The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Funnel That Converts

November 7, 2019 by karafidd Leave a Comment

In this article we are going to talk about the ten essential steps for designing a funnel that converts. Spoiler alert: design is a huge component for each and every step!! We’re going to talk about why each step is essential and the design elements that can increase conversions!

Have you signed up for our Designs that Convert Video Training Series yet? It’s totally free! Look for the button at the end of this article to sign up and get instant access!

One of the most common mistake I see (and personally made myself) is seriously underestimating exactly how much work goes into blogging.

It’s easy to think that to start a blog– all you have to do is write good content and put it out there on social media. But there’s SO MUCH MORE to it than that!

A common theme I’m seeing lately is newer bloggers not realizing how much DESIGN goes into blogging. Almost everything we do requires some kind of design.

From the pins, to lead magnets, social media posts, products, and even landing pages. They all require design!

Side Note: Don’t miss our article 5 Reasons You Need Great Graphics to Grow Your Blog (click here to read)

It wasn’t until I really started getting into the strategy of blogging that my business took off. Strategy isn’t something that comes naturally to me so this took a lot of time, trial & error, mistakes, investments, and learning to really nail down for me.

I can do the design part of it all day but putting it all together? Definitely a challenge!! So now, I want to break it down for you!

Step One: The Image (Entry Point)

Most of the time, unless someone finds you on google, the entry point to your blog is visual. This mean it’s a Facebook post, a Pinterest pin, a instagram post, a twitter post, or something along the social media lines.

Even ads via Facebook or Pinterest are again– visual.

If your design doesn’t stop them, you won’t get the click

It’s honestly as simple as that. The world is becoming so visual and long gone are the days of writing a blog post and putting it out to the world with an ugly pin and a catchy title.

Now we’re competing with colors, videos, text that pops and so many distracting elements such as ads, pop-ups, and even outside things like kids needing yet another snack.

Your design needs to stop the scroll. It needs to catch attention.

Even more than that: it needs to be professional, readable, bright, and relatable.

Here are some tips to increase conversions

Use stock photos! Don’t try to take your own unless you’re in a niche that requires this like food craft, or home decor. If you are in niche that requires this, invest some time into learning how to take great quality photos because it will make or break your conversions.

Choose photos that are light, bright, and relatable. If it doesn’t look like it could happen in real life then it’s too cheesy to get the click

Keep each platform in mind; big, bold, readable text works wonderfully on Pinterest whereas Facebook images convert better with very little to no text.

Test different titles, especially on Pinterest– how many ways can you say the same thing? You never know what’s going to click with people so it’s worth making multiple images and testing different text.

Use design elements like banners or arrows to draw attention to CTA’s

Keep your ideal reader in mind when choosing the design elements of your post– everything from the photos to the words you read. Design is still JUST AS MUCH communication as the verbal language.

Use a template! Sometimes it’s not always feasible to hire out pin design or try to learn the skill from scratch and I get that, which is why I created the Complete Blogger Template Toolkit which has done-for-you templates for all the different social media platforms. Other options include: The Mega Pin Creators Bundle (pin designs only) and our lite social media templates inside the Design Vault!

If you’re looking for social media graphics you’ll find them in The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit! If you’re looking for JUST PINS (or MORE pins) you’ll find 60 unique ones inside the Mega Pin Creators Bundle.

Step Two: The Lead Magnet

Next up you’re going to need to create your lead magnet! There are a few ways I like to generate lead magnet ideas. Everyones blog and mission is different so I’ll break it down into a few different categories.

Want to save this article? Be sure to pin it to your favorite business board!

Find out the ten steps to designing a funnel that converts! If you want to create a profitable blog then you need to memorize this article, SO MANY great resources for a solid blog growth strategy that actually works!!

If you have ANY kind of paid offer

Work backwards!! You need to start with the paid offer (even if it’s an affiliate product you’re going to promote in your welcome email.

Side note: we will cover the email portion of this later in this article!

Ask yourself different questions about your reader and your paid offer:

What problem does the paid offer solve
Where does my reader need to be in order to know that they have that problem
What kind of information do they need prior to being ready to get that problem solved?
What’s another problem they might have BEFORE being ready for the paid offer that I can solve?

Let the paid offer guide your decision. The more closely related they are, the better the conversion will likely be!

If you DON’T have any kind of paid offer

Let’s start by doing a quick content audit. What are you top posts and topics that you talk about. How broad is your blog?

I’m a firm believer that a blog can be broad but the email list cannot. That’s why I always recommend to frame your lead magnets in a way that speaks to a specific person (even if they are about different things).

It all comes back to your target audience (or avatar).

What do they want and WHY do they want it.

Once you’ve taken a look at your top posts, think about the next logical step or how you can expand on the content in an actionable way.

Check out my ultimate guide to list building article here.

If you’re looking for lead magnet templates you’ll find them in The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit! Many also use the product template inside The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox to create lead magnets. Alternatively, you can find a couple free lead magnet templates inside the Design Vault as well if you’re wanting to try some risk free!

Step Three: The Opt-in Page

Now that you have your blog post it written, your social media image is amazing and your lead magnet is created, it’s time to create a dedicated opt-in page or form.

Forms are best for the blog post itself.

Landing pages should also be created to send traffic directly to your offer via social media or paid advertising.

Let’s start with opt-in forms

Currently, my favorite tool for this is Convertbox. Convertbox is a program that lets you set up multi-step opt-in forms and it is seriously amazing.

Not only are the conversion rates amazing BUT my favorite thing about it is that I can set up a second step inside the pop-up box.

This means I can offer a limited time tripwire offer right inside the pop-up without ever taking my reader away from the content they were trying to consume.

This is so much better for usability and reader experience in my opinion!

If you’re not wanting to invest in a tool like Convertbox, stick to your email service provide. My provider of choice is Convertkit and they have really upped their game with the design of opt-in forms!

Regardless of the tool you use, be sure to include some kind of attention grabbing mockup style graphic on your form!

Here’s an example from my site:

The opt-in page

As far as tools go, I currently have two recommendations:

Elementor (a free drag and drop builder)
LeadPages (a paid drag and drop builder)

Each platform has it’s pros and cons. Elementor is a great option for new or intermediate bloggers. It’s free but has a super affordable price if you wanted to upgrade to the pro version.

It’s easy to use and you can create some amazingly beautiful pages with it!

Bonus: I actually have Elementor templates inside Confident Funnels which comes with all the pages you need for setting up your entire funnel.

