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How to Legally Use Canva Content: Bloggers Edition

May 9, 2023 by Simplifying DIY Design Leave a Comment

Last updated on June 2nd, 2023

In this Canva Content License Agreement series, we’ll be diving into the can and can NOTs of your Canva designs as a blogger. Part three of this series is all about how you can legally use Canva content throughout your blogging business!

Great visuals can either make or break a blog. Eye-catching Pinterest pin designs get more people to your blog posts.

Intentional blog post graphics break up heavy bits of text and make it easier to read, keeping people on your blog longer.

Enticing freebie opt-in designs gets people to sign up for your email list (and free goodies).

Thoughtful product mockups get people interested in your products before reading your sales page.

Instead of spending thousands on a brand photographer, most bloggers resort to using stock photos for their Pinterest pins, blog post images, opt-in designs, product mockups, and even testimonial graphics.

But because of that, you could be violating Canva’s Content License Agreement without even knowing it.

Ready to nail your product launch? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! This kit has a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template so you can create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

If, while reading this post you find yourself on the wrong side of Canva’s agreement, what you do after’s going to make all the difference.

You’ll not only know what oopsies you’ve made by (illegally) using Canva content throughout your blog (so you don’t make them again) but how you can fix it.

We’ve all made mistakes in our blogs that cost us money, loss in traffic, or just downright embarrassment with LOTS of strongly-worded emails.

All you can do is fix it and write it off as a lesson learned!

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!

USE CANVA CONTENT ON YOUR BLOG

When you think about all the visuals that go into a blog, it starts to add up pretty darn fast!

Pinterest pins, featured images, opt-in graphics, blog post images, sidebar graphics, about image – it’s like it never ends.

A good chunk of those is usually made with stock photos which means you likely have a stock photo membership or use Canva’s media library.

If you use Canva’s stock photos, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

  • Add the copyright symbol © followed by the creator’s name and then canva.com if using standalone stock images
  • Ensure each Pro stock photo used is not larger than 480k pixels (roughly 600px x 800px) OR has content over top (to prevent theft of that image) OR
  • Use a free stock photo so you’re not limited by size or design requirements

To make more sense of it all, let’s dive into the areas of a blog where you’d use a stock photo.

Pinterest pin design

Our Pinterest pin sometimes uses a Canva Pro stock photo AND is much larger than 460px in size. But we have content over the majority of the photo, so it cannot be stolen.

Since our Pinterest pin is an original design and not just a stock photo, we don’t have to add any copyrighted material.

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!

Overall, our Pinterest pin meets the criteria discussed in Canva’s Content License Agreement.

Featured image

Featured images can vary by size based on your website’s theme, so this is something that’ll be unique to you.

For our custom theme (designed by Laura at Pixel Me Designs), our featured image size is 350px x 500px. Because this image size is smaller than 480k pixels, we don’t have to put content over the top to prevent theft.

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!
‘Woman typing on a laptop’ created by Janeb13 on Canva.com

However, most of the images we use are from Canva’s free stock photo library and not Pro, so we don’t have to worry about size regulation and theft prevention. Remember, that’s only for Pro stock photos!

Now let’s chat about copyright for a moment.

Section 9, line item 9 of Canva’s Content License Agreement, states that you can NOT “use the Content for editorial purposes without including the following credit adjacent to the Content or in audio/visual production credits: “©[insert Contributor’s Name] via Canva.com”

Technically, a website or blog is considered editorial, so we, as bloggers, would fall into this particular scenario.


Because our Featured image is a standalone stock photo, we need to credit the creator.

We’ve reached out to Canva for more guidance on how to properly cite stock photos used in featured images and will update you accordingly.

Blog post image

Adding related images throughout a blog post is actually a very common practice to break up heavy blocks of text.

To make sure we’re in compliance with Canva’s Content License Agreement, we generally use free Canva stock images so we’re not limited to a certain pixel size or have to add content over top to prevent theft.

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!
‘Person using Canva on a smartphone’ created by Cottonbro on Canva.com

But if we really wanted to use a Canva Pro stock photo, we would keep the size to under 480k pixels as per section 5A of Canva’s Content License Agreement.

If you want to double-check your pixel size, save the image to your computer, right-click, and then select something like ‘Get info’ (depending if you’re on a Mac or PC).

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!

Under General, we can see that our image is 235,523 pixels in size. If it’s a Pro stock photo, we can use it in our blog post without having to add any content over top to protect the image because it’s less than 480k pixels in size.

Don’t forget that because we’re adding these images as-is to our blogs (they’re not original designs like our Pinterest pin, for example), we need to credit the creator regardless if it’s a free or Pro stock image.

USE CANVA CONTENT IN A TESTIMONIAL GRAPHIC

While your first response might be to share the photo of the person actually giving the testimonial, you can easily use a stock image for things like sports, outdoors, parties, journaling, and many other products.

This keeps with the theme of your brand and showcases your product type (if not the actual product) in action, which helps visualize your buyer using your product.

Related Post: How to Easy Sell Canva Templates on Your Blog

However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

According to section 9, line items 6 and 7 of Canva’s Content License Agreement, your graphic can NOT:

  • Give the appearance that the person in the stock photo is a brand advocate or endorsing your business (especially political endorsements)
  • Depicts any person(s) in the stock photo in a bad light or in a way that they themselves might find offensive

An easy workaround is by using an image of more than one person because it can’t be attributed to one specific individual. See the difference?

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!

The first image gives the appearance that the woman on the laptop gave the testimonial and therefore endorses the template brand. The image on the right, however, can’t be attributed to a specific individual.

You can also just not use an image with a person. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with keeping the testimonial front and center with a few design elements to make it pop.

Another popular option is using the actual testimonial (so like a screenshot). We’ve done this with email and social media posts on our sales and checkout pages for authenticity and trust!

USE CANVA CONTENT TO PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCTS

There are many forms of a product mockup that can be designed with Canva content. We use mockups on social media, in our emails, and on sales pages, just to name a few.

Here are two different product mockups using Canva’s stock images that meet Canva’s Content License Agreement.

If you use Canva content on your blog, especially stock images, chances are you could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement without even knowing it!

First, they don’t give the impression of any endorsements. Second, it doesn’t depict any individual in a bad light.

Related Post: How to Easily Create and Sell Printable Products

If we were to include a testimonial in these images, then we’d be in hot water because it could be tied to the person in the photo. But just using them as a plain ol’ mockup is a-ok.

WHEN YOU CAN NOT USE CANVA CONTENT

It should go without saying that you can NOT use ANY Canva content on a blog that is immoral, libelous, obscene, defamatory, pornographic, or just plain wrong in any given nature.

If the person in the photo or content creator would be seen in a negative light, don’t use it.

Additionally, there are a few other things that can NOT be tied to ANY Canva content.

Tobacco, adult entertainment, politics, and pharmaceutical or healthcare are off-limits. Even herbal and medicinal products cannot be tied to Canva content.

We know that some of our reader’s blogs contain material about naturally grown medicine and remedies, which, unfortunately, could fall under medicinal products.

Please reach out to Canva Support for specific clarification on how you can use Canva content on your blog.

Check out the rest of our Canva Content License Agreement series so you know what you can and can NOT do with your Canva designs as a blogger!

  • Part One: Read This Before You Make a Logo in Canva
  • Part Two: How to Legally Sell Digital Products Made in Canva

Do you use Canva content in other ways throughout your blog, or do you have a different example you want us to share? Let us know down in the comments.

We want to make sure this post is as informative as possible so you can feel confident when you use Canva content (legally) on your blog!

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit! Use the checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Growth Strategy

Canva’s Content License Agreement: Legally Sell Products Made in Canva

May 1, 2023 by Simplifying DIY Design 2 Comments

Last updated on June 2nd, 2023

In this Canva Content License Agreement series, we’ll be diving into the can and can NOTs of your Canva designs as a blogger. Part two of this series is all about how you can legally sell products made in Canva – it’s not as straightforward as some might think!

Canva is not only the focal point of our business but also, hands down, the best tool we’ve ever used.

It’s so easy to create literally any visual for your blog – product mockups, lead magnets, social media posts, email signatures, and even digital AND physical products.

