October 2024 – Page 4 – The Blog Pros

October 24, 2024

The Story Curve: How to Use Storytelling Techniques for Your Marketing

You can have the best product, the most data, and the biggest advertising budget, but if you can’t tell a compelling story, none of it matters.

One of my favorite quotes on storytelling comes from Morgan Housel's book Same as Ever, where he says, “Storytelling is leverage.”

It’s such a simple yet powerful idea: no matter how great your marketing plan is, it’s always the best story that wins. Just look at companies like Nike, Apple, Disney, and Dove, whose storytelling has turned products into household names for decades.

But how do you craft the types of narratives that emotionally resonate and stick with your audience?

In a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, I break down Vonnegut’s three story arcs and give brand storytelling examples of how you can apply them to your marketing strategy. I also dig into popular story archetypes and tactics for keeping your brand narrative authentic and compelling.

What is a Story Curve and Why is it Important for Marketing?

A story curve, also known as a story arc, maps the emotional highs and lows of a narrative.

While commonly used by novelists and screenwriters, marketers use story arcs to create content, campaigns, and messaging that engage audiences by tapping into their emotions at key moments.

Kurt Vonnegut famously mapped out three of the most popular story arcs:

Image Source

Vonnegut’s three story curves show how different narratives flow from one emotional point to another.

Let’s break down these three story curves in more detail.

Story Curve #1: Man in a Hole

In this arc, the main character starts in a good situation, but something goes wrong, and they fall into trouble (“the hole”). After struggling to overcome the challenge, they emerge not just back to where they started — but in an even better position than before.

This story curve is particularly popular in marketing due to its universal theme of overcoming adversity. For example, Nike’s first commercial in 1988 featured Walt Stack, an 80-year-old marathon and ultramarathon runner, reinforcing the message of pushing past limits to achieve greatness.

Story Curve #2: Boy Meets Girl

This arc begins with a person in an ordinary situation. They encounter something wonderful — whether a person, opportunity, or experience — but then they lose it. Through persistence, they eventually regain it, leaving the hero in a permanently improved state.

Story Curve #3: Cinderella

This arc follows a person who begins in a very low or oppressive state. Through a series of fortunate events, often involving luck or external help (ex: a fairy godmother), they rise dramatically to infinite happiness or success.

Also referred to as the “rags to riches” arc, this is one of the most enduring and popular narratives in Western storytelling.

Choosing the Right Story Curve for Your Brand

The key to effective storytelling in marketing is deciding which curve best aligns with your audience, industry, and company mission.

For example, one of the most iconic examples of the “Man in a Hole” narrative is Apple’s “Think Different” campaign, which positioned Apple as the brand for misfits and rebels.

At the time, Apple was a misfit, facing a challenging market that was dominated by traditional tech companies like Microsoft and IBM. Instead of emphasizing technical features of their product like everyone else was, Apple’s marketing team went the opposite direction, leaned into their underdog status, and embraced an emotional narrative: if you’re different, Apple is for you.

By turning adversity into strength and elevating it into a story, Apple went from being the brand for the overlooked to becoming synonymous with innovation and creativity.

Tips for Improving Your Marketing Story Curve

Once you’ve identified the right story curve for your brand, the next step is to expand and refine it. Here are 4 tips to get you started.

1. Follow a Story Archetype

A story archetype is an expanded narrative structure that forms the more detailed backbone of your story. Think of it as the key plot points in a novel or the major beats of a film, which can then be mapped against the emotional journey of your story arc.

While there are seven major story archetypes, the two most commonly used in marketing are:

The Quest: this archetype frames the customer as the hero, on a mission to achieve something valuable, like a new skill or growth, with the brand as the “guide” or tool that helps them along the way.

Rebirth: commonly used in B2B campaigns, this archetype shows a customer undergoing a significant transformation, like turning their business around or improving their team, using the brand’s product for success.

2. Sharpen Your Core Message

Your core message is the single most important takeaway you want your audience to remember. It should be a short, clear statement that conveys the emotion or belief you want to evoke.

Take Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, for example. They didn’t bog down their messaging with product specifications or details — they gave you three simple words that perfectly captured the spirit of determination, while also pushing people to take action.

3. Check Emotional Resonance

Cross-check that your story arc, archetype, and core message align with your audience’s needs, emotions, and values.

For example, Dove’s Real Beauty campaign didn’t just sell soap. It tapped into a deeper conversation about beauty standards and self-esteem. By rejecting unrealistic stereotypes and highlighting real women, Dove made its audience feel seen and understood.

4. Double Down on Authenticity

Audiences can spot a contrived narrative from a mile away, so you need to tell them a story that your brand is qualified to tell.

Patagonia is a great example of authentic brand storytelling. They don’t just talk about environmental sustainability; it’s built into everything they do, from their products to their activism. That’s why their environmental stories resonate: they live their values.

To learn more about how to build an outstanding brand story, check out the full episode of Marketing Against the Grain below:

This blog series is in partnership with Marketing Against the Grain, the video podcast. It digs deeper into ideas shared by marketing leaders Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP, Marketing at HubSpot) as they unpack growth strategies and learn from standout founders and peers.

October 24, 2024

I Discovered 9 Experts Tips for Creating a How-To Guide [+ Examples]

The irony doesn‘t escape me that I’m currently writing a how-to guide on … how-to guides.

But I've had my fair share of experiences writing them for HubSpot, like How to Give a Persuasive Presentation, How to Develop a Content Strategy: A Start-to-Finish Guide, and How to Write a Request for Proposal. So, it came naturally.

If you’ve never written a how-to guide, however, they can be pretty intimidating. They’re meant to be tactical and usually must be very detailed and specific to be effective. But this doesn’t mean they have to be hard to create.

In this article, we‘ll explore how to structure and write a comprehensive how-to guide. We’ll also look at some impressive examples of how-to guides for inspiration and tips to take yours to the next level. Let's dive in.

Table of Contents

What is a how-to guide?
How to Make a How-to Guide
9 Tips for Writing Effective How-to Guides
Why Creating a How-to Guide Is Important
How-to Guide Template
How-to Guide Creator
How-to Guide Examples

A great how-to guide comes with many benefits for businesses. You can use them internally to train staff and standardize operations or as part of your content marketing. In this article, we’re focusing on the latter.

Why Creating a How-to Guide Is Important

Today, people have more access to information than ever before.

They expect to find everything they need with a few clicks on their smartphones, and businesses are no exception to this expectation.

Here are some of the biggest benefits that come with it for businesses.

Benefits of How-to Guides

They support and empower customers.

People want to be able to do things on their own (make a purchase, set up a product, learn a skill, etc.) without asking for guidance. In fact, 44% of B2B customers opt for self-service channels, according to a report by Heretto.

This is one of the areas a well-crafted how-to guide can help.

How-to guides can help customers troubleshoot issues and answer common questions on their own. For example, I recently found this guide from Apple super helpful when trading in an old iPhone.

By providing these resources, customers don’t have to wait in line for a live chat or phone call or sit in frustration. They can simply visit your website and access the information they need when they need it.

They offer 24/7 access to help.

Your customer service and tech support staff can’t be available 24/7, especially if you’re a small business. Thankfully, how-to guides can provide help even when a person can’t. Customers don’t have to wait around and can solve their issues faster.

They save your support team time.

In my experience, having how-to guides available also helps free up your support team to focus on issues that really require their attention.

Rather than answering simple questions like “How do I set up my new computer?” or “How do I use the automation tool?” they can send along a guide to hopefully help and then move on to solving more difficult, user-specific problems.

Some of these guides can even be used for sales enablement, but that’s another topic to cover. Learn more about it here.

They educate your audience.

How-to guides are also valuable opportunities to reach new audiences with applicable, high-quality content. Consider how many people search “How to…” on Google each day:

These search queries alone demonstrate just how vast the opportunities to reach an audience with “how-tos” is.

If your business can reach your consumers with informative, relevant answers to their questions, those users will begin to see your brand as an authority on the topic.

You’ll offer them valuable knowledge and help build their trust in your brand in the process. Down the road, those readers could become customers and loyal brand advocates who spread the word about your products or services.

Challenges of How-to Guides

Clearly, how-to guides offer brands a wealth of opportunity, but they are not without their challenges. Here are some potential drawbacks to consider.

They need to be detailed and specific.

One glance at the bookshelf by my desk and I have angry flashbacks to how vague and incomplete the assembly instructions were. I’m sure many of us have had similar experiences, so don’t let your brand be the one to cause them.

When creating a how-to guide, be as specific and detailed as possible. Include visual descriptions or, better yet, images or examples for people to follow. You may even want to opt for a video over text, depending on the topic.

The more precise you can be with your instructions in a how-to guide, the more effective it will likely be. This is all part of having a good customer experience.

They can be time-consuming to create.

Because great how-to guides need to be so thorough, they can be extremely time-consuming to create. If your team is going to create one make sure they allocate enough time and resources.

They need to be easily accessible.

A how-to guide is only valuable if it can be easily found and consumed by your audience when they need it. That means you have to publish and promote it effectively.

Will you include a link or QR code in related materials? Will you have a section on your website dedicated to how-to guides? Have a plan in place for how you will get your how-to guides in front of the people who need them.

Popular ways to share your guide include:

They can become dated quickly.

Lastly, how-to guides can quickly become dated, especially if they are related to tech or software. I can’t tell you how many social media how-to guides I’ve written that have become obsolete in months as the apps made updates and best practices evolved.

If you invest in how-to guides, ensure your team is ready to make the necessary updates as needed.

Now that you know what you’re getting into when creating a how-to guide, let’s break down the steps involved.

Note: If you still need assistance, HubSpot’s Guide Creator is here. It’s a new tool providing a quick, easy-to-use solution for creating how-to guides. The Guide Creator is excellent for documenting your business's products, systems, and processes — and it’s free.

1. Identify your topic.

Start with online community forums like Quora or feedback from your community to figure out the top concerns or challenges your target audience might have.

That information will help you determine what content to include in your guide.

For instance, if you're writing “How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy,” for example, you could follow these steps:

Start by looking at responses to "What is content marketing?" on Quora and other online forums. These user-generated responses can help you identify common themes, misconceptions, or confusion around content marketing.
Contact your network for common pain points about content marketing. For example, you might find that most of your audience says content marketing is their priority — but they don't know how to do it on a budget.

This research will give you the information you need to create a how-to guide that addresses relevant concerns about your topic. The video below is an example of a how-to guide for content marketing that addresses specific audience pain points.

2. Understand your target audience.

Who’s reading this guide? Are they a new customer or user? Are they a beginner in the subject matter? You audience and what they want to accomplish will inform everything else about your how-to guide, so make sure you fully understand them. It’s their behavior you need to replicate and influence.

Reviewing your buyer persona with your topic in mind is a good place to start.

3. Research your topic thoroughly.

Even if you know a topic incredibly well, do your external research. Understanding a topic well can make writing a how-to guide on the subject more difficult, as you might make assumptions about what to cover. Challenge your bias.

Follow these tips for your research:

Look at your competitors to see how they write their guides.
Conduct keyword research to see the words people who want to learn this skill use to search for instructions.
Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or another SEO tool to find more similar keywords and queries. This can help you create a well-rounded piece that will answer all your readers' questions and help you rank on Google.
Seek out expert opinions, popular books, and other resources that can give you details to make your how-to guide stand out.

To illustrate, say you're writing a blog post on “How to Make an Omelette.” Upon researching, you will find Simply Recipe's post at the top of your Google search.

Diving into the post, you'll see Simply Recipe has sections including:

French Vs. American Omelettes
The Best Pan for Making Omelettes
Ideas for Omelette Fillings

If you want your how-to guide on omelettes to be the best, you'll want to cover as much as — if not more — than what Simply Recipe has in its post. This may mean including more omelette types, approaches to making them, or expert tips from well-known chefs.

As you research, remember to fact-check your sources. You want to ensure that your guide is trustworthy and will not cause you legal or other challenges later.

4. Create a step-by-step outline.

Now that you‘ve researched, it’s time to organize your ideas.

If you know the process well, write down all the steps you would take from memory. Then, combine this with any new ideas you learned during research to create a step-by-step outline for your guide.

Remember: Many readers will use your how-to guide as a list of instructions. So, you may need to revise your outline several times to ensure that each step in your strategy is straightforward.

But what do you do if things aren’t so clear-cut?

For example, according to this how-to guide from CNET, there are several four different ways to take a screenshot on a Mac computer.

The proper instructions for the user will depend on their computer and operating system. In situations like this, you need to decide which approach your focus on and make it clear to the reader or be prepared to cover all of the options.

5. Add valuable images, videos, and descriptions.

Use visuals like GIFs, images, screenshots, and videos to supplement your instructions.

The best visuals make your instructions more straightforward and quicker to understand.

For example, in the Great British Bake Off technical competitions, bakers are often asked to bake recipes they’ve never seen before.

If a baker isn’t sure what the final product should look like, they rely on instructions to get it right.

Written instructions can be interpreted differently, and if they get something wrong, they have to start over, which takes up more of their time.

This is an excellent example of what can happen when users can’t picture what they should do. Images and videos can help avoid this confusion.

This is even easier if you opt for a video like Purple does here:

Pro tip: Save screenshots as you go.

You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by taking screenshots of your steps as you test them out, rather than trying to go back and do it later.

You can save even more time and trouble by automating the process. Tools like HubSpot's free Guide Creator can automatically capture both the steps and the images as you complete the task.

Make sure you include one for each step, and think about what image would most accurately represent that step. Remember that a minor task that may be obvious to you, a seasoned user, may not be obvious to everyone.

6. Review your outline and research from the reader's point of view.

Ask yourself: “Why do my readers need, or want to know, this?”

Understanding the high-level purpose behind a topic can encourage you to write with empathy. Additionally, it will help you create content that accurately meets your reader's expectations and needs.

For instance, when writing "How to Create a Facebook Group for Your Business," I took some time to learn that readers might search this topic if:

They are seeking out new ways to connect with customers
They want to create a stronger sense of brand community
They want to raise awareness about their products or services

As a result, I wrote:

“A group is a good idea if you‘re interested in connecting your customers or leads to one another, you want to facilitate a sense of community surrounding your brand, or you’re hoping to showcase your brand as a thought leader in the industry.

However, a group is not a good idea if you want to use it to raise awareness about your products or services or simply use it to post company announcements.”

In the example above, I targeted a few different segments of readers with diverse purposes to help them determine whether this how-to guide would even help them meet their goals.

Ultimately, understanding the purpose behind your how-to guide is critical for ensuring you target all the various components or angles of the topic.

7. Test the process.

Once you‘ve finished writing your guide, it’s time to test it out. Follow the instructions exactly as written and look for opportunities to add more clarity.

Pro tip: If you can, have someone else test the process out for you. You never know how a word choice or set of instructions will impact another person, so it’s wise to test it with a small group of friends or colleagues.

Clearly state what you’re looking for, expect questions and critical feedback, and connect with a diverse group of people for the most valuable insights.

8. Link to other resources.

It's also a good idea to point readers to other valuable resources if they want to learn more. Link to other relevant blog posts, pillar pages, or ebooks so readers can find follow-up information on topics mentioned in your how-to guide.

They can be by you or from other creators so long as your cite your source. This is another way to build trust and authority with your audience.

How-to Guide Template

If you’re unsure how to structure your how-to guide, here is a simple template you can follow.

Section 1: Overview

This is a summary/introduction to what your guide will cover. Include the purpose of the guide, why the information matters, and what the reader can accomplish after reading it.

You can also use this part of the guide to go into background information like I did with pros and cons.

Section 2: Materials Needed

List any materials or tools that will be needed to complete the process outlined in your guide. They could be digital or tangible.

Section 3: Step-by-Step Instructions

Break down the process into clear, concise steps. Include formatting to make it easy to follow and images or videos to help you explain further.

Optional Section 4: Tips

Know some extra tips, tricks, or hacks that can help someone get the most out of your process? Share them here for added value.

Optional Section 5: Troubleshooting/FAQs

What are some common questions or issues people run into when going through this process? Address them here.

Optional Section 6: Additional Resources

Are there any other educational resources someone going through this guide would find valuable? Share them here.

Section 7: Conclusion

Sum up the guide and reiterate the benefits of following the steps outlined. Use this time to build your audience’s confidence in their ability to act after completing this guide and also give them next steps or a call-to-action, if relevant.

How-to Guide Creator

If the process you’re covering is web-based, HubSpot’s Guide Creator takes all the busy work out of creating guides.

Download for Free

Whether they be for customers, prospects, or colleagues, all you have to do is install the free Chrome extension, click “start capturing,” and go through your process. The tool will automatically take screenshots and document the steps you take.

When you hit “finish capturing,” you will be taken to a page where you can edit the instructions and publish the guide.

Once you're ready to start writing your how-to guide, you might wonder if your tone or style should differ from other kinds of writing.

In short: Yes, it should.

Here are some more tips and best practices to keep in mind when writing a how-to guide:

1. Open with an overview.

A great how-to guide begins with a clear overview or description of what the audience can expect from it. This overview should include:

A quick summary of your guide
What your audience will need to use it
What they'll achieve once they follow the directions
Why it's worth doing

Pro tip: It's usually easier to write the first paragraph of any piece of content last — including how-to guides. This way, all the details are complete and you just need a few quick attention-grabbing sentences to attract your readers.

Check out this post if you need help writing introductions.

2. Start each step with a verb.

Verbs put your instructions in motion. These active words can help your readers visualize themselves doing the task as you teach them how to do it. They are also direct and require less thought by the reader.

Consider, for example, “Write a company background” versus “Your RFP should start with a brief background on your company.”

The first is very clear about what you need to do. The second takes a little longer to digest.

As you write, you’ll avoid passive verbs like the examples below:

“Flour and water were stirred together.”
“The page tab has been opened, so we can click the box at the top.”

Rather, go for active alternatives:

“Stir together flour and water.”
“Open the page tab and click the box at the top.”

If you often slip into passive voice as you write, use a grammar-checking tool to catch and fix your errors.

3. Show examples all the way.

You can make your instructions clearer if you include images or examples.

Of course, you want to use sensory details and action to create a picture in their head as you write your how-to guide. But from there, pair images with the written text so your audience doesn’t have to guess or interpret what you meant.

We regularly include examples in articles here at HubSpot. You can even find several in this article.

4. Keep the steps simple and concise.

Simplicity will make your guide easier to understand and execute, but how do you ensure you’re not overcomplicating things?

A good best practice is to think of your process in stages — the beginning, the middle, and the end — and then define the steps within those. This will help you get specific and be wary of combining multiple actions into one step.

Pro tip: Don’t hold back in your first draft. Write out every detail, then go back and scan for extra content that could be distracting and can be removed.

Also, aim to remove extra words. Writing concise copy takes a lot of practice. If your guide is longer than it needs to be and you're not sure how to cut the extra text, these tips can help:

Cut “the” and “that” when it makes sense
Limit adverbs and adjectives like very, really, and literally
Replace three and four-syllable words with shorter alternatives

5. Make your how-to guide easy to skim.

In my experience, many people skim guides. This means they quickly skip text that includes stories, data, or more extended details and look for the actions.