It works on WordPress so the downside is that it does take up space on your server and if the plugin is deleted you’ll lose the formatting of your page (but you won’t lose the content like you would for other plugins like Thrive Architect or Divi)

LeadPages is also very easy to use. I love the analytics, being able to quickly duplicate my pages, and the fact that it’s hosted on an outside server. If my site broke tomorrow my funnel would still be working.

The downside is that because it’s separate from WordPress, you need to set up your pixels, Google analytics code, and any other conversion tracking individually on each and every page you create.

The other downside is cost: it’s rather pricey for a newer blogger but a great tool to switch to down the road if desired.

When you set up your opt-in page, the most important parts are:

The headline
The visual element (usually a mockup style graphic of the lead magnet)
The offer itself
The button
How it looks on mobile (this is a common thing to forget)

Step Four: The Tripwire

Ok great! You’ve got your lead magnet all set up! Now it’s time to monetize, especially if you’re going to be doing paid advertising to grow your list.

Essentially, this is a low-cost, quick win type of product that is offered right after someone signs up for your email list. They will be redirected to a thank you page that let’s them know their freebie is on the way and offers them a special one-time-offer (OTO).

With tripwires, you want them to be highly related to your lead magnet offer (these are the ones that will convert the BEST) and you’ll want a visual element above the fold. This will help grab peoples attention the best since they likely won’t read the page unless you grab them.

Be sure to double check how your tripwire page looks on tablet and mobile devices as well. The visual elements I always include above the fold are:

A product mockup
A countdown timer (that redirects so the offer is truly a one time offer)
A button that pops!

Here’s a visual example of one of my Elementor Page Templates from Confident Funnels– this is the tripwire page part of the funnel:

You’ll notice that this entire section appears “above the fold” (meaning someone doesn’t have to scroll to view it) so you’ve got the product mockup, countdown timer, and buy button in immediate view to grab attention!

Side note: you can find product mockup templates (for Canva) inside Confident Funnels and The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit. The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox has various mockup templates for both Canva and Photoshop!

The rest of the page is similar to a short-form sales page. It’s important to sell the “quick win” here since tripwire purchases are usually more of an impulse buy– that’s why we want our offer to be really compelling and valuable at a “no brainer” price.

Step Four Alternative: The Thank You Page

Now if you don’t have a tripwire offer, you can still optimize your thank you page for maximum value and connection.

That being said, I would hold off on running ads to your opt-in if you’ve got no paid offer (exception: if you don’t have a tripwire but you do have a larger paid product or high converting affiliate product you can sell via email sequence to that lead).

Ways to provide value and establish connection on your thank-you page:

Include a short story about yourself and your “why”- include a personal photo or headshot
Include links to your best articles that people might find helpful
Create a “favorite resources” page that you can link to (this is great for affiliate links too)
Link your favorite affiliate products directly in the thank you page via recommendation tile graphics
Link to your social media profiles, podcast, or youtube channel
Make a short value video and embed it on the page

There are a lot of ways to get creative with your Thank You Page (this can also be on an “offer expired” page if you ARE using a tripwire– this is the page that your user will be redirected to after rot offer expires OR if they sign up to your list again at a later time)

Step Five: The Welcome Email Sequence

Ironically, I usually suggest very LITTLE visual elements inside your email. I am NOT a fan of headers or other images inside an email.

The one exception I make to this is the newsletter signature. I love for my signature to be very well branded, show off my signature products, and to include an image of my face.

This helps establish connection, build awareness for my brand and my best products, and put a “face to a name” so-to-speak.

Here’s a visual example of a portion of one of my emails:

You’ll notice that prior to my signature, my email is plain text (I sometimes use colored headings to separate different sections or topics in the email– similar to a blog post) but there are no other images.

This is because I want the email itself to feel like it’s coming from a friend! I don’t want to appear to be another spammy business in someones inbox. I take the time to make my emails personal and I’m FAMOUS for getting personal with my list with storytelling and value.

Connection is a “make or break” piece of a funnel that converts because connection helps build “know, like, and trust”.

Inside the newsletter signature graphic you’ll see I included:

A headshot
My logo
Logos for my signature products
A quick tagline and my website URL
Everything is branded with my colors and my sign off “happy designing”

Now, there are exceptions of course! If I do ever include other graphics or visual elements in my newsletters, they are:

Personal photos
Testimonial photos
Countdown timers
Product mockup images

Countdown timers and product mockup images are usually for sales sequences though, not the typical newsletter.

If you’re looking for newsletter graphics you’ll find them in The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit!

Step Six: The Product Design

You’ve likely heard the phrase “the money is in the list” but maybe you’re not quite sure how or why. Well, let me tell you!

With your email list, you establish connection with your reader and provide them value. In providing value, you let them know about products or affiliate products that you’ve used or created that will solve a specific problem they are having.

Because they know, like, and trust you they are willing to trust your recommendation and purchase that product. You get paid to help them.

Here’s the thing though, you have to actually help them with your product or affiliate recommendation! The products you offer your list can not be random. They have to be extremely strategic and essentially made for them.

The key to conversion is to quite literally make a product FOR your people.

And it’s even better when people actually tell you this!

Alternatively, if you don’t have your own product that you’ve made for your reader, you can still solve their problem by telling them about something you’ve used to solve YOUR problem that they are presumably going through now.

There are some pros and cons about affiliate programs though..

Pro: This is risk free for you, it takes no time or energy to create

Pro: There is little to no customer service issues that you’ll deal with after the person purchases (you might field some questions though since the person knows you’re the one that recommended it to them and you’d be able to provide feedback or answers as a user instead of the creator)

Cons: you have almost no control– no control of price, no control of the sales page, no control of the email follow up sequences, no control over the customer service, etc.

I like being in control of my products, I feel I can BEST serve my audience when I’m able to solve their problem in my unique way that I know they respond to.

I also like being able to have launches, flash sales, etc when I feel like it and if I notice conversions starting to drop I have data at every point of my funnel and can pin point where optimization is needed.

Grab my FREE Product Design Planner to get you started with designing your product! I’ll take you through my design process and help you choose fonts, colors, and design your layout!

Coming Up With a Product Idea

I always start with my audience and my data. I see what topics people are responding to and what people are asking for. I look at survey responses, questions, emails, comments, social media comments or messages, etc.

What are people asking for?
What is the problem they need solved?
Why does it matter to them that this problem gets solved?

These are the things I really focus on when generating a product idea. Just because it’s a thing that I think is a good idea, doesn’t mean it’s going to be something my audience wants or needs. To provide real value, you need to start with your people.

