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Simplifying DIY Design

Simple Graphic Design To Grow Your Blog

3 Myths About Creating and Selling Digital Products That Are Holding You Back!

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Last updated on October 11th, 2021

In this article I want to go over the three biggest myths about creating and selling digital products that are holding you back and why these things don’t need to stop you from creating digital products for your audience!

Looking to create a digital product? I have a free ebook template located right inside my design library! You can click here (or the button below) to get instant access!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE CANVAA EBOOK TEMPLATE!

I became hooked on digital products even before I had my own. I was the graphic designer for a blogger and we made a workbook.

It was the first workbook I ever made and I made it in Canva. Her content was amazing and shortly after she launched this workbook she had already generated six figures in sales from it.

Something we made once and she sold it over and over. (As someone that used to sell handmade, personalized blankets on Etsy, this was a GAME-CHANGING concept to me)

Not only that, but she was changing lives! The testimonials she was getting would bring tears to anyone’s eyes (this was in the budget niche) and it was the most amazing thing ever.

When I stated Simplifying DIY Design I knew I wanted to go the product route and to do that I had to really, really know my audience.

I got really good at learning what they wanted and creating digital products.

I even created the Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox which is a digital product creation system complete with templates for every step of the process.

Here’s what I learned are some of the biggest myths holding bloggers back from creating products:

“No one will want what I’m selling”

This is why knowing your audience is SO important. How do you get to know your audience? Ask them!

You can simply ask for a reply to an email (the welcome email is great for this) or you can send them a survey.

I’ve used surveys to help me actually map out my product and I’ve used them to help me with my marketing. When you literally create something for specific people, those people will want it!

I recommend getting to know the following details:

  • What they are struggling with
  • What they’ve tried before and why it didn’t work
  • Why it matters to them to have the problem solved

Even these three little things can make so much difference in the creation and marketing of your digital product!

Again, if you create something specifically for your specific people then you should never have to wonder if anyone will want what you’re selling.

Want to save this article for later? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board!

“Selling is spammy and I don’t want to spam people”

Selling definitely doesn’t have to be spammy.

Here’s the thing, yes you make your digital product so you can make money (and that’s OK- everyone deserves the chance to provide for their families) but you also make your product to HELP your audience.

If you don’t put it out there then you will not help them and that’s actually a disservice.

I know it’s hard to actually ask people to give you their hard-earned money but you earned it! Products take a lot of time and effort.

I never really valued a digital product until I made one and then I realized why some are so pricey!

It’s time-consuming and it doesn’t stop when you’re done creating it. It then becomes: answering questions, troubleshooting, customer service, and updating content.

If you have a Facebook group attached to your product then it’s even more ongoing.

You are providing value. You are providing a transformation and you deserve to get paid for it.

Besides, if someone is so inconvenienced by launch emails or a light mention of your product in a related blog post that they forget all of the FREE value you give them the rest of the time then they are definitely not your people.

As long as you always work to provide value above all else you never have to be spammy.

(and yes, launch emails are a GREAT place to provide value as you educate your people on why they might need your product

“I can’t afford a graphic designer to create the thing!”

I get it, I’ve been a graphic designer and I know what they charge. Not everyone can afford that especially when it comes to the first product since you may not be making an income yet from your blog that you can re-invest.

The thing is you don’t actually need to hire a graphic designer, you can create digital products yourself using simple design tools like Canva!

Don’t have Canva yet? Click here to get started! You can also check out my free Canva mini-course to help you start getting familiar with the program.

You can also use design templates if you want a professional jumping-off point for your design. All you have to do is change the colors and fonts to match your brand and paste in your content. Super easy and even faster than starting from scratch!

Plus with design templates you can get the same professional look at a fraction of the cost, in fact my whole product creation system (which includes TONS of product design templates along with templates for everything else) costs a fourth of what I’ve been paid to create a simple workbook for a client.

Templates are the most cost-effective way to get a professional finish.

I even have a FREE ebook design template in my design library- yep, totally FREE!

Don’t let these things hold you back from creating a digital product!

I understand that anytime you put yourself out there it can be scary. I understand that it stings when you create a product and you put your blood, sweat and tears into it just for it to fall flat.

I’ve been there and done that.

But I also know how it feels to get heartfelt emails full of thanks and appreciation. I know how it feels to have people tell you that you’ve changed everything for them and that you’ve made their life easier and solved a problem for them.

It’s so, so worth it! If you haven’t created a digital product or you haven’t been successful with your digital product I don’t want you to hold yourself back! Start with your audience, ask them the questions I mentioned at the beginning of the article and go from there!

Want more resources on learning how to create and sell digital products? Check out my Product Creators Quickstart Kit and my Product Design Planner!

Don’t forget to grab my free Canva ebook template! Just click the button below for instant access!

CLICK HERE FOR INSTANT ACCESS TO MY EBOOK TEMPLATE

 

How to Schedule Your Social Media Posts Directly From Canva

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Last updated on April 11th, 2022

Planning your social media content is now easier than ever with the Canva Content Planner! Save even more of your valuable time when making your social media graphics by never having to leave the Canva platform!

