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Why Procreate Brush Size Memory is perfect for sketchnoters

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In Procreate 5.2 they introduced Brush Size memory, a new feature where you can save multiple sizes for the same brush. Here’s why Brush size memory is great for sketchnoters.

Procreate is great for sketchnotes…except

I love procreate for making sketchnotes. While it can be a bit feature heavy and cumbersome when you first start, the beautiful brushes, multiple layers and powerful export options help me create sketchnotes I like.

why sketchnote with procreate

The only issue with Procreate is that it gives you TOO many options. There are so many brushes and colours that they can get in the way for people who prefer a simpler app like Paper by WeTransfer.

One of my ways around this was to use a single set of “sketchnoting” brushes with about five pens for normal text, headlines, brush lettering, filling, stippling and airbrush effects. This worked well but if I ever adjusted the size of a brush (to move between headline text and subheading, or to add more detail in an icon) it would be near impossible to return to my previous brush size.

Download my procreate brushes for sketch noters

My solution was to duplicate brushes but that made the interface more cumbersome and wasn’t perfect either. I could still adjust these brushes and then not be able to return to my previous state.

This new feature from Procreate has solved that challenge.

How Brush size memory works

The brush size slider has been around for a long time and allows you to increase and decrease the size of your current brush.

Now you just tap the plus icon that appears in the top right corner of the brush size preview and it will add a marker.

This marker has some “magnetism” to it, so as you move up and down the slider in the future and get close to your saved point, the slider will stick there.

Why the brush size memory feature is great for sketchnotes

Let’s say you have a good brush to use for a headline and subheadline, you might want to keep your sub headlines roughly the same size but lose it when you change between canvases.

Not an issue anymore, now you just put two markers down and you can just between the headline and subheadline size.

This can work for sketching and having different size details or to have a tool to fill in large sections or colour in details.

Thank you procreate!

Honestly, this has removed one of my biggest frustrations with procreate and removed the need for my old duplicate brushes. Now I can have fewer brushes in my sketchnote set, more size variety, more consistency of style and jump to the option I want faster.

Thank you procreate.

Creating and using a stock sketchnote header template

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Sketchnoting under pressure can be a real challenge. Having ready to go ideas and templates can help you make something good, quickly, without thinking. You can use templates for the whole sketchnote, but you can also use templates for part of the sketchnote. Recently I came up with a simple stock sketchnote header template that has helped take decisions out of my sketchnoting process and raise the quality of sketchnotes I can create under time pressure.

What should you include in your sketchnote’s header area?

Depending on the topic you are sketchnoting, you may want to include or exclude certain elements. For example, a date may be important to include for a sketchnote on a talk, but not as useful for a sketchnote on a book.

  • Title or topic
  • A picture of the speaker(s) or author(s)
  • The name of the speaker(s) or author(s)
  • The title of what the topic is connected to. (The event, a sermon series, book)
  • A logo (of the event, or the speaker,
An example stock sketchnote header template
An example stock sketchnote header template

What header text should you use?

There are lots of different types of text you can use for your header.

The simplest is to use a “heavier” font, or bold text. This will make it stand out and be clearly legible.

However, depending on the topic, you might want to use a font that is

  • more elegant
  • more futuristic
  • more formal
  • more causal

There is a simple trick you can use if you aren’t sure. By simply placing a basic single line of your text, you can then embellish it later.

Should you always add a portrait?

A portrait can really had character to a sketchnote. But adding a drawing adds pressure for those of us who are less confident with drawing. One option is to add a simple outline in the moment, and you can add details later.

When it comes to actually drawing the portrait, focus on the key details and characteristic attributes of the person you are drawing.

How should you arrange the elements in your header

I recommend setting keeping your title text as the largest element, with a portrait or logo to the left of the text. You can then place any other smaller or less important elements under their respective parts.

How to arrange information in a stock sketchnote header

So you can place the name of the speaker or author under the authors picture, and the date of the event under the title.

Ready to use a stock sketchnote header template?

You don’t have to stick ridgedly to your sketchnote header template, and you can even create one before the event if you are live sketchnoting, or afterwards to help you avoid time pressures.

Do you use a different sketchnote header template? Let me know in the comments.

How to Create A Substack Newsletter in WordPress

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In the last year and a bit a few friends have started sending newsletter using either Substack or Ghost. Both offer a similar service with the option to restrict some or no content and provide the rest for free.
Yesterday I realised that the same effect could be created using WordPress and at a very affordable rate. So here’s how you can make a Substack newsletter in WordPress.

