Why You Should Promote Your Blog
When I first started the blog I didn't care whether people saw it or not, because in the long run, it was something fun for me to do. Well a year later the blog is still incredibly fun, but my thought process has changed as far as sharing my work.
Even though I post weekly my blog is also my author page. What does this mean?
Back in February I launched my first ever children's book, Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss, which went on to be a best seller. With it doing so well and seeing the overwhelming support and involvement from individuals I decided it would be best to promote the blog considering how much valuable information I was able to share when it came to self-publishing.
After researching the best ways to promote your blog I noticed Pinterest was one of the top ways to advertise.
I used to be a huge Pinterest fanatic spending hours pinning to my boards. While doing so I always wondered how people were able to come up with the professional images for the pins.
Again and again I saw people mentioning Canva.com as a way to create and upload professional looking images for several apps including Pinterest. So I decided to give it a try.
Once learning the ins and outs of Canva, I was able to upload my blog posts directly to Pinterest- a search engine in itself! Not only that, but I was able to share my pins to other accounts such as Facebook.
Because of Canva, and promoting on Pinterest, I've now seen an uptick in subscribers and views to my site Kali Kuzma Author and Storyteller.
Here's how to get started on creating amazing pins for people to see while promoting your blog!
How to use Canva.com
Canva.com is super easy to navigate when you first sign up for an account. It takes you step by step depending on what you are looking for.
**There is a free version and a month to month Pro subscription. I currently use the free version as there are hundreds if not 1000's of options on the site to choose from. If you are looking for more options the monthly subscription of $9.99 might be for you.**
Since I was going to promote my blog on Pinterest I simply typed the word into the search bar which brought up several suggestions for templates.
After selecting the size you want(I go with the first options always) it brings you to 'Your Designs' page where you're able to create your pin.
Keep in mind if you're looking for something specific there are already premade templates which you can use by changing a few elements or keep as is. These premade templates are great to look at beforehand so you can get some inspiration/see what works while creating your pin.
Otherwise you get to start from scratch(This is my favorite!). Along the left side of your page there are several widgets including templates, elements, photos, texts, and more for you to play with.
Canva is super customizable making it easy to create exactly what you looking for. Here are some of my favorite pins I have created!
Here is a lovely pin for this post!
Even though the short story is actually a cute one, instead of scary, I think this looks like a movie poster!
Once you have created multiple templates you can use them over and over again by switching out a few images or words so you don't have to start from scratch every time.
Once you finished, download your image to upload to Pinterest!
How to Pin Your Canva Photo on Pinterest
If you have a Pinterest account already great! If not, you will need to sign up for one first.
I already had a pre-existing account, but since it was a personal account I had to switch some of my boards over to archived or locked. The only boards remaining where related to the blog and/or writing. I did this on purpose as it creates a niche topic for people to follow.
Then the fun part began! Uploading my newly designs pins for Pinterest user to stumble upon in their feed.
The process is super easy and only takes a few minutes.
The first step is clicking on the board you would like to pin to. In this case I have a board for only my blog posts.
Once you are in your board you will see a big plus sign + at the bottom of the page. Click this to get started.
You will see the word Pin at the top of this button. Click this to bring you to the upload page.
On the upload page there will be 4 sections to fill out. These take only a few minutes.
Click the arrow pointing up to upload your image you created on Canva.com. Once this has uploaded add a title to your image. I usually keep the same title my image has so it is consistent throughout.
Next is filling out the description of your pin. Here I try to include as many keywords as possible which helps more people see it while searching for ideas. The more words the better!
Last, I copy and paste the URL of my blog post directly to my pin so when people click on it the link brings them directly to Kali Kuzma Author and Storyteller.
After you have filled out all four sections double check everything is spelled correctly!
Hit the red Save button found in the upper right hand corner. You have now created your first pin for everyone to see!
Final Thoughts
Like I mentioned before using Canva.com and uploading your pins to Pinterest has increased traffic to my site. It is a simple and easy way to promote to others, and it only takes a few minutes once you get the hang of it.
In the comments below, leave a link to some of your favorite pins you've created on Canva.com. I would love to see them.
I always use Canva for creating new pins. It's so easy to use :) Ivana
I find I get more engagement from the new idea pins. Here is one I made. https://pin.it/6odlnWn
This is great! Canva has been a life saver for my business.