Types of products

There are so many different kinds of digital products you can make for your audience! To name a few…

Workbooks
Workshops
Planners
E-courses
E-books
Memberships
Coaching or other services
Templates
Patterns
Downloadable files (like SVGs)
Video Training
Journals
Instruction guides (cookbooks and craft instructions fall under this style as well!)
Study guides
Spreadsheets

Once you’ve chosen your product and the format you’re going to make it in it’s time to design!

Designing a Digital Product

You don’t need anything fancy to do this! In fact, digital products can easily be designed using simple design tools like Canva!

Here’s what I like to do (my “design process”) before I even sit down to start designing it:

Content completely written out
Inspiration session completed (I like to store ideas and inspiration in a Trello board)
Map out my product on paper
Decision made about color and font palette (usually it’s on brand unless it’s seasonal)

Then, when it’s time to start designing, I use my own templates. I’ve already designed them once, why start from scratch every time? Design (especially when it’s for a digital product) can be a very high ROI task (meaning, you get a lot of return on your investment) but it becomes less and less “high ROI” if you take too long and get stuck.

If you’re looking for product templates, check out The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox— not only does it contain templates for all different kinds of digital products but also templates for every step of my product creation system from surveys to sales page copy and email sequences!

Step Seven: The Sales Page

Once you’ve gotten a product created and launched, it’s time to automate sales.

What I like to do is add a sales sequence to the end of my welcome value emails. I’ve already established a connection with my new reader and I like to offer something of higher value next.

With high value usually comes a price tag. However, as content creators we need to shift our focus from “feeling bad about asking for money” to “I’m able to provide value because of the fact that this person has invested in me. I’m able to feed my family, pay the bills, and spend more time helping my customer and creating them the very best content possible to serve them.”

During that sales sequence, I’ll link to a sales page I designed specific to this sequence. The reason for that is tracking. I know that the person who is viewing this page is only seeing it because they are in the sequence and that helps me track conversions on the email sales sequence itself.

On my sales page I like to include a number of visual elements including:

Stock photos
Product mockup images
Countdown timers
Testimonial graphics
Videos
Personal photos or headshots
Any graphics that might convey a special offer, flash sale, launch special, etc.

Step Eight: The Sales Sequence

After you’ve got your sales page designed for your sales sequence, you’ll need to actually write the sales sequence! Here’s the thing, this doesn’t have to be super complicated.

In fact, you can repurpose a lot of your launch especially if your launch converted well. I typically do 4-5 emails for a sales sequence in my email funnel but you can experiment with what works for you.

I try to keep these super simple and make sure there are little to no “distractions” from my typical newsletter such as footers with other links to my blog, other calls to action, affiliate links, etc.

The only thing I want people to click through to is the sales page of the product I’m promoting. The best thing to do with an automated sales sequence is:

Continue providing value
Address any objections
Give people incentive to buy (via special bonuses or even discounts if you’d like)

Side note: I use and love Convertkit for my email marketing– they make it super easy to create visual automations, tag people based on opt-ins and purchases, and review analytics.

Don’t forget that The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox contains all the tools you need to develop your product idea, design it, launch it, and automate it with templates for each step of the way! Another great tool is Confident Funnels: Elementor Templates which will give you the page templates for your opt-in page, tripwire page, offer expired page, sales page, and upsell page.

Step Nine: The Upsell

If you have another product that you think is a great next step, or provides extra value to the one that you’re promoting, then make it an upsell!

I’ve tested this in two ways. The first being the “upsell feature” on Teachable which displays as a button on the confirmation page and allows people to click through and purchase the upsell.

The second way was designing a sales page very similar to a tripwire page that the person is redirected to after purchase.

That page thanks them for their purchase and introduces them to the related product they might be interested in. At the bottom, they can say “no thank you” and continue to the product they purchased. Throughout the page are buy buttons. This option has converted nearly 10x higher.

Alternatively, you can offer upsells in your post purchase sequence. This doesn’t have to be limited to your products but affiliate products as well.

During your post-purchase sequence, you’ll provide value on how the buyer can get the MOST from your product and also introduce other related offers that might help them see more success. These are usually presented in more of a conversational way rather than a harder sell like a sales sequence.

What do all of these steps have in common?

There are TWO things all of these steps have in common:

They work to provide the highest amount of value possible to your subscriber
They all center around DESIGN!

In my article 5 Reasons Why You Need Great Graphics to Grow Your Blog I talk about the common mistake bloggers make which is underestimating how much design truly goes into blogging.

But it’s so much more than that, designing a funnel that converts involves designing:

Entry point images (usually social media images or advertisements)
Lead magnet design
Lead magnet forms
Lead magnet landing pages
Tripwire sales pages
Product design
Design elements for your sales pages and other landing pages
And so much more!

If you’re looking to take your designs to the next level, check out my resources:

The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit: All the designs you’ll need to optimize your blog, rock social media, and grow your list with lead magnets.

The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox: My complete “templatized” product creation system that will help you develop your product idea, design it, launch it, and automate it with templates for every step of the way.

Confident Funnels: Elementor landing page templates to help you set up the funnel: opt in page, tripwire page, offer expired page, sales page, and upsell page.

Mega Pin Creators Bundle: Pin templates for your “entry point” graphics on Pinterest– perfect to promote blog posts, lead magnets, and products!

Don’t forget to sign up for Blog Graphics That Convert for our free video training on designs to create for your blog that will increase clickthroughs, SEO, sign-ups, and sales!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TRAINING

5 Reasons Why You Need Great Graphics to Grow Your Blog

October 31, 2019 by karafidd 2 Comments

In this article we will discuss the 5 major reasons why you need great graphics to grow your blog and exactly why they are critical for your blogs success. We will also talk about how the graphics you use can impact trust, promotional success, user experience, conversions and more!

Inside my exclusive Design Vault you’ll find done-for-you design Canva templates for your blog. Jump right in to get access to social media templates, media kits, ebooks, and so much more! Just click right here to get access or the button below!

GET ACCESS TO FREE CANVA TEMPLATES

GREAT BLOG GRAPHICS ARE ESSENTIAL TO GROWTH

Back when I first started blogging I just could not figure out why my site wasn’t getting any traffic.

I know, I know.. traffic is a vanity metric right? But let’s be honest: no traffic = no subscribers = no income.

I felt like I was doing all the things right and still… crickets.

Looking back, I was doing almost nothing right. I was talking about things I wanted to talk about instead of what my reader wanted, I had no direction, I didn’t even know what a keyword was, and my images were modeled after other pins I saw on Pinterest.