Table of Contents

    The Tech stack

    • an installation of WordPress with a hosting company
    • any basic WordPress theme. I haven’t found anything that looks exactly like substack but the default theme is very minimal.
    • either
      • a dedicated solution like newsletter glue
        • with an email service (Mailchimp is in the free plan free)
      • or a combination of
        • a restrict content plugin like Restrict content (You can use the free or pro version)
        • an email sending service like Mailpoet (or Mailgun for WordPress, Mailchimp, Sendfox or ConvertKit.

    Newsletter glue vs a custom set up

    My initial inspiration for this article was to use the newsletters and plugins that I was familiar with to restrict content. During my research, I discovered the plugin “newsletter glue” an all in one plugin that integrates your WordPress site with a one of the most common newsletter providers.

    The free version of Newsletter glue is sufficient if you want to use mailchimp and lock certain content. If you want to use a different newsletter service like mailerlite or campaign monitor, or you want some of the advanced custom block, the pro version is for you.

    Newsletter glue does have a very easy set up and after filling in your API, you’re good to go. A custom set up would let you use a different email service but I suspect newsletter glue is the best choice for most people.

    Either way, you’ll need content

    The next section focuses on the content you should create and how to set up your homepage and applies to using newsletter glue or a different service. After that there are instruction to create a custom set up using restrcit content pro.

    The content we are going to copy

    When you land on Substack, you are greeted with a sign up form or you can click “let me read it first.” Substack also creates default about pages and subscription pages. So let’s duplicated these.

    Making the homepage

    Substacks homepages are simple and limited. They have

    • an icon,
    • a headline
    • a description
    • an email signup form
    • and a button to let me read first.

    To replicated it, all we need to do is…

    1. Create a page (If you can disable the text on the page, call it whatever you like e.g. home. if it will show up, set this as you headline)
    2. Add an image, set it as a thumbnail size and centre it.
    3. Add a headline (H1 if you can disable the page title as a heading text, h2 if you can’t)
    4. Add a paragraph block with a description
    5. Add your email sign up form
    6. Add a button with the text “let me read first” give it the link to whatever your articles page will be called (blog/newsletters/articles/etc I like “articles” personally)

    If you have newsletter glue pro, you can use the subscribe form block. If you only have the free version, you can use other solutions to get a form to embed such as genesis blocks, mailchimp for WordPress or just getting the HTML code from Mailchimp.

    Make the past issues page

    Create a new page and give it a title like newsletter / articles or blog. Set this as the URL. You don’t need to do anything else to this page, it should be blank.

    In settings, reading, set the page you just created as the “Posts” page. At the same time, make the homepage you created the homepage.

    Making the about page

    About pages are often in the top two most visited pages on your website. The biggest mistake is to make it about you and not the customer. This is on of the core lesson from Marketing Made Simple.
    The substack default content has a simple template you might want to use including

    • Headline (What your newsletter is about)
      • A short description (what sort of content you provide )
    • Why subscribe
      • Some subheadlines including “stay up-to-date and “join the crew”.

    Here are a few tips for a more effective about page

    Speak about what you can do for the reader, not state what it is

    Most about pages describe a thing rather than focus on the benefit for the user. That’s like Pepsi saying their a sugar water drink or a Mercedes being a luxury car from Germany. Focus on how it will help the reader.

    Set expectation

    Tell them how often you send your email, when and what they will get.
    Aim to be as specific as possible but you can give your self wiggle room while you develop the habit.

    For example, “I send a newsletter every Monday morning with tips, tricks and tutorials on video production.” is clear “I send emails approximately weekly on a range of subjects that catch my attention including…” is not as clear but still better than “sometimes I send a newsletter.”

    Include a quote if you have one

    Ask any current subscribers what they like about the newsletter and add that to the about page, that can help guide you to what people like in your newsletter and help convince people to subscribe.

    Writing your first post

    Once you have the rest of your content set up, the only thing to do is write your first post and start promoting your newsletter. You can do this using regular posts and gating some of the content, or you could create a custom post type called something like newsletter and use that for your posts.

    The choice is yours.

    Set up a custom configuration

    While newsletter glue is a great service offering an easy and affordable system, you might want to do something more custom

    Set up your email service

    You can use any email service you want for this but if you want something deeply integrated with WordPress, pick mailpoet.
    Some alternatives I like include

    • Sendfox (my personal recommendation. Start free, one time fee over at Appsumo unless you have big needs.)
    • ConvertKit (great email service, now has a free plan but limited features.)
      Set up the service you pick according to the settings.

