Use Canva and Templates to Style Images for Smart Blog Post Curation

Solopreneur pals it can be stressful and feel time-intensive to keep up with content marketing. Especially if you feel you have to create new content all the time. But wait! There are ways to be consistent in content marketing without starting from scratch every day. You can use content shortcuts or licensed content as a brain starter. You can repurpose content across platforms as a time-saver. You can fill in content gaps by smartly sharing other people’s content with smart content curation. And Canva is an easy way to help you create your curations.

Content curation is not copying. That’s a big no-no and you already know that!

Content curation is not just re-posting something or sharing a link out via social media.

It’s more than just compiling a list of links and throwing them on a page.

Smart content curation means you add your own insights, why you are sharing something, and add value while bringing valuable content to your audience.

You are giving credit to the original source, even sending them some nice keyword, back-link juice. You clearly quote your source. You are doing favors both for your audience and the original content creator.

If you’re low on time, running around with clients, juggling multiple projects – instead of letting your blog sit dark and dormant – curate some content over there and help your people!

As a trained, degreed library professional before I went out on my own as a marketing coach, I know a thing or two about curating content and doing it safely and legitimately. Think about it – libraries are giant collections of curated content. Librarians are constantly searching out and then displaying and sharing new books, new films, new homework help, and new resources to help their particular communities. You can literally ‘borrow a page’ from them!

My coach and pal Kelly McCausey runs a Smart Curation Skills challenge and it kicks me in the but with a giant “D’UH why don’t I do this more often” every time I’ve taken it. Even if you miss the live week-long challenge you can get the tips, demo videos, and take on a 5-day challenge of your own any time of year.

Kelly says about smart curation:

“Think of curation as your ‘Easy Button.’ Other smart people are creating all kinds of amazing content that your people can benefit from. When you’re the person to introduce it, you gain authority by simple association.”

Content curation is a smart, easy way to be more consistent with your content marketing.

What Does a Curated Post Look Like?

First up, curated posts are not long.

Tell ‘em what you’re sharing, show the thing, tell ‘em why you’re sharing, and encourage your readers to go check out this other valuable post. That’s it!

One way we make sure we’re on the up-and-up with our curation is to never take another site’s images – don’t link to their image (that could break and it’s on the line for fair use). We instead take a screenshot to show what and where we are curating.

I also usually add a link back to the original post as the image link.

Kelly and I each like to style the images in way to show we ‘borrowed’ or screen-captured them – that they aren’t ours. Kelly loves Snagit + Photoshop. Me, I’m a looooong time Canva girl. (I do have SnagIt and like it a lot!)  You can create blog post images – including curation posts – using the design or image tool of your choice. Don’t over think it!

You can use the many frames in Canva to style an image so it’s more clear it’s a screen-capture.

Below is a short demo video of me using the built-in-to-Firefox screenshot tool and my already created blog post image templates in Canva (affiliate). I use Canva (affiliate) frame elements to style them in a way that makes it a littler clearer the image is not original to me.

If you want to practice your curation skills to boost your content marketing consistency I highly recommend you check out Kelly’s Smart Curation Skills challenge.

**yes those are my affiliate links for Canva (affiliate) and Kelly’s course but I only share things I test and trust – you’ll never pay more for using my links and could often get a discount**