The thing is, not everything on Pinterest is gold and having very little knowledge of anything else, I decided to dust off my graphic design certification and actually implement some of the basic design principles I had learned years ago. Something actually started to happen!

Yep! That’s a 2,200% increase in traffic from a re-design of my pins alone and it’s not just a big spike that faded out after a day or two.

I was onto something.

It wasn’t just the pins. I started implementing my graphic design knowledge and learning anything and everything about blogging, online marketing, digital products and more so that I could BEST combine the two areas: marketing and design.

When I launched Simplifying DIY Design, it took me less one year to replace my full time income and less than two to generate six figures.

In this post, I want to share with you why it’s SO important to implement design strategically in your blog to create massive growth.

#1: Professional Appearance Establishes Trust

Fun story: My husband and I were on our way to Myrtle Beach one year for a family vacation.

Our GPS took us some weird back way and we were driving through a lot of wooded land when we happen to see a sign on the side of the road.

I’m not kidding you that this sign was on white poster board and the lettering was in black sharpie marker. It read: Chinese food *phone number* ➡

We both looked at each other (in slight terror) because not only would we never want to eat there but it kind of felt like it was a trap of some kind! That’s how awful and out of place the sign looked.

That’s essentially what you’re doing when your blog, sales pages, and any other graphics you have on your blog are very sub-par. The internet is a sketchy place these days and people don’t need any LESS reason to put their credit card in.

The more professional your blog appears, the more credible you’ll appear to your reader.

This is why it’s super important that not only are the graphics professional, but the tools you use are as well (ie. using a drag and drop builder to produce a sales page instead of a random page on your blog with a PayPal button.)

Branding

Your brand can play a big part in professionalism as well. Not only will a nice-looking site help build trust and credibility but also a cohesive brand can go a long way in establishing trust with your audience.

How will your audience ever become familiar with you if you change your logo every other day?

If you’d like to read more about creating a cohesive brand, click here.

If you're wondering why you need great graphics to grow your blog you need to read this ASAP!! I had no idea graphics were THIS important to traffic, conversions, and even sales!! Game changer!

#2: Visual Promotions Catch Attention

There are so many different types of graphics that you can create to promote something such as:

Promotion of a blog post
Promotion of a lead magnet
Promotion of a paid product
Promotion of an affiliate product
Promotion of a event (livestream, webinar, live event, etc)
Promotion of a collaboration
Promotion of a shop page

The list goes on!

Here’s the thing: there are three main components that result in getting the click:

The design
The copy
The offer

The reason I have design at the very top of that list is because if your design doesn’t STOP them long enough to actually read your copy then you will never get that click.

Without the click, you won’t get the sale. Simple as that.

This is why it’s super important that your promotional graphics are spot on. They increase the perceived value of whatever the offer is and they get people excited to take action!!

#3: Visual Elements Improve User Experience

There are a lot of different ways I like to use visual elements to improve the user experience on my blog. The reason I want my readers to have a good experience is because they will stay on my site longer! This is great because:

The longer the user is on my site, the more authority I’ll have with google which is good for SEO– longer sessions show google your content is good!

They might click around to other posts which would provide them additional value, increase the likelihood of a conversion (sale or opt-in), and “number of pages visited” is another thing that is good for SEO

Mentioned in the previous point: increase the likelihood of a conversion!!

Blog posts are meant to be one of the first steps of a funnel. This is the free information you’re providing to someone. This is your opportunity to hook the reader enough to want to stay.

If they can’t make it half way through your post because you’ve written all your content in a giant block of text with no headings, images, or video then how will they get any value from you to want to stick around?

Here are just some visual elements I like to include on my blog and in my posts to increase user experience:

Stock photos
Videos
Visually appealing promotional graphics that promote a lead magnet, product, or affiliate product
Mockup style graphics on my opt-in forms
Popular post graphics in the sidebar

Creating graphics for your blog are so important to conversions, traffic, sales and even SEO-- if you're wondering why you need great graphics to grow your blog then you need to read this RIGHT NOW!!

#4: Visual Elements Can Improve Conversions

We talked about this a little bit early on, but visual elements can actually improve conversions. I’m talking ANY conversion, whether it be getting a click, getting a sign up, or getting a sale.

They’re important on social media not only in organic promotion but also for paid advertising too. A major part of all paid strategy — whether it be Facebook or Pinterest ads — are graphics!!

In addition, I’ve found a few more tricks to be helpful:

Increase conversions of affiliate links by creating a beautiful image that showcases the affiliate product in addition to your compelling copy about why you love it

Increase conversions of sign ups by including a mock-up style graphic on your opt-in form. This is important because you’ll not only be more likely to grab attention but you’ll increase the perceived value by showing that it really is a real PRODUCT that someone can get for free.

Increase clicks around your site by including visually appealing graphics that showcase your other posts (ideally ones that are heavily monetized or convert well to a sign up)

You also have so many opportunities to increase the conversion of sales on your sales page.

In addition to making sure your sales page is set up in a professional and cohesive manner using a drag and drop builder (I like Elementor and LeadPages) but you can also include:

3D mockup graphics of your product

Photos (or stock photos) that drive home the point of your copy (ideally when hitting pain points or describing the transformation)

Making your button pop– this is a visual element as welll! A common mistake is making your button blend into your branding.. make it pop!!

Adding charts or other graphics that visually demonstrate the statistics of how your product can help

Establish credibility and social proof by letting your reader know where your content or products have been featured

Testimonial graphics that can establish further social proof

Increase usability by breaking up a solid white background with visually appealing background image or colored sections on the page. This helps break up text and enables the reader to get from section to section without becoming overwhelmed by blocks of text

The more visually appealing your sales page is (without, of course, becoming overwhelming) the better!

Elementor landing page templates to create a funnel that converts

Side note: If you’re an Elementor user, check out Confident Funnels! These are my designed-for-you templates for creating each piece of your stunning and high converting funnel!

#5: Graphics Are The First Step of Your Funnel

I see a couple of common mistakes with bloggers:

They underestimate just how much graphic design actually goes into building a funnel
They don’t realize that the very FIRST step of the funnel is more often than not, an image!

Most of the time someone is clicking on your post from a pin graphic, a facebook graphic, an ad, or some other visual promotion of the post.

That graphic brings them to your post, which leads them to your offer.

Depending on the offer it might lead straight to a sale OR it might lead to a email sign up which can trigger a tripwire product sale, an upsell, or a sales sequence.

