How to Turn a Blog Post into a Slide Deck Using Canva
Repurposing content seems to be all the rage at the moment. With so many platforms available to share our content, I for one feel a bit of pressure to be everywhere at once.
(Pssst! I also made a checklist to guide you through this step-by-step. Download it below!)
Download the Blog Post to Slide Deck Guide!
Fortunately, there are tools out there that make this a breeze: all you have to do is create something brilliant once, and it can be recycled again and again!
That part doesn’t need to be a pain either: I’ve worked out a quick and simple way to turn a blog post into a Slidehare using Canva.
Slideshare? Learn what and why
One reason people are getting hooked on Slideshare, is that naturally we LOVE visual content. We devour the bright, clear, easy to digest nature of infographics and presentations.
In fact, we process visual information 60,000 times quicker than plain text. With our increasingly fruitfly-esque attention, it’s probably a wise choice to start making the most out of images.
Plus, you might know how much I advocate using images on social media – we are 44% more likely to share those posts anyway.
Canva? Learn what and why
In truth, there are plenty of great online (and yes, FREE) apps out there that make image creation (read: good image creation) a simple and accessible task.
The fact that I often choose Canva over Photoshop to create quick images for social media posts is telling. I just love the speed you can whip up an image, add text, even add some sexy filters and have it in the correct dimensions for pretty much any social media platform you want.
One of those being… Slideshare!
Ok, so you’ve written an epic post. You have a couple of images peppered in there, you’ve used headings and lists when necessary…
Wait, you haven’t? Go back and do that! Before you begin, you need to make sure your original blog post is formatted in a way that makes all your information super digestible.
Now let’s begin…
Step 1: Identify your key points
If you’ve used headings or lists in your post like we just discussed, this step should be nearly done already.
The point is you have bite-sized pieces of information, that can be adapted for slides in a presentation.
An example of using numbers, lists and bold headlines to make your text more digestible.
No one reads slides longer than 6-10 words anyway.
Top tip: I actually go old-school when planning my presentations. Just draw some rectangles and jot down one key point in each. It feels good to hold a pencil again!
Step 2: Trim the fat
As with much in life, the same goes with presentations: less is more.
The beauty of Slideshare is that you can very easily link to your blog so that your viewers can read the full post.
Try to whittle your slide count down to the bare need-to-know basics, and you’ll be left with a punchier presentation.
Top tip: The best presentations I’ve seen on Slidehare are no more than 30 slides.
For example, I love this Slideshare on blogging from Andrea La Rosa:
Step 3: Gather your images
You likely have an image or two in your original post, but your presentation will need more. Ideally, keep the image style consistent - colours and fonts should be in-line with your brand.
By adding illustrations or background images to slides, you:
- Keep your audience’s focus, and
- End up with a more shareable presentation
A few tips about selecting images for your slides:
- Use high-resolution photos (in the range of 1000 pixels)
- Avoid cheesy stock photos - keep your brand in mind
- Keep the background images simple if you’re putting text over them
- Keep any illustrations consistent in style (eg. photographic or vector or hand-drawn…)
- Keep colour-scheme simple and consistent
- Don’t go overboard on fonts: pick 1-2 max. (for example: one for headings, one for body copy)
Step 4: Put it together
Now you’re ready to start putting things together in Canva.
Although Canva is very accessible even for first time users, I’ll run through some of the key steps:
Step 1: Sign up/log in
Step 2: Click ‘More’ to open more templates - you’ll find the Presentation templates there
Step 3: Select your template (either works for Slideshare)
Step 4: Upload your images (many of Canva’s own are free, some cost a $1)
Step 5: Add your text
A few more things to keep in mind…
Make your first slide super eye-catching
This is what everyone will see when browsing on Slideshare - keep the text large and easy to read even at a thumbnail size (currently thumbs are being displayed at 220×165 pixels - that’s pretty small!)
When browsing featured presentations on Slideshare, you can see how small your presentation might be seen
I love this Slideshare with Seth Godin - how could you not want to click on that face!?
Experiment with grids
Designers have been using grids for centuries. But you don’t have to go to art school to learn how to use ’em - Canva has your back!
If you click on Elements and then select Grids, you can pick your choice of beautiful ready-made grids.
Dropping images into these, and leaving some blank to put text over, will instantly give your slides a more ‘pro’ feel.
Include a clickable call-to-action (CTA) at the end
You can turn any element (background image, text, graphic) into a clickable link in Canva.
This could lead to you full blog post or any other page you want your audience to take action on.
Step 5: Upload to Slideshare
Boom! Once you’re done, download your presentation as a PDF.
Then, get yourself over to Slideshare.net and log in. (If you have a LinkedIn account you can use that.)
Top tip: You can also embed your Slideshare on your original blog post - great for people who want to get the gist of the post without reading the whole thing.
Now you’re done!
The best part is, you have all those slides to share separately on your other social media accounts too.
May your blog post live long and prosper!
BONUS STEP: Download the free checklist
Ok, you don’t have to do this one… but if you want a simple way to keep track of all these steps you can grab this free checklist.
Download the Blog Post to Slide Deck Guide!
I’d like to thank my lovely sources for providing me with some beautiful example images and stats: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4
A question for you!
Have you experimented with Slideshare and Canva yet? Let me know in the comments!
(Alternatively send me a tweet @creativeintro to let me know if you found this useful)
Awesome guide Cat! I can’t get enough of Canva. It’s probably the one tool I recommend to people more than anything else. Thanks for including my site as a resource!
Thanks so much Dominique! I know it’s a godsend isn’t it!
Nice post! Been using Canva for a long time and always wondered what the presentation feature did. One thing to remember on Slide Share is that links need to go on the 4th slide or higher otherwise they won’t work.