5 Brilliant Ways You Need To Be Using Canva Templates For Your Business

Canva templates are the bomb.

That just needs to be said.

If you're a small business owner with a to-do list that's miles long, Canva templates will change your life.

To be clear, I'm not talking about the free templates included in your Canva membership, which often feel lacking.

Templates have become such a popular time-saving tool for small businesses that professional designers have now jumped on board to create super beautiful, useful, amazingly affordable templates for you to tap into and customize to your brand.

Here's the best place to get beautiful, affordable Canva templates.

And if you're not quite sure what to use them for or why they'll be your new favorite muse, read on.

Because the truth is, if you're not using Canva templates for your business, you're spending too much time and/or money creating your social posts and graphics.

There are so many reasons to use templates:

• They save you time.
• They save you money.
• They inspire ideas for your content.
• They give you a starting point for your designs.
• They're affordable.
• They make your business and content look super pro.
• They can be used over and over again.
• They help you get your content done and out there.
• The list goes on and on.

But before we move on, let's call out the elephant in the room...

Canva has a bunch of free templates, why should you pay for something else?

Glad you brought this up.

The free templates available inside Canva are not really designed with all your needs as a biz owner in mind. Simply put - they're basic.

And if you're not ready to drop hundreds on custom designs (I researched and found a designer who charges $75 for 5 custom Instagram post designs. A custom workbook will likely cost you around $200, depending on the number of pages), then tapping into a template source is definitely the way to go.

As an extra cherry on top, templates are super affordable and are simply way better than anything you can find for free on Canva.

You'll be able to find more diversity in the design styles and layouts to make your work so much easier.

Plus, you can fully customize them in Canva to suit your branding by changing colors, fonts, photos, text and graphics.

But don't just take it from me.

Here's how biz owner Diedra P. describes her experience using the free templates inside Canva, versus templates included in her Wellness Stock Shop membership….

"If you're trying to look like a professional, don't use the free Canva templates. The free templates inside Canva make me feel left alone without guidance.
I ended up basically creating from scratch because I had to completely redesign everything.
That alone makes the Wellness Stock Shop membership so worth the small investment. There's so much thought put into these templates... They're really thought through and they're so beautiful!"

Now let's chat about the top 5 ways you should be using Canva templates to grow your business.

I'll share how I've personally used templates to enhance my workflow, some inspiration for how to get creative with templates (that you probably haven't thought of), and a few action steps you can take to help you save time and grow your brand.

1. Pinterest Posts

Pinterest has become a top way to grow your blog (and your email list) - especially if you're in the health and wellness industry. Get my top Pinterest marketing tips here. But it's important to know that your growth on the platform relies completely on the quality of your pins.

Your pins have to be beautiful in order to get noticed!

A healthy Pinterest strategy means publishing regular blog content and designing fresh new daily pin images.

Pair that with the already miles-long to-do list that comes with publishing a blog post - from researching, writing, editing, formatting, linking, SEO optimizing, graphic designing, and beyond - oh boy, it's easy to find yourself in a state of procrastination paralysis!

That's why it's important to tap into resources to help you save time and stay on track.

Ta-da! Cue the Canva templates!

Personally, I keep a collection of Pinterest templates on hand that I can quickly and easily plug my blog post info into.

Discovering this trick has been such a relief. It helps me feel organized, saves so much time not having to create each pin design from scratch, and eliminates the pressure and procrastination around blogging and pinning!

Plus, my content is filled with more value, because I now use info-graphic pin templates to quickly create pinnable cheatsheets, checklists, quick-reference guides and more - in addition to my regular blog title pins.

Not only will info-graphic templates help you to create a variety of unique pins for each of your posts (experts recommend at least 3-5 unique pin images per post), but value-packed graphics like these are exactly the types of pins that go viral!

PRO TIP: As an added bonus, info-graphic pins can double as a downloadable to add to your blog post - which is a microstep towards turning a reader into a buyer.