Bloggers and small business owners don’t just use Canva. Mega corporations like FedEx not only use Canva but actually partnered to create a design-to-print marketplace.

Okay, it’s no secret we get super giddy anytime we can talk about how awesome Canva truly is.

But the one thing that’s not so awesome is talking about Canva’s content licenses.

Ready to nail your product launch? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! This kit has a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template so you can create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

It’s easy to think that if Canva offers it, we can use it without question. Life as a blogger could be much simpler, right?

If you sell products made in Canva, you could violate their Content License Agreement without knowing it.

And if reading this post helps you realize you are, that’s okay. You’ll know what mistakes you’re making (so you don’t make them again) and how you can fix them!

Or maybe you’re just starting and want to ensure you’re doing things right the first time.

We’ve all made mistakes, both big and small (trust us!), and we all still managed to come out on the other side stronger than ever.

So if you sell products made in Canva or want to start, this is for you!

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Sell products made in Canva? You could be violating Canva's Content License Agreement! Here's what you need to know to legally sell products made in Canva!

Canva offers two membership plans – free and Pro. Even though your free membership has a very limited media library, you still have the option to purchase Pro content.

Each piece of Pro content (indicated by a crown icon) is just $1. Even though you purchased a piece of Pro content, you must pay each time you use it in a DIFFERENT design/project.

If Amanda has a free account and purchases a piece of Pro content (let’s say, an arrow) for one social media post, she’ll pay $1. But if she wants to use that same arrow in:

  • Multiple social media posts that are in the SAME design/project, she’ll only pay $1
  • Two YouTube thumbnails in DIFFERENT designs/projects, she’ll pay an additional $1
  • One page in her eBook, she’ll pay an additional $1

This can add up quickly, so if you use more than 13 pieces of Pro content a month, you’d save money by upgrading to Canva Pro ($12.99/mo OR $119/yr).

If you’re on Canva’s free plan and pay to use a piece of Pro content, you’re issued a Pro Content license upon purchase.


If you have a Canva Pro account and use a piece of Pro content, you’re issued a Pro Content license when you export a design.

But what does that mean?

When you either purchase or export a design using a piece of Pro content, you agree to the limitations found in the Pro Content license.

There are things you can and can NOT do with your designs that contain Pro content.

CAN YOU CREATE AND SELL PRODUCTS MADE IN CANVA?

The short answer is YES. You can create and sell products made in Canva!

But…

Some limitations will vary based on the type of product you’re selling, whether it’s an end-user product or a design template.

But before we dive into examples specific to bloggers, there are some license commonalities with selling any product you created in Canva.

1. THEY MUST BE YOUR DESIGNS

Any design you want to sell (finished or template) has to be created from scratch. You can also purchase a design template specifically made for commercial use from a third party (like us).

However, you can use a Canva template for inspiration! This is a great way to see what types of layouts or styles you like (or maybe even a color palette!) to help you create something unique.

This includes selling standalone items like a stock photo or single design element from Canva’s media library, which we’ll get to in a later example. That’s a big no-no!

2. CANVA TEMPLATES CAN NOT BE SOLD AS-IS

You cannot sell something you didn’t create. To sell Canva templates, you must create your own designs.

It’s kind of obvious, but you can’t take credit for something you didn’t design. How would you feel if someone took something you created, changed out one or two things, and started selling it as their own?

You’d feel pretty icky, huh?

3. CANVA TEMPLATES WITH PRO CONTENT MUST BE SOLD AS A CANVA LINK

If you use Pro content in your (original) design template, it has to stay in Canva by selling it as a direct Canva link.

If your designs ONLY include free content, you can sell them as a digital file (flattened PDF or PNG) or as a direct Canva link.

You can do this by delivering a PDF with buttons that link to each Canva template. This helps ensure the proper royalties are paid to those who contribute to Canva’s Pro media library, like photographers, illustrators, artists, etc.

Now that you know what you can and can’t do if you want to sell products made in Canva, let’s dig deeper into a few examples specific to bloggers.

USING CANVA CONTENT IN PRODUCTS TO SELL

EXAMPLE #1

Renee wants to create a workbook to help parents teach their children about the Bible. Her workbook will include a mixture of Canva free and Pro content, including stock photos and graphics.

Related Post: How to Design a Workbook Using Canva

Referencing sections 5 and 5A of Canva’s Content License Agreement, Renee can sell her workbook if:

  • It’s an original design (or she purchased a template specifically intended for commercial use from a third party like us)
  • Each Pro stock photo used is not larger than 480k pixels (or 600px x 800px) OR has content over top (to prevent image theft)
  • It’s being sold as a finished product that her customer can use as-is (doesn’t need to edit to use)

Yes, you read that right. You can NOT use a Canva template to create a workbook to sell it if you do not put your own creative design spin to make it your own.

This is why we highly encourage our readers to purchase design templates specifically designed for commercial use from a third party (like us!).


We created our templates to help you sell digital products without worrying about design or licensing.

Keep in mind that Renee’s example applies to most end-user products.

End user means it doesn’t require any edits from the purchaser in order to use – workbooks, eBooks, worksheets, greeting cards, cheat sheets, etc.

However, there is one caveat that we’ll get to in example #2.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

Let’s say Renee is on Canva’s free plan, uses our page design templates, and ONLY wants to use free content throughout her workbook.

Renee no longer has to worry about:

  • Creating an original design because she’s using OUR templates designed for digital products
  • A specific pixel limit because it doesn’t apply to free stock photo content
  • Selling her workbook in a particular format if she decides to sell it as a template versus end-use

Remember us mentioning Canva templates that contain Pro content MUST be sold as a direct Canva link?

Because Renee uses free content in her workbook (instead of Pro content), she can sell her workbook in various ways if she decides to sell it as a template instead of an end-user product.

EXAMPLE #2

Morgan has a homeschooling blog and wants to sell printable flashcards with only individual pieces of Canva content on each card, like an earthworm, caterpillar, and honey bee.

While the printable flashcards wouldn’t require editing from the end user, it still violates Canva’s Content License Agreement. So, what makes Morgan’s flashcards different from Renee’s workbook?

Renee incorporates Canva’s content throughout her workbook, making it an original design.

Related Post: How to Easily Create and Sell Printable Products

Selling printable flashcards with standalone Canva content violates section 9, line item 1 of Canva’s Content License Agreement.

Whether Morgan was using free or Canva Pro content, she was (unintentionally) reselling Canva content as a standalone element.

What can Morgan do to sell flashcards still? Morgan needs to do one of the following:

  • Create an original design (either with the Canva content or without)
  • Purchase design elements specifically for commercial use (like Creative Market)

Suppose Morgan was to purchase her insect graphics from Creative Market for commercial use (meaning, she bought the ‘Commercial’ license at checkout). In that case, she can create and sell her flashcards as initially intended.


We recommend this route because it can become a gray area in terms of creating an original design when you want to use just one piece of Canva content.

Could Morgan put the piece of content over a colored shape to provide some dimension? Absolutely. Does that classify as an original design? Some might say yes; some might say no.

She could get more creative with her design, but then it might negatively affect the intent of the homeschooling product.

You can always contact Canva Support for more clarity or if you’re unsure about any potential license violations.

EXAMPLE #3

Carla is a skilled calligrapher and wants to design and sell her own line of stationery, including children’s birthday invitation templates.

All of her designs are completely original, with a mixture of free and Pro content. She then sells her invitation templates on her Shopify storefront as direct Canva template links.

Carla does NOT violate Canva’s Content License Agreement because she:

  • Designed all of her templates from scratch
  • Sells her templates specifically for use on Canva (only when using Pro content)

Because the customer needs to add their information to use this product, it’s not classified as an end-user product but rather as a template.

Canva treats templated products differently than end-user products, specifically those that use Pro content.

Here’s where we get into end-user versus templated products again.

Related Post: How to Sell Canva Templates on Your Blog

If Carla were to use ONLY free content in her invitation templates, she would have the option of selling her templates as a direct download (like a flattened PDF or PNG) or as a Canva template link.