Catering to this habit can create a more delightful user experience.

People tend to pay attention to introductions, summaries, or a paragraph’s first and last sentences, so focus on these areas. Also, use bolded, underlined, or highlighted text to guide their eye to key information.

Numbered lists, headers, and bullet points can also help summarize text, making your guide easier and faster to digest.

6. Write for a specific skill level.

If you're a subject expert, you might combine beginner and advanced terms in your writing without realizing it. This creates inconsistency that can confuse your audience and make your guide tough to understand.

If this concerns you, scan your how-to guide for jargon as you proofread. You can also ask proofreaders from other niches and industries to check that your vocabulary is appropriate for the target audience throughout.

7. Tell an exciting story.

The best how-to guides are more than just practical; they are fun to read. To keep your guide engaging, tell a story. Ensure you have a clear message throughout the guide, add personal experiences, and use conflict to add interest.

For example, say you‘re writing a how-to guide about adding software to a computer. A potential point of conflict could be not having enough disk space to finish installing.

That doesn‘t sound like a big deal, but it can be frustrating if you’ve ever experienced it. If you can paint that picture vividly for your audience, they'll be more likely to follow your directions.

8. Write with empathy.

People who turn to how-to guides are looking for help. So, be sure to acknowledge that you understand where they are coming from. Doing this will help you resonate with your audience and build trust.

You’re saying you know it can be frustrating when learning or refining a new skill and you are there to help.

For example, in the how-to guide "How to Plan Your Facebook Ads Budget (And Make The Biggest Impact),” HubSpot Principal Marketing Manager Ramona Sukhraj immediately connects with her audience, saying, “If budgeting stresses you out, we have a lot in common, my friend.”

9. Stay positive.

Anyone seeking a how-to guide is trying to expand their knowledge about the world. That seems straightforward, but it‘s also a considerable risk.

Many people stop trying new things because they don’t want to look foolish. So, as you write, remember that learning is exciting, but it's often uncomfortable, too.

Keeping your writing positive can help make your readers feel more at ease as they venture into the unknown. Uplifting stories, word choices, and tone can make complex instructions seem more manageable. They can inspire and motivate.

You can also add some positivity by softening negative information. For example, instead of saying, “You‘ll probably fail at this the first time,” try saying something like, “This skill may take some practice before you’re an expert.”

How-to Guide Examples

B2B How-to Guide Examples

“How to Write the Perfect 90-Day Plan”

Why I like this example: This B2B how-to guide offers important contextual details to the 90-day plan, including “What is a 90-day plan?” and “What should be included in a 90-day plan?” The piece is well-researched and written with empathy.

The guide provides a downloadable 90-day plan PDF so readers can immediately use Atlassian's program with their team.

Takeaway: Consider what ebooks, PDFs, charts, Canva designs, or Google Sheets you can create internally and offer to readers to download. Readers will appreciate the option to apply what they've learned immediately.

"How to Build Brand Consistency"

Why I like this example: Partnering with complementary businesses and services can add depth and perspective to your how-to guide. This example is comprehensive and packed with valuable resources from HubSpot and Brandfolder. It also uses relevant data to highlight key sections.

Takeaway: Look for creative ways to add value to your how-to guide, especially when writing about a topic your audience already knows.

“How To Drive More High-Quality Leads With Google Ads”

Why I like this example: When creating guides for more advanced topics, creating a foundation for your readers is essential.

This guide begins with a detailed introduction to the case that cites current statistics and trends. Then, it covers relevant topics at each stage in the buyer journey. Next, it offers a helpful checklist, links, and resources to implement this learning.

Takeaway: A clear structure makes challenging topics easier to understand. So, consider the ideal start and end points for your expert readers when writing about specific and advanced topics.

B2C How-to Guide Examples

“How to Master Lead Generation in HubSpot”

Why I like this example: This video takes a popular topic relevant to our buyers, lead generation, and delivers all of the foundational knowledge someone needs to get started with it.

It then uses the video format to show viewers exactly how to complete common lead generation tasks like creating landing pages, within the HubSpot tool.

Software tutorials are one of the best use cases for video how-to guides.

“How to Become a Freelancer”

Why I like this example: This guide does an excellent job of providing relevant links and data to create a comprehensive overview of what freelancing is. Additionally, the post uses action verbs to inspire the reader.

Under “How to Start a Freelance Business,” you'll see tips such as “Do Your Homework,” “Create a Brand,” and “Plan Ahead.” The language used in this post goes a long way toward encouraging readers to get started quickly.

Takeaway: Use action verbs and concise language to keep a reader engaged. Start with a verb instead of a noun when listing out steps.

“How to Start a Successful Blog”

Why I like this example: This is an excellent guide for beginners because it includes resources that offer multiple ways to take in the material. This guide is packed with checklists, links to courses, templates, and tools that can help anyone start a blog.

Takeaway: There are many different learning styles. The more choices you give your students to take in the information you share, the more likely they will get value from your guide.

“How to Be a Leader”

Why I like this example: This example offers a personal perspective on leadership that goes beyond typical advice.

It also uses creative headers like “Beyond the Paycheck: What We Wish For,” “Doubtliers: Dangers Learning From the Exceptional,” and “Great companies don’t always make great decisions” to engage the reader in the content.

Takeaway: Teach broad how-to topics from a unique perspective and add interest with relevant stories.

Lifestyle How-to Guide Examples

“11 Ways to Quickly Stop Stress in Your Life”

Why I like this example: I clicked on this post expecting a few quick, easy tips for stopping stress. Instead, I was engrossed in the first section of the post, “The Effects of Stress in Your Life.”

While I previously mentioned the importance of starting with a quick answer to the searcher's how-to question, there are exceptions to that rule. In this case, readers must understand the why before the how.

Takeaway: Play around with structure. Consider what your readers need to know for the rest of the post to matter to them.

For instance, you might start with a section, “What is XYZ?” and “Why XYZ matters” before diving into “How to do XYZ.” This way, your readers are fully invested in discovering how these tips can improve their lives in some small (or big) way.

“How To Make Honey Pie”

Why I like this example: This guide is neatly organized so readers can quickly determine a) what makes this recipe unique, b) the ingredients they'll need, and c) how to make it.

If a reader already knows the ingredients necessary for honey pie, they can click “Jump to Recipe” immediately.

Takeaway: As you're structuring your how-to guide, consider best organizing it so readers can jump straight to what they need.

“How to Be More Productive”

Why I like this example: How-to guides are more than written instructions. Useful images, break-out pages highlighting external links, and infographics are potent additions to this example.

Its outstanding balance of features and white space makes this guide easy on the eyes and quick to skim.

Takeaway: It doesn't matter how great your how-to guide writing is if it needs to be well-designed. Take a look at how-to guide examples to get inspiration for the look and feel of your guide design.

Create a how-to guide worth sharing.

The right how-to guide can change someone's life. It can also significantly boost your business, improve the customer experience, and more.

Creating a great step-by-step guide takes some planning, research, and know-how. Your experience can help someone make a difference; just create a direction that makes your knowledge worth sharing.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2021. It has been updated for freshness and accuracy.

October 24, 2024

How Often to Post on Social Media for Business? A HubSpot Experiment

With how quickly the internet changes, people can argue all day about how often to post on social media. Which networks should you use? How frequently should you post? And does the time you post really matter?

Read on to get the answers to key questions about how often to post on social media for business, or jump to the topic or network you’re curious about:

Should I publish more or less often on social media?
When’s the best time to post on Facebook?
When’s the best time to post on Instagram?
When's the best time to post on TikTok?
When’s the best time to post on X (Twitter)?
When’s the best time to post on LinkedIn?
When’s the best time to post on Pinterest?

Should I publish more or less often on social media?

How frequently you post on social media will depend on a number of factors, namely, how the platform works and the ecosystem on each platform you choose.

When algorithms were chronological, it used to be that a higher frequency was always better. However, as algorithms have evolved, higher frequency doesn’t always equal high performance, and too many posts can also cannibalize performance.

This rule of thumb corresponds with how businesses have adapted their social media publishing schedules to meet audience demands.

According to HubSpot's 2024 State of Social Media Report, marketers post a different amount on each platform they use.

In this post, I’ll explore different social media platforms and share the ideal number of times to post each week and the best times to share content when you do post.

Pro tip: When you know what frequency works for your business, Social Inbox can help you stay on top of your schedule. You can plan out content for each channel, schedule it, and it’ll automatically go live exactly when you want it to.

When is the best time to post on Facebook?

Facebook is the most used platform among social media marketers. So, it’s safe to assume they’re actively posting on it.

Our survey results showed that the best time to post on Facebook is between 12 and 3PM. 9AM-12PM and 6-9PM tie for the second-best times to post.

what's the best time to post on facebook

Which is the best day to post on Facebook?

Social media marketers report that Saturday is the best day to post on Facebook. It’s 24% more popular than Friday, the second-best day.

pie graph displaying the best day to post on facebook

How often should you post on Facebook?

Most social media marketers (35%) post on Facebook multiple times per day, and a quarter post multiple times per week.

I have to mention that engagement is an important factor in the Facebook algorithm, which can impact how visible your content is. However often you post, I recommend taking the time to engage with people who interact with your content (like replying to and liking comments).

Why publish on Facebook at all?

There are three big reasons to keep publishing on Facebook:

1. Publishing on Facebook shows leads and potential customers that you’re actively in business.

Many people go to Facebook simply to research companies and look for thought leadership. If your Facebook page is incomplete and inactive, they may go with a competitor who is more prominent on the platform.

2. Facebook is leading in social shopping.

Social shopping is on the rise — more than 50% of marketers told us they’re increasing their investments in selling products directly on social media apps in 2024. And for good reason:

Facebook offers the highest ROI when selling products in-app.
Consumers who have made a purchase on a social media app in the last three months are more likely to have done so on Facebook.
Consumers say Facebook offers the best in-app shopping experience, and they trust it the most when it comes to social shopping.

3. Facebook offers some of the best ROI across multiple areas like paid ads, engagement, and community building.

Social media marketers also told us that Facebook has brought in some of the highest ROI for them this year. They also say that:

Facebook is the most effective platform for building an active community on social media.
Facebook offers the second-highest engagement levels, which is crucial in a world where consumers expect more interaction with their favorite brands.
Facebook has the second-best audience targeting tools for running paid ads.

This is especially true if you are doing any retargeting. And once you’ve published on Facebook, it's the easiest platform to boost posts and get more distribution (and followers).

When’s the best time to post on Instagram?

I pick up my phone to scroll through Instagram multiple times throughout the day. (Don’t roll your eyes at me; I know you do it too…)

Given this, it makes sense that there are multiple windows that social media marketers post on Instagram to get the best results. Our data shows lunchtime and post-workday hours are the most popular time frames. (12-3PM and 6-9PM, respectively).

I recommend avoiding posting in the early morning (before 9AM) and late evening (after 9PM), as the data show these periods are less effective.

Which is the best day to post on Instagram?

Social media marketers' use of Instagram peaks towards the end of the week. More specifically, 22% of survey respondents say Saturday is the best day to post on Instagram. Friday takes second place.

How often should you post on Instagram?

More is best on Instagram—social media marketers who leverage the app post multiple times per day and use a mix of content formats (Stories, in-feed posts, etc.).

This makes sense to me because the Instagram feed has long since been chronological, so posting more often helps with visibility. However, a balance is essential. If you go buck wild, you risk annoying your followers.

In 2021, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, suggested sharing a couple of in-feed posts per week and a couple of stories per day. You can also test out a mix of different formats and frequencies and monitor your analytics to see what works best.

When’s the best time to post on TikTok?

The best time to post on TikTok is between six and nine PM, which aligns with users having more time to scroll freely at the end of the day. 3-6PM is the second-best time frame.

Which is the best day to post on TikTok?

People have more time to scroll after work and more time to scroll when they’re not working at all, so it’s no surprise that social media marketers find the most success on Saturday (26%), then Friday (20%).

How often should you post on TikTok?

TikTok’s algorithm isn’t chronological, and social media marketers share content multiple times daily.

When’s the best time to post on X (Twitter)?

The best time to post on X (Twitter) is between 12 and 3PM. Survey respondents also indicated getting good results between 3 and 9PM.

Which is the best day to post on X (Twitter)?

There isn’t a significant difference between the best days to post on X. 19% of social media marketers say Saturday, and 18% say Friday.

How often should you post on X (Twitter)?

Most of our survey respondents are posting on X multiple times a day. More posts mean more visibility, awareness, and clicks.

I don’t want to say that X is an unserious platform, but it really does run on memes and jokes. I would say that, of all the platforms you might leverage, it’s not as important to have perfectly polished prose or images as it is on other social apps.

I recommend capitalizing on the app's “unserious” vibe and showing a bit more of your brand personality, regardless of how often you post.

When’s the best time to post on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a business networking side, so it doesn’t surprise me that the best time to post on LinkedIn is during business hours. 24% of marketers say 3-6PM is the best time frame, and 22% say 9AM-12PM.

Which is the best day to post on LinkedIn?

Monday is the best day to post on LinkedIn, as working professionals log back on after a weekend break. Friday also brings good results, as working professionals do end-of-week check-ins before logging off for a few days.

How often should you post on LinkedIn?

Social media marketers are more likely to post on LinkedIn multiple times per week, which makes sense. Most users probably aren’t logging in for daily check-ins like they do on other platforms. This gives you more time to create high-quality content for maximum value.

When’s the best time to post on Pinterest?

The best time to post on Pinterest to reach its 522 million+ monthly active users is between 12 and 3PM.

Which is the best day to post on Pinterest?

The best day to post on Pinterest is Saturday. Thursday is the second best.

How often should you post on Pinterest?

Social media marketers using Pinterest are pinning content multiple times per day.

What does this mean for your social media strategy?

Maintaining a daily presence is essential for most social media platforms, unless you use LinkedIn, where posting multiple times per week is ideal.

While optimizing the time and days you post is important, it means nothing if your content isn’t relevant and exciting for your target audience.

My main takeaway for you is to create your high-quality content, and then optimize for best results by sharing it on the days and times that social media marketers told us were the best.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

October 24, 2024

20+ Best Fonts Similar to Comic Sans

Love it or hate it, Comic Sans is one of the most iconic and recognizable fonts out there. Known for its casual, playful style, it’s often used in informal settings or for designs that need a touch of fun.

However, while its charm is undeniable, Comic Sans isn’t always the perfect fit for every project. If you’re looking for a similar font that captures the same lighthearted vibe but with a more refined touch, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, we’ve rounded up the best fonts similar to Comic Sans to give you the same playful feel while adding a bit more style and versatility. These fonts maintain the friendly, approachable look of Comic Sans but offer variations that are better suited for professional designs, children’s projects, educational materials, and more.

Neue Comic

Neue Comic is a rounded typeface that reinterprets the whimsical charm of Comic Sans with a fresh, modern twist. Designed to optimize both fun and functionality, Neue Comic boasts seven weight options and corresponding obliques. This new font, with its rhythmic, legible design, strikes a harmonious balance between whimsical ’90s nostalgia and contemporary sophistication, challenging the notion that playfulness can’t be refined in typography.

Comic Roxan

Check out Comic Roxan, an engaging and versatile font similar to Comic Sans. This distinctive typeface is ideal for a myriad of designs including movie scenes, posters, album covers, logos, and more. With OTF, TTF, and WOFF formats included, Comic Roxan is a flexible tool, ready to add fresh creativity to your design palette.

Comic Story

Comic Story is a lively display typeface perfect for fun, light-hearted projects. Its cheerfulness adds a certain charm to logos, branding, greeting cards, posters, and other designs. The files include Comic Story.ttf and Comic Story.otf. This engaging typeface encourages you to put your heart into your work and enjoy the creative process.

Comic Animal

Comic Animal is a whimsical handwriting display font. Perfectly adaptable for any design project, this font exudes a charming simplicity and trends. Available in OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats, it’s a versatile favorite that could quickly become your standard choice across various design occasions.

Hey Comic

Hey Comic is a bold, cheerful font perfect for creating a fun, engaging atmosphere in your projects. Ideal for logos, branding, greeting cards, or posters, this versatile font offers multilingual support. Both standard and extrude versions are included. Created with heart and passion by Khurasan, it adds a playful touch to any design.

Comic Mode

Comic Mode is a whimsical yet formal sans serif font that comes in nine weight variations. Perfect as a refined alternative to Comic Sans, its distinctive style is shaped by a blend of technical typography and relaxed handwriting. From thin and round to black and elliptical shapes, its diversity is extended with the addition of oblique styles, culminating in 18 different styles.

Coming Sans

Coming Sans is a cheerful, versatile font that evokes a playful comic book feel. Ideal for a range of uses such as children’s storybooks, comic-themed designs, and catchy headlines, this font inspires lighthearted creativity. It includes uppercase, lowercase, symbols, punctuation, numerals, ligature, alternate, and multilingual support, available in OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Comic Speeds

Comic Speeds is a playful, distinctive display font reminiscent of comic sans. What sets it apart are the alternate characters featuring ‘speed’ effects that make it perfect for cartoon-based creative endeavors. It’s recommended for logos, social media posts, product packaging, special events, and more.

Mindy

Meet Mindy, a comic display font with a rounded, bold style reminiscent of Comic Sans. This versatile font is ideal for everything from children’s book titles and comic books to posters, social media content, and branding for kids’ items. The zip file includes Mindy in OTF, TTF, WOFF and WOFF2 formats, perfect for all your creative needs.

Best Seller

Best Seller, a minimalist sans serif font, serves as a valuable creative asset. Reminiscent of Comic Sans in style, it can enhance everything from children’s books and flyers to book titles, advertisements, and so much more. The download includes useable formats such as OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2, making it a versatile choice for your design project needs.

Healing Sunday

Healing Sunday is a playful, textured font reminiscent of handwriting that adds authenticity to any creative project. Perfect for logos, invitations, advertisements, or packaging, this hand-drawn font brings a natural touch and detailed beauty to designs. It’s accessible in most design software, including Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Word.

Lemondy

Experience the quirkiness of Lemondy, a playful font inspired by hand-drawn sketches. Excellent for headlines and titles, it adds a dash of fun to book covers, comic texts, packaging labels, merchandise, and children’s books. It features uppercase letters, numbers, punctuation and supports multiple languages.

Kidster

Kidster is a captivating comic display font that emulates a handmade look, similar to Comic Sans. This versatile font can be used on a variety of platforms from book titles and news headlines to posters, cards, banners and flyers. Appreciated for its scalability, Kidster comes in a convenient zip file with four formats: OTF, TTF, WOFF and WOFF2.

Comiquest

Comiquest is a delightfully versatile handwritten comic font. Perfectly blending casual charm with modern simplicity, this font gives your creative endeavors a unique, personal touch. It suits branding, logos, invitations, and posters impeccably and maintains a polished appearance. With its accessible and stylish feel, Comiquest is sure to enhance your design work.