I’m a huge fan of funnels! Not only are they an amazing way to generate a full time income with your blog but they also provide an insane amount of value to your audience!

Don’t underestimate the power of amazing graphics to grow your blog

We talked a lot about common mistakes that I’ve made and that I constantly see others make. You are one step ahead of the game.

The thing is, I can hear you on the other side of your screen– “I’m not certified in graphics! I don’t have time to learn graphic design!”

It doesn’t have to be this hard. You can even get started right away with a simple tool like Canva and some pre-designed templates. You can try out the ones located in my Design Vault or, if you already know you love Canva templates and you’re wanting to go dive in with all the graphics you’ll need for your blog, check out my Complete Blogger Template Toolkit!

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6 Easy Canva Design Tips + Tricks Every Blogger Should Know About

July 8, 2019 by karafidd 14 Comments

Are you ready to learn some amazing game-changing Canva hacks? These tips and tricks will save you so much time and help make designing in Canva easier than ever!!

Want to skip the reading and get my Canva Tips Cheatsheet? Click right here to download the cheatsheet located in our Design Vault! You’ll get instant access to this cheatsheet along with FREE design templates, tutorials, and other tools to help with design!

GET ACCESS TO THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET!

Canva can be an amazing design tool for any online business owner.

However, when I first started using Canva I felt really limited. I remember making a babysitter info printable and I just wanted to make a simple LINE that didn’t have any fancy things on the end of it.. just a simple line!

Over the years I’ve come up with tons of tricks for Canva and since then I’ve been able to create everything from full workbooks, journals, course slide decks, and so much more using this tool. No more feelings of limitations!

It just takes a little creative thinking!

I have an awesome audience of people that love Canva and a great Facebook group of bloggers invested in mastering their design skills. The benefit of this is I know when people have frequent questions about how to do certain things!

This post is about the most COMMON questions I get about designing in Canva and the tricks for making the program even easier to use and more versatile for any blogger 🙂

Trick #1: Copy and Paste

This is easily the most common thing that’s asked: how do you copy and paste between different designs.

Copy and paste is probably the single most often used keyboard shortcut that I use. I use it ALL THE TIME and it makes my life so much easier. I often have multiple tabs open on my browser and I’m copying and pasting from tab to tab. This helps me save time and stay consistent with my designs.

Anyway, copying and pasting is super easy.

First, you just click off to the side and drag your mouse over whatever you want to copy.

Note: If you accidentally select more objects then you meant to, you can hold the shift key down and click on anything you want to de-select.

Then, use your keyboard shortcuts for copy (Ctrl/Command+C).

Next, open whatever document you want to be able to paste this into.

You can also paste it in the same document (on the same, or different, pages). I do this a lot when I’m creating a workbook so that I can keep the border, layout, and headers consistent. This also helps me design much faster.

To paste, simply use your keyboard shortcuts again (Ctrl/Command+V).

Super simple!

Also, the header templates in that picture example are available for free in our Design Vault along with a bunch of other Canva templates and design tools. Just click here for instant access!

Trick #2: Downloading just one page

So, I usually get this question most when it comes to my social media templates such as my pin templates (side note: there are FREE pin templates located in the Design Vault!). This also comes in handy when you want to save a cover of a workbook separately as a jpg so that you can re-upload it into Canva for mockup images or if you want to upload it to a cover generator like myecovermaker. Either way, this is another really easy trick!

Simply look to the right of the page (or pin) that you want to download to find the “page number”.

Once you find that number, click on “download” and then type in the number of the page to download (see below)

Interested in social media templates? Like I said, there are pin templates, Facebook image templates, instagram templates and so much more located inside the Design Vault. Plus, you can find pin templates in our Social Media Template Toolkit or The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit (Canva formats), AND you can also find even more pin templates in both Canva + Adobe Photoshop format in my Graphic Design Workshop.

Trick #3: Selecting an object BEHIND another object without moving it out of the way

This one is a game changer for SO many people (it was for me!).

Have you ever tried to click on something and there’s a text box or object in the way and you end up clicking the wrong thing? Yeah, you’re not alone.

But there’s a super simple trick for this.

The command key! (or ctrl key for PC users)

Simply click on the object. If something else gets selected, hold down the command (or ctrl) key and click again (WHILE holding that key). This will select the object that’s behind that first object.

If the one you’re trying to select is way in the back, you might have to keep holding command (or ctrl) and clicking. Each time you click while holding that key, it’s going to select the next object in the back.

Check out this video demonstration of my favorite Canva Tips and Tricks (it’s so much easier to show than to explain!)

Trick #4: Moving objects just a teeny tiny bit

I get this question a LOT in regards to positioning text just right so that it’s perfectly lined up. When you move the text boxes around with your mouse sometimes it’s hard to get it just right.

But if you click just outside of the text box, you’ll notice that there’s a little cross arrow that looks like this:

When that symbol appears, click again. You’ll know it worked because you will not be able to type in that text box anymore.

Note: This is only necessary when trying to move a text box. If you want to move a shape or other object, you only need to click once.

Finally, use your arrow keys on your keyboard to move the object just 1px. It’s incredibly easy to get it lined up just right doing it that way!

Side note: you can also hold down the shift key and use the arrow keys if you want to move the object 10px. You can go back to that video in the previous tip and watch me do this at 09:08.

Trick #5: Making an object appear to have a shadow

There’s a couple steps to this.

First, add your image that you would like to have a shadow, then duplicate it.

Then, with the duplicated image, turn the brightness down, the contrast up, and increase the blur.

Next, turn the transparency down and move the object to the back.

Last, position it just right behind the original object so that it looks like a shadow.

This is a pretty simple trick that can give your object more pop!

Trick #6: Create a project with more than 100 pages

It’s time to throw a party!!! Canva 2.0 now has a NEW PAGE LIMIT of 100 pages!!! Finally, you can create a document with more than 30 pages!!

But- what if your project exceeds 100 pages?

Don’t panic! Simply start a new project, use copy and paste to move over your layout for consistency and then keep going.

As a mac user, I use preview to merge my pages. (Don’t worry, I’ll talk about PC users in one minute!)

Simply open each document in preview. If you don’t already see the thumbnail views on the side, go to “View” and choose “Thumbnails”

Next, drag and drop the pages you want to add from the second document into the first one. If you want to select multiple pages you can do this by clicking on the first one, holding shift and then clicking on the second. This will select all the pages in between and you can drag and drop all of them at once.

You can also reorder pages by draging and dropping the thumbnails in the order that you want.

