be a message from me. It is of course automated so respond to let me know you are there and we can start this journey together.

(oh, and the profile is mine so you can find me that way as well)

See you there

Paul