Need help with social media graphics? Grab our FREE Social Media Template Pack in our evergrowing Design Vault! Get instant access along with design templates, tutorials, and more today!

GET THE SOCIAL MEDIA TEMPLATE PACK!

We’re ALL about saving time when it comes to design. But social media? Totally different ballgame.

Social media can be such a time-suck when you’re switching between so many different windows.

Open a window, find the image. Open another window, grab the copy. Oh, and open yet another window to double-check your Canva content planner.

So, when a little pop-up alerted us of a new feature inside of Canva, we were all over it.

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

Planning your social media content is now easier than ever with the Canva Content Planner! Plan, schedule, and post as you design right inside of Canva.

Turns out, the Canva Content Planner actually lets you post your designs directly to the social media platform of your choice.

Between using a design template and then scheduling directly inside Canva, the time-saving potentials are endless!

WHAT PLATFORMS CAN YOU SCHEDULE FROM CANVA?

Don’t you hate when you sign up for a social media scheduler thinking you’ll have access to ALL the platforms but instead have to pay for each one? Yeah, you’re not alone.

When the Canva Content Planner first launched, you had access to almost all of them for no additional fee. The only one missing was Instagram.

But, as of April 2022, we can schedule to ALL the major social media platforms (and more):

  • Facebook Page
  • Facebook Group
  • Instagram (Business Account)
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Linkedin
  • Tumblr
  • Slack

Before we jump into this incredible Canva feature, we need to add a little disclaimer.

The Canva Content Planner is available for CANVA PRO users ONLY. Fortunately, you can try Canva Pro FREE for 30 days!

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features, including the Canva Content Planner.

STEP ONE: COMPLETE YOUR DESIGN

Step one is kind of obvious because you don’t want to post your design before it’s complete!

If you find yourself staring at a blank page (aka blank page paralysis), you may want to consider purchasing a template pack as your jumping-off point.

While you don’t own or control your social media accounts (unlike email), it’s still an incredible way to bring oodles of traffic to your blog.

Related Post: How to Drive Massive Traffic by Nailing Your Social Media Graphics

But, like most things, it’s easier said than done. We always recommend investing just a few dollars in an excellent template pack to help get the ball rolling.

STEP TWO: CLICK ‘SCHEDULE’ LOCATED IN THE DROPDOWN BOX

Once your design is complete, it’s time to schedule your post using the Canva Content Planner!

Click ‘Share’ from the top righthand corner of your project screen and then ‘Schedule.’

Canva recently cleaned up their menu banner, so if you can’t find a button that used to be there, check ‘Share’ or ‘File.’

STEP THREE: CHOOSE YOUR DATE AND TIME

Once you click ‘Schedule,’ choose the date and time you want your design published. From there, select ‘Done.’

Smooth sailing so far, don’t you think

STEP FOUR: SCHEDULE AND CONNECT ACCOUNTS

NOTE: If this is your first time scheduling a design with the Canva Content Planner, you’ll need to connect your account(s).

Click ‘+ Select a channel’ and then follow the prompts to connect that particular account.

Now, you’re probably wondering how Pinterest works. You can choose which BOARD to pin! Just scroll through your boards and click the one you want. That’s it!

STEP FIVE: FILL IN YOUR CONTENT

Once the connection is complete, you’ll see the account you’re posting to. Under that, choose the page within your design you want to publish. Lastly, write a juicy post description and click ‘Schedule post.’

The best part about scheduling in the Canva Content Planner is saving time.

Our Canva account has SO many folders (organization!), and our designs have multiple pages. It was pretty time-consuming to locate a design, open it, find the page we want, and then download just one page.

Write a compelling post description

End the post with a quick call-to-action or CTA. We love to use questions to help our readers start the conversation in the comments.

If posting to Facebook, add the link to the description, and it’ll convert into a hyperlink upon publishing.

If pinning to Pinterest, you’ll see a ‘Destination link’ section. Add the link that ties to your image, such as a blog post or landing page.

Finally, click ‘Schedule,’ and you’re done! How cool is that?

INSIDE THE CANVA CONTENT PLANNER

Once you schedule your post, a pop-up will appear asking if you want to go to your Canva Content Planner. Here you’ll see your scheduled posts, be able to edit your scheduled posts, and plan ahead.

You can also access your Canva Content Planner by clicking on “Content Planner” in the main menu.

If you want to edit your scheduled post, click on the image and again on the three horizontal dots to the right of the scheduled date.

Planning your social media content is now easier than ever with the Canva Content Planner! Plan, schedule, and post as you design right inside of Canva.

You can also plan ahead by hovering over the coming day and clicking on the “+” sign that shows up in the corner.

We’re all about saving time when it comes to social media design!

This is why we love templates and finding shortcuts and hacks to save you time. As full-time business owners (and many other hats!), we can use ANY shortcut we get.

Scheduling your posts directly within Canva ONCE and you’re done is such an awesome tool.