But because she includes Pro content in her templates, she MUST sell them as direct Canva template links. Canva Pro content licenses will always trump their free content licenses.

EXAMPLE #4

Jasmine blogs about all things dogs and wants to start selling apparel for dog lovers on Etsy using a print-on-demand service like Printify.

She uses a pre-existing Canva template but puts her own unique, creative take on it to make it her own. She used a mixture of fonts as well as free and Pro content. Then, she downloads her design as a high-quality digital file and uploads it to Printify.

Jasmine does NOT violate Canva’s Content License Agreement because she:

  • Put in her own creative effort to make the design template unique and original to her
  • Didn’t use any piece of free or Pro content as a standalone design item

If her design consisted of just a single stock photo (or piece of content, as we mentioned in example #2) instead of her own design, Jasmine would’ve violated Canva’s Content License Agreement.

It would still violate the agreement even if she added a simple border. The bottom line, the designs you sell need to be original.

CANVA PROTECTS THEIR CREATORS

You need to know a lot of information if you want to (legally) sell products made in Canva.

We promise you, Canva isn’t doing this to make our lives as bloggers harder. They want to ensure that the proper royalties are paid to those contributing to their Pro media library.

Once we started looking at their Content License Agreement from that mindset, it became much clearer.

If you sell Canva templates that contain Pro content, you must sell them as a direct Canva link. That’s so the creators of the Pro content are paid.


If your end-user product contains Pro stock photos, it can’t be larger than 480k pixels in size (600x800px) or have another piece of content or text over it, so it can’t be stolen.

You can’t resell something you didn’t create, which protects the original creator(s). Instead, purchase templates specifically designed for commercial use from a third-party designer like us!

Check out the rest of our Canva Content License Agreement series for bloggers, mainly if you sell Canva-created products!

  • Part One: Read This Before You Make a Logo in Canva
  • Part Three: How to Use Canva Content Throughout Your Blog

Do you sell products using Canva, or do you have a different example you want us to share? Let us know down in the comments.

We want to make sure this post is as informative as possible so you can feel confident creating and selling products made in Canva!

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit! Use the checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Growth Strategy

Read This Before You Make a Logo in Canva | Understanding Canva’s Content License Agreement

April 25, 2023 by Simplifying DIY Design 2 Comments

Last updated on June 5th, 2023

In this Canva Content License Agreement series, we’ll be diving into the can and can NOTs of your Canva designs as a blogger. Part one of this series is all about (legal) Canva logo design and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva!

Understanding a license agreement for anything can be challenging. But when it pertains to a multi-use program like Canva, it can be even more complicated.

There are licensing differences between Canva’s free and paid memberships, simple logos versus trademarks, end-user products versus templates, Magic Write’s (similar to ChatGPT) dos and don’ts…

It’s a lot of content to unpack for experienced bloggers, let alone for someone new to the blogging community.

Ready to nail your product launch? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! This kit has a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template so you can create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

While the constant addition of new Canva features is a total game-changer, there are now even more content licensing agreements bloggers need to know.

Now, remember that this is a breakdown of Canva’s Content License Agreement specific to bloggers.

There will be things in Canva’s agreement that we won’t mention because it doesn’t pertain to the average blogger, i.e., remixing music from Canva’s media library.

Just because we don’t touch on it doesn’t mean it’s not included in Canva’s Content License Agreement.

When in doubt, always reference the entire license agreement or contact Canva Support for additional guidance.

Due to the size of Canva’s Content License Agreement, we’ve created a series to go into full detail on the topics that matter most to bloggers!

Now let’s dive into logo design from a blogger’s perspective using Canva’s Content License Agreement.

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Part one of our Canva Content License Agreement series is all about how you can legally create a Canva logo as a blogger and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva.

What’s the one thing ALL bloggers, specifically all websites, have?

A logo.

Not everyone has a YouTube channel, but we’ll bet that every blogger has or is working on a logo!

Which is why this is hands down the most common question we get asked…

“Can I create a logo in Canva and use it for my blog?”

First things first.

1. You CAN create your logo in Canva

In fact, they have hundreds of logo templates to choose from if designing from scratch isn’t your thing.

Type ‘logo’ in the search bar at the top and filter based on style, subject, topic, color, and more.

Part one of our Canva Content License Agreement series is all about how you can legally create a Canva logo as a blogger and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva.

Once you find a logo template you like, swap out your brand colors and add your business name.

Poof! Instant logo!

Related Post: 10 Must-Know Tips to Make Your Logo Stand Out

Download it as a transparent background (only available for Canva Pro users) and keep it somewhere safe.

Don’t forget to compress your file using TinyPNG to access raw and compressed files quickly and easily.

We use and LOVE both Google Drive and Asana to keep our business organized, especially as we expand our team.

If you still haven’t found the perfect logo, be sure to check out our Five-Minute Brand!

You’ll get instant access to 40 complete (editable!) brand kits PLUS hundreds of Canva templates to brand your blog. It’s truly lived up to its name if we do say so ourselves!

2. You can NOT trademark your logo if…

Here’s where it can get a little confusing for some.

You can use Canva’s logo templates for your small business if you do NOT want it trademarked.

Reason being, you can NOT trademark something that more than one person owns. The same goes for using stock content like photos or graphics – it’s not original to you.

In other words, if it’s available to use by others, it can’t be trademarked.

Even if you:

  • Change the colors and fonts to match your brand
  • Swap out the text with your business name
  • Add stock content like a photo or graphic

It’s still based on the original design of the template and can NOT be trademarked.

It’s okay not to have a trademarked logo. Some million-dollar bloggers haven’t trademarked their logos or even their business names. If you’re using a template, you have to be okay with having the same or similar logo design as someone else.


We don’t recommend it if your blog is less than five years old because you’ll more than likely update your brand as your business and blog grow anyway. We revamped just after three!

If you’re firm on trademarking your logo, you can:

  • Create your OWN logo using lines, simple shapes, and/or fonts
  • Hire a designer to create a custom logo for you

As Canva’s Content License Agreement states, Canva defines ‘Content’ as “photos, icons, illustrations, video, audio, fonts and templates.”

However, Canva expressly excludes fonts regarding the prohibited use of their free and Pro content, stating, “use any of the Content as part of a trade-mark, design-mark, trade-name, business name or service mark (excluding fonts).”

Note that lines and shapes are not listed as items of ‘Content.’ Under copyright law, you cannot copyright a simple shape. Again, a design created using simple shapes can be trademarked (like Target’s bullseye logo).

Let’s go over a few examples.

EXAMPLE #1

Shelly wants to create a logo for her home organization blog using a logo template she found on Canva.

She swaps out the template colors with her brand’s color palette, changes the faux business name to her blog’s name, and even changes the font to match her brand’s premium font she purchased on Creative Market.

But, she left the ‘brushstroke’ graphic in her logo design.

Part one of our Canva Content License Agreement series is all about how you can legally create a Canva logo as a blogger and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva.
‘Peachbuff Brush Stroke Photography Logo’ created by Canva Creative Studio on Canva.com

Shelly can NOT trademark her logo because:

  • It’s still based on the pre-templated logo design
  • Does NOT contain ONLY lines, simple shapes, and/or fonts

Even though Shelly’s logo cannot be trademarked, she can still use it throughout her blog and small business.

EXAMPLE #2

Roberta wants to freshen up her DIY party blog with a new color palette and logo design. She found a party-style logo template in Canva but intends to create an original design unique to her brand.

Roberta uses the template as a guide and replaces the graphic with her design using simple shapes and a premium hand-drawn font she purchased for commercial use to create the strings. She then changes the faux business name to her blog’s name.

Part one of our Canva Content License Agreement series is all about how you can legally create a Canva logo as a blogger and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva.
‘Green Birthday and Party Service Decoration Logo’ created by Cikalora on Canva.com

Roberta CAN trademark her logo because:

  • It’s her OWN unique design
  • ONLY uses lines, simple shapes, and/or fonts

Whether Roberta wants to trademark her logo or not, she can still use it throughout her blog and small business.

EXAMPLE #3

Kristen’s starting a budgeting blog and is ready to design her trademarked logo. She finds a finance-related logo template in Canva that she can recreate using only shapes, lines, and fonts.