Here's a peek at the Pinterest templates inside my Canva Template Library. Imagine how many gorgeous pins you could create in just minutes, using these…

The result?

Even without a solid long-term strategy, Pinterest has become the 2nd top source of traffic to my website, generating thousands of website visits each month!

Action Steps:

1. Gather a collection of 10 Pinterest templates that will help you to quickly create pins for your blog posts.
2. Choose a variety of template layouts, including standard blog title graphics as well as "info-graphic" pins.
3. Create 3 unique pins for each of your blog posts.

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2. Social Media Posts

In this day and age, if you're a business owner, you're likely on social media. And - holy moly! - managing social media sometimes feels like tending to a toddler. It demands your constant attention.

Personally, I spend most of my social energy on Instagram. And in order to make my best impact, I've got to produce daily content.

Instagram is another completely visual platform, which means every post needs to be beautiful and on-brand.

Again, paired with all the social media tasks like creating topic ideas, writing captions, sourcing hashtags and engaging - designing images to post just adds to the stack of overwhelm.

Most recently, posts with text are doing especially well on Instagram.

Which means you not only need beautiful photos, but you need to take the time to create captions with flattering text overlay.

That's all a lot of work!

8 of my favorite social post templates to use:

• Quotes
• Testimonial highlights
• Engagement posts like "this or that"
• An easy question
• Product showcase
• Lists
• Info-graphics
• Carousels with tips

Whatever content you have to share, templates make it so simple to just plug in your photos and text and post!

When I'm stuck creating my graphics all from scratch, I'm much more likely to skip my posts. That's why I keep a collection of beautiful Instagram post templates on hand.

Having a variety of layouts allows me to easily choose the design that best fits my post content.

And the best part?

My engagement has gone up significantly with the number of saves and shares because my posts are so helpful, engaging and beautiful!

Pro-Tip: The 3 keys to Instagram are to Educate, Inspire and Engage. So be sure the content you're creating does at least one of these three things.

Here's a peek at the beautiful Instagram post templates inside the Wellness Stock Shop photo membership...

Action Steps:

1. Tap into a collection with plenty of social templates to help inspire your Instagram posts. (Wellness Stock Shop has dozens of beautiful Instagram templates for you.)
2. Make sure your templates have a lot of variety to help promote your offerings, build credibility, and share valuable, educational content (refer to my favorite posts list above for inspo).
3. Remember the 3 keys to Instagram success every time you create a post.

3. Instagram Stories

On the topic of social media - Instagram stories are an absolute must if you want to grow on that platform.

And while posting to your feed requires just one image per day, with stories it's best to post multiple graphics in sequence that work together to tell a "story".

More posts? The overwhelm is real!

Unless you've got an entourage of story templates at your fingertips - then it's a total breeze!

Personally, I always try to create story graphics that prompt engagement.

I like to create a series of three or more graphics that post in sequence. Here's an example…

Graphic 1: Ask a yes/no question, include a poll sticker.

Graphic 2: Share details about something amazing, related to the question in Graphic 1.

Graphic 3: Tell them how to get ahold of the amazing thing shared in Graphic 2 (include CTA).

Check out the image above to see a real example of a sequence I created  for my free Social Sampler lead magnet that got great engagement.

Engagement boosts your Instagram. And, even better, it's considered the first "microstep" towards someone purchasing from you. Yay!

Engagement-Boosting IG Stories Ideas:

• Ask an easy yes/no question
• Ask for feedback
• This - or - That
• "Would you rather..."
• Play a guessing game "Where was this photo taken?"...
• "Two truths and a lie"
• "True or False"

There are tons of ways you can prompt engagement in Instagram stories. But it can be a real time sink having to come up with all the ideas, prep all the text, and design each individual graphic.

Are you beginning to see the immense value of templates?

I use them all ? the ? time ? for stories. This is how quick they are...

1. Plug in images
2. Add text
3. Add stickers

Done!

Plus, I love engaging with my community in this way!

You'll find lots of engagement-boosting Canva templates for your stories inside my photo membership.