We’d love to know how you’ll use all this saved time with the Canva Content Planner in your business!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Don’t forget to grab our Social Media Template Pack now! These fully editable Canva templates will help you create your next Pinterest pin, social media post, or promo graphic!

GET THE SOCIAL MEDIA TEMPLATE PACK!

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 your business!

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

Planning your social media content is now easier than ever with the Canva Content Planner! Plan, schedule, and post as you design right inside of Canva.

You Need These Visual Elements For New Blog Launches

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Last updated on October 11th, 2021

Visual Elements For New Blog Launches – what do you need?

This is a question I get asked a lot! So in this article, I want to go over what I truly believe to be the graphic elements you need for your brand new blog (and what you don’t).

Love Canva Templates? Click here for access to our free design library!

Let me start by saying my opinion might differ from every single graphic design blog you might come across but I’m ok with it.

When I was a new blogger I was so overwhelmed with the number of voices out there and how they were all saying different things.

I get the frustration, I promise I do.

But that’s also how I learned whose ideas I wanted to follow and learn from, so here it goes!

Creating a Brand As a New Blogger

Now, most designers might tell you that you should hire a designer for an amazing logo and brand kit to get started.

You’ll answer questions about your mission and messaging in order to create this beautiful brand with the perfect colors and fonts.

My question is: how do you know that’s your true brand?

The first place to start, is by taking The 5 Minute Brand. It includes awesome templates to help you develop a beautiful brand for your blog.

Fun fact! My very first blog was “shifted focus” 3 times before I was comfortable with who I was speaking to and what I was writing about.

I didn’t know much about blogging when I first started so it took me a while to really find my “lane”.

So, here’s the brutally honest truth: if you’re so new that you have:

  • Less than 20 blog posts written
  • Little idea of “who” you’re speaking to (your avatar) and why you want to help them
  • Little idea of how to blog as a business (like how you’ll monetize, what an email list is, etc)
  • No email list (you’re using a RSS feed instead of an email list)

Then I recommend a completely simple DIY approach to your brand.

This is something that should take you no more than 2 days to do and then I don’t want you to touch it at all.

New bloggers sometimes spend weeks on tweaking their brand so it’s perfect.

Then they go back a few weeks later to tweak again.

Your colors and fonts are not what’s going to set you up for success.

Determining your avatar and creating content (blog posts and freebies) will!

Investing time and energy into actually learning how to make money with your blog will go further than investing money into a web design or brand specialist.

If you’re that brand new blogger, here’s what I recommend: create a basic text logo and then start writing!

Write, write, write! Write blog posts, learn about email lists (I use and love convertkit) and write a welcome nurture sequence. Write content for freebies so you can grow your list.

Just start writing.

And no, I don’t recommend keeping your blog private or hidden in any way- likely no one will find it anyway until you start actively promoting it.

What About New, But Not BRAND NEW Bloggers?

Ok, NOW is when I recommend getting a little more involved with design!

You have a blog set up, you have a good amount of pillar posts written, and you have set up your email service provider.

Now you have some great content to promote. You might even have your first freebie to start growing your email list with.

Now is when you may want to invest in design services. That being said, I understand that design services can be quite expensive.

At this point, people may be seeing some growth but they may not be making a ton of money yet.

So hiring a designer to create a logo for $250-500 or a branded website for $1000-1500 is just not possible.

This is why most bloggers at this stage go the template route since you can get the same (or similar- depending on how you edit it, of course) quality of design.

But you’re editing them yourself which brings the cost way down and the designs are so flexible and can be used over and over for just about anything.

Related post: How to Brand Your Blog And Achieve Brand Consistency

So What Designs Should Be Prioritized At This Stage?

This is the million-dollar question! Here’s what I recommend when you’ve got your foundation set and you’re ready for promotion of your blog:

  • A set of colors and fonts that you use over and over on your site and in your designs (a basic brand. Note: I have a free brand board in my design library you can use)
  • Social media headers for all your platforms (you can set up your platforms but start really getting serious growing just one at a time to avoid overwhelm)
  • Pin images for all of your blog posts (recommended size: 1000x1500px)
  • Facebook images for all your blog posts (recommended size for images posted directly to Facebook or used for ads: 1080x1080px, for images uploaded to your Yoast or Rank Math plugin: 1200x628px)
  • Featured image for all your blog posts (size varies depending on your theme)
  • A set of 2-3 graphics that specifically promote your lead magnet so you can use them on Facebook and Pinterest to send people directly to your opt-in page
  • Design of the actual lead magnet
  • At this point, you may want to invest in a quality paid WordPress theme (still much cheaper than hiring a designer for a custom website) and if that theme requires images such as category graphics, etc then you’ll want to set that up appropriately.

If you’re looking for the ultimate hack for creating a brand you love, check out the Five Minute Brand! With over 40+ logos and done-for-you, ready to customize brands, you’ll be able to create a brand that’s perfectly you in just minutes! Not only does it have logos and brand boards, but it also include templates for all the other graphics you need for branding your blog, email newsletter, and more!

