HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST - Nina Harrington · HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST PINS...

HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST PINS AND CUSTOM BOARD COVERS/ 2

HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST

PINS AND CUSTOM BOARD COVERS

According to Pinterest, the best performing pins have

three things in common: They’re beautiful, interesting,

and actionable. In that order.

Pinterest is a visual search engine channel, so every part of

your Pinterest author presence must incorporate attractive

images.

This includes your profile and every pin you create.

Each pin represents your author brand in the form of text and/

or an image linked to a keyword rich description and URL that

Pinterest users would be interested in.

Pin Creation Tools

Many authors worry about creating custom images to use as

pins on Pinterest, especially those who claim to have zero

artistic design skills – but we have some excellent free tools

available to help us.

I would recommend using Canva.com.

Canva has rapidly become the “go-to” free tool that authors

use to generate eBook covers, social media images and much

more – including free Pinterest pin templates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d47VINVA1tY

https://www.canva.com/


KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL PINTEREST

PINS

General Guidelines for Pinterest pin images:

• The ideal aspect ratio for a pin is 2:3 (at least 600px wide

x 900px high). The standard Canva pin template is around

735 pixels wide x 1102 pixels tall in dimensions.

• Don’t make images too long, or they’ll be cut off. 85% of

users search Pinterest on mobile, which means vertical

images have much higher impact. Pins are organized into

columns, so vertical Pins stand out more.

• Keep the message simple and try not to cram the pin

images with too much text or icons. Have just enough text

to describe the content the pin is linking to. Usually about

a half to a third of the pin should be text.

• Use high-resolution and high-quality images.

• Any images that you use should be royalty free and you

hold the copyright. Buy the perfect image from stock

photo sites such as Shutterstock, take your own

photographs or search free to use photo libraries such as

UnSplash.com and the free photo library on Canva.

• No more than two clear, easy to read and attractive fonts.

• Include your website name, retail site book page or

another URL that the pin links back to as source material.

https://blog.hootsuite.com/pinterest-statistics-for-business/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/pinterest-statistics-for-business/


CREATE A TEMPLATE DESIGN FOR YOUR

PINTEREST PINS

Using a standard template for your Pinterest pins makes

pinning your new content much quicker and easier.

Once you have created a template pin, all you have to do is

update the text and the link when you want to design a new

Pinterest pin – and the overall styling will stay consistent and

on brand.

Having a standard pin design is one of the best ways of making

sure that your author brand is clearly visible to a Pinterest

user.

A selection of pins are also displayed on your author profile

banner, so having a consistent style creates a powerful visual

impact from the start.

USE PINTEREST PINS STRATEGICALLY TO

HELP BUILD YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM

Each pin should be created for a purpose.

Think about the goal you want this pin to achieve.

For example, is your aim to build your email list, improve

engagement and sharing, or building awareness about your

brand and your work?

• In most cases, the goal will be to link the pin back

to another site where you can promote your author

brand and your work, such as the URL of your book

page, website, blog post or opt-in/lead magnet.


• If you are offering a freebie, make this clear in the

text of your pin.

• The letters have to be legible online by someone

browsing your profile.

• The style of your pin must align with your author

brand.

If you write hard psychological thrillers and your other

branding and book cover design is based around dark images

and high contrast letters – this is not the time to change over

to pastel pinks and decorative curly lettering with flowers and

cute pets.

If you are unclear about the best way of expressing your

author brand, research how other authors in your niche have

developed their Pinterest platform and see what they are

doing.

How are they designing their pins?

What kind of layout are they using?

Are they pinning the same pin to different boards?

Stay on brand and you will be fine.

The adaptability of Canva and the wide range of templates,

colours and free fonts the system offers, is one of the reasons

why Canva should be part of any author’s collection of tools

and technology.


HOW TO USE CANVA – VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

CLICK HERE >> FOR A STEP BY STEP VIDEO

DEMONSTRATION <<

The video can also be seen at https://youtu.be/l_fdGn6uLaQ

https://youtu.be/l_fdGn6uLaQ





HOW TO HOW TO CREATE A PINTEREST PIN

USING CANVA – WORKED EXAMPLE #1

Go to Canva.com. and create a free account if you don’t

already have one.

Goal= Create a pin linking back to a blog post on your website.

When you click on Create a Design and select Pinterest

Graphic, Canva will present you with a blank pin to design,

with the ideal dimensions of 735 x 1102 pixels.

Canva will suggest lots of idea for Pinterest pin designs, so take

the time to experiment and have fun.



These templates are arranged by themes and you can scroll

down using the grey bar until you find one you like and that

matches your niche which you can customise.

In most cases the pin will have a coloured background or

background image and a text box layered on top of that

background.

Let’s select this wedding theme

pin as an example.