    Restrict some of your content

    You could keep your newsletter open to the world with no restrictions. This would help encourage more people to share and aids discoverability in search.

    But if you to convince people to sign up so that you can contact them or you want to make offer a subscription, you’ll need a way to restrict that content.

    I’ve used restrict content pro for a few years after I got it for an online course. It can work for newsletters too. The free version let’s you restrict content so only subscribers can access it, the pro version let’s you charge people for access.

    The free version requires no set up, just pick a post to restrict or use the restrict shortcode to lockaway certain content.

    The pro version has plugins to connect with a newsletter and automatically add subscribers as well as offering a payment gateway.
    An alternative is memberful which let’s you collect payments (minus their 10% cut ) but to offer free memberships, you need to pay a monthly fee.

    Getting Subscribers

    Once you’ve got your technical stack set up, the real challenge is getting subscribers. This could be a post in itself but here’s a couple of quick thoughts.

    1. Go to where your potential subscribers already are.
    2. Create great content
    3. Invite people who would be interested in your topic
    4. Share sneak peeks and invite people to subscribe.

    Ready to make a Substack newsletter in WordPress?

    Substack and Ghost are certainly easier to set up for a restricted newsletter, but if you are interested in a free to start newsletter and want to use WordPress, then it’s perfectly possible to create a Substack like experience.

    How to Make A Linktree replacement in WordPress

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    Disclaimer: This is not a full like for like replacement for linktree in WordPress, but it can satisfy many people’s needs.

    The first “Link in bio” like service I came across was Linktree, a tool to help you get around Instagram’s single link limit and instead direct people to multiple sites. At the time, I remember wondering why people didn’t just get a personal site or set up their landing page but I could also see some benefits.

    After all, Linktree was easy to use and could easily be updated without needing to go to the website team. That’s a big plus for the social media manager who has no interaction with the web team or for the small-time creator who doesn’t want to create a full website.

    Recently, I saw a tweet from Brian Gardner announcing that he was making a WordPress theme that emulated these sorts of Link in bio landing pages. I instantly realized that thanks to Gutenberg blocks I could easily do the same using my existing theme and so could you too.

    Table of Contents

      Why WordPress over something like Linktree?

      If you can make quick and easy edits to your WordPress site (without requiring formal requests to a development team) then there’s a compelling case for making your landing page over using something like Linktree.

      • Price (you’re already paying for WordPress, you can get “pro” linktree features for free)
      • Custom Domain (a pro feature in Linktree, built into your site)
      • Users stay on one site, ignoring the middle step.
      • You can easily duplicate and make unique pages for different services.

      Why use something like Linktree

      The only aspect you can’t get from something like Linktree (as far as I know) is time-based links (i.e. expire after X time or appear after a certain point). Perhaps this is possible in WordPress but I don’t know off the top of my head.
      The other reasons are

      • If you don’t have a WordPress site and don’t want to create one
      • If you want to have a payment gateway/donation button like a service like Kofi
      • If you can’t easily adapt your site (i.e. you are a social media manager, not a website developer)

      In these cases, it might be best to use a linktree-like tool.

      Picking the right theme

      One of the main things you need is a theme that suits a link in bio page. Some core requirements will almost certainly be taken care of nowadays (like being mobile responsive) but there are others you need to watch out for.

      For example, you may want to have a theme that provides a landing page system without a top menu bar or header image. Alternatively, some themes provide options to turn off certain elements on a page or are specifically created to use blocks for the full width.

      The new twenty twenty one theme doesn’t let you turn off the header text (which is why mine shows the headline “links”. An alternative would be something like revolution pro from Studiopress where you can change to a “landing page” page layout.

      Create your link in bio page on WordPress

      Thanks to Gutenberg blocks, you can take a very flexible approach to how you want yours to look. Before you start filling yours in, plan what content you want to include. You should think about the most important links you want to share as well as any email forms, videos or other content to show off. Here are some suggested items you might want to gather.

      • a profile image or logo
      • a short description focused on your customer. (Check out the one-liner in my marketing made simple summary for ideas)
      • A collection of social links to your top accounts
      • An email form for a newsletter or lead magnet
      • A premium offering (apparel /whatever )

      Design and tech tips

      • You can use a circle image outline for your profile to match social media image trends.
      • You can either use the button block or change the background color of your blocks to help them stand out. (Buttons have the advantage of not changing link color once pressed.)
      • You can use the social icons block to include your social media accounts.

      What I did for mine

      First I created a page called Links to act as the foundation. I copied much of my content from my linktree page and started with a very basic setup.