For PC users, there is this awesome free online tool called ilovepdf.com. You do NOT have to download anything to your computer and it is 100% free. Simply upload both of your documents and then choose the “merge PDF” option.

Side note: I often use ilovepdf for turning PDFs from courses I take into word documents so that I can type right in the document.

There are so many simple Canva Design Tips & Tricks!

I love figuring out those little hacks, and there are so many more I could literally spend all day doing this!

New to Canva? Click here to get started (it’s free!)

Don’t forget to download our Canva Tricks Cheatsheet now!! Just click right here for access to our Design Vault where you can get this cheatsheet and tons of other design resources

GET ACCESS TO THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET

12 Digital Products That Are Selling Like Hotcakes

July 3, 2019 by karafidd 9 Comments

Digital products are exactly how I make 80-90% of my full time blogging income. The best part? It’s completely PASSIVE once you get your product created! Find exactly what product to make for your blog AND grab our free ebook template to make it happen!

Want to grab our FREE Ebook (includes worksheet pages) for Canva OR InDesign? It’s available in our Design Vault which you can get instant access to by clicking here! Get that product made, out there and generating income in no time at all!

GET THE FREE DIGITAL PRODUCT TEMPLATE NOW!

My very first monetization course I took was about 5 minutes after I started a blog.

I always knew I wanted my blog to be a business. As it was, I started blogging in order to generate an income from home.

The person teaching the course was all about “products, products, products”

Of course, not knowing anything about the online world, my mind went to “physical products” not digital products.

Thus started the etsy shop.

Remember this post later! Pin it to your favorite pinterest board! 🙂 ⬇

My etsy shop was a success and a failure all at the same time. People liked my stuff and bought it, however each product needed to be individually sewn and put together. I sold things like military inspired blankets, dog collars, keychains, etc. They were embroidered and would take me anywhere from an hour to a day to create.

The orders piled up and soon I had a two week wait list and was spending almost ALL of my time at the sewing machine. Cursing at it and getting frustrated.

I hated it. I quickly decided this wasn’t for me and I needed a way to generate a more passive income.

And then I learned about digital products.

The thing about digital products, especially for bloggers, is that it can be a hit or miss. Luckily they cost almost nothing to make (especially when you design them yourself using canva).

The key is to build your audience first, and your product second.

Ask them what they want, survey them, hang out in facebook groups where they are asking questions and keep a running list of reader questions/concerns.

Once you know your readers’ problem, then it’s time to brainstorm solutions.

If you do that, they will buy it.

And if you design it where it’s visually appealing and easy to use.. You’ve hit the jackpot.

12 Best digital products (that are selling like hotcakes right now!)

1. Workbooks

Workbooks are something that works for almost every niche. There is something you can teach your audience that can be stepped out into a workbook. Think!

I’ve seen everything from cleaning and organizing, to budgeting and finances. Seriously, I’ve even seen a workbook on parenting techniques and getting your child to listen (cool, right?)

Workbooks sell because it’s a step by step way of teaching that walks someone through the process of solving their problem. I’m a workbook junkie- show me a Pinterest pretty workbook and I’ll buy it.

Can’t quite commit to a full workbook just yet? Don’t worry, we have you covered! Start small by creating worksheets using our worksheet templates – available in our FREE Design Vault!

Side note: the free Ebook template located in the Design Vault includes worksheet pages and can EASILY be used to create a workbook in no time at all! Get instant access by clicking here.

2. Workshops

Workshops are somewhere between workbook and e-course (kind of a combination of both, actually). This is an interactive e-course that includes worksheets and other learning material. The key to the “workshop” is that the person is able to interact with you and other students, rather than a e-course which is self paced and usually though a program like teachable.

Workshops are not generally held all the time because of the need for the creator to be involved. But when a course is not constantly open for enrollment, it builds suspense and urgency and people are more likely to jump on it when it opens.

3. Planners

People LOVE planners and there are so many ways you can go with this. You can create a life planner, budget planner, organizational planner, chore planner, meal planner, etc etc. Then, you can create more planners that people can purchase as an “add-on”.

Once you have a few add-on options, you can also offer bundles at a lower cost.

Planners also make fantastic tripwires. Again, show me a pinterest pretty planner and I’m in!

4. E-Courses

E-courses are great because it helps your reader learn something and it also creates a passive income for you. They can either be created for free through email or through a program like teachable. When you create a e-course through a program, you can also set up an affiliate program and get people to promote your course for free.

The best e-courses also have worksheets, checklists, and video content as well. Take the time to make your course awesome and it will absolutely pay off.

Side note: If you’d like to grab my free Product Creators QuickStart Kit, just click here and I’ll send it right over! Inside you’ll find a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva product template to help you plan, design, and launch your first (or next) digital product!

5. E-books

E-books are a great tripwire, opt-in, or digital product. You can sell it through your blog and you can also put it up on amazon. E-books are pretty easy to make can you can repurpose a lot of your existing content, particularly if you have a blog post series or a lot of posts on one topic.

The key to an e-book that actually sells is a killer cover though. You can make an awesome cover in canva and the upload it to myecovermaker.com and create an eye catching 3d model. They say, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but people totally do, especially online.

Grab the free ebook template (for Canva OR InDesign) now!

6. Membership Sites

Membership sites are fantastic for recurring income. The possibilities for membership sites are pretty endless. Maybe you’re a fitness blogger– create a membership site that provides different workout routines, meal plans, and accountability meetings each month. Maybe you sell sewing patterns– each month you can release a new set of patterns for your members. The list goes on.

7. Coaching Sessions

Coaching is less “passive” than most other digital products. It does involve time with your client but it allows for individualization and a personalized approach for your customer, which is a major selling point.

Each person learns different, and each person is at a different point in their journey. Allowing a set amount of time to talk about where your client is, where they want to be, and how to get there is priceless and a lot of people are willing to pay more for this.

8. Apps

You do not need to be an app developer to create an app. All you need is a killer idea. You can hire an app developer to create it for you and then you can sell it (find a developer on Upwork.com)

Another way to make money with apps is to treat it as it’s own sales funnel by offering the app for free and having an upgraded paid version or in-app purchases.

9. Templates

“Done for you” solutions are a big hit right now! Especially anything that has to do with copy, spreadsheets (with formulas), etc. Templates are essentially fill-in-the-blank mini-products that someone can customize to make their own.

This can easily be shared via google docs! Make sure the doc or spreadsheet is in view only mode and instruct people to make a copy before editing!