This is a very gray area regarding trademarked logos. Canva highly recommends that you put your own creative effort into creating a unique design.

Part one of our Canva Content License Agreement series is all about how you can legally create a Canva logo as a blogger and how you can make a trademarkable logo in Canva.
‘Modern Money Bag Logo’ created by Brandreka on Canva.com

If Kristen’s logo still appears like the pre-templated logo design, regardless of the approved tools used to create the design, it would violate Canva’s Content License Agreement.

Kristen has a few options if she wants a logo that she can confidently trademark:

  • Add additional lines and shapes to create a unique design
  • Design a new logo with her own creative spin
  • Hire a graphic designer to create a custom logo

If Kristen decides she does NOT want to trademark her logo, she no longer has to put any additional effort into her logo design and can use it as-is.

EXAMPLE #4

Elizabeth is a well-known blogger and wants to start a new side venture teaching others how to start a blog.

She’s keen on creating a simple brand with a simple logo to show that blogging doesn’t have to be complicated.

Elizabeth creates her own logo using only one line to extend the letter t and one Canva font.

Elizabeth CAN trademark her logo because:

  • It’s her OWN unique design
  • ONLY uses lines, simple shapes, and/or fonts

Having your business name as your logo (without any other design features) is a very common approach for bloggers.

Have fun with the typography as we did in this example by extending the cross on the letter t or keeping it simple with just text.

Look at businesses like KitchenAid, Dell, and FedEx. Their logos are as simple as they come, yet they’ll be remembered for decades if not generations.

EXAMPLE #5

Rebecca’s crochet blog just hit its fourth year in business, and she wants to celebrate with a rebrand. Rebecca found the perfect crochet graphic on Creative Market and uploaded it to Canva to add to her text-only logo design.

Rebecca can NOT trademark her logo because:

  • The graphic she uploaded is NOT a unique design

Even though Rebecca wasn’t using a graphic from Canva, she’s still unable to trademark her logo because the graphic could be used by someone else.


Reference Creative Market’s License Terms for more information on approved uses for purchased assets.

Can she still use her logo even though she cannot trademark it? Absolutely!

EXAMPLE #6

LaDonna is expanding her design business to incorporate custom logo designs for her clients using Canva.

Even though LaDonna is creating logos for others, she still must abide by the same Content License Agreement along with section 4A:

  • Transferring the rights of any client design to said client (using an agreement)
  • Ensures client complies with Canva’s Content License Agreement for received design(s)
  • Transferring client design(s) to only the client (i.e., transferring/selling to others)

LaDonna must make it abundantly clear if the logo design can or can NOT be trademarked.

This will depend on the many factors we’ve mentioned throughout this post. If it’s a unique design, contains Canva content, lines, shapes, fonts, etc.

Just because a logo design meets all the essential Content License Agreement trademark criteria doesn’t mean it can be trademarked.

WHERE YOU CAN NOT USE YOUR CANVA LOGO

Canva is a reputable, professional business. They respect their employees, freelance artists, illustrators, photographers, and users.

So much so that they created specific ‘Prohibited Uses’ regarding both their free and Pro content.

What does that mean for bloggers?

If you create a logo (or any design for that matter) using free or Pro content, you can NOT use it in a way that, according to section 9 of Canva’s Content License Agreement:

  • “is pornographic, obscene, immoral, infringing, defamatory or libelous in nature, or that would be reasonably likely to bring any person or property reflected in the Content into disrepute;”
  • “places any person depicted in the content in a bad light or in a way that they may find offensive”

It’s frustrating to see discussions in Facebook groups where someone asks if they create a logo in Canva and use it throughout their blog and are immediately hit with NO because that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Some have even gone as far as to ask why even have logo templates if you can’t use them for your blog.

First off, that’s factually incorrect.

You can 100% use a templated logo for your blog as long as you do NOT trademark it.

You can also 100% create your own logo using free or Pro content for your blog as long as you do NOT trademark it.

Non-business individuals use Canva’s logo templates, too.

Families use them to create a fun family logo for their Christmas cards. Some add a logo to homemade products like laundry detergent and tinctures, DIY family recipe cards, wedding print-outs, and so much more.

There are hundreds of ways you can legally use a logo you made in Canva (your blog being one of them!) without having to claim exclusive rights or trademark it.

To recap, you:

  • CAN create a logo using Canva
  • CAN use a logo template for your blog
  • CAN create a logo using free and/or Pro content for your blog
  • Can NOT trademark a logo made from a template
  • Can NOT trademark a logo that contains anything other than lines, shapes, and/or fonts

If you’re still unsure about what you can and can’t do with your logo, contact Canva Support for further guidance.

Check out the rest of our Canva Content License Agreement series for bloggers, especially if you sell Canva-created products!

  • Part Two: How to Legally Sell Digital Products Made in Canva
  • Part Three: How to Legally Use Canva Content Throughout Your Blog

If you have another example you’d like us to share or want us to go into more detail on a particular scenario, let us know in the comments.

We want this post to be as informative as possible so you can feel confident using your Canva logo throughout your blog and small business.

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit! Use the checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to create a digital product for your blog!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Growth Strategy

5 Easy Ways to Merge Canva Designs | Merge 2 Pages in Canva

April 17, 2023 by Simplifying DIY Design Leave a Comment

Last updated on June 7th, 2023

Whether you want to copy a single page from one Canva design to another or merge two Canva designs together, there are numerous ways to get the job done. And no, you don’t need a Canva Pro account to merge Canva designs, although we recommend it 100%!

As bloggers, it seems like we always have a handful of the same tabs open 24/7 on our computers.

For us, it’s Gmail, our website, Asana, some sort of Google product (mostly Google Sheets), and of course, Canva.

Now that we’re revamping most of our Canva template products with a fresh new look, we’re spending more time in Canva than ever.

Because of that, we’re finding ourselves merging Canva designs almost daily as we make our way through our template overhaul.

Want to learn more about Canva? Grab our FREE Canva Tricks Cheatsheet in our ever-growing Design Vault! Get instant access along with design templates, tutorials, and more today!

GET THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET!

Since we’re firm believers that you can never stop learning, we started looking for different ways to merge two Canva designs together to hopefully help us design faster and provide insight to our readers.

We share a weekly Canva tip with our email subscribers, and we have to keep that content bank full!

In this Canva merge journey, we found not one, not three, but five different ways you can merge Canva designs based on three different scenarios!

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Easily copy pages from one Canva design to another! Knowing how to merge Canva designs is a great way to repurpose content and save on design time, too!

Whether you’re looking to merge your Canva designs from one project to another, one account to another, or even after download, we’ve got a solution for you – all without spending a penny.

Copy + Paste to Merge Canva Designs

We find we use this option a lot when we’re tackling a few different projects at the same time.

The copy-and-paste merge method can be done in two ways.

  • Click and drag to select the entire page (great for adding a single page to another design)
  • Copying multiple pages via Grid View

Want to watch a video version instead? We’ve got you covered!

Let’s chat about copying one or two page designs to another.

First, you’ll want to open both projects in two separate tabs. One for the page(s) you want to copy and the other that you want to add the page(s) to.

To copy a single page, make sure you’re zoomed out to where the entire page is visible on your screen.

Then click/hold outside of the page and drag your mouse to where your purple coverage block, as we like to call it, covers the entire page you want to copy and let go.

Using your keyboard, hit the Cmd+C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (PC) to copy your design.

Related Post: Canva Shortcuts That Will Help You Design Faster

Select the tab for the project you want to add your page to. Add a new page to your Canva design by selecting the ‘Add page’ icon (vertical page with a plus sign on it) above any page of your design.

Alternatively, you can click the ‘+ Add page’ button at the bottom of the last page of your design.

Once you have the blank page centered on your screen, select Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (PC) from your keyboard to paste your copied page.

Copy multiple pages via Grid View

‘Grid View’ is a great option if you want to merge two or more pages into another design.

Again, you’ll want to have two separate tabs open – one for the pages you want to copy and the design you’ll be merging them with.