As You Grow Your Blog, Your Design Priorities Will Shift

Maybe you’ll start a podcast and you’ll need graphics for that. Maybe you’ll start designing digital products and lead magnets.

Maybe you’ll start getting more active on various social media platforms and doing stories.

==> If you’re looking for templates for all these things, check out The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit!

You don’t have to be everywhere at once when you get started. You don’t have to nail down your design or have everything perfect before you hit publish, you just need to start writing.

Once you have that foundation- you can go back to the design but still be strategic about how you spend your time inside of Canva.

Your logo probably doesn’t need to be tweaked…but designing a new lead magnet?

THAT time is well spent.

Spend your time creating designs that will bring you the most amount of growth in the least amount of time.

Then, when you’re making a good income- you can rebrand with a custom website and refined logo, etc.

By that time, you’ll know your avatar inside and out and you’ll know exactly what message you want your brand to convey.

You will have likely shifted and clarified your message over and over and now you’re comfortable with exactly who you are in this online space.

This is when you’ll want to invest in that branding package or website design.

Until then, remember that everything can be changed and what really matters, in the beginning, is that you just get started!

Want to get started with Canva templates?

My Design Library has over 40+ FREE Canva templates for you! Just click the button below to get started!

CLICK HERE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE FREE DESIGN LIBRARY NOW!

Want to remember this post later? Pin it to your favorite board!

Wondering where to start when it comes to design for your brand new blog? READ THIS FIRST!! Find out exactly what design you should be doing as a brand new blogger looking to build a blogging business!

 

How To Create A Flip Graphic in Canva To Promote Your Digital Product Or Lead Magnet

by 4 Comments

Last updated on May 25th, 2022

Animated flip graphics, also known as flipbooks or even GIFs, are so popular and easy to make. Learn to create attention-grabbing animated flip graphics using Canva to promote your lead magnets and digital products!

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!

To alleviate any confusion right from the get-go, animated flip graphics have a couple of different names. You may have heard the term flipbook or even GIF.

Thankfully, it’s all the same thing, technically.

What makes animated flip graphics and flipbooks a bit different than GIFs is that it’s meant to mimic the flipping of pages.

Here’s an animated flip graphic we created for our DiyDesign Creators Vault!

You can use animated flip graphics practically anywhere; Social media posts, sales pages, blog posts, and even Pinterest pins.

But that’s not even the best part.

You can create animated flip graphics for FREE right using Canva – no Canva Pro account needed.

However, there are a TON of benefits to upgrading to Canva Pro. Their selection of phone, tablet, and computer mockups is much more diverse on the Pro account.

See why we absolutely LOVE Canva Pro with a FREE 30-day trial. We have no doubt you’ll wonder how you went this long without it.

Alright, let’s log into Canva and create those animated flip graphics!

STEP ONE: CREATE YOUR GRAPHIC

Our go-to sizes for animated flip graphics are 800x800px and 1080x1080px. We found they’re the most versatile for all areas of our business.

You’ll start by creating a graphic that shows off one page (or the cover) of your digital product. You can also use a template, of course.

Related Post: 12 Digital Products That Are Selling Like Hotcakes

If you’re shopping for Canva templates, Our DiyDesign Creators Vault delivers brand new, exclusive product mockups every single month.

The animated flip graphic we’re featuring in this post is from our March collection!

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

Find out how you can use Canva to easily create animated flip graphics for free! This is a great way to promote your digital products, lead magnets, and more!

Regardless of if you use a template or not, your design should be complete and show off your product in some way before moving to the next step.

  • Start with a stock photo that has a blank iPad or computer already in the photo
  • Use shapes and fun design elements for a more bold look
  • Add shapes AND a stock photo mockup by using the ‘Background remover’ tool (shown below)

NOTE: The ‘Background remover’ tool, under the ‘Edit Image’ dropdown, is a Canva Pro feature

Related Post: How to Create a Product Mockup Template with Stock Photos

If using just shapes and design elements, add an iPad or e-reader device to show off pages from your ebook, workbook, worksheets, printables, etc., or you can use a computer screen.

It’s time to get creative!

STEP TWO: DUPLICATE THE PAGE

Again, it’s crucial to get that first image exactly how you want it because the following pages need to be an exact duplicate.

Duplicate the page as many times as you need by selecting the ‘Copy page’ option at the top right of your design.

STEP THREE: SWAP OUT THE PAGE ON EACH IMAGE

Each “page” of the design should be an exact copy except for the page featured on the image.

You can even replace pages with words like the example at the top of this post.

Once you have each page completed, it’ll look something like this:

Notice how each page is the same except for the image on the screen.

This is to give the appearance of flipping through your digital product.

What’s nice about animated flip graphics is that all the attention is on your product because everything else stays the same.

See? It’s no secret we’re obsessed with animated flip graphics!

STEP FOUR: DOWNLOAD YOUR CANVA GIF

Before we can download our Canva GIF, we need to set the time on each page, so it flips through at the perfect speed.