10. Patterns

This is more for the craft niche. Sewing, knitting, crochet, etc. These patterns are awesome digital products and they totally sell like hotcakes.

Not to mention, things like these make great tripwires, bundles, and opportunities for a membership site.

11. Downloadable Files

If you know how to create files like fonts, embroidery art, clip art, stock photography, etc then you have it made. People, especially bloggers, pay good money for things like this! Plus you can sell it on your own site along with sites like creative market or etsy. If you do stock photography, sell it to the major stock photo sites and boost your income even more.

12. Swipe files

People love to know how you did it. Swipe files are a file (you can create one in google drive) that includes your exact copy for things like sales pages, launches, emails, etc.

The idea is that they will personalize it to their own style of writing that fits their product (similar to a template), but you are giving them direction. It’s a huge bonus if you have had success. If you can say something like “the sales copy that made me $10,000 in 3 days” you are pretty much guaranteed to make sales.

Of course, having the idea for the product is one thing.

But knowing how to make it is another. The majority of these things can be made or designed in something like Canva (you can also grab my free Product Design Planner to help you get started!). It doesn’t take a fancy, expensive product to make your product sell. It just takes a eye catching design that stands out among all the other things fighting for your clients attention.

Once they buy it, your amazing content will keep them coming back for more.

Don’t forget your free Ebook Template!

Don’t forget to grab your FREE Ebook Template (that includes worksheet pages). This is the PERFECT jumping off point to any paid product (or even lead magnets!) that you can customize to fit your brand and use to start making that passive income. The BEST part about digital products is that you can serve your audience and make an income at the same time! Get started by grabbing our free ebook template now!

GET THE FREE EBOOK TEMPLATE NOW!

10 Must Know Blog Design Tips

January 30, 2019 by karafidd 2 Comments

This is a guest post written by Jennifer Bierds, owner and designer of www.JenniferBierds.com. She designs custom Squarespace websites for small businesses that reflect their brand’s personality and attract their ideal customers.

10 Blog Design Tips You Must Know!

As a blogger, you spend hours on your website every week. But, chances are, you’re not blogging because you’re into website design (like me).

Kara offers you a wealth of information here on Simplifying DIY Design for your day-to-day design needs – seriously, I could get lost in those posts for hours! I’m here to offer you some tips on making sure your website, specifically, is pretty and professional. After all, you want those designs you’ve created to have a home that does them justice.

Here are my top 10 keys to a polished blogger’s website:

A consistent color palette

Choose a color palette and stick to it throughout your website. All of your pages should have a similar feel, and color is one of the design elements that what will bring your content together.

As visitors click from page to page, the site should flow seamlessly. Check out Kara’s post here with a free cheatsheet if you need help narrowing down your colors.

Find out the 10 most important blog design tips for when you are setting up your blog webiste. These tips are so important to the presentation and usability of your blog and will be all the difference between a blog that makes money and one that doesn't! #blogdesign #designtips #simplifyingdiydesign

Only two complimentary fonts

If you’re into design, chances are you love playing with fonts. It’s tempting to use your favorites in different ways all over your website, but keeping it to two is considered a best practice.

If your not sure where to start, this is one of those times where Pinterest is your friend. Search “font pairs” and you’ll get tons of ideas! Just make sure when choosing your final two, that they suit your website’s vibe.

Also, make sure they’re available on Canva so when you create your blog images and other design elements, they match your website.

Side note: There is a Canva Font Pairing Cheatsheet located in Simplifying DIY Design library. Click here for access!

Clear images

Having blurry, self-taken images on your website is a dead giveaway that you’re an amateur. Level up your game by making sure your images – whether your own or stock – are crisp and well-lit.

If you could use some help in this department, I’ve written a guide over on my blog. If you do nothing else, improving your images alone can make a huge visual impact on your site.

A limited navigation menu

It’s easy to go overboard in your navigation menu, because in theory, you want your visitors to be able to find exactly where they need to go. While that’s true, if you give them too many options, they may be overwhelmed and just not go anywhere – not good.

Keep your navigation to around 5 options, and this will keep that part of your website clean and uncluttered. You’ll also likely see your visitors clicking their way through multiple pages of your website instead of coming to your home page and leaving, which is great for SEO.

You’re mobile-friendly

You know when you visit a website from your smartphone, and it’s like an itty bitty version of their desktop site? Don’t be that guy. It’s soooo hard see everything on those websites, much less get around to find what you want.

Having a mobile-friendly site that is easy to use from a phone or tablet is a definite sign you’re a pro. Your website should basically become a condensed version of your desktop that is reconfigured and easy-to-read – something that is done for you with certain websites.

Again, this is another feature that Google likes, and improves your SEO.

You have a theme for icons

Many websites will have graphic elements – icons – scattered throughout for a little more interest. You could have flowers, arrows, stars, polka dots, whatever, just be consistent with the theme you use across your site.

If you start going crazy here and using mismatched icons across your site, your design will become disconnected and amateurish. A way to use different elements but keep consistency is by style. You could use all watercolor designs, or hand-drawn icons, for example.

Text is broken up visually

If you blog, you write. A lot. But your website visitors could be overwhelmed if they see never-ending text. The key to great design, while incorporating all you have to say, is to break it up.

Use elements such as images, lines, color, bullet points, or even different-sized fonts to give the eye a break.

Your call-to-action is above the fold

When visitors come to your website, you should have a primary goal – get them to sign up for your newsletter, buy your e-book, enroll in your next course, etc. – and this is your call-to-action.

Whatever yours is, make sure that is extremely clear on the top of the homepage before scrolling down (above the fold).

All of your links work

Oh, broken links… They’re hard to avoid, because stuff happens, but try your best to make sure you do. Whenever you change anything on your site, think about if you may have had anything linked to that page.

If so, you’ll need to change the link, or else your visitors will be sent to an error page (obviously not good). Periodically go through your site and click through all of your buttons and highlighted links, just to make sure all is working well.

Bonus tip: set up a cute error page with some (working) links to popular pages on your site, that way visitors are more likely to stick around and not just leave.

Your social accounts are connected

You probably spend just as much time on social media as you do on creating your blog content. Make sure that your visitors can easily follow you on all of your social accounts by connecting them to your website. Add the social icons wherever it makes sense for your site, just make sure the color is consistent with your palette, and the links work ;).

These are my top ten keys to a professional-looking website, but of course, there are many more.

As long as you have these boxes checked, you’re well on your way to having great website design. Some of these are easier to implement than others, such as the mobile-friendly option, but all are important to the success of your site.