Instead of highlighting a single page, click on the Grid View icon (indicated by the overlapping square with the number of pages in the design) in the lower right of your screen.

Holding the ‘Shift’ key, click on the first and last page you want to copy. (You can also click and drag here as well).

Follow the same keyboard commands to copy (Cmd+C for Mac or Ctrl+C for PC) and then head over to your second design tab.

Click on the ‘Grid View’ again and either hover between the two pages where you want to add your copy pages or click on the ‘Add Page’ icon that’s followed by the last page of your project.

Don’t worry about adding a new page for every page you’ll be pasting. Canva will automatically bump the pages out to make room for your new additions.

Once you have your placement figured out, make sure the one blank page is selected (purple border) and click Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (PC) to paste your pages.

SIDE NOTE: You can also select the page you want your copied pages to start after instead of adding a blank one. However, we found that this method does sometimes glitch to where it’ll paste over your pages instead of bumping them out to make room for your copies pages.

Merge Canva Designs Within a Project

If your Canva designs are organized in folders or have great titles, this will be a great option for you. Merging Canva designs within the project itself is just one of the MANY features we love about Canva.

Related Post: 7 Insanely Awesome Canva Tricks Every Blogger Should Know

This is the method we use to merge our Canva designs because we need to make the best use of our time, and it’s something we do very often.

Believe it or not, we actually use the same templates from our DiyDesign Creators Vault (monthly Canva template membership) for our own business.

We’ll pull our favorite page templates from previous months to create a new lead magnet for our free resource library, a companion workbook for a course, or something completely different.

Work smarter, not harder, right?

To merge two Canva designs from within your design page, click ‘Projects’ from the left menu bar and search:

  • By Project name
  • From the ‘Designs’ tab
  • From the ‘Folders’ tab

Once you find the design you want to add, simply click to merge your designs. Canva will then ask if you want to replace the current page’ or add a new page.

Click ‘Add as new page’ and you’re all set.

Because you’ve merged two Canva designs together, you can continue to edit without interfering with the original design you just added.

Merge via (Static) Image Download

While this is the least common method to merge Canva designs, it’ll still get the job done.

The reason is if you needed to make any quick edits, you’d have to go back to your original and re-download/upload.

However, if you want to create product mockups using Canva, this will be your go-to!

Related Post: How to Create a Product Mockup Template Using Canva

To download your design, click on ‘Share’ from the top right corner and again on ‘Download.’ Choose ‘PNG’ as your file type and select the ‘Download’ button.

Now, head to the project you want to merge or essentially add to your downloaded design and select ‘Uploads’ from the left menu.

Click on ‘Upload files’ and navigate to your Downloads folder to upload your design.


If you haven’t added a new page to your Canva design, you’ll want to go ahead and do that now by selecting the ‘Add page’ icon (vertical page with a plus sign on it) above any page of your design.

Another option is by clicking ‘+ Add page’ at the bottom of the last page of your design.

Merging from another Canva account

This is something we do often since expanding our Canva team to more than five members.

One of our designers will create using their Canva account and then either:

  • ‘Share’ the project with us
  • ‘Copy to another team’

To either merge it with another Canva design or download it straight away. We’ll show you how to do this in just a moment.

The only drawback that’s completely unrelated to merging Canva designs is that once it’s shared with you, you can’t remove it from your end (has to be the original owner of the project).

So if you’re a tad OCD about the look of your Projects page, you can always enable your specific email in the ‘Sharing’ dropdown. That’ll essentially hide all of the shared projects and only show designs you’ve created.

To view your shared Canva designs, go to ‘Projects’ and click select ‘Shared with you’ from the dropdown. To save a design as your own, hover and click on the three horizontal dots that’ll appear in the top right of the project and again on ‘Make a copy.’

Here’s where you can also ‘Share’ with another Canva account or ‘copy to another team’. Then name it whatever you’d like, and remember to save it to a folder to keep your designs organized.

Now you’ll follow whatever Canva merging method we mentioned above that works best for you.

To share your Canva design with another account, click on the same three horizontal dots and again on ‘Share.’

Enter the email address you’d like to share this design with and click ‘Send.’

Keep in mind that you can find this option on the Home page, Projects page, and within folders – wherever that particular design is located.

You don’t have to go to your Projects page just to enable that particular dropdown.

Merge PDF Downloads

Canva has recently rolled out a new update to their page limit, going from 100 pages to 300!

Even though most won’t need to merge two Canva designs because of the new page limit, it’s still a good trick to know.

‘Preview’ is a great option for Mac users.

First, open both documents in Preview. Then you’ll want to enable the ‘Thumbnail’ view on the left by clicking ‘View’ from the top menu bar and again on ‘Thumbnails.’

Now all you have to do is drag and drop the pages you want to add from the first project into the other!

DESIGN TIP: Have multiple pages you want to add? Hold down the ‘Shift’ key as you click on the last page you want to add. This will select all the pages in between, and you can drag and drop them all at once.

Another cool feature of Preview is reordering your PDF pages. Click, drag, and drop in the order you’d like. Super simple!

Related Post: How to Create Editable PDFs for Your Readers

For PC users, you’ll want to use a tool called ilovepdf.com to merge your PDF downloads.

You won’t have to download anything to your computer, AND it’s 100% free. Upload both of your documents and choose the ‘Merge PDF’ option.

If you’re in awe with how easy it is to merge two Canva designs and want to learn more awesome Canva features, you’re going to LOVE our complete Canva course, Confidently Canva!

It’s EVERYTHING you need to know to feel completely confident in your designs because now you truly understand the tool you’re using and the design concepts involved.

Enroll now and get $20 off Confidently Canva today!

Canva is such an amazing tool no matter what you’re creating.

We love how easy it is to merge two Canva designs because, as bloggers, we’re always creating new digital products to grow our business!

Easily merging Canva designs is also great for repurposing your content. We’ve pulled individual pages from outdated digital products and merged them with new and improved products.

This dramatically cuts down on time because the content’s already done; now it just needs a new look.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • Canva Shortcuts That Will Help You Design Faster
  • 7 Insanely Awesome Canva Tricks Every Blogger Should Know
  • How to Create a Product Mockup Template Using Canva
  • iLovePDF
  • 5 Ways to Build Your List by Repurposing Your Content

Don’t forget to download our Canva Tricks Cheatsheet now! It’s all our best Canva design tips for easy reference. Just think of all the time you’ll save with these quick keyboard shortcuts!

GET THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Design Tutorials

Canva Tutorial | YouTube Thumbnail Designs to Get More Views

January 3, 2023 by Simplifying DIY Design Leave a Comment

Last updated on January 5th, 2023

Do you struggle to make your YouTube thumbnails pop? We’re recreating YouTube’s most popular thumbnail designs using Canva to show you the best layering and font effect techniques to help boost your YouTube clicks and views!

Most of us are suckers for a good dupe, especially when it comes to sticker shock stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.

We know that grey modular sectional is absolutely stunning but does it really need to cost $17k? Yeah, no. Que the start to our hunt for product dupes and copycats that’ll give us the same look (and most times the same quality) for a LOT less.

Now, let’s pivot for just a sec because, for some reason, our mindset totally changes when it comes to business.

Why is it that we absolutely positively KNOW (or so we think) that there are no compromises when it comes to products we use in our business?

Ready to launch your digital product? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

Just because something’s at a lower price point, we automatically think lower quality, minimal features, and a whole lotta headaches. We know; we get the emails saying just as much!

That’s why we decided to show just how powerful Canva really is by recreating the most popular YouTube thumbnail styles using JUST Canva!

It’s so easy to create those eye-catching, almost envious YouTube thumbnails that most bloggers think were designed using a fancy, expensive program like Photoshop or have a team of designers on their payroll.

But with Canva, we can create just about anything, including those jump-off-the-screen YouTube thumbnail designs that draw fast attention from their viewers!

By the end, we know you’ll be saying, “I had no idea Canva could do that!” and maybe even a few wow’s along the way.

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Now, before we get started, we need to put out a little disclaimer.

We are NOT recreating these YouTube thumbnail designs for you to create the same exact look. We never have or will condone copycat designs.