      At first, I changed the background color of my blocks and used links but then I realized buttons would be a better option and I could set their width as 100% to ensure they filled the whole page.

      I included some subheadings to break things up and social icons at the top to link to other pages.

      This matches my minimal theme and looked much the same as my linktree page however it does have the unnatural heading and top nav menu that I’d like to remove.

      It has made me consider changing WordPress themes again but I’ve had some issues with the last theme I was using and want to make sure I can avoid that with any theme I’d change to.

      You could use Notion

      Notion, while not intended to replace a website, can share pages to the internet. Like WordPress, it also has a block based editor and can have links and embeds. The options are perhaps not as easily customizable and you have to do some hacks to get a custom domain, but it can work.

      See an notion example

      Examples

      Dustin Stout’s WordPress Powered links.

      Conclusion

      This really isn’t rocket science and Gutenberg (for all its faults) is largely responsible for the ease of duplicating a service like Link-in-bio with just WordPress. If you are a WordPress user, I’d seriously suggest you consider this approach over a linking service.

      Designing an ideal week calendar

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      I’ve heard many people discuss the benefit of creating an “ideal week” template to help guide your planning. While many of us can’t direct our schedules to achieve our ideal week calendars, it provides a useful reference that we can turn to and guide our planning. In the past, I’ve used a google spreadsheet, but this week I created a new ideal week calendar using iCal.

      Table of Contents

        What is an ideal week calendar?

        An ideal week calendar maps how you wish your week was. If you were in complete control and could set the time you wanted/need for each task, then your calendar would look like the ideal week calendar.
        I’ve created an ideal week schedule (a static doc) before but I’ve only had a calendar for the last couple of weeks and found it helps em feel on track.

        Now when you say ideal…

        You could either approach this in one of two ways.

        1. What you would choose without any external influence. (Ideal = utopia)
        2. How you would allocate your time if everything went according to plan (Ideal = intended).

        While the first is a useful exercise as it helps to highlight the activities we enjoy and dread, providing a guide to help increase and decrease activities accordingly; the second is more practical for day to day planning.

        Why an ideal week calendar helps

        You should review different aspects of your work, life and preferences as you plan your ideal week (prompts below). This review process is valuable on its own. You’ll no doubt notice some tensions between activities you dislike but are valuable or appointments when you do your best work. You might also noticed how well (or not) your current time consumption matches your desires.

        The real value of the ideal week calendar is that it provides a guide for what activities you should and shouldn’t do now. This is a framework to guide what activities you should do now.
        If you are in complete control of your schedule, you can aim to stick to it rigidly; but if your manager has a magic lamp to sum you to any zoom call, you can use ideal week calendar as a guideline to adjust.

        Why you should make an ideal week calendar not a doc

        I first came across the ideal week concept from Michael Hyatt where he advocated using a google spreadsheet to create a doc for your ideal week. That’s a perfectly acceptable option and it’s better for some people to make a doc than a calendar.

        • those who time block and plan every day
        • those who find notifications distracting.
        • For creating your true “ideal” week that you can’t possibly stick to (at least yet).

        But I was taken by the idea of making a calendar I could reference as…

        • I could access this anytime, anywhere
        • I have to adapt on the fly to my manager and co-workers activities but I want a guideline for activities for each day.
        • There are certain infrequent, important but never urgent tasks that can easily get neglected, using this method sets a time each week and provides a prompt to do them.

        How to create your own ideal week calendar

        Below is the five step process I used to create my ideal week calendar. While you don’t have to follow these steps and can probably work it out for yourself, you can use my process for yourself.
        (The review prompts in step on and the final, sixth step are certainly worth considering).

        1. Reflect

        To start, we need to work out what we want to do and when is best to do it. You might want to consider the questions below to help clarify your thoughts.

        • When you are the most and least productive?
        • What activities can you only (or are easiest to) complete at certain times or locations? (i.e. the Gym is half way between work and home so it’s easiest to go before or after work)
        • What activities are the most crucial for you (both for work and personal life.)
        • How much time do you ideally want to dedicate to each area or core task?
        • How little time do you want to set aside for distracting activities (i.e. only 1hr of twitter a week)
        • When should you do your most valuable tasks? (guided by previous points)
        • When should you do your least valuable tasks?
        • What non-moveable appointments do you have?

        2. Create a calendar

        The first step is to create a calendar that you will fill.
        As a Mac and Apple user, I went for an iCal calendar with my iCloud account. If you use Google calendar or a different tool then go for that.
        Using a separate calendar allows you to turn it on and off rather than having “conflicts” with events.