The image is made up of 4

layers.

*A solid background colour in

lilac pink [ colour filter

selection in top left].

*A colour photograph of

flowers and decorations.

*A sandy coloured banner with

two text boxes.

*A simple line of text box at

the bottom of the pin with the

name of the URL that this pin is

linking back to.

With these four elements you can be as creative as you like

and design a pin template which is in perfect alignment with

your author branding, book cover designs and social media

profiles online.

It is very easy to create your own template pin so let’s start

from scratch.


THE BACKGROUND COLOUR.

Click on the blank pin then go to the left sidebar and

select Background.

Canva gives you a huge range of background colours and

designs.

I would usually go for a solid colour such as an aqua

shade.

In the top left there is a Colour Filter box which displays

the shade that you have selected.

Click on the + box to bring up the complete hex code

range of colours.

The clever thing with Canva is that you can match the

colour of any element of your pin to the exact same shade

used in your website or social media platform graphics

using the hex code.


Once you select the colour then Canva will save it as a

favourite.

THE IMAGE

In most cases, you want to add a background image to

the design.

Canva has a wide range of free photos that you can find

the elements tab in the sidebar.

If you want to use your own graphics, then go to the

Uploads tab in the sidebar and upload the image onto

Canva.

I tend to use photos that I have purchased from stock

photo sites such as Shutterstock and IStock together with

free to use photos from Canva and sites such as

Unsplash.com.

https://www.shutterstock.com/home

https://www.istockphoto.com/gb

https://unsplash.com/


For example. Let’s use the graphic of a keyboard and

accessories that I have already uploaded onto Canva.

Click on the image, then use the guidelines Canva gives you to

centre and align the design on the pin.

You can drag the corners of the image to resize it or crop it to

fit your design.


THE SOLID COLOUR SHAPE

Go to the Elements tab in the sidebar and then Shapes.

You are looking for a white filled rectangle or square

shape.

The black shapes are outlines only.

The white fill indicates that you can change the colour of

this shape to any shade you want to use.

How do you use Solid Shapes?

As coloured backgrounds for your text.

Use the gridlines to align the shape centrally, move it around

and resize then change the colour if you wish using the Colour

filter in the top left.


Any problems – click on the Position tab on the top right to

move the colour block shape in front of the image or behind

the image.

For example. I’m going for a dark blue solid colour, so that the

text will be highlighted if I select white or yellow letters.

I have aligned the shape so that it fits in with the image – and

still leaves a small background border so that the pin is clear to

read on the system.


THE TEXT

Now it’s time to add a Text Box layer onto the blue colour

shape. Click on Text in the sidebar, then Add a Text Box.

The text box has handles on each side you can drag out to

adjust the position of the text inside the box.

You can also drag the box to any position on the pin.

There are two things you need to do now:

• Select the font you want to use for the text.

• Select the size of the font.

• Select the colour of the font.

As you type the name and size of the font will appear in the

upper left bar.

The text box is added as a layer on top of the colour shape and

each element is separate.

At this stage you can move the colour block and text around

the pin, change the colours, or even go back and change the

image until you are happy with the core custom design.


In this simple example I changed the colour of the font to

white, and used a clean font like Lato, 48 point, all in capitals.

I now need one more line of text to complete the template –

my web address. This is usually at the bottom of the pin.

So, go back to Text in the sidebar and then Add a text box.

In this worked example I decided to

add another solid colour bar just to

make the web address even more

prominent and this time went for

the pink colour in the lilacs.

This time the font was Arimo, 42

point, all lower case.

Note: The solid shape and the text

box are independent, so if you

move the text, you will also have to

move the shape behind it.


When you are happy with the design:

*Click the title bar at the top and

change the title to “Pin Template” or

similar.

*Download the image as a PNG onto

your computer. You can select the

Jpeg option, but PNG is usually better

quality for web display.

Your design will automatically be saved in Canva.

I would recommend having a folder on your computer which is

specifically for images and pins.

You are now ready to create a new pin on Pinterest with this

image.

TO CREATE A NEW PIN FROM YOUR

TEMPLATE

Each design in Canva is called a page.

Simply click on “Copy page” to make a copy of the pin inside

that folder in Canva. You can now change the text and possibly

the image, then download

your new pin.

Once you have the

standard pin, you can

experiment and have fun

with your template, then

use the same basic design

for all of your pins.


HOW TO USE CANVA – WORKED EXAMPLE #2

USE TRANSPARENT COLOUR LAYERS AND MULTIPLE TEXT

BOXES TO CREATE DEPTH AND INTEREST

This pin has five elements

1. The stock photo image of the computer and accessories.

2. A solid bottom shape of very pale pink to match the base

colour of the image – this extends the image and makes it

appear as though it was one piece of art work.

