Create Atomic Essays Fast in Canva

What is it?

Atomic Essays are a core element in Dickie Bush's and Nicolas Cole's writing framework, Ship 30 for 30. They are 250-word stories, presented as images attached to tweets. I'm starting to see them everywhere on Twitter.

But there's only one problem: From a design standpoint, most of them are deadly dull.

So I created a set of 3 colorful, easy-to-use Atomic Essay templates in Canva, along with illustrated instructions on how to use them.

Create more visually engaging tweets - quickly and easily!

Who am I?

I am Chuck Frey. I have been a solopreneur, marketer and visual thinker for over 20 years. I have a deep understanding of branding and how to design visuals that break through the clutter, command attention and communicate clearly.

Canva is my go-to tool of choice to produce most of the web graphics for my website (The Mind Mapping Software Blog), my Medium channel and social media posts. Why? Because it's easy and intuitive.

Why did I create this?

Ship 30 for 30 only gives you two options for designing Atomic Essay images: You can build them in its proprietary Typeshare Twitter platform or design them in Figma, a complex tool that's used for UX and website design.

The latter is a bit like going duck hunting with an anti-aircraft gun. It's overkill! Figma isn't very intuitive, and it contains a wealth of obscure tools that the average Ship 30 For 30 writer doesn't need.

I searched for Atomic Essay templates for Canva, but couldn't find any. I saw an opportunity to create a set of templates that are attractive, engaging and - most importantly of all - very easy to customize to your needs.

I also wanted to contribute something of value to the growing Ship 30 for 30 community. I love what Dickie and Nic are doing, and I want to support it.

Why Canva? It has become the world's most popular graphics tool because it's so simple, ANYONE can use it. There's little or no learning curve.

Problems you may be facing

• If you Google Atomic Essay templates, there are only a handful available
• They are either very basic (Typeshare) or are deadly dull (Figma)
• If you don't have graphic design skills, creating your own templates is hard and time-consuming. As a creator, "rolling your own" isn't a good use of your time
• Twitter users are discerning. As they see more Atomic Essays in their feeds, you'll need to work harder to capture their attention. A basic text-only template won't be enough.
• If you want to make your Atomic Essays match your personal brand, you don't have any real options. Until now.

What you'll get

• 3 templates you can fill in with your Atomic Essay content or customize to meet your branding or preferences - quickly and easily.
• Illustrated instructions that explain how to customize these simple templates (even if you have no graphic design skills)

Benefits of using these templates

• Differentiate your Atomic Essays from other Ship 30 for 30 students
• Capture more attention and an engagement for your Atomic Essays
• Produce them on a platform that combines flexibility, ease of use and visual impact
• Save you time that you'd otherwise need to invest to create them on your own

FAQs

Why aren't existing Atomic Essay templates good enough?

Like other online users, denizens of Twitter are skimming. Their feeds are packed with tweets that are shouting for their attention. A well-designed Atomic Essay image gives you a better chance of stopping them and persuading them to read your stories.

When you're trying to capture the attention of a busy, distracted audience in a busy social media feed, you need every advantage you can get.

Can't I just design my own Atomic Essay templates?

You could, if you knew what size to make them and how to arrange text, graphics, colors and other design elements in an attractive way. Trial and error? You're a creator, trying to share your ideas with the world. You don't have time for that!

Will these templates save me time and hassle?

Absolutely. They enable you to focus on what you do best - creating amazing content - not messing around with the minutiae of a complex graphics tool that was never designed to do something like this.

What if I have some graphic design skills?

That's great! If you're an existing Canva user or have used other tools for creating web graphics, you'll be able to easily figure out how to modify these simple templates. Use the illustrated instructions to figure out where the essential tools you need are located within the Canva interface.

The illustrated instructions are provided for those who haven't used a tool like Canva before. They walk you step-by-step on how to modify each element of the template designs. It's easy!

How much does Canva cost? Is there a free option?

Canva offers a free plan that provides a limited library of graphics and stock images. Canva Pro offers much larger libraries of design resources. It's a worthwhile investment at $12.99 per month. You can use it to create images and graphics for blog posts, social media messages, presentations and much more.

How long will it take me to create an Atomic Essay using these templates?

Making a fresh copy of the template, pasting your Atomic Essay headline and body text into the template and exporting it as a PNG file only takes a few minutes.

If you decide to modify the template, no more than 15-30 minutes. As I said before, Canva is very intuitive and easy to use.