Sans Block

Sans Block is a delightfully casual handwritten font! Use it to infuse a fun, laid-back vibe into anything – from comic books to advertisements, posters, book titles, school flyers and even social media content. The downloadable zip file comes packed with Sans Block OTF, TTF, and a webfont-TT. It’s your perfect partner to design something truly awesome!

Basmety

Meet Basmety, a cheerful comic display font that brings joy to every word. Ideal for a range of uses from comic books and classroom settings, to kids’ products and social media content, Basmety livens up any text with its playful style. The downloadable zip file comes with OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Ant Rich

Ant Rich is a whimsical comic font that’s perfect for lending an air of playful simplicity to your work. Ideal for projects ranging from flyers and book titles to social media content and logos, it’s easily incorporated into your design due to the included OTF, TTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 formats.

Free Fonts Like Comic Sans

Comic Story

This creative and playful font also features a letter design similar to Comic Sans. It is designed with fun and children’s designs in mind. You can use it to add beautiful titles to your packaging designs, posters, book covers, and much more.

Comic Cheese

Comic Cheese is another creative font similar to Comic Sans. This font also has a playful letter design inspired by comic books. The font is most suitable for designing titles and headings for all kinds of fun, entertaining, and playful design projects.

GOLDSTEP

Featuring tall and condensed letterforms, this free font shares many similarities with the iconic Comic Sans font. It has the same playful and funny-looking letter design as the Comic Sans and comes with a set of all-caps letters.

Comic Panels

If you prefer to use a unique font with a playful look, this free font is perfect for your projects. Comic Panels is a free font inspired by Comic Sans and it features playful letters with a handwriting style.

Erik Sans

Erik Sans is another free font similar to Comic Sans. It features the same playful and quirky letter design as the Comic Sans font but with its own unique decorative elements. This font will surely add a creative look to your designs.

October 23, 2024

Clarifying the Relationship Between Popovers and Dialogs

The difference between Popovers (i.e., the popover attribute) and Dialogs (i.e., both the <dialog> element and the dialog accessible role) is incredibly confusing — so much that many articles (like this, this, and this) have tried to shed some light on the issue.

If you’re still feeling confused, I hope this one clears up that confusion once and for all.

Distinguishing Popovers From Dialogs

Let’s pull back on the technical implementations and consider the greater picture that makes more sense and puts everything into perspective.

Line diagram connecting the popover attribute to six types of accessible roles, including dialog.

The reason for this categorization comes from a couple of noteworthy points.

First, we know that a popover is content that “pops” up when a user clicks a button (or hovers over it, or focuses on it). In the ARIA world, there is a useful attribute called aria-haspopup that categorizes such popups into five different roles:

menu
listbox
tree
grid
dialog

Strictly speaking, there’s a sixth value, true, that evaluates to menu. I didn’t include it above since it’s effectively just menu.

By virtue of dialog being on this list, we already know that dialog is a type of popover. But there’s more evidence behind this too.

The Three Types of Dialogues

Since we’re already talking about the dialog role, let’s further expand that into its subcategories:

Lone diagram connecting the popover attribute to six accessible roles, including dialog, which is broken out into three categories.

Dialogs can be categorized into three main kinds:

Modal: A dialog with an overlay and focus trapping
Non-Modal: A dialog with neither an overlay nor focus trapping
Alert Dialog: A dialog that alerts screen readers when shown. It can be either modal or non-modal.

This brings us to another reason why a dialog is considered a popover.

Some people may say that popovers are strictly non-modal, but this seems to be a major misunderstanding — because popovers have a ::backdrop pseudo-element on the top layer. The presence of ::backdrop indicates that popovers are modal. Quoting the CSS-Tricks almanac:

The ::backdrop CSS pseudo-element creates a backdrop that covers the entire viewport and is rendered immediately below a <dialog>, an element with the popup attribute, or any element that enters fullscreen mode using the Fullscreen API.

That said, I don’t recommend using the Popover API for modality because it doesn’t have a showModal() method (that <dialog> has) that creates inertness, focus trapping, and other necessary features to make it a real modal. If you only use the Popover API, you’ll need to build those features from scratch.

So, the fact that popovers can be modal means that a dialog is simply one kind of popover.

Popovers need a role to be accessible. Hidde has a great article on selecting the right role, but I’m going to provide some points in this article as well.

To start, you can use one of the aria-haspopup roles mentioned above:

menu
listbox
tree
grid
dialog

You could also use one of the more complex roles like:

treegrid
alertdialog

There are two additional roles that are slightly more contentious but may do just fine.

tooltip
status

To understand why tooltip and status could be valid popover roles, we need to take a detour into the world of tooltips.

A Note on Tooltips

From a visual perspective, a tooltip is a popover because it contains a tiny window that pops up when the tooltip is displayed.

I included tooltip in the mental model because it is reasonable to implement tooltip with the Popover API.

<div popver role="tooltip">...</div>

The tooltip role doesn’t do much in screen readers today so you need to use aria-describedby to create accessible tooltips. But it is still important because it may extend accessibility support for some software.

But, from an accessibility standpoint, tooltips are not popovers. In the accessibility world, tooltips must not contain interactive content. If they contain interactive content, you’re not looking at a tooltip, but a dialog.

You’re thinking of dialogs. Use a dialog.
Heydon Pickering, “Your Tooltips are Bogus”

This is also why aria-haspopup doesn’t include tooltip —aria-haspopup is supposed to signify interactive content but a tooltip must not contain interactive content.

With that, let’s move on to status which is an interesting role that requires some explanation.

Why `status`?

Tooltips have a pretty complex history in the world of accessible interfaces so there’s a lot of discussion and contention over it.

To keep things short (again), there’s an accessibility issue with tooltips since tooltips should only show on hover. This means screen readers and mobile phone users won’t be able to see those tooltips (since they can’t hover on the interface).

Steve Faulkner created an alternative — toggletips — to fill the gap. In doing so, he explained that toggletip content must be announced by screen readers through live regions.

When initially displayed content is announced by (most) screen readers that support aria-live

Heydon Pickering later added that status can be used in his article on toggletips.

We can supply an empty live region, and populate it with the toggletip “bubble” when it is invoked. This will both make the bubble appear visually and cause the live region to announce the tooltip’s information.

<!-- Code example by Heydon -->
<span class="tooltip-container"> 
  <button type="button" aria-label="more info" data-toggletip-content="This clarifies whatever needs clarifying">i</button> 
  <span role="status"> 
    <span class="toggletip-bubble">This clarifies whatever needs clarifying</span> 
  </span>
</span>

This is why status can be a potential role for a popover, but you must use discretion when creating it.

That said, I’ve chosen not to include the status role in the Popover mental model because status is a live region role and hence different from the rest.

In Summary

Here’s a quick summary of the mental model:

Popover is an umbrella term for any kind of on-demand popup.
Dialog is one type of popover — a kind that creates a new window (or card) to contain some content.

When you internalize this, it’s not hard to see why the Popover API can be used with the dialog element.

<!-- Uses the popover API. Role needs to be determined manually -->
<div popover>...</div>

<!-- Dialog with the popover API. Role is dialog -->
<dialog popover>...</dialog>

<!-- Dialog that doesn't use the popover API. Role is dialog -->
<dialog>...</dialog>

When choosing a role for your popover, you can use one of these roles safely.

menu
listbox
tree
grid
treegrid
dialog
alertdialog

The added benefit is most of these roles work together with aria-haspopup which gained decent support in screen readers last year.

Of course, there are a couple more you can use like status and tooltip, but you won’t be able to use them together with aria-haspopup.

Clamp it! VS Code extension

There’s a lot of math behind fluid typography. CSS does make the math a lot easier these days, but even if you’re comfortable with that, writing the full declaration can be verbose and tough to remember. I know I often have to look it back up, despite having written it maybe a hundred times.

Silvestar made a little VS Code helper to abstract all that. Type in the target values you’re aiming for and the helper expands it on the spot.

He says ChatGPT did the initial lifting before he refined it. I can get behind this sort of AI-flavored usage. Start with an idea, find a starting point, look deeper at it, and shape it into something incredibly useful for a small, single purpose.

Clamp it! VS Code extension originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

October 23, 2024

35+ Text Effects and Animated Typography Templates for Premiere Pro

If you’re looking for ways to make your titles and headings look good in your video projects, you’ve come to the right place.

Today, we bring you a collection of Premiere Pro text effects and animated typography templates that you can use to create mind-blowing text animations.

The best part is that these templates and presets are made by professional designers. So you don’t have to spend hours trying to find the right combinations. All you have to do is download the template, import it in Premiere Pro, and add the effect to your project timeline.

You’ll find some cool and creative Premiere Pro text effects in this collection, unlike anything you’ve seen before. Be sure to download them all below.

Top Pick

Trendy Premiere Pro Text Effect Templates

This is a bundle full of trendy and stylish text effects you can use to add attention-grabbing animations to your titles and headings to make more professional-looking videos.

There are multiple styles of text animations in this pack that are most suitable for fashion and lifestyle-themed videos, as well as many other types of videos.

Why This Is A Top Pick

The typography animations in this template kit have modern and trendy designs that will instantly attract the attention of your viewers. They are quite easy to customize as well.

100 Cinematic Titles for Premiere Pro

This is a massive collection of Premiere Pro title templates that offers a hundred unique cinematic-style text animation templates. Ideal for adding a professional touch to your videos, these templates are designed to help make your editing process quicker and easier. Utilize these to enhance storytelling in your projects.

Retro 80s Text Animations for Premiere Pro

Another creative collection of text templates for Premiere Pro that adds a retro touch to your work. These stylish animations help breathe life into your text, taking your video project back to the vibrant 80s era. It’s a fun and easy way to enhance your visual storytelling.

Cyber Tech Title Animations for Premiere Pro

A stylish text template for Premiere Pro that unveils your title through high-end, cyberpunk-style animations. With full-controller features, you can easily personalize aspects like position and scale. No need for After Effects, just import the “MOGRT” file and you’re set. Ideal for Esports videos, tech shows and sci-fi films.

9 Sale Promo Typography Animations for Premiere Pro

This Premiere Pro template kit makes creating text animations seamless, especially for beginners. This user-friendly package includes a helpful video tutorial and offers a full HD resolution. It’s easily customizable and compatible with Premiere Pro CC 2018 and higher, as well as After Effects CC 2022.

Liquid Text Animations for Premiere Pro

Another captivating Premiere Pro template featuring liquid-style animations. It incorporates fluid-like animations to enhance your text, transforming it into an engaging visual experience. This template is ideal for those looking to give their Premiere Pro projects a unique touch without being overly sales-centric.

Trendy Kinetic Typography Premiere Pro Templates

This Premiere Pro template pack offers dynamic text animations to enrich your content with lively visuals. These templates work wonders for various purposes, such as marketing, education, entertainment, travel, and music videos. With ten kinetic titles, 4K resolution, color controls, and a fast render, these templates require no plugins.

Titles With 3D Elements Premiere Pro Text Effects

This is a unique template kit for Premiere Pro that features stylish text effects with 3D elements. There are multiple title scenes in this template pack for you to add cool and creative intros for your videos. They all feature adaptive designs with up to 4K resolution.

Stylish Titles Premiere Pro Text Effect Templates

If you’re looking for a title template with a minimal and clean design, this Premiere Pro template is perfect for your project. It includes multiple text effects with modern animations and easily customizable elements.

Original Text Styles for Premiere Pro

Choose from 5 cool Premiere Pro text effects to add colorful and attractive titles to your videos. Each text effect in this template kit is different from the others. They are perfect for promo videos, social media videos, YouTube intros, and much more.

Kinetic Animated Premiere Pro Text Effects

This Premiere Pro template features some of the coolest text effects we’ve seen. It includes 10 different animated text effects with editable colors and text. You can also adjust the duration and animation effects to your preference.

Free Large Text Block Premiere Pro Text Effect

Another free text effect for Premiere Pro. This template comes with a big text block with simple transition animations. It’s ideal for adding attractive intros and titles for your videos.

8 Modern Premiere Pro Text Effect Templates

With 8 different text effects to choose from, this Premiere Pro template kit will help you craft the best titles for your video projects. Each text effect in this bundle has fully customizable elements and is compatible with up to 4K resolution.

Miscellaneous Text Animations for Premiere Pro

A collection of modern text effects for Premiere Pro. There are 10 trendy text animations included in this template pack for you to use in your social media promos, YouTube videos, and business videos. It includes free fonts and a tutorial as well.

Shadow Lower Thirds for Premiere Pro

These Premiere Pro text effects are ideal for crafting unique lower-thirds for documentaries, movie credits, and various other videos. It comes with 7 different lower thirds designs with easily customizable text, colors, and fonts.

Adaptive Premiere Pro Text Effect Templates

Using text effects and titles with adaptive designs is important when you are designing content for multiple platforms. The Premiere Pro templates in this bundle are designed with that goal in mind. They feature stylish text effects and animation with smooth adaptive layouts.

Free Burning Animation Premiere Pro Text Effect

This free animated text effect is perfect for adding a cool title for your fun and playful videos. It features a fire blast effect for in-and-out animations with animated cartoon flames on the text.

Monochrome Animated Typography Slides for Premiere Pro

With this Premiere Pro template kit, you get a two-in-one kind of deal. It includes a set of typography slide designs that also features cool text animations. The template will allow you to instantly add a cool-looking title scene or opening scene to your videos with just a few clicks.

Motion Type – Premiere Pro Text Effects

The text effects in this template kit have some of the most amazing designs we’ve seen. There are many different types of effects, including cyberpunk-style text animations, colorful typography effects, subtle text animations, and more. There is a total of 20 different text effects in this pack for any type of project you have.

Motion Styles – Text Effects & Animations For Premiere Pro

If you’re looking for colorful and creative text effects to add a bit of style to your videos, then this Premiere Pro template pack is for you. It includes 54 trendy text effects with vibrant designs and attractive animations. They are perfect for social media videos as well as YouTube vlogs and business promos as well. You can use them by simply dragging and dropping them into your timeline.

Text Animation Toolkit – 122 Premiere Pro Text Effects

This is a complete text animation toolkit that features more than 120 different text effects. The effects in this pack have simple and subtle animations. And they are ideal for business and professional video projects. The best part is that these animations are fully compatible with any type of font or language. And it includes both in and out animations.

10 Free Texture Title Animations for Premiere Pro

If you’re low on budget, you can grab this text animations pack for free. It includes a set of unique title animations with textured designs. Perfect for making your YouTube vlogs and social videos look more creative.

15 Free Animated Lower-Third Premiere Pro Templates

With these free Premiere Pro text animations, you can create stylish lower-thirds for your videos. They are especially useful when making documentary-style videos as well as for adding credits and titles too.

Essential Typography Premiere Pro Text Effects

You’ll find clean and professional typography animations in this bundle of Premiere Pro text effects. You can use them to create titles for promo videos, lower thirds for business videos, social media clips, and more. Each text animation preset is easily customizable so you can adjust settings to your preference as well.

Stomp Typography – Fast Premiere Pro Text Animations

This Premiere Pro text animations pack comes with a set of fast-paced text effects. They feature stomp-style text animations that allow you to create titles and text with quick animations. You can choose from multiple styles of effects. These are especially suitable for short Instagram and TikTok videos and YouTube videos.

25 Simple Motion Text Animations for Premiere Pro

Looking for simple and classy text animations for business videos? Then this bundle of Premiere Pro templates is for you. There are 25 different text effects included in this pack. They all feature simple and professional text animations suitable for business events and promo videos.

40 Kinetic Titles & Text Effects for Premiere Pro

Another collection of simple text effects. The text effects in this collection feature kinetic-style animations. There are 40 unique animations with different styles of effects to choose from. Of course, they are easily customizable to your preference as well.

Project-x – Glitch & Distortion Text Effects for Premiere Pro

The glitch text effect is one of the most popular effects used in modern videos, especially in YouTube videos. If you want to add the same stylish effects to your text and titles, grab this bundle. It includes 30 different glitch and distortion text effects that are perfect for technology, gaming, and many other trendy videos.

Free Paint Splash Premiere Pro Text Effect Animation

A creative text effect animation featuring colorful paint splash design. This simple yet beautiful animation will fit in perfectly with your creative DIY and educational videos. It’s free to download as well.

Free Faded Glitch Title Animation for Premiere Pro

Another simple glitching text effect. You can use this one for free with your personal and professional videos. The template can also be customized and used to create title scenes or typography slides.

Fresh Typography – Premiere Pro Text Effects & Slides

This Premiere Pro template kit features typography slides that you can use to add stylish titles and typography scenes to your videos. They also come with unique text effects and animations as well. The dynamic design of these templates offers an opportunity for you to experiment with different styles of text animations.

Abstract Typography – Unique Premiere Pro Text Effects

If you’re looking for unique and uncommon text animations to make your videos stand out, this text effects toolkit is perfect for you. It comes with lots of cool animations with 3D-like text effects. With these text effects, your videos will definitely grab the attention of your audience.

Premiere Pro Text Transitions with Animated Titles

These text effect templates allow you to create modern transitions with text and titles. The text transition effect is a commonly used animation in social media videos, especially on Instagram. There are many different styles of effects in this pack for you to make all kinds of social media promos and videos.

Just Typography – Premiere Pro Text Effects Pack

This bundle lets you choose from many different text effects to create professional and business videos. The effects feature simple and clean text animations. And they can be easily customized to your preference to create your own text effects as well.

Chaotic Typography – Premiere Pro Text Effect Templates

Just as the name suggests, this Premiere Pro text effects bundle includes some chaotic and unusual text animations, unlike anything we’ve seen before. The weirdness of the animations actually makes them quite unique and interesting to look at. So they might help you get the attention of your viewers.

This is Black – Premiere Pro Typography Animations

This Premiere Pro text effect template features cool animations with 3D-like designs. They are easily editable and you can use them to create eye-catching text animations for social media videos, as well as corporate and business videos.

Free Colorful Glitch Text Animation for Premiere Pro

If you can’t get enough of the glitch text animations, be sure to grab this one too. It features a unique glitching effect with a colorful design. You can easily customize the text and animation effect to your preference.

Free Typing Text Effect Premiere Pro Template

This is a simple and free text effect for Premiere Pro. It features a minimal animation that makes your text appear with a typing effect. The animation is most suitable for corporate and business videos.

How To Animate Text in Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro comes with a set of default presets in the Effects library you can use to animate text and titles. These are easy to use and feature simple animations.

But the problem is these animations and effects are used by everyone. So if you want to make your videos stand out, you need to find unique text effects for Premiere Pro.

We recommend grabbing a unique Premiere Pro text effect from our collection above. It doesn’t matter if it’s a free template or a premium one, you just need to find a preset with a cool animation.

Import that preset in Premiere Pro and you can animate your text quite easily.

Or, if you prefer to create your own text effects, you can follow this step-by-step tutorial to learn how to craft Premiere Pro text effects.