We’re simply showing the possibilities of using Canva and how you can use layering and font effect techniques (that used to only be available in programs like Photoshop) to create your own brand’s unique style on YouTube.

DESIGN ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER

We know we’ve said it before, but we’re going to say it again. Just because you like it doesn’t mean your audience will, and vice versa.

Your designs need to be centered around what your audience finds appealing regardless of how you feel about it. With that, we need to consider a few key elements when designing our YouTube thumbnail.

1. AVOID BLACK AND WHITE BACKGROUNDS

You may feel a certain way about YouTube’s Dark Mode, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your audience feels the same.

YouTube recently announced new updates to the layout based on user feedback to make it “even darker so the colors truly pop on your screen.”

If you’re still not convinced that Dark Mode is as popular as you think it is, here’s a November 2022 article from EarthWeb stating, “81.9% of smartphone users use dark mode.”

So, what does that mean for you?

If you’re using dark colors, your YouTube thumbnails may get lost in Dark Mode’s deep, moody background.

But, if your audience falls in the 19% who still prefer Light Mode, you may want to keep away from the crisp, clean white backgrounds we’ve all come to know and love.

2. KEEP FONTS SIMPLE

Are you really a blogger if you don’t have a dedicated font folder filled with script-style fonts you’ll most likely never use but were too cute to pass up? Thanks, Creative Market’s free goods!

All jokes aside, we know how tempting it is to want to add a playful or unique font to your YouTube thumbnail, but you must resist the urge!

Related Post: 5 Typography Tips | How to Design with Canva Fonts

You want your message to be as clear as possible on ALL platforms, whether they’re viewing on mobile, tablet, or computer.

It would be a shame to miss out on views because your audience couldn’t figure out what your video was all about!

3. MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS

Getting caught up in fun design elements, layers, arrows, and the like is easy. Unfortunately, this causes your YouTube thumbnail to become cluttered, difficult to understand, and very easy to judge (and not in a good way).

Here’s the perfect quote from Coco Chanel we reference often.

“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.”

But in our case, before we download a design, we look it over to see if there’s one thing we can remove.

When a design is cluttered, it looks messy. When it looks messy, it appears unorganized, making it harder for people to trust you as an expert in your niche.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be successful or draw attention to your graphic. Just because everyone else is doing it on YouTube doesn’t mean your thumbnail will fall into the sea of sameness.

They’re doing these things because it WORKS!

This will make much more sense as we dive into the tutorial because you’ll see a LOT of commonalities even though they look vastly different.

Now that we have the key design elements out of the way, let’s jump into designing a YouTube thumbnail!

YOUTUBE THUMBNAIL DESIGN

For this tutorial, we’ll be recreating the most popular (and most requested) YouTube thumbnail styles, which has raised many questions about how and if you can design it in Canva.

And we’re here to tell you that’s a big ol’ YES.

Please note that this tutorial uses a design feature only available for Canva Pro users. You can try out Canva Pro FREE for 30 days here!

If you’re on a budget, you can easily remove backgrounds using the Magic tool inside Preview. For PC users, pixlr.com is a great alternative.

We're recreating the most POPULAR YouTube thumbnail designs using only Canva! See just how easy it is to design YouTube thumbnails that pop!

These are by far the most popular YouTube thumbnail styles because they cover all the bases.

  1. High-quality photo (studies show you’re more trustworthy when viewers can see your face)
  2. Clear and concise text that summarizes your video
  3. Layers that make the thumbnail jump off the screen
  4. Easy to read on ALL platforms

See what we mean by incorporating all the key design elements (no white/black background, easy-to-read fonts, and minimal distractions) yet looking completely different from one another?

DESIGN #1

Let’s start with the first example from AmandaOutside.

In Canva, select the pre-sized ‘YouTube Thumbnail’ (1280px X 720px) to start. Then, upload your main photo twice and move it right on top of each other. Don’t worry about the final placement just yet.

We’ll remove the background from the top photo and blur the bottom photo. To start, highlight (click) the top photo and click ‘Edit Image’ from the top left and again on ‘Background Remover.’

Please note that the ‘Background Remover’ tool is only available for Canva Pro users. You can try out Canva Pro FREE for 30 days here!

Next, hold down the Cmd key (or Ctrl if using a PC) and click on the top photo twice. This will select the bottom photo.

Then go to ‘Edit Image’ –> ‘Adjust’ –> ‘Blur.’ Generally, levels 4-6 look best depending on how clear the original photo is.

Now we can click and drag our mouse over both photos to move them simultaneously into the right spot.

Next up, ‘Glow.’

There’s a faint dark glow around Amanda which can be easily created in Canva. Select the top image once more and click ‘Edit Image’ –> ‘Shadow’ –> ‘Glow.’

To customize the glow, click on ‘Glow’ again.

Here we can change the ‘Size’ (how far out the glow expands), ‘Transparency’ (thickness of the glow), and ‘Blur’ (harsh line or fades out).

For this design, we’ll set the ‘Size’ to 4, ‘Transparency’ to 80, and ‘Blur’ to 4.

It’s now time to add some text!

This YouTube thumbnail design uses two different text effects – ‘Shadow’ and ‘Splice. As of right now (January 2023), you can only add one text effect per text block.

No worries, though; we’ve got a workaround!

We’ll first use the ‘Splice’ text effect.

To create the ‘Shadow,’ copy that same text box, and center it over the previously designed text.

While that text box is still highlighted, click ‘Effects’ –> ‘Shadow.’ We’ll go with an Offset of 42, Direction of 0, Blur of 46, and Transparency of 100.

We changed the ‘Shadow’ to red so you can see what it looks like since the outdoor image we chose is a bit darker in that area.

Now it’s time to move it behind by selecting ‘Position’ from the top right, followed by ‘Backward.’

KEYBOARD SHORTCUT: You can also use Cmd + [ (to move back one) or Option + Cmd + [ (to move all the way back)

For the ‘GIFT IDEAS’, ‘for’, and ‘campers & hikers’ text blocks, we’ll follow the same process as that of our number 18 but with a wider border.

Instead, we’ll go with a ‘Thickness’ of 80 whilst keeping the same ‘Offset’ of 0 and ‘Direction’ of -45.

In total, we have four main individual text blocks and an additional four (set behind) to create the ‘Shadow.’

Lastly, add and position two ‘Square’ elements behind the bottom text block to make it ‘campers’ and ‘hikers’ pop.

Then, we’ll swap out the color for a festive red and finish it with a ‘red gift ribbon and bow’ element in the top left corner to complete the look!

DESIGN #2

The second YouTube thumbnail we’ll recreate is from SarahBethYoga.

We LOVE her thumbnail style with her big b-o-l-d text and an image that clearly depicts a yoga pose without giving it a second thought.

First, we need to find a geometric image for the background. The ‘Abstract blue geometrical background’ from Natrot has the perfect amount of dimension. We’ll adjust the color by clicking ‘Edit Image’ –> ‘Photogenic’ –> ‘Noir.’

Now it’s time to place our teal-colored ‘Square’ element with a transparency of 85 right over our background. Lookin’ great so far!

We’re now ready to add our two textboxes so we can size the smaller word (in this case, ‘yoga’) in line with the larger word, ‘morning.’

Once that’s lined up, we need to add a subtle ‘Shadow’ effect to both lines of text. We’ll use the same levels as our first example, except we’ll reduce the Transparency to 20 for a lot less depth.

The next thing we’ll tackle is the yoga pose. Once that’s lined up, we’ll remove the background using the ‘Background Remover’ tool under ‘Edit Image.’

Please note that the ‘Background Remover’ tool is only available for Canva Pro users. You can try out Canva Pro FREE for 30 days here!

SarahBeth has a slight glow to her transparent image, which can easily be added by selecting the image and clicking ‘Edit Image’ –> ‘Shadows’ –> ‘Glow.’

Click ‘Glow’ once more to change the Size to 6, Transparency to 90, Blur to 7, and swap the black with white. Perfect.

To create the time block at the top left, we’ll start with the ‘Square’ element by Canva. First, click on the color block at the top left and then again on the transparent block with the red diagonal line.