Canva’s set speed is 5.0 seconds per page which is a VERY long time for animated flip graphics.

Readers don’t realize it’s a GIF if it’s too slow. Plus, it gives someone ample time to read the page(s) for free instead of paying for it.

If it’s too fast, it’s pretty challenging to see what the product is even about!

We found that a speed of 1.0 second per page is a happy medium. Click the box ‘Apply to all pages’ to save some time.

It’s now time to download our Canva GIF!

Canva is testing out many different layouts at any given time. The ‘Download’ button may be aside from ‘Share’ or in the ‘Share’ dropdown.

Once you click ‘Download, select from the ‘File type’ dropdown to find the GIF option.

It may take a few minutes to download fully, depending on the file size.

Your completed animated flip graphic should look like this:

If you plan on adding your animated flip graphics to your blog or sales pages, we highly recommend compressing them first.

Just like images need compressing, animations do as well.

Head to EZ GIF and upload your animated flip graphic. Set the compression level you’d like using the slide bar and click ‘Optimize GIF!’ This will reduce the file size by around 30%.

A preview will appear below, along with the ‘Save’ button on the lower menu bar to the right.

Your new Canva-designed animated flip graphic is ready to go!

CANVA GIF TROUBLESHOOTING

If your Canva design is missing the timing adjustment (example shown earlier in this post), no worries! We noticed that some designs have it and some don’t.

There is a workaround inside Canva, but the step we’re about to show you is way faster.

Go to EZ GIF Speed Changer and upload your Canva GIF. You’ll then see your GIF on the page, and below it, you’ll be able to adjust the speed.

We chose 500% of the current speed for this animated flip graphic.

Once you click ‘Change speed!’, it’ll generate a preview directly below it.

Add or decrease the percentage until you get the desired speed you want.

Once that’s done, scroll below the preview and click the ‘Save’ icon. Your GIF should automatically download to your computer.

GRAB ATTENTION WITH ANIMATED FLIP GRAPHICS

Animated flip graphics are easy to make and won’t cost you a cent.

They make great ads on all social media platforms, images on a sales page, Pinterest pin promotions, and so much more.

Use animated flip graphics to promote your digital products and lead magnets and watch your subscriber base grow like crazy!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

Don’t forget to grab our Launch Template Pack now! These fully editable Canva templates will help you create jump-off-the-page product mockups so you can rock your launch!

GET THE PRODUCT LAUNCH TEMPLATE PACK!

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 your business!

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

Creating Video Content To Get More Traffic To Your Blog (With Less Effort!)

by 1 Comment

Last updated on October 14th, 2021

In this article, you will learn how creating video content can get more traffic to your blog so you grow your blog faster! One of the best ways right now to expand your written content is by creating VIDEO content but it doesn’t end with the video itself.

Let’s talk about the ways to visually promote your video so you maximize your growth in less time and effort!

So many people think that when they’ve said something once, everyone’s heard it. That isn’t the case at all!

I think it’s a common misconception that if you “repeat” yourself then you’ll end up annoying people. The honest truth is that even if you put the same piece of content on social media, your newsletter, and a blog post: it’s unlikely the same people are going to see it.

What’s much more likely to happen is that MORE eyes are going to see it, giving you amply opportunity to be “everywhere at once” with much less effort.

And let’s face it, it’s exhausting to constantly try to figure out new things to say on every single platform.

You don’t have to copy and paste the whole thing, you can take bits and pieces or expand on it in different ways. Stagger the posts so it spreads over a week and BAM you have a week worth of content!

For example, once you’ve written a blog post, you can go live about the topic of that post. Then, you can take that video and embed it on your blog, share on social media, and create visual promotions like video pins, stories, and so much more.

You’re everywhere all at once with much less effort than thinking of something new to say on every single platform, every single day. Talk about burnout!

Why is creating video content so important?

Video popularity has been increasing dramatically over the past few years and it’s becoming more and more important on every platform! For bloggers, this gives us opportunity to attract traffic from:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • TikTok

And now more than ever, these platforms are pushing video between Facebook lives, stories, IGTV, and now story pins on Pinterest!

Video is the way the world is moving and as bloggers, it’s important to understand how we can use this to leverage our blog.

Want to save this post for later? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest Board!

Find out how to get more traffic to your blog by simply creating video content and promoting it with a visual strategy that gets more clicks, email subscribers, and sales! Plus find out how to save time designing these promotional graphics!!

Video strategy for your blog

When I first started my blog, I knew my goal was to grow my list to 1000 subscribers in the first 3 months.

I did many things to get to this goal but one of the best things I did was a weekly Facebook live. I usually talked about a topic that I had a freebie for and my call to action at the end of the live was for people to download the freebie.

I would then write a blog post about the topic of the live and embed my Facebook live video in the post. This also helped grow my Facebook pixel for when I was ready to run ads because every view counted towards my Facebook pixel.

Video was also a great way to connect with the audience I had at the time. It really helped develop a relationship and connection which meant even if my audience was small, it was engaged and ready to convert when I launched my first digital product.