October 23, 2024

How to Generate Video Scripts With AI

I write for a living. While I love allowing creative work space to breathe, grow, and develop, deadlines don‘t allow me the luxury of writer’s block. At some point in the project timeline, I‘ve got to get moving beyond that blank page.

It doesn’t happen often, but when I'm really struggling to do this, I'll enlist AI to help me ideate and get the juices flowing.

I think in the case of writing something as extensive as a video script, AI should — at least in theory — help speed up the process when you‘ve hit a wall. But the real art is to balance production speed with overall quality. (That’s not always easy!)

Hopefully, the process I've outlined for generating video scripts with AI should help you do just that. I get into all that and more below.

Table of Contents

How to Write Video Scripts With AI
Best AI Video Script Generators

How to Write Video Scripts With AI

Here’s some inside baseball for you: To learn how to get AI to write a video script first-hand, I tested a bunch of tools first. That way, I could show you everything you need to know to use the tech with absolute confidence.

Why do I bring this up? Well, the article layout doesn’t reflect this order of events. But I think it’s important for you to know that everything I’ve outlined below is based on my genuine experience using AI tools for this context.

Hopefully, the lessons I learned along the way will save you some time and reduce your own learning curve.

Anywho, enough preamble. In the true spirit of AI, let’s “dive” in.

1. Get specific about the goal(s) of your video script.

I picked up this lil’ tidbit while experimenting with a bunch of AI video script writers for this piece (see below!). I noticed that when I specified the purpose of the video during the input stage, the AI’s output was better. By “better,” I mean more specific to what I actually needed from the video script.

This step may seem kinda obvious. However, your chosen tool might not prompt you to input the purpose of your video at all. And if the tool works based on an open-ended prompt from yourself, you might forget to state the video's objective. That will negatively impact the output.

Having a goal in mind from the start will also make you more focused on what you want the video to achieve. In turn, the instructions you give the AI tool will be more tailored towards achieving that end goal. This will save you a lot of time refining your prompts and/or editing the AI output.

Example: In my testing scenario, I wanted to create a video sharing the best skincare routine for oily skin. More specifically, I wanted my video script to:

Educate young people and adults with oily, acne-prone skin about the best skincare routine to follow.
Sell our moisturizer with zinc PCA to regulate oily skin.

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2. Choose your target audience(s).

Aside from being specific about the actual goal of your video script, you want to get specific about your target audience, too. As with the purpose of your video, this will frame your thinking and, as a result, frame how you instruct the AI.

In general, when writing a video script, your target audience can dictate things like:

The length and format of your video.
Stage directions, lighting, set design.
The tone of your script.

The above suggestions are just some elements your chosen AI video script generator will likely tweak based on your target audience. Plus, many of these tools (at least in my experience) may not have an input box for your target audience. In that case, you need to come prepared with this in your prompt.

Example: In my testing scenario, I set my target audience as young people and adults with oily, acne-prone skin.

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3. Decide on the tone of your video.

I tested five tools; three had a “tone” input option. So, there’s a high chance the AI tool you use will require you to add your preferred tone in a specific input field. If your chosen tool doesn’t instruct you to do this, you can add your preferred tone within your prompt.

Aside from being a preset feature in many AI tools, why is choosing the right tone for a video script important? Your tone can dictate how your reader feels when viewing your content. How your reader feels can influence their actions (i.e., purchasing, finding out more, etc.).

Pro tip: In my experience using AI video script writers, tone options can range anywhere from “professional” and “engaging” to “inspirational” and more. If you’re unsure what tone you’d like to use, try a simple test prompt to see what each tone looks like in practice.

Example: In my testing scenario, I chose “empathetic” as my desired tone. In one case, I picked “friendly” because it was the closest option available within that tool.

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4. Define any key points you want to cover.

Only one of the AI tools I tested had a dedicated input field where I could add any key points for the video script. That worked well in terms of the AI output.

In short, the output reflected the specific points I wanted the video script to highlight. Luckily, it was the first tool I tested, so I added these “key points” when prompting the rest of the tools.

Example: In my testing scenario, I wanted to cover the following key points:

Find the right products for your skin type, including a moisturizer with zinc PCA to regulate oily skin.
Avoid products with ingredients that increase oil production.
Double-cleanse to remove dirt and excess oil at the deeper layers of the skin.

5. Craft your prompt.

Every AI video script generator is different. Some require you to fill out a simple blank box with your prompt. Others require you to fill in specific input fields. In any case, it’s best to draft a prompt factoring in:

The topic of your video.
The goal(s) of your video.
Your target audience(s).
Your preferred tone.
Any key points you’d like the video script to cover.

Pro tip: I’d recommend being somewhat fluid with your prompt. Because each tool is different, there might not be a specific place to add some information specified above.

For example, I encountered a character limit for one tool, so I had to cut out some of the information. Then, other tools didn’t have specific input fields for some elements outlined above. But it will save you some time to have a prompt in the hopper if needed.

Plus, in my experience, having a prompt covering the above is helpful when working with AI video script writers that start with a blank box. (See image below.) It’ll also provide a checklist to cross reference when editing, refining, or regenerating your script.

Example: In my testing scenario, I used variants of the following prompt:

6. Find the right AI video script writer.

Before you start generating AI scripts with a single tool, I highly recommend testing what’s available on the market first.

You’ll want to get a feel for how easy the tool is to use, what the AI output is like, and whether it genuinely meets your needs. The good news is that most of these tools will allow you to test them out for free first.

Pro tip: Need some tooling inspo? No worries! I test-drove a bunch of AI video scriptwriters to give you a head start. Check out what I found in the next section.

Example: I tested five AI video script writers (see below), and each one was different in its own way. For example, Synthesia was the only tool that specifically required an objective for the video. That definitely enhanced the AI video script output.

Then, some tools like Writesonic had a specific input option for video duration; others didn’t. Some of the tools also gave detailed stage directions. Some reverted the narration portion only.

My point? It’s super important to test the tools first to find exactly what you need.

7. Input your instructions, review, and refine.

Once you‘ve covered the above and (hopefully!) found the best AI video script generator for your needs, it’s time to input your instructions.

As I highlighted above, the input options for each tool will be different. So, you'll likely need to switch up your prompt to suit your chosen tool.

After the tool provides the script output, you‘ll want to double-check it for accuracy. You’ll also want to make sure that the script reflects the goals you set, the target audience, and any other specifics you input.

If you want to make any amendments, you can refine your prompt and try again, edit it manually, or work with any edit/regeneration options the tool provides.

Example: The video script output example below is from my test using CoCoClip.AI. If I were to re-prompt this for a better result, I‘d ask for it to add stage directions like lighting or instructions for the camera.

I’d also edit out the “Shine on!” sign-off. As we’re targeting folks with oily skin, I don‘t think that’s appropriate.

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Best AI Video Script Generators

Now it’s time to road-test five AI video script writers.

To make it fair, I’m going to use the same video concept for each tool. The specific inputs, however, may change depending on the layout of each tool.

Because of this, I might not be able to use all of the information below, but the general topic will always remain the same.

Here’s what I’m running with:

Topic	A video script about following the best skincare routine for oily skin.
Goals	Educate young people and adults with oily, acne-prone skin about the best skincare routine to follow. Sell our moisturizer with zinc PCA to regulate oily skin.
Key points	Find the right products for your skin type, including a moisturizer with zinc PCA to regulate oily skin. Avoid products with ingredients that increase oil production. Double-cleanse to remove dirt and excess oil at the deeper layers of the skin.
Target audience	Young people and adults with oily, acne-prone skin
CTA	Try our Zinc PCA moisturizer at 20% off.
Duration	2 minutes
Tone	Empathetic

Let’s get into it!

1. Writesonic

Writesonic is an AI content-creation platform for marketers, agencies, and enterprise organizations.

To get started with Writesonic’s AI video script writer, you only need to input any key details (think topic, tone, and content length), click Generate, and get your script.

The platform also allows you to edit the content after, which is a big time saver.

What I like: Because of the straightforward layout, I found the Writesonic platform easy to use. I also like that you don’t have to sign up to test the tool. That’s ideal if you want to get a feel for what’s on the market before committing to a specific platform.

That said, the AI script Writesonic generated cut off mid-way. I’m guessing you have to sign up to get a full script? I still think even a short script is enough to get a feel for the content capabilities of the tool, though.

It’s pretty impressive how Writesonic’s AI has taken key points from the instructions and ran with them to create a more fleshed-out script. I would definitely want to edit and expand upon this. But the video script text itself is a good jumping-off point. I especially like the addition of stage directions.

2. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an all-in-one marketing intelligence platform. Marketers use the tool to create data-backed digital strategies. I predominantly know Ahrefs as an SEO tool. So when I saw that they offered an AI video script generator, too, I was curious to test it out.

What I like: Ahref’s AI video script generator was pretty easy to use. But I think if I hadn’t experimented with Writesonic first, I wouldn’t have known where to start.

Because Writesonic had specific input boxes, I’d already thought about key points to include and the target audience. Otherwise, I’d be staring at an open-ended, blank screen. And with my basic prompting skills, that might’ve been a disaster.

That said, I actually prefer Ahref’s video script output to Writesonic’s. It’s more fleshed out, and the tone of the writing is better suited to the purpose of the video.

It also comes across as more educational than promotional. But the script still includes a naturally placed CTA directing folks to get 20% off the zinc PCA moisturizer.

Note: I did prompt Writesonic and Ahrefs slightly differently. Here’s how:

Writesonic’s topic description = “Skincare routine for oily skin.”

Ahref’s topic description = “Following the best skincare routine for oily skin.”

I think the “following” in my topic prompt for Ahrefs could’ve made the difference because it added further context to the instructions.

3. Synthesia

Synthesia is an AI video generator that helps you turn text into video. The tool has different AI avatars and the option to voice over your content in over 140 languages. Synthesia’s target audience includes businesses of all sizes who use video for multiple purposes.

What I like: As with Writesonic and Ahrefs, Synthesia’s AI video script-writing platform was intuitive, making it super easy to use. That’s a big plus, as getting to grips with the tool takes less time.

I also love how Synthesia had an input option to share the objective of the video script. That’s a nifty input field that helped focus the tone and content of the AI output.

Here's what I wrote in that field: “To educate young people and adults with oily, acne-prone skin about the best routine to follow. Sell our moisturizer with zinc PCA to regulate oily skin.”

Regarding the actual script, the writing is competent for a first draft. I like how conversational the text is. I also think this is the most natural product placement of the zinc PCA moisturizer so far. That could be the “What is the objective of your script?” input field making the difference there!

Note: Synthesia doesn’t have “empathetic” as a tone, so I picked “friendly,” which was the next closest option. This slight change could also be why the product placement was slightly more natural.

4. Edworking

Edworking is predominantly a project management tool that connects remote teams. In that context, I’m guessing the AI video script generator would be helpful for educational content about completing specific tasks.

(Kinda like how you might create a Loom video and attach it to a relevant Asana task, but you can do that all in one tool.)

Edworking seems to be marketing the AI video script writer aspect of the tool to filmmakers, YouTubers, marketers, and content creators. That seems like disparate audiences and use cases compared to the tool's main focus.

What I like: I love how easy it is to get started with Edworking. Still, I have similar feedback to what I mentioned when testing Ahrefs.

Long story short? If I hadn’t used other AI script generators that had specific input fields first, I don’t think I’d hit the ground running because it’d take me longer to tailor the prompt to be specific enough.

I’ll level with you; with Edworking being a project management tool first and foremost, I was a little skeptical about the platform’s AI-video capabilities.

Despite my skepticism, the output is a lot better than I expected. I like the clear and thorough stage directions. Unlike other AI tools, the output is really in-depth for this element, rather than just providing the verbal script.

5. CoCoClip.AI

CoCoClip.AI is an AI video editor for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. You can also use the platform to generate AI images and create scripts.

CoCoClip.AI is aimed at beginner, intermediate, and advanced social media content creators.

What I like: It’s quick to get started, and you don’t need to sign up to test the tool. However, this is the only AI video script generator I’ve tried with a character limit for the prompt. So, I had to cut out a few aspects from the prompt, like asking for a specific duration and CTA.

While the steps in the skincare routine aren’t as detailed as other AI outputs, the text itself reads okay, and the tone works.

The tool has also included the key points I specified, like mentioning double-cleansing and choosing the right product ingredients while avoiding harmful ones.

Is an AI video script writer right for you?

After testing the tools first-hand and creating a process based on this experience, I’m struggling to think of an instance when an AI video script writer wouldn’t at least save you time.

If you’ve been following any of my other content about AI, you might appreciate the gravity of that statement. And if you haven’t, know that I’ve typically remained skeptical about most (but not all!) use cases for the tech.

In this instance, I’m picturing a busy content marketer. Maybe they’re working for an agency and have a lot of projects on the go at once. If that were me, I’d 100% be reaching for a tool like this.

I don’t think I’d use the output exactly as is. Still, I’d massively appreciate having a jumping-off point. Overall, I think that’s the main benefit of these tools.

So, rather than asking if AI video script writers are right for you, ask yourself: Would you rather be staring at a blank screen watching your project timeline evaporate in real time?

Or would you rather have something to expand upon and improve?

October 23, 2024

‘Not Your Mom’s Facebook’ — Is It Enough to Attract Gen Z?

Welcome to The Perspective, a series where HubSpotters weigh in on the latest business and marketing trends.

“We are not your mom’s Facebook.”

This bold statement was passed around at Facebook’s event for younger creators in NYC earlier this summer.

As the social giant turns 20 this year, they know a big chunk of their future relies on Gen Z. Especially considering only 52% currently rank Facebook as their favorite platform, and only 33% of teens aged 13-17 use it at all.

(By comparison — 72% of Gen Z rank TikTok as their favorite platform, and 63% of teens are actively using it.)

Can Facebook actually show younger generations there’s more to it than “old” people and outdated memes?

To find the answer to that question, we have to start by unpacking why Gen Z decides to spend their social energy elsewhere.

And who better to ask than a member of HubSpot’s fantastic social team and one of my amazing Gen Z colleagues.

Featured Voices:

Justina Thompson, Associate Marketing Manager at HubSpot
Reece Callaway, Brand and Social Content Manager at HubSpot

Here’s Why Gen Z Isn’t on Facebook

“I think it comes down to the type of content on Facebook,” says Reece Callaway, Brand and Social Content Manager at HubSpot.

“Since Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms still around, we see a lot of Millennials and Gen X on Facebook who regularly post content that doesn’t resonate with Gen Z. Gen Z wants to see the latest culturally relevant content on their feeds, and Facebook just isn’t the place for that.”

And Callaway brings up a great point. The other part of Facebook’s attempted rebrand is to position themselves as a “hub for all things culturally happening” in the platform's underground.

Creating a culturally relevant space for younger generations is an important first step — but it's not necessarily an easy one to accomplish.

The Gen Z Perspective

Justina Thompson, Associate Marketing Manager at HubSpot (and Gen Z baddie herself), feels like Gen Z isn't on Facebook like other generations because it has a reputation for being family-focused rather than a true social platform.

“When I was growing up, my Facebook was monitored by my mom and I primarily used it to stay connected with aunts, uncles, and middle school friends whose profiles were also monitored by their parents,” says Thompson.

“Over time, I began to crave more autonomy over my online presence, which I couldn't do through Facebook.”

These are also reasons why I no longer have Facebook, and I'm a millennial.

My timeline was a mix of random posts from family members along with the occasional “hbd” from someone I haven’t interacted with since elementary school.

It became hard to curate my timeline and my following to align with my interests.

Thompson also says that Gen Z wants to excavate their own identities online — especially where no one they know is watching. That’s why TikTok is so popular for this age group.

“People from anywhere can interact with your content and not have to know you IRL. There's no pre-existing impression that they have of you.”

Thompson continues, “Facebook represents having an attachment to communities that already know you. Places like Instagram and TikTok have proven that you don't have to come bearing proximity to anyone you know in order to build connections. That's the hurdle I think Facebook has yet to overcome.”

I second that — Facebook has to make that leap in order to compete. Channels like Instagram and TikTok have high-quality algorithms that make it easy for users to curate their feeds and find new people.

So, now, this all begs the question ...

Can a ‘rebrand’ work … or is it too late?

In theory, Thompson thinks a Facebook revamp could work. And I'm inclined to agree. But she says it’s going to take a lot more than shifting what we see on our feeds to get Gen Z back there.

“I do think investing in what's already on the platform, like Facebook Marketplace, is a good place to start — especially because I have personally had positive experiences with that part of Facebook,” says Thompson.

And she’s not alone. Our research shows that social media is Gen Z’s #1 channel for product discovery, and 43% have bought something via social media in the past three months.

Plus, Facebook Marketplace is in fact Gen Z's big draw to the platform right now.

“However, Facebook isn‘t just its Marketplace. It’s an amalgamation of many things, and all of those pieces have to speak to each other in a way that makes sense,” says Thompson.

She continues, “I think TikTok does a great job at this. Although I‘m not the biggest fan of TikTok’s monetization efforts, they‘re done well because they’re integrated into the content you see as you scroll.”

And because other channels like TikTok are already so popular among Gen Z, Callaway says it’s going to be difficult to reroute their attention.

“It’s going to be very hard to take Gen Z off of other platforms that they are already on,” he argues. “I think there is an opportunity for [Facebook] to rebrand themselves. However, they have 20 years of reputation to work against.”

He's right — Gen Z still sees Facebook as the social channel for older generations, filled with inspirational quotes and boomer humor. It’s not impossible, but that rep is going to be pretty hard to shake.

So, what’s the key to bringing Gen Z back?

Facebook says they’re focusing on three key features to get Gen Z to buy in: the feed, reels, and creators.

They plan to highlight more relevant content including Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Dating, and groups and events to attract younger audiences.

From my perspective, this isn’t a bad strategy. Earlier, Thompson called out Facebook Marketplace as a positive, and serving tailored, audience-driven content always wins.

Callaway says, “I think they would need to get a lot of the biggest creators that Gen Z enjoys to consistently post content on Facebook and do it in a way that makes Gen Z choose Facebook to watch that content over a different platform.”

He continues, “Along with that, Facebook needs features that are unique to Facebook, not just a copy of a popular feature from a different platform.”

Thompson echoes the need for unique features to draw in younger users. Here are three ideas she thinks Gen Z would be interested in:

A customizable timeline: “Make the timeline more customizable so Gen Z can filter through random posts from family while also getting the information we actually want.”
Easier content monetization: “TikTok has the Creator Fund but it's incredibly hard to get into ... maybe Facebook could make some of those guidelines more accessible.”
App integrations: “I love that Tiktok has become more integrated with other apps — like CapCut — to make it easier for folks to produce quick, ready-to-post content. I think some sort of integration like that would be awesome.”

Someone at Facebook, probably:

Image Source

Facebook + Gen Z = 🫶🏽?

As Thompson shared, “Facebook has to understand that Gen Z‘s priorities are rapidly changing. We’re interested in getting uncensored access to the information we need to problem solve and live life enjoyably.”