Pro-Tip: Post Instagram story graphics in a sequence of 3 or more related posts. This helps to create a "story" feeling and engages your followers. Plus, when you break your content down into small steps, it's easy to find ways to engage. You can start your sequence with a yes/no question and add a poll or slider sticker!

Action Steps:

1. Brainstorm 5-10 engagement story themes topics that make sense for your brand. For instance, if you're a health coach, one topic could be "This or That" with nutrition focus. If you're a skin care crafter, you could post "This or That" with scent and ingredients focus.
2. Gather a collection on Instagram story templates you can reuse over and over to quickly create your engagement sequences.
3. Gather photos to plug into your templates. Stock photos work great for this - here's the best place to get them.

4. Course Workbooks

From personal experience, I've used workbook templates over and over again to create free guides, downloadable course content, and more.

A thoughtfully designed workbook template, like the ones included with a Wellness Stock Shop membership, will give you heaps of inspiration for what to include in your content.

In fact, when I designed my Canva template library, I put a ton of focus on how to create the best, most flexible workbook template options. This manifested in a "build your own workbook" setup.

So, in addition to the beautiful workbook designs that start you out with multiple pages, I also included an entire "Extra Pages" collection with dozens of page designs that you can add to customize your workbook.

Here's a peek at my "Extra Workbook Pages" Collection...

Get access to all these beautiful workbook templates here.

Imagine how easy it is to design high-value course workbooks and client welcome guides when you have so many creative layouts to choose from!

For instance, Wellness Stock Shop workbook designs include pages with:

• Pro tips
• Checklists
• Copyright Notice
• Testimonials
• Product Recommendations
• Client Case Studies
• Program Offerings
• Recipe Pages
• Quiz Pages
• Fill-in-the-Blanks
• Calls-to-Action

… and countless other content ideas that help you design value-packed workbooks, save heaps of hours, and drive even more sales.

Workbook templates are simply a lifesaver.

Action Steps:

1. Whether you have an online course, a workshop, webinar or free program, brainstorm how you could add value with a downloadable workbook or guide.
2. In a Google Doc, write out all the info you'd like to include in your workbook.
3. Login to your Wellness Stock Shop membership and choose your favorite workbook design from the "Workbook" template collection.
4. Choose any additional workbook pages from the "Extra Workbook Pages" template collection to customize your workbook.
5. Plug-in all the text from your Google doc, customize colors (optional), add photos from your Wellness Stock Shop membership - oualah!

5. Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are amazing for growing your email list. (They also perform really well on Pinterest!)

If you don't already have an amazing lead magnet and if you're not actively growing your email list, you're leaving money on the table, sister. I hope you make this your top priority!

In case you're unfamiliar with the term, a lead magnet is something valuable you offer for FREE as an incentive for joining your email list.

Some popular lead magnets are:

• Checklist
• "How to" guide
• Quiz
• Recipe Collection
• eBook

But don't fall into the sadly common trap, thinking that since you're offering it for free, you might as well slap it together without care.

On the contrary.

Your lead magnet is often like a "free trial". It's the way for a new prospect to test out the quality of what you offer, to decide whether they want to work with you. So you want to pay extra attention to make sure what you're delivering is top notch.

Professionally designed templates help assure your freebies look beautiful and match the high quality of what you offer.

I show you the step-by-step process to creating an irresistible lead magnet here.

You can easily use my workbook templates - or any of the extra workbook pages - to quickly create beautiful, value-packed, on-brand lead magnets.

Plus, you can use my lead magnet social templates (featured in the image above) to showcase your free offer and invite followers to sign up on Instagram and beyond!

Here's why WSS member, Michele B. loves WSS Canva Templates...

Action Steps:

1. Get my best tips for designing your irresistible lead magnet here.
2. Choose your favorite workbook or workbook page layout from the WSS Canva template library (included with membership).
3. Once you design your lead magnet, promote it on Pinterest and social media with our beautifully designed "lead magnet" social templates.