Anyway, back then there were no video pins or IGTV so I didn’t really do much else with video but now there are SO many options. Let’s talk about the different ways we can repurpose video content so that we maximize our time and our results!

Start with any video you want: live or pre-recorded

At this time in my life, pre-recorded is much easier than trying to find a quiet time to do a live video. My kids used to nap, but not anymore. And with school being out, the time is even more limited.

Whatever you are more comfortable with, just start with any video: a live video or prerecorded.

Then you’ll want to upload it on all of your social platforms and inside of a new or old (but relevant) blog post.

Side note: You can also start with an already written blog post and create a video for it as well. I sometimes do this as a way to refresh the post.

Now comes the fun part, it’s time to get visual and get more eyes on it!

Create an Instagram story graphic

You can use Canva to create an Instagram story graphic and add a snippet of your video to the image. You can see how I’ve done this below under the Pinterest Story section of the post.

Upload it to Instagram and Facebook stories and have people go to your blog post (or YouTube) to watch the full video.

Note: Most people tend to view stories with the sound OFF so be sure to add captions (either word for word on the video itself or add short recaps of what you’re saying inside instagram on each slide).

In case you’re wondering how to add word-for-word captions to your videos- you can do this right inside Facebook! Click here for the Facebook support page that contains instructions on adding captions.

You’ll download your video after the captions are added and use that as the video you upload to other platforms and use on your promotional graphics.

Create a Video pin

Choose a snippet of your video that is a minimum of 4 seconds and a maximum of 15 seconds long and create a video pin on Pinterest that links to your blog post.

So often we catch soaked into some sped-up video of a recipe or craft which is GREAT for food and craft bloggers. But what if you don’t have a food or craft blog? What other video could you do? Here are some ideas:

  • Add a video to your video pin that just relates to the topic of your post like you would a stock photo. You can search Canva and other sites like Depositphotos for stock videos.
  • Create a quick video for a list post that shows off 1-3 items from your list and instructs people to visit the post for more. I love Animoto for creating videos like this!
  • Create a recording of your screen and scroll through a product or opt-in you’ve created. Loom is a free tool for Mac and PC users that helps you record your screen.
  • Create a short video of how something works (likely a product or an affiliate product that your post talks about)
  • Create a video of yourself or repurpose some of your Facebook live (with captions) and use that on your pin!

Did you know I have 5 FREE video pin templates in my free design library? You can click here for access now!

Create a Story Pin! Here are step-by-step instructions for creating a story pin!

Take that video pin and duplicate it so there are multiple pins and choose different snippets for each pin. Each story should be under 20 seconds long.

So, for example if you have a list post, you can choose a video for a few of the different things you’re talking about. If you’re teaching the steps of a project or recipe you can choose a video snip from each step.

You can also use any of the suggestions above as well.

Upload them to Pinterest stories by following these instructions:

First, you’ll click on “Create” and choose “Create a Story Pin”

Then, you’ll upload the designs you created. You will see below that I created a set of story pins using Canva. I used templates from the Mega Pin Creators Bundle and dragged in a video on each of them except the last one. The last one is my call to action and contains a stock photo related to the topic of the video.

Once you’ve uploaded your first story, you can customize how you want and even add text overlays inside of Pinterest.

You’ll click on the plus sign to add the other videos for the story:

When you’ve finished uploading the story pins, you’ll see them all on the left side. You can choose each one and edit it, resize it, add text, change the background color, or adjust it however you need to.

Then you’ll click “Next” in the bottom right. On the next screen, you’ll be able to add any details such as ingredients, materials, or items from your list post.

Click on “next” for the final step! You’ll be able to add a title, select any of your boards you’d like to add it to, and add tags to help get it in front of the right audience. Be sure to use keywords in your title, be mindful about the boards you post to (make sure they are relevant) and choose appropriate tags!

Finally, hit publish and you’re done!

Create a video graphic for Instagram and Facebook

I like to do a square-size video image for both Facebook and Instagram. Squares take up more space on the screen than horizontal images so they are more likely to be noticed in the feed.

While you will likely add the original video to these platforms (and IGTV) – it MAY not get watched if the headline or copy goes unnoticed. However, if you create a beautiful promo image with a snippet of the video – people will be more likely to go back and watch the full video.

Think of it as the trailer for a movie- you get the highlights that make you want more. This is what your promo image should be!

Here’s an example of the difference between what these videos look like: Which one grabs your attention more?

Don’t forget that then DIY Design Creators Vault contains video pins and new promo Canva templates every single month! Click here to learn more about my monthly designs. Spoiler alert: this template was from the June template drop!

There are so many ways to make the most of just ONE video for maximum results

Video is going to be bigger and stronger than ever- how you use it is important and the WAY you use it can be all the difference between hearing crickets and massive growth.

Remember, while this may seem like “extra steps” — creating video content doesn’t have to be hard– most of it can be repurposed! You’re starting with ONE video and using snippets to create visual, attention-grabbing promotional graphics!