It's an uphill battle, and not a guaranteed win, but I think Facebook can take steps to bring Gen Z back — as long as they take notes from the competition and refine the platform to meet their social needs.

Want to hear our thoughts about a specific topic? Drop your idea in this form , and we may just feature it in an upcoming post.

October 23, 2024

What Is Content Writing? Plus 15 Tips to Take Your Content to the Next Level

Recently, a good friend came to me for advice on hiring. She was unsure how to start looking for content writing talent. And, honestly, even as someone in the industry for about 12 years, I can say she was right to be a little lost.

Content writing can mean many different things to different companies. Crafting social media copy, drafting press releases, posting opinionated essays — they all have their little nuances but fall under the umbrella of content writing with a shared purpose.

Content in marketing is anything we create for our target audience to consume and deepen their connection with our brand. But great content writing is crucial to setting this all in motion.

Table of Contents

What is content writing?
Getting Started with Content Writing
Content Writing Tips to Level Up Your Work
Examples of Great Content Writing
Generative AI in Content Writing

In a recent report, Semrush found 90% of businesses worldwide have a content marketing strategy in place — ninety percent.

This means the role of a content writer is more in demand than ever before.

However, what it actually entails depends on both industry and business needs. In fact, my first question to my friend was, “Well, what do you want them to write?”

Some businesses invest heavily in a social media strategy, while other companies prefer creating content in the format of blog posts or ebooks. Content writing is a wide spectrum, including:

Long-form articles
Video scripts
Video descriptions
Email newsletters
Keynote speeches
Social media posts
Podcast titles or show notes
White papers, ebooks, and guides
Web and landing page copy
Product descriptions
Ad copy
Press releases

Regardless of format, however, high-quality content that represents and strengthens a brand's voice can help:

Build brand awareness
Increase website traffic
Generate leads
Improve search engine rankings
Establish credibility and trust
Delight customers

Overall, content writing is your opportunity to tell your brand’s story. Great content writers convey meaningful, helpful, and insightful messages to inspire and move an audience to take action.

When done right, that action is marketing a purchase. Content writing can convert readers into prospects and prospects into paying customers. But that’s easier said than done.

Getting Started with Content Writing

Before writing content for your marketing, your team must have a few foundational pieces in place.

There’s no way to cover it all in one article, but here are some resources to review if you’re just starting out:

The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2024
Free Content Marketing Certification Course: Grow Better with Content
To create a content strategy: How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide
To create a content calendar: What is an editorial calendar? Your Guide to Editorial Calendars [Examples + Templates]
The Ultimate Collection of 200+ Best Free Content Marketing Templates

Now, let's explore some of my favorite content-writing tips.

Content Writing Tips to Level Up Your Work

1. Answer your audience’s questions.

Effective content is rooted in helping people fulfill a need. And more often than not, that need is an answer to a question. I mean, there’s a reason they call them search “queries.”

When writing content, aim to answer people's questions about your product, service, industry, or any relevant topic you choose to discuss. Addressing these concerns (good or bad) helps you stand out as a trustworthy, honest resource.

It also makes your brand appear more helpful and, in turn, makes people more inclined to buy from you.

Don’t believe me? An experiment by Conductor has found consumers who read early-stage educational content are 131% more likely to buy from a brand immediately after than those who don’t.

Point of sale company Toast does a great job of answering common questions for restauranteurs on its blog.

Pro tip: Not sure what questions your buyers are asking?

When it comes to shopping, most audiences are looking for pricing information, product comparisons, and reviews — just think about your own buying behavior.

But the best way to find out what questions your specific audience is asking is to talk to your salespeople and front-line team members.

You can also try social listening to see what questions or concerns come up in conversation. (HubSpot’s social inbox can help here.)

2. Offer a unique perspective and voice.

Whenever I write a blog article, I do online research — even if it’s a topic I know well, like “content writing.” However, content will never rank, let alone keep people engaged if you just rehash the same information that already exists online.

(That’s part of why AI content writing can be dangerous, but more on that later.)

For content writing to be successful, it needs your unique perspective, expertise, and voice. This is what your audience can’t find anywhere else.

That said, when I know a topic well, I start by outlining everything I would discuss off the top of my head. Then, I’ll search the topic to see what’s already out there and if perhaps there are any ideas I missed worth mentioning.

It’ll also give me insight into how I can approach my content differently, even if there is overlap.

But of course, I don’t know every topic well. In those cases, I‘ll contact internal HubSpotters who are experts on the subject or conduct external outreach via social media to find a reputable source willing to provide tips, quotes, or original examples.

Additionally, I‘ll research sources like YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Quora, and even podcasts, then reflect on and explain the ideas from my point of view.

Bottomline: I always come back to my personal knowledge and tips. I try to give my audience something original, even if it’s simply my opinion or a twist on common advice.

This is your differentiator. It’s what gives people a reason to stay on the page rather than go elsewhere.

Neil Patel is a master of this in content writing. For instance, this article on getting YouTube subscribers does not reinvent the wheel, but Patel leaves no stone unturned when leaving his signature voice (and face) throughout the piece.

3. Be thorough.

Great content doesn’t scratch the surface of a topic; it goes in-depth to address all of the questions someone may have.

As an editor at a previous employer, this was always my criteria when determining whether an article was ready for publication.

This didn’t mean every piece of content had to be a novel, but it did have to offer clarity or guidance via a link or additional resource.

This is something we do commonly at HubSpot:

In this snippet from one of my articles, you see I overtly recognize that the reader may want even more than what is covered in this piece and give them suggestions on where to turn.

This is all about creating a good user experience. Quality content writing anticipates a user’s needs and intentions and ensures it delivers that value.

Internal linking also keeps people on our website and signals to search engines that these pages are related.

4. Aim for clarity.

Listen, I love wordplay. The center of my universe is the pun, not the sun.

(I’ll pause for your laughter.)

But despite this deep-rooted love, I know clarity is non-negotiable when it comes to content writing.

To effectively offer value to an audience and have them grasp a message, they need to understand it. So, minimize the jargon and complicated sentence structure.

Whenever possible, write in the simplest terms so that anyone — familiar with your industry or not — can understand what you’re trying to say.

Complicated writing risks your message not being received and can even frustrate a potential buyer to the point of bouncing off your website and to a competitor.

But hey, it can be powerful if you can find the happy balance between clever and clear. Few brands do this better than Apple, in my opinion.

5. Use a hook to grab your reader's attention.

The introduction and hook of your content are often your best opportunity to inspire, move, surprise, and delight your readers. Moreover, it’s your only chance to convince them to stick around and keep reading. To “hook” them if you will.

Sometimes, writing a good hook is easy — particularly if the topic is intriguing or exciting to you, but what about more boring, mundane topics?

My HubSpot teammate Caroline Forsey explains, “Sometimes, writing a good hook requires pulling back and looking at the bigger picture.”

She continues, “For instance, while rel=nofollow isn‘t the most fascinating topic (in my opinion), what is interesting to me is SEO and how SEO can directly impact a company’s ability to reach new audiences — plus how Google has needed to change regulations in recent years due to an increase in illegitimate sites.”

“This means when I started writing 3 Reasons Why SEOs Are Upset About Google's Rel=nofollow Announcement, I used that angle to inspire my hook and painted a picture: Myself as a Wikipedia editor, writing about zebras, and getting paid $500 to link to a fake news website.

(Now you‘re interested, aren’t you?)

My creative writing background helps in this case, and I'm willing to bet your passion for writing will also help you create exciting hooks.”

6. Use formatting to your advantage.

Like complicated language, how you present your content can make it more difficult to digest, especially on mobile devices. Fortunately, formatting and hierarchy can help.

Effective formatting can also make your content easier for search engines to understand what your page offers.

Here are some formatting best practices to keep in mind:

Opt for short paragraphs. This is a hard one for traditional or academic writers, but shorter paragraphs help eliminate walls of text and are easier on a reader's eyes. At HubSpot, we try not to have paragraphs exceeding three visual lines, even if this ends up being just one sentence.
Break up content with headings. This makes it easier for readers to find the information they need and helps Google better understand the information on the page.
Use numbered or bulleted lists (like this one) to organize and draw eyes to key information.

Use bolding, italics, and underlining to emphasize important information. These also help key points stand out and make it easier for readers to find the good stuff.
Add visual or interactive elements. Videos, images, charts, GIFs, quizzes, and other aids can help drive home your messages and offer readers a break from text.

Litmus does a great job of using formatting to improve its content writing.

7. Optimize for search engines.

Your writing can be genius, but it may never get read if it’s not optimized for search engines. That’s why, as a content writer, you must become familiar with search engine optimization (SEO).

Even if your content is posted on social media, search engines can crawl and index it, so pay attention to your use of keywords and technical aspects like file size, SCHEMA, and more.

If you are new to SEO or just want to brush up on the basics, read:

8. Diversify your mediums and platforms

While SEO is critical for ensuring your content ranks on search engines like Google, it's not the only way people can become aware of your brand.

Nowadays, discovery is actually more frequently happening on social media, especially with the rise of explore and “for you” tabs. In fact, our research shows that social media is the preferred product discovery channel for members of Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.

Plus, different people enjoy consuming information in different ways, so if you’re only creating one type of content you may be getting ignored by many in your target audience.

To reach a wider audience, you need to write content for a variety of platforms and mediums. That means not just blogs and website content but also email newsletters, social media, and even videos, depending on your business needs and audience.

Not sure where to start? Here are some resources to check out:

9. Incorporate multimedia components to break up the text.

As I mentioned earlier, incorporating videos, images, graphs, or other multimedia content into your text can make it easier for your readers to consume.

Consider, for instance, take the article, “The Ultimate Guide to Product Marketing: How to Market a Product.”

That blog post is long — nearly 6,000 words. But, I broke it up by embedding videos and other multimedia elements (like images) to keep the reader engaged. I also use things like a table of contents to make it easier to find what you need.

Pro tip: Use this as an opportunity to promote your additional resources. For instance, if you have a new company podcast, try embedding episodes in relevant blog posts to drive listeners while providing additional value for your readers. It’s a win-win.

10. Include timely and relevant calls-to-action (CTA).

As a content writer, your job isn't just to create good content; it’s also to convert readers, listeners, or viewers into prospects and customers. That said, you must learn how and when to include CTAs throughout your content.

Now, a call to action can be anything. It can be a reminder to subscribe to your YouTube channel, to read a page on your website for more information, or to download an offer.

Whatever it is, you want to make sure the ask is relevant to what you’re talking about and appropriate for where your audience is in their buyer’s journey.

Consider, for instance, the relevant CTAs embedded in the description of HubSpot's YouTube video, "How to Understand Facebook Video Insights (Guide)":

These in-text CTAs direct YouTube viewers to explore other HubSpot offerings, including HubSpot Academy social media courses.

They aren't jarring or off-putting. The content writer did a good job ensuring the CTAs were relevant to the video and made sense for what viewers would want to do next after watching it.

11. Edit!

When I finish a first draft, I always try to set it aside for some time and then come back to it. With a fresh perspective, I can edit for minor grammatical errors, fix structural issues, and improve the piece overall.

Good content writing is impossible without good content editing.

Grammatical errors can make you look careless or even unprofessional, while poor writing can hurt your brand’s reputation as an authority in its space.

We‘re all human and can make mistakes, and that’s okay. But, you should still do your due diligence to review any content before hitting publish.

You can also run your content through tools like Grammarly or Hemmingway App when you’re under a time crunch. These can miss things too, but an extra pair of eyes can’t hurt, even if they’re AI.

12. Cut the fluff.

Most of your readers are busy. Try to make your point as quickly as possible to avoid taking up too much of their time. Cut filler words, redundancies, cliches, or anything that may weaken or distract from your key message.

HubSpot contributor Clifford Chi shares some useful tips in the article “8 Writing Tips I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging.”

13. Incorporate original quotes from popular thought leaders or experts.

No matter how good your writing is, readers won’t necessarily want to hear your advice on particular topics.

For example, Forsey remembers writing an article on protecting your mental health while working from home. She explains, “I didn't try to tackle the topic myself. Instead, I found a psychologist to provide well-researched, helpful tips to take my piece to the next level.”

She advises, “Even if you‘re an expert, consider how you might provide alternative opinions to create a more well-rounded argument.”

“If you’re writing a blog post like ‘Video vs. Podcast: Which Is Better For Your Business?’ — see if you can get quotes from podcasters and video producers (or your internal colleagues who feel passionate about the subject).

Expert quotes or original insights will impress readers and show them that what they‘re finding on your website they won’t find elsewhere on the web. And that’s powerful.”

14. Make it about the reader.

Let’s be real: As empathetic as someone might be, nothing gets their attention more than hearing what’s in it for them.

In content writing, this means framing your topic or point around your reader.

Let‘s say you’re creating an ebook: “A Comprehensive Guide to Excel,” for example.

This likely isn’t something super exciting for your audience to read. They’re reading because they have to, but you can make it more engaging (and, in turn, delight your readers) by explaining why the information is important to them.

Consider how critical Excel is for specific functions or how it can help make certain tasks easier.

Excel can help a company's financial department analyze year-over-year performance to determine how much budgeting a marketing team will receive in the upcoming year.

That budget contributes to critical growth and the business‘s ability to reach and convert new customers. Without it, the marketing team won’t be able to increase brand awareness as effectively as they’d like — and the business will suffer.

When you recognize that Excel can be tied to job security, it suddenly becomes much more fascinating, doesn’t it?

Content writing is about more than just stringing together a coherent sentence. It's about telling readers why a topic matters to them.

15. Support your claims with examples and data.

Even if you’re an expert in your field, people won’t always take you at your word.

Details like examples and data can help ground your advice and drive a message home. They show you’re not just making things up and can also illustrate how readers can apply tactical advice. It’s about showing, not telling.

That being said, let's dive into some examples of powerful content writing.

Examples of Great Content Writing

1. “The Code” - Dove

What I like:

In this video, Dove stays true to its brand of promoting “real beauty” and makes it relevant to today by discussing how that brand is affected by generative AI.

But I don’t just love the video's writing (which is simple and clear); I love the video description, which implements many of the tips I shared.

It details Dove’s unique commitment to its audience, pulls in data, and incorporates calls to action.

2. “The Player Series Players: Haim Discusses Their Fender Love” - Fender

Image Source

What I like:

Fender's blog post is smart because it highlights their product, but also tells a human story and offers social proof.

It’s short but engaging with its use of an embedded video and colorful imagery and smartly links to the products featured in the content.

3. ”The 5 Best Morning Routine Ideas Of Highly-Productive People" - Trello

Image Source

What I like:

Trello’s article never discusses or promotes its product. Yet, it shows their marketing muscle by discussing a topic their audience cares about — being more productive and effective. Helpful content like this helps to drive SEO and aligns with the brand’s story.

4. “Retailers, No Need to Spend a Fortune on Voice AI to See Results” - SoundHound

Image Source

What I like:

SoundHound’s blog post focuses on a particular segment of their customers: retailers. Great content writers craft each piece with a purpose and audience in mind. This post exemplifies that.

They also make use of statistics and specific examples to drive home the value that their product delivers:

Image Source

5. "Holy Basil: Our Antioxidant Friend" - Parallel Health

Image Source

What I like:

Parallel Health is a startup that creates custom skincare solutions based on your personal skin microbiome. The above blog post focuses on the reader and explains the benefits of the antioxidant-rich natural ingredient that happens to be in their products.

This post speaks to skincare connoisseurs with a penchant for science, which accurately describes their target audience. It also makes readers feel good about using the product, which is always how you want to make your customers think.

Generative AI in Content Writing

Generative AI is here, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Using tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and our free AI Content Assistant, content writers can generate blog posts, titles, captions, and other content ideas just by asking.

However, this doesn't mean generative AI does the content writing for you. Generative AI is best used to help you along in the writing process. In other words, outlining, researching, and brainstorming.

You’ll still need to personalize the AI’s output and align it with your voice and needs.

Here are some tips for effectively implementing Gen AI in your content writing strategy.

1. Give context.

When prompting your generative AI of choice, give it the context of what your content will be about, your goals, and who your target audience is. Be as clear and descriptive as possible when prompting your AI.

2. Be specific.

Tell the AI about specific keywords you want to hit, the length of your post, and any other structural information relevant to the type of content you want to create. Do you want a bulleted list of points as opposed to whole paragraphs? The more detailed instructions you can give, the more on-target the results will be.

3. Workshop your prompts.

If your AI didn’t output what you sought on the first try, reiterate, rewrite, and adjust your prompts to get the best results. You can ask your gen AI to review and expand on specific segments until you are happy with the results.

4. Use AI to summarize.

Let’s say you are researching an upcoming post, which requires you to read many other articles for inspiration and fact-finding. You can use generative AI to summarize a lengthy passage.

Copy and paste your source text and ask the AI to summarize the input as a bulleted list.

Just like that, you’ve saved time and have access to key takeaways and points that will inform your content writing process.

5. Be you.

Generative AI is exciting and convenient but does not replace human content writing. Remember, AI is trained on existing content, but only humans can create something out of nothing.

Use AI for inspiration and jumpstart your writing process, but don’t copy and paste the output verbatim, or your content will end up generic and lacking your personal touch.

Start doing content write.

At the end of the day, everyone has their own writing style, and every brand’s audience likely responds to different things.

Use everything in this article to start experimenting to see which ultimately can help take your content writing results to the next level.

October 23, 2024

20+ Best Fonts Similar to Roboto

Roboto’s clean, modern, and highly readable style has made it a popular choice for digital and print designs alike. But sometimes, you might want a font that offers a similar vibe with a slightly different character or a unique twist to make your projects stand out.

In this collection, we’ve rounded up the best fonts that are similar to Roboto and capture the same sleek and versatile appeal while bringing their own distinct qualities.

Whether you’re working on a website, mobile app, or branding project, these fonts provide the same professional and contemporary look that Roboto is known for, but with subtle variations in letterforms and styles.

You’ll find fonts that are ideal for body text, headlines, and user interfaces, offering plenty of options to match the tone and feel of your design. Have a look.

Futuru

Futuru, a geometric sans-serif font, combines classic elegance with modern design to provide a unique solution for multiple design needs. This distinctive font delivers a sleek, professional feel perfect for branding or digital projects. With its legibility, versatility, and multilingual support, Futuru is ideal for both corporate use and creative projects.

Physis

Physis is a refined neo-grotesk typeface, reminiscent of Switzerland’s Golden Age of graphic design. Cleaner, elegant, and featuring generous spacing, Physis serves as a versatile font option for both screen and editorial projects. Its flexible family offers five weights from Light to Black, coupled with matching slanted forms for added variety.

Helixa

Helixa is a stylish and versatile neo-grotesque typeface, perfect for making an impact in branding, logotypes and marketing materials, both in print and online. With 12 fonts, each with seven upright weights and Italic equivalents, and a total of 300 glyphs, it offers extensive language support. Its clean design and modern look make it an enduring choice for all design needs.

