4 Ways Canva Is Amazing for Writers

Have you heard of Canva? If you’re a writer, you must give it a try!

A couple of years ago, I learned about Canva through the 10 Minute Novelists. A couple of the other writers used it to do their graphics for various things.

Now that I’m using it, I can’t stop. My designs have branched out to other things I’m doing.

If you haven’t started using Canva yet, I’ll share some of the great features about it. Maybe that will entice you to give it a try.

1. Graphics

The graphics you can make on Canva is endless. I started out making graphics for one of my blogs. When I added another blog, I did the graphics for it, too.

Since then, I’ve done several different kinds of graphics. Other graphic design platforms might exist, but Canva is the only one I’ll use unless someone can convince me another one is better.

• Marketing your books

The fact is graphics catch people’s eyes more than words when posting on social media. You can make your own graphics to help you market your books.

I have created a few for each of my books using quotes and an image. I schedule these at different times of the week and month. I actually get more people liking them than when I use only words.

• Making book covers

If you have a book you’re ready to publish, but don’t have the money to pay someone to do it, then Canva can be used to design a cover.

I usually have someone design my covers, but when I decided to do National Novel Writing Month last November, I designed a book cover so I could actually see something there instead of a blank space as it usually is. It made me feel like my profile was complete that time.

But I do know of writers who use the book covers they make for the published book.

• Creating business cards

Some writers carry business cards for networking. As an author, I not only carry some with me, but I put mine in the book when I sell a copy. Readers can join my Facebook and Twitter pages that way.

Again, Canva can help you create these business cards easily so all you have to do is print and buy from Vistaprint, Overnight Prints, or another similar website.

2. Tutorials

If you struggle with designing graphics, Canva offers free tutorials. I have a keen interest in doing graphics so I haven’t used the tutorial yet.

I have heard great things about the tutorials, though. So I checked them out.

These tutorials are short examples of what Canva is all about. When you go to the page, you click on whatever you wish to learn. Once you click on it, you can scroll through and see how to do something step-by-step.

One side of the page is “learn,” and the other side is “do.” How easy is that?

It’s pretty easy because I tried one. Again, you read the left side and look at what the example is. Then you do whatever it asks on the right side. If you get stuck, a small graphic at the bottom of the right side says, “Need a hint?” Click on that, and a short video pops up to help you.

As I look over the tutorials a bit more, I see a few things I’m interested in learning more so I’m sure there is room for learning. And I’m always up for learning more!

3. Upgrade

If you want more features, you can upgrade to Canva for Work. It offers branding ability for your business and easy resizing for your designs.

As opposed to the free version I discussed above, this version costs $12.95 per month or $9.95 if you pay annually. You can try it out for 30 days, which I haven’t done yet. I’m not sure I will until I see a real need.

4. App

When you’re not around your laptop and need a graphic, you can use an iPhone or iPad to create a design using the Canva app.

I haven’t had an iPhone in a couple of years so when I discovered this great program had an app, I downloaded it. The app isn’t as easy to use as on the computer, but if you need something quickly, you can do it.

Using an iPad might be better, but I don’t have one. Until I get an iPad, I’ll keep trying to use it on my phone as needed.

As you can see, Canva has some great features writers can definitely use to make their careers easier. Of course, Canva isn’t only for writers. You could use this for anything that needs a graphic or something visual to get people’s attention.

Have you used this awesome program? In what ways do you use it?