  • Start with one video (live or pre-recorded) – add captions and upload as-is to all your platforms including IGTV
  • Create a video pin using a snippet of that video
  • Duplicate your video pin and break it down into a “story” series
  • Use those story pins for Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
  • Optionally, create a square video graphic to promote on your Facebook and IG feed
  • Remember, if your video is pre-launch-related or to a highly monetized post, you can always boost it via paid ads for even more reach!

Are you making the most of the videos you create? I get that design can be an “extra step” which is why I love creating templates for people to use! It takes the time and frustration out of the design and helps you get your content out to the world FASTER so that you can get back to the blogging tasks you love!

Don’t forget to grab my 5 free video pin templates now! Just sign up for my free design library for instant access! Click the button below to get started!

GET 5 FREE CANVA VIDEO PIN TEMPLATES NOW

 

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

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Last updated on April 11th, 2022

Are you ready to learn some amazingly game-changing Canva design tips? These Canva tips and tricks save us so much time and help make designing in Canva easier than ever.

Want these tricks super fast? Grab our FREE Canva Tricks Cheatsheet in our evergrowing Design Vault! Get instant access along with design templates, tutorials, and more today!

GET ACCESS TO THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET!

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

However, when we first started using Canva, we felt really limited. Making ONE simple line was a challenge. Curved text? Don’t even think about it.

Over the years, we’ve come up with tons of Canva design tips, and since then, we’ve been able to create everything from full workbooks, journals, course slide decks, and SO much more using this one tool.

No more feelings of limitations. It just takes a little creative thinking!

We have a fantastic audience of people that LOVE chatting about Canva design tips and a great Facebook community of bloggers invested in mastering their design skills.

The benefit of this is we know when there’s a common denominator regarding Canva. It’s incredible feedback for Canva’s design team and great for blog posts to help YOU in the NOW.

So today, we’ll be chatting about the latter, the most COMMON Canva design questions.

And, Canva design tips for making the program even easier to use and more versatile for any blogger. Heck yes!

TRICK #1: COPY AND PASTE

This is hands down the most common thing we’re asked – “How do you copy and paste in Canva?”

Copy and paste is the single most often used keyboard shortcut in our bag of Canva design tips.

Seriously! We use it ALL THE TIME, making our lives so much easier.

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

These game-changing Canva design tips help you create amazing graphics in Canva FAST! Boost your productivity and cut your Canva design time in half!

We often have multiple tabs open on our browser and copy and paste from tab to tab. This helps us save time and stay consistent with our designs.

Related Post: How to Brand Your Blog + Achieve Brand Consistency

Not trying to go off-topic, but having a second monitor has been a total game-changer.

Okay, back to the question, “How do you copy and paste in Canva?” It’s super simple!

First, click off to the side and drag your mouse over whatever you want to copy. After it’s highlighted, click Ctrl+C (PC) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy your design.

NOTE: If you accidentally select more objects than you meant to, hold the Shift key down and CLICK on anything you want to de-select. Then, Ctrl/Cmd+C to copy.

Next, open the project you want to paste this into.

You can also paste it into the same project (on the same or different pages).

We do this a lot when we’re creating a workbook to keep the border, layout, and headers consistent. This again also helps us design much faster.

To paste, use your keyboard shortcuts again, using Ctrl+V (PC) or Cmd+V (Mac).

Super simple, right?

If you don’t want to use keyboard shortcuts, you can also right-click your mouse to open up a menu that has copy and paste options.

SIDE NOTE: The header templates shown above are available in our FREE Design Vault and many other Canva templates and design tools!

TRICK #2: HOW TO MERGE CANVA DESIGNS

Another question we get on the regular is how to merge Canva designs. There isn’t a trick to merge designs, but we do have a similar solution!

To successfully merge Canva designs, you’ll have to view ALL of your pages by clicking ‘Grid View’ from the lower righthand side of your project screen.

Next, click and drag your mouse over all the pages/designs you want to add to a different project. Click Ctrl+C (PC) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy your highlighted design.

Head on over to your new project and add a blank page to wherever you want to merge your copied designs. Select that page by clicking anywhere within it and then hit Ctrl+V (PC) or Cmd+V (Mac).

Canva will automatically push all other pages down to accompany every page you just pasted within in this new project.

While this doesn’t quite answer how to merge Canva designs, it’s still a great addition to your bank of Canva design tips!

TRICK #3: DOWNLOAD JUST ONE PAGE

What’s interesting is that we get this question the most during Q3. (From all those early Q4 preppers!)

Our readers want to design all the product mockups for Pinterest, social media, and more to fully leverage Q4 traffic and sales.

Sharing the cover image from your blog printable or digital product in a mockup converts really well. It’s something tangible to where they see and know what they’re getting instead of an assumption.