Osande TXT

Osande TXT is a dynamic neo-Grotesque Sans font family, inspired by the modern Osande Pro. Its features include a large x-height, intriguing yet simple forms, and a low contrast with a condensed width. Offering enhanced characters and comprehensive language support, it’s an adaptable choice for assorted body text or display designs.

Vistol

Vistol, with its Roboto-like style, presents a neo-grotesque sans-serif font family perfect for various applications. It boasts 18 weights, European language support, and features an array of symbols. Exceptional for print, packaging, editorial and branding needs, its low-stroke contrast ensures readability even in smaller sizes. The font family comes with 18 OTF fonts, including upright and italic versions.

Orion Pro

Orion Pro, a modern Sans-Serif typeface, is inspired by celebrated Swiss fonts. This versatile pack, produced by Fontastica and distributed by Designova, comes with 12 diverse fonts. With its sleek style, it’s perfect for branding, logotypes, and other print and web purposes.

Black Pro

Explore the adaptable and geometric nature of the Black Pro sans serif font family. This modern typeface, with its clean lines and professional aesthetic, is perfect for branding, headlines, and editorial design. Its various weights and styles improve readability and aesthetics, making it suitable for a wide range of design projects, from corporate branding to creative pursuits.

VISIA Duo

VISIA Duo is an elegant font family consisting of 8 font weights, including outline version. It shares similarities with the Roboto font and consists of ‘Natural’ and ‘Outline’ versions of the VISIA Pro Geometric Sans-Serif typeface, each in four variations: Regular, Bold, Italic, and Bold Italic. The files come in OTF, TTF, and Web Font formats.

Kinetica

Kinetica is a dynamic typeface, influenced by movement and globalization. It’s a versatile font with two weights – Light and Bold, each with matching obliques. Ideal for headlines or large-format prints, Kinetica easily adapts to branding, social media, or editorial design tasks. With built-in support for multiple languages based on the Latin alphabet, it’s a minimalistic, yet eye-catching addition to your font library.

Osande Pro

Osande Pro, inspired by the modern sans serif design, mirrors the simplicity of Roboto with a unique neo-Grotesque touch. It boasts a total of three forms – italics, obliques, and upright – each offering seven distinct weights for flexibility. This versatile font, compatible with a broad range of projects, comes packed with 245 glyphs and supports Basic Latin, English letters, West European diacritics, and more.

JUST Sans

JUST Sans is a versatile and modern geometric sans serif typeface boasting endearing warmth. It fuses neutrality and expressiveness, sophistication and approachability. With its wide, open-air characters and sharp, gripping terminals, the font embodies a contemporary elegance. The package offers seven weights, extensive Latin language support, adjusted kerning, and clear web fonts suitable for various design-based applications.

Progress Pro

Explore your creativity with Progress Pro, a contemporary sans-serif typeface designed by Richard Mayer. Perfect for film posters, headlines, logo designs, and big banners, this font is a modern twist on classic, decorative typography. With the inclusion of OTF, TTF, and web fonts, it offers versatility for all your design needs.

Neosande

Neosande, designed by Faldykudo in 2023, is a versatile, sleek, and legible neo-grotesque sans serif typeface. Offering a range of weights, high legibility, and support for multiple languages, it’s ideal for various applications like branding, web design, advertising, and editorial design. The typeface’s simple, clean lines give it a professional, stylish, and modern appeal.

Linear Grotesk

Linear Grotesk is a beautifully handcrafted, classic sans-serif typeface available in 16 variations. Ideal for graphic and web design, print or display, this typeface also suits branding, marketing graphics, and editorial design. This comprehensive package is designed for simplicity and readability and includes OTF, TTF, and Web Fonts, as well as an HTML and CSS WebFont preset and demo.

Nobel Uno

Nobel Uno is a clean, modern sans-serif typeface ideal for contemporary design projects. As the fourth font from the advanced Uno class families, it presents 16 fonts with upright weights and matching italics. Equipped with an extended character set featuring 386 glyphs, Nobel Uno supports over 120 languages which makes it suitable for diverse applications including graphic design, branding, web, and editorial design.

Optika

Optika is a sleek, modern Sans-Serif typeface perfect for all design needs. This all-around typeface stands out in logotypes, headlines, and branding. Handcrafted with Western European, Central European, and South Eastern European sets, Optika includes 394 glyphs and 14 fonts, coming in seven weights for both upright and italic.

Univa Nova

Univa Nova, a minimalist typeface, offers elegant design and superior usability. Ideal for graphic and web design, textual presentations, and various marketing graphics, its attributes extend to enhanced letter-spacing optimal for headlines and logotypes. Developed with OpenType features, it supports Western and Central European language sets.

Catesque

Catesque, a versatile and dynamic font, is excellent for both large-scale designs and smaller text applications. Its five weights range from light to black, accommodated by matching italics and various alternate characters that add unique characters to your design work. This font further supports numeric designs with specialized numeral features.

Quadran

Quadran is a modern, geometric grotesque type family with a tailored character, suited for today’s design trends. The unique double storey “g” adds a classic touch. With weights ranging from ExtraLight to Black, extensive language support, and a variety of OpenType features, Quadran is versatile across small and medium text sizes. It’s perfect for editorial fashion magazines, website headings, signage, logos, and more.

Free Fonts Like Roboto

Roboto Flex

Roboto Flex is a unique, free font you can use to design stylish titles and headings. It comes with minimal and stylistic characters that improve upon the design of Roboto’s original design. The font is free for commercial use.

Roboto Serif

What if Roboto was a serif font? Well, you don’t have to imagine it. With this free font, you can craft serif typography with letterforms that are quite similar to Roboto. This font is completely free for commercial use.

Phlatt Grotesk

Phlatt Grotesk is another free font that is inspired by Roboto. It features a simple and professional letter design that will fit perfectly with your business and corporate-themed design projects. It’s free for commercial use.

Host Grotesk

This free font is also perfect for designers looking for a Roboto alternative. It comes with a clean and simple letter design with subtle stylistic elements. You can use this font for free with both personal and commercial projects.

October 22, 2024

The AI-Powered Classroom: Shaping the Future of Education with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various sectors, and education is no exception. The integration of AI into the classroom is transforming how educators teach and how students learn. By harnessing AI’s capabilities, educational institutions can create more personalized, efficient, and engaging learning experiences. In this blog, we’ll explore how AI is shaping the future of …

Continue reading "The AI-Powered Classroom: Shaping the Future of Education with Artificial Intelligence"

The post The AI-Powered Classroom: Shaping the Future of Education with Artificial Intelligence first appeared on Lucid Softech.

October 22, 2024

How An Obsession With Quality Led Emily Kramer to 48k Newsletter Subscribers and Counting

"An obsession with quality" is what I wish 12-year-old me had… but alas, I ended up with boatloads of Forever 21 T-shirts.

As it turns out, quality really does matter. Our master today — Emily Kramer, a marketer, investor, and advisor for B2B growth-stage startups (and MKT1 newsletter creator) — told me her "obsession with quality" is the reason she's been so successful in the newsletter space. (With 48k subscribers and growing.)

Want to learn more? Keep reading to learn how the MKT1 newsletter creator "never misses", and her advice for any marketers who are the "first-ish" marketing leaders at their companies.

Why the creator of the MKT1 newsletter "never misses".

1. Be ready to tell leaders what you'll stop, start, and continue.

Kramer has been the "first-ish” marketer four times at companies ranging from 10 to 300 employees, so my first question was an easy one: If you're the first marketer at a company, where the heck should you start?

Kramer told me whether you're a team of one or leading a 200-person marketing department, the answer is the same: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

"First, you need to figure out where you can win. Where can you stand out? Where do you have the biggest advantage over competitors? What channels make the most sense for your business?"

This translates to: Stop doomscrolling through TikTok for "inspiration" or convincing yourself a snazzy newsletter giveaway will save the day. Start with what matters most.

"You've got to have a framework for how you're prioritizing — you have to put a stake in the ground about what you think is important, and why. If you don't, you'll just get barraged with requests."

One of Kramer's go-to moves when joining a new company is to create a "start, stop, continue" plan. That way, execs can quickly see, "Oh, we already tried that," or "We’re stopping this, and here’s why."

Otherwise, your founder might just get a little too obsessed with the idea of you publishing ebooks on Amazon as the "next best marketing move."

(Not speaking from experience or anything.)

2. To sell marketing to execs, compare it to the product team.

"The biggest challenge in my career has been selling marketing. Early in my career, I didn't understand the delta between what I understood about marketing, and what founders or other teams knew about marketing," Kramer says.

I feel her: As someone who comes from a family of salespeople, I spend most of my Thanksgiving dinners trying to explain that brand awareness is still a valuable outcome.

Luckily, Kramer's landed on a metaphor that seems to work: She likes to tell founders and execs that marketing teams are like product teams… Not sales.

A few key similarities: Both product and marketing are multidisciplinary; both have a portfolio of ideas and a roadmap of the big things they plan to do; and both require a balance of optimizing certain features/campaigns — while launching new ones — in order to help the biz grow.

Kramer also encourages marketers to make sure they know exactly what their founders think marketing is.

"During the interview process, just ask the founder, 'Hey, when you think of what marketers do, what's top of mind?' Because what if they respond and say 'trade shows,' and you hate trade shows?"

Her point is a simple but sound one: Make sure your vision of marketing aligns with your founder's, or get ready for a long road of pushback and a lot less creative freedom.

3. Don't create a newsletter if you don't have anything interesting to say.

Kramer's MKT1 newsletter success hinges on one question: "Would I text this piece of content to everyone I know that's in the space?"

Kramer's obsession with quality is evident in her newsletter cadence: While many marketers like to send newsletters out on a weekly or even daily basis, Kramer prefers to send hers roughly 2X per month. She only wants to send a newsletter if it's saying something new.

"People tell me 'I never miss' with my newsletter — I don't know if that's true," she adds with a wry grin. "I definitely miss. But that obsession with quality is there."

And she has some wise words for anyone who wants to create their own: "If you don't have a storyline that you can talk about in a unique, engaging way — better than everyone else — you shouldn't do it. You can't just say, 'I want to start a newsletter' and then stick content into it. It doesn't work that way."

October 22, 2024

Top Life Project surpasses revenue goals by 59% in year one

How did Top Life Project exceed revenue goals by 59%? The story behind their WooCommerce-powered health brand & booming product launches.

October 22, 2024

40+ Best Flow Chart Templates for Word & PowerPoint 2024

When it comes to streamlining a process, nothing beats a good old-fashioned flow chart. They are especially useful in presentations for showcasing your projects, ideas, and products as well.

In this post, we bring you some of the best flow chart templates for PowerPoint and Word for presenting your workflows in visual form.

Whether you’re designing a flow chart for a PowerPoint presentation or for a brochure, these templates will help you craft visually appealing flow charts without any design skills.

Grab a template from our collection below and start editing.

flow chart template word, flow chart template powerpoint, flow chart template powerpoint free,, ms word flow chart template, flow chart word template

Top Pick

Animated Flowchart Infographics for PowerPoint

This PowerPoint template comes with many different styles of flowchart infographic designs you can use in various types of business, educational, conferences, and event presentations.

There are 26 unique flow chart designs included in this template and they are available in dark and light color themes. You can also customize its colors using 50 XML color schemes.

Why This Is A Top Pick

What makes these flow charts most useful is their customizability. You can easily edit them to enter your own data and change colors however you like. These slides are also fully animated as well.

Flowcharts Pack for PowerPoint

If you’re looking for an effective flowchart PowerPoint template, the above-featured product is well worth checking out. It contains 22 unique slides, handmade infographics, free fonts, unlimited color options, and so much more.

Animated Flowchart PowerPoint Template

This flowchart PowerPoint template is an excellent contender for your cash if you truly value standing out from the pack. It consists of a range of slides that can be fully molded to your specific requirements. Do check it out.

Flow Chart PowerPoint Presentation Template

This flow chart PowerPoint template offers an intuitive, modern design for your flowchart-related presentations. With over 30 customizable slides, you can effectively illustrate complex sequences, procedures, or hierarchies in an attractive, professional format.

Rectic Flowchart Infographic PowerPoint Template

This is a professional flow chart PowerPoint template, equipped with over 15 unique slides and 90+ customization options. This package includes features such as handmade infographics, a free icon pack, and an easy-to-follow help guide. Perfect for guiding your business development stages with a sophisticated touch.

Creative Flow Chart PowerPoint Presentation

Check out this vibrant and dynamic creative flow chart PowerPoint template. It includes over 15 unique slides and 90+ XML files, with options for both light and dark backgrounds. The slides are fully customizable, complete with handmade infographics and a free icon pack.

Flowchart Infographics PowerPoint Template

A modern and sleek way to boost your business presentations. Ideal for corporate and personal projects, its clean design and versatile style impress audiences with ease. It’s easy customization and master slide layouts help to clearly and effectively communicate ideas, making it an essential tool for client or stakeholder engagement.

Flowchart Diagram PowerPoint Template

A fantastic flow chart PowerPoint template for creating vibrant and professional presentations easily. Perfect for business pitches, academic research, or creative projects, this editable diagram template will add value to your content. Features include a customizable color scheme and font theme, and place holder images.

Colorful Flowchart PowerPoint Template

This is a vibrant, modern-style infographic presentation template, perfect for a variety of uses including pitch decks, business presentations, finance reports, and lookbook slides. The template features 25 unique slides, a light background, and a widescreen format. All graphics are resizable and editable with a simple drag and drop feature.

Modern Flow Chart PowerPoint Presentation

This flow chart PowerPoint template helps unearth the complexities of your workflow in a sleek, modern design. Built for effortless customization and featuring more than 30 editable, high-resolution slides, it facilitates the visualization of process sequences, operational steps, and more, all in 16:9 aspect ratio.

Simple Flow Chart Diagram PowerPoint Infographics

A resourceful flow chart PowerPoint template that can dramatically enhance your presentations. It features a minimalist design with 27 unique slides, master slides, editable charts, mockup devices, and clean modern typography. The design is versatile and suitable for any presentation.

Flowcharts Animated PowerPoint Templates

This PowerPoint template comes bundled with a collection of various styles of flow charts. There are 20 different slides in this template with flow chart layouts you can use to effectively visualize data and workflows. The slide is available in light and dark color themes as well as 50 different XML color schemes to choose from.

Multipurpose PowerPoint Flow Chart Templates

If you find yourself designing flow charts for presentations more often, this is a PowerPoint template that you must keep on your devices. This template comes with 63 different slides featuring unique flow chart designs and infographics. You can customize them quite easily and change colors using 25 pre-made color schemes.

Flow Chart Templates for PowerPoint Presentations

You can use this PowerPoint template to create beautifully animated flow charts for your presentations. They are a great alternative for boring static flow chart designs and allows you to present your data step by step with cool animations. The template includes 20 different flow chart slides with easily editable designs.

Timelines – PowerPoint Infographics Slides

Timelines are also a type of flow chart you can use to streamline the process of your projects as well as showcase different stages of products. This PowerPoint template comes with 33 timeline slide designs you can use to create such impressive slides. The slides are available in 12 pre-made color schemes and include editable vectors and infographics as well.

Flowchart Diagrams for PowerPoint Presentation

With 28 professionally designed flow charts to choose from, this template is a perfect choice for designing high-quality slideshows for various presentations. The flow charts in this template feature very clean and modern designs that are most suitable for corporate and business presentations. The slides are fully animated and feature light and dark color themes.

Free Agency Process Flowchart Template for Word

This is a free Word template that features a flow chart design you can use to create a visual process for your agency projects and plans. It’s available in MS Word and Google Docs formats.

Business Flow Chart PowerPoint Infographics

The flow charts in this PowerPoint template are designed with business presentations in mind. There are over 20 unique flow chart designs with various styles of layouts. You can edit and customize them to add your data in just a few clicks.

Arrow Flow Charts PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template comes with a bunch of flow chart infographics that use arrow-shaped designs. These are ideal for designing flow charts related to sales, growth, and projections. It includes 20 unique slides in 90 color schemes.

Puzzle Animated Flowchart PowerPoint Template

You’ll find some unique styles of infographic designs in this PowerPoint template. They feature puzzle-style charts and graphs with various designs, including some that can be used as flow charts. There are 28 slides in this template.

Free Strategy Map Flow Charts for PowerPoint

You can download this PowerPoint template for free to access a collection of strategy map-style flow chart infographics. It has 30 different slides with fully customizable chart designs. It comes in Google Slides format too.

Free App Process Flowchart Template for Word

You can use this template to design a visual process to streamline your mobile app designs and developments. The template is available in MS Word, Google Docs, and Apple Pages formats for free.

Business Infographics PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template provides you with flowcharts, diagrams, graphs, timelines, roadmaps, and a range of other data visualization tools to make your upcoming presentation a success. It contains animated slides, and twenty plus color schemes.

My Slides – PowerPoint Flowchart Template

If you’re wanting a PowerPoint template that helps you translate important information into a visual context, look no further than My Slides. It connsits of 74 slides with eye-catching animations, handmade infographics, free fonts, and more.

Infographics & Flow Chart PowerPoint Templates

If you use colorful designs in your slideshows to grab the attention of your audience, this flow chart and infographics template will come in handy. It includes various PowerPoint slides for flow charts, timelines, diagrams, charts, and much more with colorful designs. There are 22 color schemes to choose from as well.

Dazero – Timeline & Infographic PowerPoint Template

Dazero is a PowerPoint template designed for professional use. It includes 30 unique slides featuring nothing but various styles of timeline slides, flow charts, graphs, and charts. This template will help you craft beautiful charts for your presentations without effort.

Flowchart & Diagram Templates for PowerPoint

Flowchart & Diagrams for PowerPoint Template

This is one of the most sophisticated and useful flow chart PowerPoint templates on our list. It comes with a whopping 2200 slides with all kinds of charts and diagrams. With this template, you’ll have plenty of choices when it comes to finding the right chart design for visualizing your data. Each slide can be easily customized to your preference.

Flowchart Slides PowerPoint Templates

A collection of flow chart templates for PowerPoint. This kit includes 25 unique flow chart slides with fully editable layouts. You can edit these charts without having to use any graphics editing software. The slides are available in 5 pre-made color schemes as well.

Flowchart & Timeline Templates for PowerPoint

If you’re using timelines in your presentations, this is a PowerPoint template that you must have in your toolkit. It includes many different styles of timeline designs, most of which you can customize to use as flow charts. There are 30 unique slides in 10 different color schemes to choose from, making a total of 300 slides.

Free Medical Process Word Flowchart Template

A clean and simple flowchart template you can customize using MS Word. This template is designed with medical projects in mind but you can use it for other purposes as well.

Arcama – PowerPoint Flowchart Template

Arcama is a modern, and professional PowerPoint template that features more than 200 individual slides with maps, timelines, charts, and flowchart elements. It’s an excellent contender for your cash and will pay for itself many times over.

Free MS Word Flow Chart Template

This free MS Word flow chart template offers a blank layout for you to design your own flow charts using Word or Apple Pages. The template is perfect for crafting quick diagrams for various projects.