3. A narrow solid block shape for the bottom of the pin in

dark pink where I can place the URL of my web address.

4. A solid double ribbon line in red.

5. A second square solid block shape in pink. The key thing

to note here is that I have changed the transparency of

this block using the transparency slider tool so that the

underlying image can still be seen. Click on the pin to see

these additional tools.


Top Tip. I want to use several different sizes of the same

font in the main text.

You can only use one size and font in each text box in

Canva. So, this pin needed 3 separate text boxes. 10

BRILLIANT. Lato 64 in Black. PINTEREST. Lato 80 in

Red. Marketing Strategies for Authors. Lato 78 lower

case in Black.


For the URL link text in the dark pink bottom solid bar shape

I have used Poppins Light 32 lower case in white as a visual

contrast.

The URL hyperlink will be in the pin description when you

create the new pin.

.


HOW TO USE CANVA – WORKED EXAMPLE #3

DESIGN A CUSTOM BOARD COVER TO MATCH

YOUR AUTHOR BRAND

Board covers are pins will be displayed full-size for each board.

Part of your author branding is how you organize your Pinterest

boards with consistent branding.

I am looking for something super simple, attractive, colourful

and easy to read. The text has to “pop” against the white page

background so that it clear.

Then save that design to use as a template branding for all

your board covers.

Size.

The recommended size for a Pinterest pin is 735 pixels by 1102

pixels on Canva.

But what you will find is that the cover image of the pin

displayed on the Pinterest board is actually square.

So, a normal sized pin would be too long, and the image and

text would be cut off.

The best way to get around this is to create a custom

image size. Square 600 x 600 pixels


HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM BOARD COVER

ON CANVA.

Go to Canva.com. and create a free account if you don’t

already have one.

Then go to the top right and click on Custom Dimensions.

Type in 600 x 600 and select pixels [px]. Then click Create

new design.

You will then be presented with a blank canvas to work with.



Click the title bar at the top and change the title to

“Pinterest Board Cover” or similar.

Here is the template board cover template that I created for

my new Kindle Publishing board using Canva.

There are three things you need to include in a board cover.

COLOUR.

If possible, the colours you select for your board cover should

match your author brand if you already have a website and

social media platform.

Canva will give you a full range of background colours, shapes

and transparency options. If you know the hex code for your

website design, you can match it perfectly.

In my example, I used a dark navy background cover then

added my own image which I uploaded to Canva.


STYLE. THE BOARD COVER – LIKE ALL OF THE PINS –

SHOULD REFLECT YOUR BRAND.

It could be business-like and monochrome, or fun and witty

with bright icons or graphic images that you have uploaded

onto Canva. Book covers can work if the text is clear, but you

may need to crop the image to make it fit.

In my example, I selected a bright floral image which I liked

and reflected my brand. This particular image of lilacs came

from Juja Han on Unsplash.

THE BOARD TITLE FONT DESIGN AND SIZE.

The text box on your design has to be clear and easy to read

and larger than the size you would use on a pin.

This is not the place for elaborate fonts and decoration.

The purpose of the board cover is to tell the Pinterest user

what the pins on this board are all about in a few words.

The description of your board cover will give them more

information and include keywords and keyword phrases which

you can imagine someone typing into the search bar on

Pinterest. If you can incorporate a keyword into your text – all

the better. Pinterest reads the text on your pins.

In my example, I did struggle to find the perfect font but finally

went for a simple, non-serif font which was clean and easy to

read against the background colour.

When you are happy with the design, download a PNG of the

image to your computer.

https://unsplash.com/photos/OVhbu6ONCEk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

https://unsplash.com/search/photos/lilacs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText


HOW TO USE THE CANVA IMAGE AS A BOARD

COVER

Then create a new pin in Pinterest using this image as the pin

image.

Give this pin the same title and description as you used when

you created the board. But this time add some additional

keywords or phrases to make it super easy for someone to find

this pin and therefore your board, if they were typing a search

phrase into the Pinterest search bar.

In this case, I want the reader to go directly to the Amazon

book page.

Then save the pin to your board.


TO USE THIS PIN AS A BOARD COVER

Go to the board and click Edit (or open up the board and click

the pencil button).

Click Change Cover and scroll across and select the new board

cover pin that you have saved.

Click Save Changes to save the cover, then Save Changes to

save the board.

You now have a board with at least one pin and a branded

board cover.

A consistent board cover design adds to your author branding

and platform.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about how to use Canva, including

detailed tutorials and design inspiration – go to

https://support.canva.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NINA HARRINGTON. COM

https://support.canva.com/

https://ninaharrington.com/

HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST - Nina Harrington · HOW TO USE CANVA TO CREATE PINTEREST PINS...

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