        3. Add the “big rocks”

        With the calendar in place, add the most important task and the non-moveable items. Match your most productive times with your most valuable tasks.
        These should be recurring events not one time events, i.e. a weekly meeting with friends or taking your child to their after-school club, not “taking my kid to camp”. One time events go in your regular calendar.

        4. Fill in the gaps

        With the key tasks in place, you should have some gaps left. These will probably be at times when you aren’t productive or have no clear purpose. The tasks will be part of two groups: those you forget and distractions. For distractions, make sure you set clear limits. For neglected tasks, be careful when you place them.
        If a task is one you often neglect them, there’s a chance that you need more willpower to complete them (but you don’t have it when you normally turn to them).

        5. Review

        At this point, it’s good to review everything. You may have lost the big picture in the details, causing you to not give enough time to certain tasks, or create a schedule that won’t really work.
        Look at the zoomed out view and make some adjustments.

        6. Have the calendar at hand

        The final step is to keep your calendar accessible so you can use it to guide you.
        I have it appear on my Apple Watch in the central complication, showing whatever I want to be doing right now.
        I also keep it in the calendar app on my Mac so I can look at that during the day.

        Have you created an ideal week calendar?

        Do you use an ideal week template or calendar? How has it helped you?

        Creating a personal status board in Trello

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        I was taken by David Spark’s idea of a personal status board to keep track of projects across different themes. As a communications manager, I use Trello to help our team keep track of our projects and assets as well as ease communications. So I decided to use Trello for my own status board (although I’m curious about other options).

        A view of my personal status board in Trello.
        Table of Contents

          What is a personal status board and why is it useful?

          A personal status board provides a view of the major projects you have going on at a time. With it, you can see a high-level overview of what you have on your plate and the interesting potential projects you’d like to take on.
          If you have lots of small projects on the go at once, coming back to your personal status board can help ground you, remind you of a project you’ve forgotten about and reassure you that everything is under control.

          Why use Trello for a status board

          hand drawn version of Trello's logo

          Trello is a cloud based board project management app designed for group. These same features make it great for personal use.
          The kanban approach is great for tracking what is coming up, what is in progress and what you need to be promoting. With labels, you can mark projects depending on the area of life they apply to. And because it’s a cloud app, it works on any OS and even has great mobile apps.

          Are there other options?

          Yes, you could use something like Todoist as it too offers boards. In theory, this might be superior as you could have all your task and projects in one view. At the same time, a task is not a project and so you might need to enter your projects as a task on a separate list. At this point, using another app like Trello is no different.
          Notion is another great candidate with its all in one view including boards and timelines. While Notion has not worked for me, if you like Notion I believe it would be the best choice for you.

          How to create your own personal status board

          Identify your stages

          a man reflecting on the stages of a project - hand drawn

          While not every project follows a set flow, there are some common stages that you’ll notice across all your projects. These are useful to track the stage of everything you are working on.
          These may be different for you depending on your work and life but try to include stages that include both work and home.
          Here are mine for your inspiration

          • idea, (just an idea, no commitment)
          • upcoming, (something that I want/am planning to start soon)
          • creating, (something I’m actively working on)
          • waiting, (something I’m waiting till I can continue)
          • promoting. (Creation has finished, it’s time to share)
            These will become “lists” in Trello.

          Define areas of life

          a person reflecting on the areas of life

          With your stages in order, you may want to define some areas of life so that you can see if one part of your life is occupying more of your time than another (or if someone this missing). Some examples might be

          • Work
          • [Side project name] – i.e. blog / Sketchnote classroom
          • Home
          • Writing / Video (or other creative action)
          • [Company name] – especially for freelancers

          Using Trello labels means you can apply multiple links.

          Create your board

          With your stages and areas prepared, it’s time to create your status board on Trello.
          Head over to Trello (sign up if you haven’t already) and create a new board.
          Add your stages as lists, and turn your areas into labels (you may want to match colours to them).

          Add projects

          With your board prepared, the only thing left is to start adding projects to your board.
          Make a card, give it a name and attach a label. If you keep your board private, you can add items like links to your task manager or documents that you are working on. This can help you quickly switch content.
          You may want to add a suitable image to help identify the project from a glance. Alliteratively, keeping the card simple helps view more at once.

          View my personal status board.

          Head over to Trello to see my current personal status board and the projects I’m working on.

          See the status board

          If you’ve made your own, I’d love to see it in the comments.