Diagrams & Flow Charts Animated PowerPoint Template

We couldn’t help but add this template to our list. It features a collection of beautiful diagrams you can use in your business and professional PowerPoint presentations. The template comes with 18 diagram slides that are available in 50 different XML color schemes. Each object in the slides is fully editable as well.

Organizational Hierarchy Chart for PowerPoint

This PowerPoint template is most useful for visualizing the organizational hierarchy for corporations and businesses. It includes 50 unique slides with various flow chart layouts and diagrams you can edit and customize however you like. The templates are also available in 10 pre-made color schemes.

Gantt Chart PowerPoint Templates

The Gnatt chart is a useful chart used in project management. While it’s technically not a flow chart, it’s quite useful in creating charts for project management presentations. Be sure to add it to your collection. The template includes 30 unique slides in 10 color schemes.

Company Hierarchy Flow Chart PowerPoint Templates

Another PowerPoint template featuring flow charts for visualizing company hierarchy. This template also includes 30 unique slides with easily customizable designs. They are available in 5 different color schemes with editable shapes.

Time Management Charts PowerPoint Slides

Planning a presentation about time management? Then be sure to grab this template. It features 30 unique slides with creative charts you can use to visualize time management processes. There are slides representing various concepts like 80/20 Rule, POSEC, ALPEN, and much more as well.

Free Linear Flowchart Slides for PowerPoint

A free PowerPoint template featuring beautiful linear flow charts. The infographics in this template are easily editable to your preference. It includes 30 unique slides PPT and Google Slides formats.

Free Gradient Flowchart Infographics for PowerPoint

A beautifully designed collection of flowcharts for PowerPoint. The charts in this template feature gradient colors to make them extra attractive. There are many unique slides in this template you can use free of charge.

Free Doodle Flowchart PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template includes lots of creative flowchart designs featuring doodle-style layouts. They are ideal for school and educational projects. The template comes with 30 different slides.

For more inspiration, explore our best infographic PowerPoint templates collection.

5 Tips For Using Flowcharts In Presentations

If you’re going to use flowcharts in presentations, make sure to follow these tips to get the most out of your designs.

1. Maintain Clarity

Use clear symbols and connectors in your flowcharts. Keep labels concise, avoiding jargon. This clarity ensures that your audience can follow the flowchart smoothly, without confusion, helping them stay focused on your message.

2. Highlight Key Points

Emphasize critical steps or decision points using color or bold lines. This draws attention to key elements, guiding your audience’s focus and aiding comprehension. Visual cues enhance the effectiveness of your flowcharts.

3. Keep it Simple

Don’t overcrowd your flowchart with too much information. Stick to the main steps or stages, presenting only what’s necessary for your message. This simplicity prevents overwhelming your audience and maintains a clean and organized presentation.

4. Narrate the Flow

As you present, talk through the flowchart step by step. Explain each connection, decision, or process. This narration provides context and ensures your audience understands the flow’s significance within your presentation’s broader context.

5. Add Callouts for Details

If a step in your flowchart requires additional explanation, use callout boxes or annotations. This allows you to provide in-depth information without cluttering the main flowchart, ensuring your audience gets a comprehensive understanding.

October 22, 2024

60+ Best Adobe Premiere Pro Intro Templates (Free & Premium)

Every video starts with an intro scene but not all video intros look great. However, you’ll never have to worry about it when using professional Premiere Pro intro templates to create your opening scenes.

The intro is arguably the most important part of a video. It’s what captivates the viewer and keeps them watching for the entire duration of the video. Whether you’re a videographer making professional films or making vlogs on YouTube, you should always pay careful attention to perfecting the intro scene. Especially if you want to grab the audience’s attention from the beginning.

In this post, we feature some of the best Premiere Pro intro templates you can use to create all kinds of intro scenes without an effort. There are templates for YouTube videos, promotional videos, sports videos, and much more. And all of them are made by professionals.

Grab a template and start customizing.

Holographic Opener Intro for Premiere Pro

This Premiere Pro intro is a cutting-edge template that can make your project pop with striking 3D visuals and customizable holographic colors. It features a bold 3D elements with dynamic black HUD elements, 8 text placeholders, and a logo spot. With built-in color controls, it’s easy to adapt this edgy opener to mirror your brand’s style.

Podcast Show Opener Intro for Premiere Pro

Boost your podcast with this stylish Premiere Pro intro template. It’s designed to make content customization a breeze, with all features editable through the Essential Graphics panel. Functioning on Premiere Pro 2024 and above, this 4K resolution template requires no plugins and includes handy text and video tutorials.

Percussion Short Intro for Premiere Pro

This is a flexible intro template, perfect for short openers. It’s compatible with Premiere Pro CC2023+ and allows for both image and video usage, with easy customization and color-changing capabilities. This 13-second, 4K resolution asset includes a video tutorial and requires no plugins.

Modern Collages Premiere Pro Intro Template

This Premiere Pro intro injects a unique style into any project. The template includes a creative collage design, perfect for adding depth and dynamism to your introduction. Easy to use and versatile, it is a valuable tool that can elevate the aesthetic appeal of your content.

Y2K Bold Identity Premiere Pro Intro Template

This is a vibrant, retro-styled Premiere Pro intro that can boost your project’s visual appeal. It offers six customizable text fields, a dedicated logo spot, and intuitive color control for a perfect fit. With its 3D models, checkerboard patterns, bold typography, and smooth animations, this template brings new life into vintage designs.

Ink Flow Opener Premiere Pro Template

This stylish Premiere Pro intro template offers a unique take on openers with its trendy ink-style graphics and animations. Ideal for adding a touch of sophistication and finesse to your video projects, this intro template will surely enhance your videos and grab the attention of your audience.

Urban Freeze Frame Premiere Pro Template

This is an inventive Premiere Pro intro template that employs edgy freeze-frame animations and it’s perfect for content with an urban theme. Ideal for adding an unconventional punch to your intro sequences, this template is a must-try for those seeking a unique approach to their content creation.

Extreme Sports Premiere Pro Intro Template

A unique Premiere Pro intro template perfect for enhancing sports-related videos. This template gives your content that professional edge, transforming your footage into engaging multimedia experiences. Easy to use within Adobe Premiere Pro, it’s an ideal option for those looking to captivate their audience with dynamic sports-themed visuals.

Multiscreen Opener Premiere Pro Intro Template

A dynamic Premiere Pro intro template that features a unique split-screen design. This is perfect for those who want to display multiple visuals at once or tell a story from different perspectives. It brings a sophisticated and professional feel to any video project, boosting its overall production value and appeal.

Travel Opener Premiere Pro Intro Template

This is a modern Premiere Pro intro template specially designed for travel vlogs and videos. Highly adaptable and user-friendly, this template will add a distinct touch to your content, making it engaging and visually impressive. Ideal for capturing and presenting your travel memories in a unique and stylish way.

Colorful Rolling Intro for Premiere Pro

An engaging, upbeat intro template that comes to life with vivid animations and a modern design aesthetic. Ideal for adding some excitement to your video project, it offers an easy way to make your work pop. This third-party asset comes highly recommended for its bold appeal and user-friendly approach.

Education Blog Intro for Premiere Pro

This is a fantastic Premiere Pro intro template for crafting intros for education-based videos. The template allows you to create slick, professional-grade intros that engage viewers and set the tone for informative, educational content. This is a must-have tool for anyone working in educational video production.

Modern Stylish Intro for Premiere Pro

A contemporary and trendy intro template that one can leverage to make remarkable first impressions. This stylish asset promises to add a new layer of sophistication to your introductory clips, with its modern design keeping your audience hooked from the get-go.

Photo Opener for Premiere Pro

A compelling intro template specifically designed for showcasing a photo slideshow. Adaptable and straightforward to use, this resource is ideal for adding an engaging visual narrative to your presentations. Crafted by experts, it becomes an efficient tool for enhancing your storytelling, offering a remarkable way to bring your shots to life.

YouTuber Intro for Premiere Pro

Be ready to catch your audience’s attention with this Premiere Pro intro template. Perfect for helping you create a memorable introduction to your videos, it’s designed with YouTubers in mind. Offering a sleek and modern design, you can customize it to reflect your own style.

Urban Intro – Premiere Pro Template

urban intro - premiere pro intro template

Modern and trendy videos should have upbeat intros that match the look and feel of the video. That’s why this Premiere Pro intro template is perfect for urban style videos. This template is fully customizable and comes with color controls and 12 image placeholders for creating an attractive intro scene.

Rhythm Typography – Premiere Pro Intro Template

Typographic intros are quite popular among many YouTubers and Instagram users. They fit in well with trendy videos, especially with product promotion clips. If you’re making promotional videos for Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, this intro template is perfect for you. The template features an energetic typographic animation you can easily customize to your preference.

YouTube Intro – Premiere Pro Template

Keeping your intros short is also important when making clips for YouTube and other social networking channels. This template is ideal for such videos as it comes with a quick and easy intro scene. The intro is only 9 seconds long and features a creative animation with brush strokes and customizable text. It includes 8 text placeholders and 3 different color presets.

Clean & Energy – Premiere Pro Intro Template

If you’re looking for a more energetic and rhythmic intro scene to make your videos more appealing to younger audiences, this Premiere Pro template is for you. It includes 27 text and image placeholders for creating unique intros for various videos. You can also customize it to create shorter intros as well. The creative masking of media inside text makes this intro stand out from the crowd.

Stylish Intro – Premiere Pro Template

This intro template will come in handy for fashion and lifestyle brands, especially for making promotional videos for social media. The template features multiple intro scenes featuring different designs. All of which can be easily customized using Premiere Pro to change colors and text to your preference.

Cartoon Ink – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

cartoon ink - free premiere pro template

This is a free Premiere Pro intro template you can use with your personal projects. It features a colorful ink design with attractive splashing effects. The template includes media and text placeholders and it’s easily customizable as well.

Ink & Water – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

ink and water - free premiere pro template

Another free Premiere Pro template featuring a unique scene that makes your intro scenes appear with ink in water-like effect. It also includes editable text placeholders and media placeholders.

Splash Intro Template for Premiere Pro

This intro template features a sleek and modern design that’s perfect for making intros for business and professional videos. It has bright colors and stylish animations to attract the attention of the audience as well. You can also choose from multiple styles of intro designs.

Stylish Hip Hop Opener Premiere Pro Intro Template

Inspired by hip hop culture, this Premiere Pro intro template lets you design eye-catching openers and intro scenes for various types of videos. It’s especially suitable for social media promos, TikToks, and even YouTube video intros. The template includes colorful shapes and animations.

Stomp Opener Intro Template for Premiere Pro

Looking for a simple and minimal intro template? Then be sure to try out this Premiere Pro template. It features a simple design with stomp-style animations. You can also fully customize the design to change colors, text, fonts, and backgrounds.

Fashion Vlog Opener & Premiere Pro Intro Template

This Premiere Pro intro template allows you to design openers and intros for YouTube vlogs. You can also use it to create intro scenes for Instagram promos and TikTok videos as well. It’s especially suitable for fashion brands and influencers.

Free Creative Modern Opener for Premiere Pro

You can create a simple opener or intro scene for your vlogs and social media videos using this Premiere Pro template. It includes fully editable text and simple animations. And it’s free to download.

Rock Stomp Intro Template for Premiere Pro

This intro template comes with a stylish stomp slide design that lets you create intros for various styles of videos. You can use it to create promo videos, YouTube videos, social media clips, and more.

Upbeat Intro & Opener Template for Premiere Pro

If you want to add a fast and upbeat intro scene to your videos, this Premiere Pro template is perfect for you. It features a modern and colorful intro design with upbeat animations. It comes in Full HD format with editable color controls.

Dream Pursuit – Event Opener Template for Premiere Pro

This Premiere Pro template will allow you to create beautiful intros for your event promo videos. It includes multiple styles of intro scenes with colorful shapes and animations for promoting events. There are 25 intros and each scene is 5 seconds long.

Transition Logo Intro Template for Premiere Pro

With this intro template, you can add a quick and simple logo reveal scene to your videos. It comes in 3 different styles featuring a colorful animation. The templates are also available in both vertical and horizontal sizes so you can use them to create intros for Instagram and TikTok as well.

Free Nature Intro Transition Template for Premiere Pro

This is a simple transition template for Premiere Pro that works perfectly for making a quick intro animation for your videos. It has a nature-themed design so it’s ideal for lifestyle, travel, and outdoor videos.

Dynamic Opener – Premiere Pro Intro Template

A fast and dynamic opener template for designing a unique intro scene for your project. This template features a multipurpose design you can use with various types of videos. It includes 34 media placeholders and 8 text placeholders.

Rhythmic Fast Intro – Premiere Pro Template

Use this Premiere Pro template to craft a subtle and modern intro for your video. This template comes with 14 placeholders for adding videos and images. As well as 7 text placeholders for adding titles.

Dynamic Freeze Intro – Premiere Pro Template

This is a modern intro template that features a stylish animation. It includes an incredible design that includes a freeze-frame background where you can customize the intro animation with overlay text and media. It’s a must-have template for video editors.

Pop Art Opener – Premiere Pro Intro Template

With this intro template, you can transform your opening scene to look like an intro from a comic book movie. It lets you add 15 photos or videos and 16 text titles using easily editable placeholders.

Energetic Sport Intro – Premiere Pro Template

Bring the energetic and heart-pumping vibes of sports to your project with this template that has virtually everything you need to create a kickass intro video. A product that will pay for itself many times over!

YouTube Vlog Intro Pack – Premiere Pro Template

If you are a YouTuber looking for an extensive pack to create a dynamic intro video for your travel, review, unboxing, fashion, or cooking channel, this template will come in very handy. Do check it out!

Modern Urban Intro – Premiere Pro Template

Next up is a modern urban intro template that comes with a range of video and text placeholders making customization a piece of cake, plus a video tutorial to help you use the template in the best way possible.

Fast Intro – Free Premiere Pro Template

Take your videos to next level using this fast-paced, highly energetic intro template providing a surprising amount of flexibility and creative control in your hands. A great template that deserves a spot in your editor’s toolkit!

Travel Intro – Free Premiere Pro Template

Showcase your holidays, festivals, wedding, and travel pictures in style with this gorgeously designed intro template. It’s very easy to customize and the best part is that it’s available for free download.

Kinetic Motion – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

A quick and simple opener template for crafting a minimal intro scene for your videos. This template is free to use and it features fast animations and text placeholders for you to easily customize the template.

Modern Freeze Frame – Premiere Pro Intro Template

Another modern Premiere Pro intro template featuring the creative freeze-frame layout. This template is also easily customizable. And it includes 25 placeholders for media and 11 text title placeholders with animations.

Fashion Opener – Premiere Pro Intro Template

Design a professional intro scene for your lifestyle, fashion, and glamour videos using this Premiere Pro template. The template comes with a trendy animation design with plenty of text and media placeholders to showcase your content.

Street Urban Intro – Premiere Pro Template

This intro template is ideal for crafting intros for lifestyle videos. It’s especially suitable for modern fashion brands and businesses. The template features 4 media placeholders, 4 text placeholders, and another placeholder for the logo.

Grunge Old Poster – Premiere Pro Intro Template

Add a classic vintage look to your videos using this creative intro template. It allows you to easily create a grunge poster-style intro scene for your creative videos. It comes with 15 media placeholders and 24 text placeholders.

Inspire Travel – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

If you’re working on a travel vlog or a YouTube travel video, this free template will help craft the perfect intro for your project. It includes 20 media placeholders as well as 18 text placeholders.

Draw Colorful Opener – Premiere Pro Template

draw colorful - premiere pro intro template

Trendy fashion and lifestyle videos require a more colorful and creative approach when making opening scenes. This Premiere Pro intro template will allow you to create such a unique intro for your social media videos and promotions. The template features multiple intros you can easily customize to your preference.

Sports Opener – Premiere Pro Intro Template

This Premiere Pro intro template is made just for creating energetic opening scenes for sports related videos. Although, it can also be customized to create intros for eSports and other types of videos as well. The template includes 13 placeholders for including either videos or images. As well as 9 placeholders for text and titles.

Quick Vlog Intro – Premiere Pro Template

quick vlog - premiere pro intro template

If you’re a vlogger, this Premiere Pro template will allow you to create a stylish intro scene for your videos by showcasing some of the clips from your videos. It’s a simple intro template featuring placeholders for videos and images. The template lets you choose from 14 media placeholders and 8 text placeholders to create your own unique openers.

Fast Intro – Premiere Pro Template

fast intro - premiere pro intro template

This quick Premiere Pro intro template is perfect for video editors who love fast intros. It features a very short and simple intro scene you can use to make quick video introductions. The template comes with multiple designs, media placeholders, and customizable text for personalizing the design of the intro as well.

Dynamic Urban – Premiere Pro Intro Template

A simple yet modern intro template for designing intro scenes for urban style videos. This template features a dynamic flow that allows you to attract the attention of your audience with a quick intro. It also includes 14 media placeholders, color control, and 9 text placeholders for easily customizing the intro to your preference.

Colorful Fashion – Premiere Pro Intro Template

This colorful and beautiful intro template is made specifically for fashion and lifestyle businesses. It includes 17 placeholders where you can show off your products with videos and images. And include titles with 6 text placeholders. This intro scene is perfect for social media promo videos and ads.

Grunge Opener – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

grunge intro - free premiere pro template

A free intro template featuring a classic grunge-style effect. This template features fast transition effects to feature multiple images or videos with a quick intro scene. It’s free to use with your personal and commercial projects.

Urban Glitch – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

glitch intro - free premiere pro template

This creative and free Premiere Pro template is ideal for making intro scenes for trendy social media videos and YouTube vlogs. The template is easily customizable and features a glitch effect with quick transitions.

Stomp Intro – Premiere Pro Template

Stomp openers are another popular type of intro design used by many video editors. This Premiere Pro template features a similar intro featuring a typographic stomp opening scene. It comes loaded with editable text placeholders, colors, and much more as well.

Travel Video Intro – Premiere Pro Template

If you’re working on a travel video or a vlog, this Premiere Pro intro template will allow you to create an eye-catching opening scene for your video. The template includes 26 media placeholders where you can feature both images and videos. It also has text placeholders as well. Everything can be customized using Premiere Pro without any plugins.

Dynamic Glitch Intro – Premiere Pro Template

dynamic glitch - premiere pro intro template

This creative intro template features a unique glitch effect that lets you transition from intro to video content in a different way. The template is ideal for modern lifestyle videos as well as YouTube videos. It includes 17 media placeholders and 7 text placeholders with editable colors.

Flat Logo Intro – Premiere Pro Template

If you’re looking for a template to create a simple intro scene featuring a logo, this Premiere Pro template is for you. It features a minimal opening scene design featuring flat colors and creative animation effects. The template includes 5 different intro designs you can choose from.

Clean Dynamic Intro – Premiere Pro Template

clean dynamic - premiere pro intro template

You can create a dynamic intro scene using this modern intro template. It comes packed with several intro designs. Including image and video placeholders as well as text placeholders. The template is fully customizable as well.

