How to Create Promotional Materials Using Canva’s AI Features

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Creating eye-catching promotional materials is essential for any business owner looking to make a mark and attract customers.

But let’s be real, it’s not always that simple. Designing something that stands out can be a headache, or even worse, a costly affair.

And with limited funds but a ton of work to handle these days, it can feel overwhelming!

You’ve got the products, uko na passion, but hiring a graphic designer haiko exactly kwa budget ya biz saa hii.

And trying to figure out kutumia Photoshop? 😅Do you want those gorgeous promo images to go with a great personal brand?

Check out this article

Hapa ndio where Canva comes in. Tuta kushow how to use Canva’s free version kucreate beautiful, professional-looking promotional materials that can help you grow your biz.

With Canva's free version, plus their AI Features, utaweza kuunda great promo materials to showcase your products and services both online and offline in a way that can boost biz yako.​

Cheki hii article Every Gen Z Entrepreneur Should Know!

Muhammed ako na shop ya cosmetics pale Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Ana specialize in making and packaging women's beauty kama lip glosses, body oils, refill perfumes, na essential oils.

Recently ame realise that essential oils haziko as well-known kwa customers wake kama his other products.

So anataka kuzipromote on Instagram. Where to Get Capital for Your Biz

Wacha tuone how he uses Canva kumake promo materials for his biz.

If you’re completely new to Canva, usi worry— ni super easy to get started.

Canva ni an online design tool that helps you create everything from Instagram posts to product labels.

Hauhitaji any design background hapa. Na uzuri, inawork right from your smartphone ama computer.

To get started, just go to www.canva.com or download Canva app kutoka Play Store or App Store.

Create a free account using your email, Google, or Facebook login—and that’s it, uko ndani!

1. Free Canva – which gives you access to thousands of templates, fonts, photos, and some AI tools.

2. Canva Pro – for a little money, unapata extra features kama background remover, premium templates, na other branding tools.

The free version of Canva AI lets you ask up to 5 AI queries per day.

Make sure umezitumia vizuri zisiishe. But zikiisha, usijali unapewa zingine tano kesho, just come back the next day.

Discover How to Make Money with Digital Products: A No-Nonsense Guide

👉🏽 Tuta focus on only what you can do kwa the free version. But trust me, it’s more than enough to create amazing promotional materials for biz yako.

But kama umekaa fiti kimfuko and you’d like to learn how to upgrade to Canva Pro, cheki 👉🏽 hii article hapa

Rada. Let’s dive in.

it’s much easier than kuanzia from scratch. With Canva open;

• Search for what you’ve decided to make. Kama ni picha ya Facebook, Insta ama X, kuwa specific ili upate template that you like na in the correct size.

For Muhammed, ana search ‘Instagram Essential Oils Post’

• The next step after kusearch ni kuscroll na kutafuta style na taste yako yenye inafit biz.

Kumbuka templates hapa ziko in 1000s, so angalia mpaka upate one that matches your vibe.

• Pick ile imekubamba. Muhammed anachagua hii ya ‘Hydrating Serum’.

• Click on template yenye umechagua to open it

Hapa ndio creativity yako na imagination come in. Muhammed’s anataka kuunda posts zitaonyesha the following things;

• Jina ya Biz yake- Binti Cosmetics

• Photos kali za products anataka kupromote- Essential Oils

• Sales line kali inavutia customers

• Phone number customers wanaweza tumia

• Brand colours yeye hutumia kwa biz na in his other posts

•Templates hukuja na stuff mob na zingine huhitaji.

Step one, toa all the elements that you don’t want kwa your final posters- kama photos.

1. Ongeza element inaitwa ‘frame’. Hizi ni shapes that allow you to crop photos into whatever shape unataka by simply dragging and dragging photos on top of the frame.

2. Go to elements.

3. Click on frames.

4. Chagua the frame of your choice. Muhammed anachagua a circle.

You can use any popular shape, or also make your own custom shapes.

Sasa Muhammed anataka picha kali za essential oils na the ingredients zimetumika.

But he doesn’t have those available. So anataka kitu attractive bila set up kubwa ya kupiga picha na kutafuta ingredients.

• Hapa ndio AI inaingia. Let’s see how ana generate the exact photos he wants.

Hii step inataka creativity na imagination. Usiji limit. You will need to be creative to write a good prompt yenye the AI can understand and use to create images for you.

Kuwa as descriptive as possible to get the best outcome.

⚠️NOTE: The free version of Canva AI inakupea up to 5 queries per day. Make sure unazitumia vizuri so you don’t get locked out. See: 12 PROFITABLE HUSTLES MESHERS DO.

Unaandika aje a good AI prompt for image generation?

• Kuwa specific – Describe exactly what you want: the objects, mood, colours, background, materials, and style (e.g., "editorial," "minimalist," "hand-drawn").

• Include context ama purpose unataka kutumia hizo picha– Mention where or how the image will be used (like "Instagram poster," "product label," or "website banner") to guide the composition.

• Tumia adjectives visual ku set the scene – Words kama “glossy,” “sharp,” “bright,” or “vintage” help shape the look and feel.

• Keep it natural – Describe it like ni kama unaongelesha beshte yako photographer ama designer, sio a robot. Pia make it clear whether unataka text or not on the images, especially kama unataka kitu realistic.

Hii ndio prompt Muhammed anatumia and na output he gets:

High-quality, editorial-style photo of an essential oil bottle with a blank, empty white label (no text).

The bottle should look elegant and minimal. Place lavender flowers behind it for a natural, calming background.

Keep the focus sharp on the bottle.

Anabambika! Hizi picha ni exactly the style anatafuta, so he re-uses the same prompt to generate more images for hizo posts zingine by changing the background to show; Lavendar, Rosemary na Peppermint.

Pia wewe unaweza fanya the same. Kama prompt imework, reuse it!

• AI ikikupea image umependa, click on it and Canva will automatically place it on top of your design

• Unakumbuka frame tulikuwa tumeongeza? Drag and drop your image on the frame to crop it. Just like this:

•Sasa tuko na the main feature, unaweza edit the whole design; Tap on any element and change text, colours na contact details to fit biz yako na what you want your customers to know.

Cheki: How MESHers Used Loans From Jiinue To Improve Their Businesses!

Cheki final design ya Muhammed.

Hizi ndizo the changes amemake:

• Jina ya biz at the top; Binti Cosmetics

• The product name; Essential Oils

• Description fupi ya kuvutia customers

• Characteristics na benefit za product hapo kwa template style

• Anaongeza some custom text ya kuplace hapo on the blank label ya chupa iwache kuwa plain

• Na mwisho anaongeza his biz phone number clearly and prominently.

To maintain the clean style he's going for, ana decide ataweka other details kwa the caption on Instagram.

🎯 Design Tip: Jaribu ku stick to 1-2 fonts max, and use consistent brand colours for great designs that match the vibe of your biz.

Download design yako and post it on Instagram or any other social media channel you want.

Cheki Muhammed’s final posters as inspiration:

🎯 Bonus Tip: Ni easy ku re-use images across different channels, but una make the best use of your posts ukitumia the right sizes.

Yaani, tumia portraits kwa Insta stories na whatsapp stories badala ya squares.

Hii ndio maani ni important kuchagua the right sizes kwa step 1 ya kutafuta templates.