I specialize in designing all of my clients’ website in Squarespace, because covering my top ten is easy using this platform.

If you’re not familiar, Squarespace is an all-in-one solution for your website, including your hosting, design, branded e-mail, e-commerce, list building, and more.

In my opinion, it’s an especially great option for bloggers because it’s so easy to use. If you’re interested in learning more about what makes Squarespace so great, feel free to read my post here for the rundown.

You may still be questioning whether your website is up to par? Maybe you’d like a second opinion? I’d be happy to take a look and let you know what I think! Drop me your info here, and I’ll get back to you with (free) feedback.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

About the Author

Jennifer Bierds, owner and designer of www.JenniferBierds.com designs custom Squarespace websites for small businesses that reflect their brand’s personality and attract their ideal customers. You can follow her on Pinterest, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also mention Kara from Simplifying DIY Design for 20% blog design when booking with Jennifer.

3 FREE Design Generators to Choose Fonts, Colors, and Logos: Visual Tutorial

October 31, 2018 by karafidd 2 Comments

This is a visual tutorial about how to use my favorite color generator, font generator, and logo generator. These FREE design generators will be a game changer for you.

Choosing fonts and colors.

I think it’s the bane of any bloggers existence. At least the ones without a graphic design background (95% of them!).

This is why I wanted to take a minute to tell you about THREE amazing design generators that is honestly a total game changer for any blogger.

Even I use them at times!

Guys, I’m telling you right now that design does NOT have to be hard or paralyzing and once you have your brand set up, it’s easy from there because you’re going to use the same logo, fonts, and colors for all your projects. After all, that’s the best way to get brand consistency!

So let’s jump right in because I want to tell you how these three FREE tools are going to help you select the perfect color every time, pair fonts like a boss, and generate you the perfect logo.

Generator #1 Color Palette Generator: Coolors.co

Coolors.co is all about helping you find the perfect color every single time. Whether you are trying to find your brand palette, your trying to expand your brand palette, or you’re trying to find complementary colors for your seasonal posts. This generator is going to be your BEST yes.

First, you go to coolors.co and click on “generate” (top right). Then, you can either hit the space bar and start generating colors, OR you can input a color or two into the spaces provided. For this example, I’ll use one of my brand colors.

how to pick the perfect color using a generator

Next, click on the lock button to KEEP the color you input. Then, hit on the space bar on your keyboard. This will generate colors that go well with the one you input. If you didn’t input any color and you skipped right to hitting the space bar, make sure to lock any colors that pop up that you want to keep.

You can also click on “alternative shades” to play with different variations of a single color and use the drag button to reposition the ones that you like.

Once you have the color palette you want, make sure to make note of the hex codes so you can use them in your design programs for a consistent color palette.

Also, if you’re more of a visual learner, check out this video on choosing colors that I did in my facebook group!

Generator #2 Font Generator: Font Joy

The free font generator Font joy is an amazing site that lets you pair FONTS in the same way that Coolors.co let’s you generate color palettes. Pretty amazing right?

Ok, let’s jump in..

First, you will want to either just start clicking on “Generate” or choose a font to start with. For example, one of my brand fonts is “Poppins” so I will choose that one to start with.

You will be able to search for fonts, or you can search for fonts and choose from other suggested fonts. The fonts will appear from most to least like the selected font.

Once you have your first font selected, you will be directed back to the original screen. This is where you can lock in your selection (similar to coolors.co). Then, click on generate to view the suggested font pairings.

If you notice one that you like but you want to see if there are other variations similar to it. Just click on that search button again. Just like before, you’ll be shown similar fonts that pair well together in order from most to least similar. This gives you a great jumping off point because pretty much all of these will pair pretty well.

Keep on generating fonts until you find the combination that you love. Click on the name of the font to open it up and download it from Google Fonts!

choosing fonts the easy way for bloggers

These fonts are free to download from Google fonts! You WILL need the upgraded version of Canva (Canva for Work) to be able to upload custom fonts. If using a program like Adobe, you’ll simply need to install the font on your computer and you’re all set! This font generator is by FAR my favorite tool- font pairing can be such a headache!

Generator #3 Logo Generator: Logo Joy

This is NOT the be all end all of logos for sure. However, if you are just starting out and need a jumping off point then it’s a great tool to use!

First, you’ll input your blogs name.

After you have your blog name, Logo Joy will prompt you to let them know what your “industry” is about. Just put the general topic of your blog.

Next, it’s going to ask you to pick some logos that you like. You can choose as many as you want, but you must choose at least 5. It’s going to generate logos for you based on which ones you select, so take a little time looking at them. Just simply click on the ones you like. You’ll notice a checkmark appear in the top left corner of the box.

Next, you’ll choose the colors you like. This isn’t SUPER important because honestly I just use this program to get ideas, then recreate it in Canva or another design program so I can use my brand colors 🙂

After you’ve selected the logos and colors you like, you can add up to 5 symbols. It’s going to ask you if you want them to suggest symbols or if you want to browse the entire collection. For this example, I chose “Make Suggestions”. Then I searched through the database after looking at the symbols they suggested based on my topic.

When I clicked on “Make Suggestions”, this is the screen that popped up. You’ll be able to select 5 symbols that you like. I ended up searching a few different keywords other than just “design”. I searched “creative” and “blogging” too– words I felt described my brand.

You can search anything that has to do with your blog and get some ideas for graphics. Obviously, if you are recreating this in another program you might want to consider purchasing a clipart graphic from Creative Market or Design Bundles instead.

Side note: Remember, it’s against Canva TOS to use their clipart in logos.

You’ll need to purchase your own from Creative Market or Design Bundles. Make sure it’s in PNG format so that you can upload it to Canva. Another option is hiring someone from Upwork to create a custom illustration for you, it’s not as expensive as you think!

Lastly, it’s going to generate some logo options. Again, use this as a jumping off point! You can either save one that you like or recreate it in the design program of your choosing!

See what I mean about not all of them being winners? But hey, it’s better than a blank screen, right?

Consider what you like and what you DON’T like about each one and go from there!

Use these design generators to make design a little easier

These tools are 100% FREE. I know my readers often tell me that they struggle with choosing fonts and colors! For those that want a little extra help, I have a free color guide and a font pairing cheatsheet in my design library. Click here to enter the library!

I also have a Graphic Design Workshop that deep dives into these topics along with 6 other design concepts and how bloggers can use them when creating blog graphics!

Don’t have the password to the design library? Fill out this form below and I’ll send it to you! Get tools, cheatsheets, and done for you templates totally FREE!

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