Next, we need to add a border. Click on the ‘Border Style’ box (3 horizontal lines) to the right of the color block and adjust the ‘Border width’ to 4 and ‘Corner rounding’ to 25.

Lastly, we’ll reduce the transparency to 50 (checkered box at the top right), so it’s not so pronounced.

Now that our bordered box is complete, all that’s left is to add a small text box (with a Transparency of 80) and a ‘Clock’ element by Google Design Icons, and we’re ready to go!

Related Post: How to Create Textured Font in Canva

Fonts used within the design are Montserrat Classic (bold text) and Neue Einstellung (time text).

We're recreating the most POPULAR YouTube thumbnail designs using only Canva! See just how easy it is to design YouTube thumbnails that pop!

That looks so good. SarahBeth has such a great YouTube thumbnail style, don’t you think?

DESIGN #3

Our third and final example is from Danielle Kirsty.

This is our favorite style of the three because it checks off all the boxes; high-quality photos, clear and minimal text, and layers make it more two-dimensional.

It tells a story, thee story using only imagery. It’s brilliant!

Regardless of the true crime story, Danielle is the star of the show, so our replica photo needs to be front and center.

Next, we’ll remove the background using the ‘Background Remover’ tool under ‘Edit Image.’

Please note that the ‘Background Remover’ tool is only available for Canva Pro users. You can try out Canva Pro FREE for 30 days here!

Now let’s add a glow by clicking ‘Edit Image’ –> ‘Shadow’ –> ‘Glow.’

We’re going to crank up the levels, so click on ‘Glow’ again and set the size to 12, transparency to 100, and blur to 20. Lastly, we’ll swap the standard black with a beautiful robin’s egg blue.

Now for the layers!

We need four additional photos to replicate this YouTube thumbnail – a news article, stock image, and two people.

Instead of all doom and gloom, we’re going to tell our own story with two people getting together and creating an equine sanctuary!

We’ll upload our news article (that we found by Googling “good news article”) and angle it to fit the space at the top left.

Next, we find a super cheery girl who will play an important role in our fictional animal rescue story. We’re going to follow the same routine as our makeup artist; remove the background (‘Background Remover’ tool) and add a Glow (using ‘Shadow’), but this time, we’ll keep the glow minimal.

Don’t forget to move all images behind our makeup artist by highlighting (clicking and dragging over the images/elements) and then selecting ‘Position’ from the top right and ‘Backward’ or ‘To back.’

Now we’re on the right side of our YouTube thumbnail.

We’ll add the other counterpart of our story by again, removing the background and adding a ‘Glow.’ In Danielle’s YouTube thumbnail, the glow on the right is much more pronounced than on the left.

We think a ‘Size’ 8, ‘Transparency’ of 95, and a ‘Blur’ of 4 should do the trick.

Lastly, we’ll take a stock photo of some horses to tie our fictional story together.

To finish, we need to add Danielle’s signature black and yellow text at the bottom.

First, we’ll add a basic ‘Square’ element and change the set color to yellow. Next, we’ll include a textbox using the Horizon font and a letter spacing of about 50.

Now here’s the tricky part.

We need to get a bit creative when it comes to the dark shadow around the yellow box to help make it pop. We had to use the ‘black blur’ element from Olhar de Alice in a row of four to get the length we needed.

We're recreating the most POPULAR YouTube thumbnail designs using only Canva! See just how easy it is to design YouTube thumbnails that pop!

Group them together by highlighting all four design elements and clicking ‘Group’ at the top right. This makes moving and adjusting much easier to get the angle just right.

And there you have it. The perfect recreation of one of the most popular YouTube thumbnail styles using Canva!

Hopefully, this tutorial gave you the creative boost you needed by seeing just how easy it is to create YouTube thumbnails that pop!

Use these layering and font effect techniques to create your own brand’s unique YouTube thumbnail style, and watch your clicks and views soar.

What designs would you love to see us recreate using ONLY Canva? Drop them below or send us an email at hello[at]simplifyingdiydesign[dot]com.

We’d love to show you just how powerful (and easy) designing in Canva truly is!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit
  • Canva
  • How to Design with Canva Fonts
  • Pixlr
  • How to Create Textured Font in Canva

Don’t forget our FREE Product Creators Quickstart Kit! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Design Tutorials

Pinterest Sales Funnel | 5 Reasons You’re Not Making Money on Pinterest

December 13, 2022 by Simplifying DIY Design Leave a Comment

Last updated on December 14th, 2022

Pinterest marketing can be a revenue generator and a huge asset to an overall marketing strategy, but not everyone sees success.  If that’s you, read on because you’re about to get the tools you need to fix that by using a Pinterest sales funnel.

This is a guest post by Sue of With Sue Crites. See the end of the article for more information about her, her company, and how you can build the perfect Pinterest sales funnel!

You may have spent countless hours, and possibly dollars, on getting your Pinterest account set up with “all of the things” a Pinterest account needs.

You’ve possibly spent way too long in Canva and most likely tackled Tailwind to get your content out onto Pinterest consistently.

You’ve nurtured your account like a gardener growing seeds, and you’ve been patient, knowing anything SEO takes time to take root.

WANT TO SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER? BE SURE TO PIN IT!

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

The excitement builds as your analytics graph moves upward like the little green sprouts that turn into a healthy plant.  Your account is growing, and it feels like the heavens have parted as your traffic continues to increase. 

Let the dollars pour in, baby!

But they don’t, and you might think Pinterest doesn’t work for you.  Think again, my friend.

You may be missing some key elements which are definite causes for the gravy train derailing. Let’s dive into 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest marketing on track so you can see a return on your time, effort, and money.

There’s a lot to cover, so saddle up ‘cause we’re heading out.

1. Know what to expect from Pinterest marketing

The purpose of marketing is to build awareness of what you offer and generate website traffic, with Pinterest being an ideal approach for many businesses.

But does Pinterest increase sales or get you clients?

No.

Can someone sign up for your email list on Pinterest?

No. Your offer and sign-up form are on your website, so your website must sell your offer and capture that address.

Can someone buy a product on Pinterest? 

No. People learn about your product and go through the checkout process on your website, so your website must sell the product.

Can someone book a call with you on Pinterest? 

No. Your contact page is on your website, and why would they contact you if they don’t know anything about you beyond the pin and pin description?  Your website must give people a reason to contact you and is where they actually can.

What’s the common thread in this picture?  

Your website is where people learn about you, what you offer, and where people actually take action, making your website a key element for Pinterest marketing success.

The purpose of Pinterest is to increase brand awareness and traffic.  Pinterest is where people discover you, your offer is introduced, and is the vehicle that brings people to your website when they click on your pin, like a taxi delivering people to your doorstep.

2. Understand the Pinterest User

To understand your Pinterest user, you need to understand their intent on the platform.

User Intent

People are on Pinterest looking for inspiration and solutions.  They’re planning, dreaming, and doing; you need to meet them where they are.

Since they’re planners, they usually don’t take action right away.  

Because they’re searching and discovering, they’re most likely new to what you’re offering, so they need to be warmed up before they’re ready to take action.

People buy when they know, like, and trust you, so when you help people do that, you’ll turn more of your traffic into customers.

Think of it this way.  Do you act with your first engagement with a business?  Not always, so don’t expect Pinterest users to be any different.

Customer Journey

Everyone is in different phases of their buying journey, which is the thought process your customer is going through when making a buying decision.  A very basic roadmap is:

  • Awareness – They’re learning about what’s out there, including you.
  • Consideration – They’ve learned about their options and are making their decision. They’re engaging with you, your content, or website in some way.
  • Action – Decision made and action taken.

To help people get to the finish line and take the desired action (email sign-up, podcast download, purchase, book a call, etc.), you need to provide the answers they need and stay front of mind. 

Pinterest users take longer to spend, but when they do, they spend more.  Your actions today can pay off down the road. 

3. Determine Your Pinterest Marketing Strategy 

These next two steps are huge topics unto themselves, so we’re doing the Cliffs Notes version…

There are multiple ways to reach your audience and different routes they can take to becoming a customer or client.  

What does that mean for you?