Related Post: Designing in Canva | Anatomy of a Killer Blog Printable

Once they download the cover page of their digital product (let’s say a workbook), they can:

  • Re-upload it into Canva and add it to a Pinterest pin
  • Add it to a social media/sales page image
  • Upload it to a cover mockup generator like myecovermaker.com

Either way, this is another really easy Canva design trick! Look to the left of the page you want to download to find the ‘Page Number.’

Once you find that number, click on ‘Share,’ ‘Download,’ and the ‘Select pages’ dropdown.

Deselect ‘All pages (1-XX)’ and select the page number you want to download.

TRICK #4: SELECTING AN OBJECT BEHIND ANOTHER OBJECT WITHOUT MOVING IT OUT OF THE WAY

This trick is shown in the video at the top of this post at timestamp 02:46.

This one is a game-changer for SO many people, including us! 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.

It’s such a time suck and can make designing in Canva just a tad bit frustrating.

Related Post: Canva Shortcuts That Will Help You Design Faster

There’s a super simple trick for this, and it’s one of the many tricks I cover in my Confidently Canva course (get $20 OFF through this link!), but I’ll let you in on it here…

The Command key! (or Ctrl key for PC users)

Here’s what you’re going to do if another object is selected.

  • Hold down the Command (or Ctrl) key
  • Click again (WHILE holding that key)

This will select the object that’s behind the first object.

If the object 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 will select the next object in the back.

Did we blow your mind?

TRICK #5: MOVING OBJECTS JUST A TEENY TINY BIT

This trick is shown in the video at the top of this post at timestamp 08:16.

We get this question a lot regarding positioning text just right so that it’s perfectly lined up.

Sometimes, it’s hard to get the text boxes right when you move the text boxes around with your mouse.

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

Designing in canva

When that symbol appears, click again. You’ll know it worked because you won’t 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 to just 1px. It’s effortless to get it lined up just right doing it this way!

You can also hold down the Shift key and use the Arrow keys if you want to move the object 10px.

This is probably one of our favorite Canva design tips because it lets us be precise with our movements!

TRICK #6: ADDING A SHADOW TO AN IMAGE

This was such a requested feature among our audience that we created actual shadow jpegs to use.

Even though they were a bit bulky and only worked on perfectly square and rectangular images, it made their product mockups POP!

Fortunately, we can leave all that behind now that Canva has finally added the ‘Shadow’ feature to their bag of Canva design tips.

And, it works for all images, stock photos included!

First, you’ll add whatever image you want to use. If it’s not already cut out, you can use pixlr.com, remove.bg, or one of the many online sources for removing backgrounds.

CANVA PRO USERS: If you have Canva Pro, use their ‘Background Remover’ from the ‘Edit Image’ dropdown.

Click ‘Edit Image’ from the top left menu and select ‘Shadows.’

Canva tests out numerous layouts at any time, so you may have to scroll down a bit. Then, choose the shadow you’d like to apply.

Click on the ‘Shadow’ button again to open up more options like ‘Size,’ ‘Transparency,’ etc.

Follow this same method if you’re looking to give a cover design or printable a shadow (we recommend it!).

Related Post: Best Features for Editing Design Templates In Canva

You’ll find more really cool editing tricks to cut down your design time and have you feeling like a graphic design pro!

TRICK #7: CREATE A PROJECT WITH MORE THAN 100 PAGES

We can’t even describe the level of happiness we felt when Canva finally announced its new page limit of 100 pages!

After sharing this achievement with our community, we immediately opened up this post to add to our list of Canva design tips!

Being limited to just 30 pages was a headache for both clients and us. Sheesh!

What if your project exceeds 100 pages?

First, don’t panic! Start a new project, use the copy and paste method mentioned above to copy your layout for consistency, and keep going.

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products

As Mac users, we use ‘Preview’ to merge our pages. (Don’t worry, we’ll talk about PC users in a minute!)

Open each document in Preview. If you don’t already see the thumbnail views on the side, go to ‘View’ and select ‘Thumbnails.’

Next, drag and drop the pages you want to add from the second document into the first one.

DESIGN TIP: 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 them all at once.

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

For PC users, there is this nifty free online tool called ilovepdf.com.

You do NOT have to download anything to your computer, and it is 100% free. Upload both of your documents and choose the ‘Merge PDF’ option.

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create an Editable Printable for Your Readers

SIDE NOTE: We often use ilovepdf for turning uneditable PDFs from courses into Word documents so that we can type right in the document.

There are so many simple Canva design tips & tricks!

Wondering how to resize in Canva? We wanted to add it here, but it deserved its own post since we cover 3 quick and easy ways to resize in Canva.

We love figuring out these little Canva design tips and hacks. There are so many more we could literally spend all day doing this!

Instead, we created Confidently Canva! It’s an in-depth course that teaches you ALL the Canva design tips and tricks in easy-to-follow video lessons. Plus, you’ll learn how to design social media graphics and printables.

Enroll in Confidently Canva NOW, and you’ll get $20 OFF!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

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 ACCESS TO 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’ll 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 your business!

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

These game-changing Canva design tips help you create amazing graphics in Canva FAST! Boost your productivity and cut your Canva design time in half!

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