What Can a Writer Use Canva For?

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

I needed a time saver, and Canva became it. More than once. 

Do you need to make a meme or a One Sheet? How about a picture slideshow or video about your book? Canva can do all of these. Even the free version. As writers, we can choose from Canva’s templates, stock photos, and video clips to create beautiful graphics and videos to promote our message and our writing. 

What’s a perk of the paid version? With a few mouse clicks, you can turn a meme for Facebook into a meme for Pinterest or Twitter, instead of having to create a new meme for each social media site. You can also create a “brand kit” that saves your brand’s fonts and colors. 

Whether you have the free version or a paid account, Canva now has software to download to your computer (also called the “desktop app”). You still sign in with your email address and password, but you don’t have to access Canva through your internet browser. The app for mobile devices allows you to create on-the-go, and you can access those designs on your computer. 

Here are eight ways Canva is useful to the writer, along with some specific templates I enjoy

Create the following with Canva’s software:

1. Scripture Memes

I love taking a template for a Facebook post and changing the words to be a quote from Scripture. You can also change the font, colors, and pictures to be whatever you want. 

If you need a little help deciding on a Facebook post template, type one of my favorites into the search bar—“Warm Browns Fall Inspirational Quotes Facebook Post” or “Poppies in Bloom Facebook Post.” Put your Bible verse in the appropriate box or boxes, and save the graphic as a PNG for the best possible quality. You can repeat the same process for graphics for other social media sites. 

2. One Sheets for Your Books or Speaking Topics

I like to use the Resume templates to make One Sheets, especially the one called “Orange and Black Professional Resume.” Delete the boxes you don’t need, and type in your information into the boxes you want to keep. Have fun changing the colors and adding your headshot and book cover. “Speaking Topics” would make a great heading for one of the boxes. 

3. A Slideshow of Memes

One of my favorite projects to make on Canva is a slideshow of memes that allows you to share quotes from your book, blog, or speeches. Create a series of memes you’ve made, and put them onto a blank template. Find this template by searching for “Slideshow Video,” and choose the first option which should say “Blank.” You can even add music to the slideshow. It will save as an mp4 file that you can upload to YouTube or other sites. 

4. A Video Introducing Your Book

Canva has templates that “hold” a video. These graphics look like memes with decorative elements, and there will be a place to “drop” a video file. Record yourself introducing your book, and then search for a template like the “Pink Polaroid Birthday Facebook Video,” and delete the segments or “pages” you don’t need. (You can change the pink color too.) 

5. A Logo for Your Website and Social Media Pages

When I visit a writer’s website, I love seeing their ministry logo in the tab of my internet browser. (How did it get there? I’ll teach that at my ministry’s fall online conference called Enrich.) How can you make a logo for your website or elsewhere? Search the Logo templates on Canva to find one you love. You can upload a design that you made or someone made for you, and add it to the logo. 

6. Cover Photos for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and WordPress

Don’t stress about how wide to make your cover photos for various social media sites and websites. Select the right Canva template for the site you want, and change the design to your liking. Canva makes it the correct size for you. 

7. A Poster for Your Book Signing or Event 

Are you going to set up a booth for your book at a conference? Or have a table in the back for a speaking engagement? Use Canva to create a poster in one of three different sizes, including 18” x 24” for a tabletop display. 

8. YouTube Thumbnails

YouTube allows you to choose a thumbnail for your videos, but sometimes the three “still” shots they offer as options aren’t flattering. Create your own thumbnail with Canva, and upload it to YouTube when you upload your video. 

Did you realize that Canva can do all this? Which of the eight projects would you want to try? Tell us in the comments, and join the conversation!

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If you don’t have a Canva account yet, use my referral link to gain a Canva credit when you make your first design. I’ll get a credit too, and we both can enjoy a “pro” feature like a photo or decorative element for free. Click this referral link to get started and have fun: https://www.canva.com/join/sandbar-parts-frosty

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of REFRESH BIBLE STUDY MAGAZINE, and a co-founder of LIGHTHOUSE BIBLE STUDIES. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.COM, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, talk about art and crafts in her group MY ARTSY TRIBE, and tend the garden in the morning sun. She makes her home in a cozy suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Connect with her at her blog, WINNING THE VICTORY, and on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.