You need to think of the different ways to share what you offer and create a path for people to take your desired action, which typically isn’t a straight line, especially when coming from Pinterest.

For example, if you sell gardening products, some people only know the problem they have (a brown thumb), and some people know their solution (they need plant fertilizer).  Both are your ideal client, but you’re going to reach them in two different ways.  

Your brown thumb folks will benefit from something that informs them of how to grow plants successfully, so a how-to blog post would be great for them.

In the post that’s full of value, you wrap things up with how and why your product is their solution with a direct link to that product page.  Your action on Pinterest would be having pins leading to your blog post.

For the folks who are looking for fertilizer, they’re in the buying phase, and you can focus on the product with your pin design.  

So how do you get them from your pin to your end goal?

4. Create Your Pinterest Sales Funnel

A Pinterest sales funnel is the series of steps you have in place for people to go from your pin to the desired action of email sign-ups, checkouts, etc.  They meet you, you show them what you offer, and guide them to each next step until they get to your chosen finish line (they convert).

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

Your sales funnel needs to be a clear, simple, and easy path that removes as many opportunities as possible for people to leave.  We all have a sales funnel, whether we realize it or not, and to convert Pinterest traffic, your sales funnel needs to be a good one.

Let’s break it down:

Determine the types of Pinterest sales funnels you need

If you want someone to sign up for your email list, you’re going to take them down a different path than when you sell a product or want them to book a call with you.  That means you want to have a sales funnel for each goal you have.

Some examples are:

  • Product sales
  • Email sign up
  • Affiliate sales
  • Podcast download
  • Client lead

Use your Pinterest strategy to help build your funnel

Remember the gardening product and the two avenues to reach customers?  One way is with content such as a blog post.  It can also be an email, video, etc.  The other way is sending people straight to the product page.  You can see those Pinterest sales funnel examples below.  There are other options, too, of course.  We’re keeping it simple. 

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

Here’s where you need to pay attention, though.

The first funnel example of pin > product page > checkout seems straightforward.  Just one step between Pinterest and a sale.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right?  Wrong. 

Once someone is on your product page, they have to learn about what you offer, determine if it’s the solution they’re looking for, determine that the price is worth the value they’re getting, add to cart, and checkout successfully. 

If you’re using the second sales funnel example of pin > content > product page > checkout, you have an extra step which means an additional opportunity for people to leave.

Your content (such as a blog post) needs to keep people engaged and help them quickly and easily understand that their solution lies with you and your product, with a clear path to the product page that sells and an easy checkout process.  

Everything on your website either invites people to continue down the path to your goal or gives them a reason to leave.  

To keep them down the path to your goal, you need to plug up any leaks in your funnel.  Here are some examples:

  • Great product descriptions that are easy to read, and all questions answered
  • Easy, safe checkout process with links that work and different payment options, including one pay methods
  • An abandoned cart email sequence to capture the escapees

More to come on plugging the leaks.

Now let’s look at another Pinterest sales funnel example using email marketing.

This is a great option if you have a course.  Sure, you have a landing page where people could buy right away, but what are some things that would cause them not to?  Price. Commitment. Do they know, like, and trust you?

Especially if you’re dealing with a more personal issue or higher price tag, the know, like, and trust is a big factor. So how can you sell your course?  

Here are two paths for people to take:

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

The same basics we covered with the product sales Pinterest sales funnel apply here.  You need to:

  • Help the user understand what you offer
  • Clearly communicate the transformation your offer provides
  • Give people a clear next step to continue down the path
  • Make taking each step very easy 

For some great help with this one and how to even monetize the email sign-up process, check out our post on designing a funnel that converts.

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Sales Funnel That Converts

Let’s tackle one more especially for you bloggers who make money using affiliate marketing.  You’ll see two possible paths below.

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

Your Achilles heel for success can be the quality of the affiliate page and their checkout process.  That’s something you have no control over, but a good thing to have on your radar because it can help you decide if you want to be an affiliate and help you manage your expectations of the return you’ll get.

Get people in your funnel with a great pin design

Now that you have the types of sales funnels you need and used your strategy to create them, it’s time to get people in the top of your funnel.

Your keywords get your pin in front of the right people but those people need to notice the pin and click through.  

These are the best Pinterest pin practices such as pin size, easy to read fonts, etc.  I want to point out a few key things that help people stay on the journey with you down the funnel.

Related Post: Anatomy of the Perfect Pinterest Pin Design

Make it clear what’s on the other side of the pin.  What will they learn or get?  What solution will they find?  In short, what’s in it for them?

Include a call to action on the pin.  Tell people what to do next.  Buy now, download yours, learn more, etc.

Provide continuity between the pin and landing page.  If you have a bold pin with bright colors and large fonts, but your landing page is muted colors and has a calm aesthetic, people will wonder if they landed in the right place.

Plus, is your pin design reflecting your brand?  Someone attracted to the bold pin may not be the person you’re actually targeting.

And if pin design isn’t your strong suit, the DiyDesign Creators Vault is just what you need!

You’ll get exclusive design templates for Pinterest, lead magnets, social media, and more every month that help you stay ahead of content trends so you can leverage your blog posts, lead magnets, and products for faster growth.

5. Prep Your Website for Pinterest traffic

While we tend to get attached to our websites as we spend time, energy and money on them, it’s important to remember that your website isn’t for you.  

Your website is for the user.  

Your website is your vehicle for communicating everything you have to offer in a clear and compelling way.  It needs to be easy to use and navigate.

In a brick-and-mortar store, you have the luxury of a salesperson answering questions, guiding people to the right area, and promoting the products or services.  If something goes wrong, there’s someone to help.

Online, your site has to do it all and do it right all of the time.  Sure, someone can email or call you, but will they be at 11:00 pm or when something is time sensitive?  Don’t let the lead go cold.

Here are some things that are like flashing exit signs for website visitors:

  • Slow site speed
  • Site isn’t optimized for mobile
  • Links and buttons that don’t work or lead to error pages
  • Cluttered website pages 
  • Relentless pop-ups or ads  

A great user experience encourages people to continue down your sales funnel and makes them want to come back.  They may even just sing your praises with a great review or tell others about you.  

WRAP UP

Can you make money with Pinterest marketing?  Yes, but it’s not as simple as getting Pinterest traffic.

Key things to remember:

  • The role of organic Pinterest marketing and Pinterest ads is to build awareness and drive traffic, not convert traffic.  
  • Your website is where the conversions happen.
  • Pinterest users are planners and new to what you offer.  Meet them where they are in their customer journey – awareness, consideration, decision.
  • Your Pinterest marketing strategy needs to include different ways you can reach your audience.
  • Create your Pinterest sales funnels with clear, simple, and easy paths to convert your traffic from site visitor to the desired action.  
  • Use great pin design to get people to the top of your funnel.
  • Your website is for the user.  Provide clear messaging of what your offer is, how people benefit from it, and the next steps to take.
  • Remove all obstacles for website visitors to continue to your goal and provide a great user experience. 

The time and energy you spend getting your strategy created, sales funnels in place and website adjustments made will provide better results for your Pinterest marketing and it will also benefit your business as a whole.

Regardless of where your traffic comes from, you’ll be ready to capture email addresses, secure leads, and make more sales.

Turn your Pinterest traffic into more clients and customers

Get your FREE 7-page checklist of 30 things you want in place on your site for more sign ups, leads, and sales.  Grab it now!

No sharing of your email.  No flooding of your inbox.  Pinky promise.

Hot diggity and thanks!

Check your inbox to confirm your email address and your checklist will be on its way!

.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sue is a dog lover, proud auntie of 20, and founder of With Sue Crites.  She helps clients reach their ideal audience, whether existing or brand new, accelerate email list growth, and increase leads and product sales using traffic-generating and conversion-focused Pinterest strategies and Pinterest ads. 

Get access to my FREE 30-point website checklist to help plug leaks in your sales funnel for better conversions and make the most of your Pinterest marketing!

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Does your blog make money with Pinterest? Here are 5 must-haves to get your Pinterest sales funnel in order to make money blogging and generate passive income!

Filed Under: Growth Strategy, List Building, Social Media

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