What are templates?
Template / Templates
(n) /ˈtɛmpleɪt,ˈtɛmplət/
a shaped piece of rigid material used as a pattern for processes such as cutting out, shaping, or drilling.
something that serves as a model for others to copy.
"the plant was to serve as the template for change throughout the company"
COMPUTING
a preset format for a document or file.
BIOCHEMISTRY
a nucleic acid molecule that acts as a pattern for the sequence of assembly of a protein, nucleic acid, or other large molecule.
"secondary structure in the template strand is eliminated"
a timber or plate used to distribute the weight in a wall or under a support.
Templates are preformatted documents and graphics, intended to speed up the creation of said documents or graphics. For example, business cards, letterhead, proposal documents, slide deck presentations, social media graphics, Pinterest etc.
There are essentially two types of templates:
Default Templates: These templates are part of your business and cannot be changed.
Custom Templates: These templates are created by a person or business and can be edited over and over.
Why should you use templates for your graphics and documents?
Creating something from scratch every single time is hard! It’s time consuming and it can cause procrastination and may mean that you don’t actually create anything at all!
When I first started in business, I created everything from scratch and it took forever! Even though I am quite capable of creating something from scratch, I still have lots and lots of templates that I use regularly in my business. Everything from social media templates to captions - we all need help occasionally!
I see a lot of clients that haven’t started using their own brand kit, even though they have a full website with colours, fonts and photographs. Their social media can look like a mishmash of designs or it changes daily.
One of the most important reasons for having your brand kit is that our DREAM clients start to recognise us, either by our imagery or by the way we write our posts or say something.
For example, I start my emails and videos with ‘hello beautiful’. I did a video without it one day and my friend commented straight away - she said it didn’t sound like me! She’s a business owner too - thanks Michelle.
Taking the time to find a set of templates or paying for someone to create a set of templates can save you money (and also mean you are making more money as you have more time!).
The thing we do the most is bespoke designs for ebooks, social media and presentation or slide decks. If business owners didn’t want bespoke templates, we would have to think of some other way to be in business!
How do you stand out from the crowd?
I get it - you don’t want to look like everyone else using the same template. If you customise them in the right way, you absolutely will not.
You can use the templates provided for free on Canva if you wish. However, simply changing a colour, a font and a photo doesn’t make it your brand.
You need to add your flair, your uniqueness - what is that for you? Is it a specific colour splash or a feather or a splodge or the way you write a post?
Searching through hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of templates on Canva can be daunting - don’t let this happen to you.
Having a set of graphics and documents created for your business may cost you money but it will end up saving you money. As I said above, you have more time because you’re not spending it scrolling through Pinterest or Google looking for something that probably doesn’t even exist!
Do you need templates for your business? Let us help you.
Jess from @chartingwithjess came to me as she was struggling to create a YouTube channel banner, a subscribe button, an email signature and a couple of carousels for her fertility coaching business. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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She now has amazing branded content that she can reuse over and over again (as I also give my clients the templates and teach them how to use them if they are unsure).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We loved working with all the amazing colours and icons that Jess already had for her business. Here's what she said:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"When I reached out to Jo the process was so quick and easy to get things started. I absolutely loved the graphics Jo created for my business and she definitely went above and beyond my expectations"⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Get ready for some fun and magic on your designs!
Meet your magical Canva Designer + Trainer
Jo Draper is a Gold Coast based Canva Designer and Trainer.
She is a creative business owner who brings her inner child to work every day and always has a hint of fun and magic in her day and work.
Jo loves serving business owners on a journey to hit six and seven figures with her 1:1 services as well as courses, workshops and digital products.
Jo shares her knowledge of Canva as well as other tools that she loves for CRM, email marketing and other business systems.
You will usually find a Disney quote in her blog posts as she is quite a fan and loves to create magic from some amazing quotes.
When she’s not working, she enjoys Marvel movies, loves chocolate and listens to audiobooks while walking.
To work with Jo, fill out her contact form here.
Jo also hosts a podcast called Beautiful Conversations with Jo where she chats about her journey with breast cancer as well as other personal stuff. Check it out at www.livevirtually.com.au/podcast.
Interested in learning how to get started with your Canva designs? Check out www.livevirtually.com.au/work-with-us and let Jo help you create your own fun and magic!