Big Stretch – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

big stretch - free premiere pro template

A simple and modern Intro template for designing quick openers. This free Premiere Pro template is perfect for making a basic intro scene for any kind of video. It includes 9 title placeholders and 4 media placeholders.

Corporate Opener – Free Premiere Pro Intro Template

corporate intro - free premiere pro template

If you’re working on a video showcasing a corporate brand or business, this free template is perfect for making a quick intro scene without an effort. It features 15 media placeholders with 28 text placeholders.

Don’t forget to check out our best Premiere Pro title templates collection.

October 22, 2024

How Marketers Save Time and Make Data-Backed Decisions with AI Reporting [+ Expert Insights]

Marketers are often asked to do more with less. I’ve been there too.

I’ve battled the constant pressure to juggle multiple campaigns, track their performance, and present insight-packed reports. This process is overwhelming, time-consuming, and riddled with challenges.

After years of struggling to prepare reports for my marketing campaigns, I discovered how AI reporting can truly transform the process — and empower creativity with data-backed strategies.

In this article, I’ll discuss:

Crucial Challenges Marketers Face in Traditional Reporting
5 Key Benefits of AI Reporting for Marketers
4 Applications of AI-Powered Reporting for Marketers
My Best Tips to Get Started with AI Reporting

Crucial Challenges Marketers Face in Traditional Reporting

Throughout my decade-long career in marketing, one of the most significant (and repeated) challenges I’ve had was reporting my work and attributing it to revenue.

I’m sure every marketer agrees that traditional reporting methods are complex and time-consuming. Reporting feels like rocket science with so many moving parts.

Here are some challenges I've faced and observed in marketing reporting.

Tedious data collection. I’ve spent hours (and even days) consolidating, cleaning, and organizing data from different tools to build a report. I realized that a key reason marketers struggle to build a robust reporting setup is due to this inefficient and error-prone process of collecting data manually.
Inability to measure ROI. My biggest concern with traditional reporting methods is the lack of measurable outcomes in many marketing campaigns. It’s much harder to directly attribute specific top-level metrics (like clicks, impressions, and likes) to meaningful business outcomes (like customer acquisition, retention, etc.). So, while you know how well a campaign performed, you don’t have enough proof to tie it to the results achieved.
Siloed data. Having worked with several B2B organizations, I’ve observed that each department often works in isolation. As a result, customer data is siloed and inaccessible to every team. The sales team uses a CRM system, the marketing team relies on multiple analytics tools, and the support team works on a customer success platform. This hinders marketers’ ability to get the whole picture about their performance.
Limited customization. Traditional reporting tools aren’t easily customizable for your reporting needs. I tried working backward with my goals to set up my reporting system, but I couldn’t fully customize my tools to track the necessary metrics. This lack of flexibility is another big reason marketers must spend extra time and effort on data-based reporting.
Meaningful data interpretation. Lastly, after trying several reporting tools, I can say that most tools only process and visualize data. They don’t offer contextual guidance on what actions to take based on the data. I’ve spent most of my time interpreting data at scale and documenting the key takeaways to help stakeholders make data-driven decisions.

The traditional reporting setup is riddled with challenges for marketers. And it only adds to the mounting pressure marketers face to stand out in crowded markets with innovative campaigns.

That’s why I’m excited to discuss how AI reporting methods can change the game and maximize efficiency for marketers. Let’s look at the key benefits and use cases of AI reporting.

5 Key Benefits of AI Reporting for Marketers

Our AI Insights for Marketers report indicates that nearly half (45%) of marketing leaders claim AI tools make employees more productive.

While I’ve seen marketers leverage AI for use cases like content creation and automation, I believe that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The real game-changer is the ability to use AI tools for end-to-end data analytics and performance tracking.

Here are five key areas where I think AI reporting will make life easier for marketers.

1. Streamlined Data Collection and Processing

Ask any marketer what they dislike the most about their role, and they’ll say: collecting data.

As I said before, gathering data manually is a slow and tedious process. Jumping between your social media analytics, email marketing dashboards, CRM, and other tools sometimes feels like you’re back in the Stone Age.

With AI-powered reporting, you can easily eliminate this busy work and automate data collection. These AI marketing tools will seamlessly integrate with your target channels and gather data in real time. Plus, you can configure these tools to process and analyze the data.

This AI automation for reporting can significantly reduce the manual workload and free up your time to focus on more strategic tasks.

2. Enhanced Ability to Measure ROI

One of the biggest pain points for every marketer I know is connecting their efforts directly to business outcomes.

Since traditional reporting methods focus on top-level metrics (like views, clicks, and impressions), you don’t get a clear picture of how your marketing efforts drive revenue growth.

Instead, AI reporting brings deeper insights through advanced attribution models.

AI tools can track the entire customer journey across different channels and touchpoints. So, you get clarity on how customers make buying decisions and what nudged them forward in the marketing funnel.

This benefit is also visible in our AI marketing insights report: 39% of marketers feel AI tools help make informed decisions based on performance.

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3. Breaking Down Data Silos

Data silos can happen in any organization when data is stored separately for different teams and use cases. As a result, you don’t get a unified view of customer behavior or marketing performance.

AI-powered reporting can break down these silos by integrating with multiple platforms to pull real-time data and prepare a detailed report.

In fact, 44% of marketers think AI is very effective at performing data analysis, and 70% use these tools to improve their data analysis workflows.

Why? Because AI tools offer built-in dashboards to visualize cross-channel insights without any manual effort. You can automatically collate and cross-reference data from different touchpoints to provide a fuller picture of campaign performance.

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4. Highly Customizable Reporting

One of the biggest benefits of AI reporting is the ability to break through the rigid reporting formats in traditional methods and build a flexible, goal-specific setup.

Instead of following irrelevant templates, AI-powered reporting allows you to customize your reports to track metrics that align with specific campaigns or strategies.

Jessica Apotheker, a marketing leader and CMO at Boston Consulting Group, explains why organizations need to build such a customized reporting setup.

In her TED talk, she emphasizes that marketers should have the right AI tools to track customer behavior, predict outcomes, and deeply analyze each campaign. This continuous feedback loop can significantly improve marketing strategies and performance.

Apotheker shares an example to showcase the results:

“A consumer goods company I worked with used these tools to gain a 'left-AI brain' advantage, building a team of 30+ experts who developed and customized these solutions. They also upskilled the entire organization.

As a result, marketers could assess which audience-creative combinations were performing well in the market, determine which products resonated with which consumers, and monitor the evolving marketing funnel. It leads to a highly adaptive and effective marketing approach.”

5. Improved Data Storytelling

Time and again, I’ve seen how traditional reporting tools struggle to translate raw data into meaningful insights. I strongly believe these reports packed with numbers and charts often fail to tell a compelling story. They don’t explain why certain metrics matter and how they impact the strategy.

That’s why I’m experimenting with AI reporting tools to interpret data, provide contextual insights, and support the decision-making process.

AI tools use natural language processing (NLP) to create a narrative around your data. They can explain trends, pinpoint gaps and opportunities, and go as far as answering specific questions you have.

Put simply, you can use AI reporting tools to understand data quickly and get actionable insights.

4 Applications of AI-Powered Reporting for Marketers

I’ve spent the last several months exploring the potential of AI reporting tools.

Besides testing out a few tools for my workflows, I also spoke to my fellow marketers to learn how they leverage AI in their reporting setup and the benefits they’ve seen so far.

I’ve curated a list of four use cases for AI in digital marketing to maximize reporting efficiency and make data-driven decisions.

Use case #1: Predictive analytics for campaign performance.

I think AI-powered predictive analytics can be a game-changer for prioritizing and executing marketing campaigns.

You can use historical data on campaign performance metrics and seasonal patterns to forecast future outcomes. You can also share more contextual details about your planned campaign with this data. Then, these AI tools will predict whether this campaign will perform well or poorly.

Besides, AI tools can simulate scenarios based on variable factors like audience segments, budgets, and more.

For instance, what happens if you allocate 20% more of your budget to social media ads in a particular demographic? AI can predict the potential outcome, allowing for better decision-making.

See AI Reporting in Action

Andy Crestidona, co-founder of Orbit Media Solutions, uses ChatGPT to analyze full-funnel campaign performance and predict future performance.

He downloads the latest reports from his email marketing platform and Google Analytics. Then, he adds this data to ChatGPT to combine the datasets and derive insights.

Here’s an example of how he instructs the tool to merge and organize the dataset.

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He also uses ChatGPT to derive insights from this dataset and visualize it in different ways. For example, he asked the tool to create a chart demonstrating how different topics performed in the email marketing channel.

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Use Case #2: Real-time insights for content optimization.

As a content marketer, I’ve focused heavily on using AI to build more efficient workflows.

However, I only recently discovered the power of AI tools to measure performance and optimize content for stronger results.

I use AI tools to track metrics like engagement, bounce rate, and conversion rate.

This real-time data for content posted across different channels clarifies whether a topic is a hit or a miss. This way, I can enhance underperforming content or divert resources from one campaign to another.

I also rely on HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software to optimize content. The tool analyzes the content on any website to provide real-time recommendations for improvement.

Each recommendation flags the number of pages affected by an error and offers a clear reason why this error matters. It also tells you the impact of each recommendation so you can prioritize high-impact tasks.

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Use case #3: Audience segmentation and personalization.

AI can analyze huge datasets to find patterns you’d naturally miss.

Marketers can use this capability to improve audience segmentation and deliver more targeted messaging. That’s why 34% of marketing directors say AI leads to more personal customer experiences.

For example, AI tools can analyze all available customer data and create segments based on their behavior and preferences. You can also use these tools to understand how each segment interacts with your brand.

Then, based on this audience segmentation, you can personalize the customer experience and offer tailored solutions and deals depending on each customer’s interaction history and journey.

Sarah Cornett, an AI consultant, shares how she implemented an AI solution for marketing in the banking industry to deliver a personalized customer experience and targeted communication.In a conversation about the state of AI-powered marketing, she shares a case study of her work.

“The solution used identity resolution to gather historical data about a customer, such as the products you have with us, your digital touchpoints, and real-time activity like navigating our website. By leveraging this real-time data, we could determine the most relevant communication at any given moment.

With thousands of potential topics to discuss, the AI system would analyze triggers to deliver personalized messages, whether it was a next best action, upsell, or cross-sell offer, all tailored to capture attention and provide the most contextually relevant experience.”

Use case #4: Attribution modeling and ROI tracking.

A common challenge I’ve faced is identifying the most effective marketing channels. With AI-powered attribution modeling, this becomes much easier. With AI reporting, you can pinpoint and analyze every touchpoint in a customer’s journey instead of using traditional attribution models.

With a multi-touch attribution approach, you can distribute credit to each touchpoint and present a more realistic picture of each channel’s impact. This level of granularity enables marketers to focus on the most profitable touchpoints.

Besides, you can use the multi-touch attribution data to forecast ROI for future campaigns. It’ll improve predictive analytics and streamline your marketing investments.

My Best Tips to Get Started with AI Reporting

Okay, ready to take a stab at AI reporting? Here are my best tips to help you get started.

Automate data collection. One of the easiest ways to incorporate AI in your reporting setup is by automating data collection and processing. Integrate AI tools into your existing tech stack to combine information from multiple platforms and process data in a single dashboard.
Audience segmentation. Use AI to analyze customer data and break down your audience into micro-segments. It will help you truly understand your customers based on behaviors, preferences, pain points, and other parameters.
Predictive analytics. Let AI tools analyze the probability of success for every new campaign idea and prioritize ideas based on these predictions. You can also use these predictive insights to set campaign budgets and realistic outcomes to maximize the ROI.
Data storytelling. Let AI interpret and decode complex data to derive meaningful insights. Create a narrative with your data aligned with business objectives and make it more accessible to stakeholders.
Attribution model. When you’re ready, replace your existing attribution model with an AI-powered multi-touch model. Get a pulse of your customers at every touchpoint and track interactions on different channels with a unified reporting setup.

Remember that integrating AI into your reporting workflow should be a step-by-step process. I recommend you experiment and explore the possibilities to see where AI tools perform well for your organization.

Use AI reporting to level up your marketing strategy.

I get it: reporting is a chore. You’re tired of exporting data from half a dozen platforms and consolidating it in one place only to spend hours extracting using insights. Having felt the same frustration, I started leveraging AI tools for reporting to cut down the busy work and make this process more efficient.

My biggest takeaway from researching this article is that AI reporting is changing the way marketers approach data. It’s making data more accessible for decision-making and strategizing, so you can plan campaigns based on facts instead of just trusting your gut.

October 22, 2024

9 Best AI Marketing Bots I Use at Work in 2024

As a solopreneur, marketing my own business gets pushed to the back burner more times than I care to admit. There are just too many other tasks that require immediate attention. It’s why I’m a big fan of AI marketing bots.

Automating certain marketing tasks means I have more time for other tasks, like creating connections with other business owners who need my services.

Recently, I chatted with other marketers to find out which AI marketing tools they use at work. And because I love sharing what I’ve learned, I’ve made a list of the nine most popular AI marketing bots.

Before we get into it, let’s define what an AI marketing bot is and dig into why they’re becoming more mainstream.

Table of Contents

What is an AI marketing bot?
Why are AI marketing bots so popular in 2024?
9 Best AI Marketing Bots You Need to Try

What is an AI marketing bot?

An AI marketing bot is software that uses artificial intelligence, like machine learning and natural language processing, to generate responses based on user prompts. These AI bots use specific datasets, like your company’s or industry data, to generate the best, most accurate responses.

AI bots designed for marketers can help automate certain tasks, such as content ideation and outlining, image generation, and video editing, or help you better personalize the user experience.

Why are AI marketing bots so popular in 2024?

AI is everywhere — and it’s changing the way many marketers think about their jobs. To understand why AI marketing bots are so popular, I went straight to the source: marketing experts.

I asked Tom Jauncey, CEO of Nautilus Marketing, why he thinks AI marketing bots are so popular in 2024. He argues that the core reason these tools have gained such momentum is their efficiency and effectiveness.

“These tools help analyze not only enormous amounts of data but also help to simplify many routine tasks. It includes the creation of personalized content and holding conversations with customers 24/7,” he said. “Above all, it is extremely budget-friendly, especially when compared with human marketers.”

The key benefit is to help a business streamline its efforts toward marketing — which can increase ROI by many folds.

Jauncey’s belief that AI marketing bots increase efficiency aligns with other marketers' beliefs about these tools, too.

86% of marketing professionals say AI helps them save over an hour each day in their normal workflow. And when it comes to personalization, 88% of marketers say AI helps create a better customer experience.

Saood Belal Syed, a digital marketer, thinks AI can help automate certain marketing-related tasks. Syed told me, “It definitely has a long way to go before it can replace humans (if it ever does), but using AI can help speed up the ideation process and get those creative juices flowing!”

How many tools does the average marketer use?

50% of marketers have already adopted AI into their workflows. ChatGPT may be the most popular AI application, but it's broad for marketing tasks. Ever heard the phrase, “Jack of all trades, but master of none?” That’s ChatGPT for marketing.

Instead, AI marketing bots are a bit narrower in scope. AI marketing bots are designed for specific tasks in mind, like video editing or lead generation. If you’re in the marketing space, you might need more than one AI tool to enhance and streamline your workflow.

David Ciccarelli, CEO at Lake, said he uses six AI marketing tools. These include tools that focus on content optimization, image enhancement, grammar improvement, analysis, and more.

Other marketing professionals told me they use an average of two to four tools daily. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the best AI marketing bots on the market.

9 Best AI Marketing Bots You Need to Try

As I mentioned, there are tons of AI tools available to help streamline nearly every aspect of the marketing department. Let’s look at some of the best AI marketing bots according to which tasks they can help you with.

Presentations and Images

1. Beautiful AI

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Beautiful AI is one of the best AI marketing bots I’ve tried. As a former teacher, I can finally admit that I was a lazy presentation maker.

I won’t lie: I usually made my slides just a few minutes before class started — and it was never a pretty presentation.

Beautiful AI changes that. With just a prompt, users can create data-informed presentations in seconds. To try it out, I asked Beautiful AI to create a slide comparing the best features of AI content-writing tools. This is what it created:

Obviously, before I use this in a presentation, I would be sure to fact-check each of these numbers. But overall, I like the chart's simplicity — not to mention the speed at which it was created.

What the Experts Say

Renee Miller, founder of The Miller Group, uses Beautiful AI regularly. Millers told me, “Beautiful AI is a nice tool for creating presentations, and it's pretty intuitive, so my whole team can use it — even the Luddites! It does have some limitations, as do most AI marketing tools at this time, especially ChatGPT.”

2. Canva’s Magic Studio

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Canva is a popular design tool for a reason. It allows marketers and designers alike to create eye-catching presentations.

With the addition of AI, Canva’s Magic Studio is the perfect tool to create a presentation in just seconds. Use it as a draft to add your own personal branding touches, or make a few tweaks and call it done.

I used Magic Design to create a pitch deck for an interior design business. It was simple: I just entered the prompt, waited for it to generate a design, then clicked “apply to all slides,” and I was done. I would likely update some of the copy if I wanted to use this for my business. Overall, though, it’s not a bad presentation.

What the Experts Say

Jauncey told me, “Canva is wonderful for producing professional-looking graphics quickly without needing to actually study design. Canva is able to help us create professional graphics fast.”

Video

3. Munch

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If you’re into creating podcasts or recording interviews, Munch is an AI tool you need to consider adding to your arsenal. Munch helps marketers turn long-form videos into short-form content by using AI to analyze the most engaging parts of the video to create engaging clips.

I tried out Munch and found it easy to use. The interface is simple and user-friendly. I also appreciate that it organizes clips into categories based on keyword volume. This can be useful to target SEO and algorithms.

What the Experts Say

Kelsey Stewart, owner of Eleven89 Marketing and Design, uses Munch regularly.

She told me, “Munch because it helps me with two purposes: Creates short-form videos from one long-form video and it creates subtitles for those videos automatically.”

4. Submagic

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Submagic is an all-in-one AI video editor that makes creating viral shorts a breeze. Submagic offers various editing tools that any marketer or video editor can use to enhance their video content.

Plus, it offers features like a clip generator for marketers to create short-form content from their long-form videos.

What the Experts Say

I personally use Submagic on a nearly weekly basis. I’ve shied away from creating video content because video editing is just not my skill set. They mean it when Submagic says you can fully edit a video with AI in two minutes or less.

Submagic saves me so much time, and my videos look professionally edited, complete with captions. Spoiler: they’re not.

Content Generators

5. Koala

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Need to draft a fully optimized blog post, but you’re running short on time? Try Koala.

KoalaWriter, backed by ChatGPT-4o, combines the power of SERP analysis with real-time data to help you create content with the potential to rank in the searches. Plus, Koala AI can also help you create lead magnets to embed into your website and generate images for your blog post.

I tested out Koala AI by asking it to write a blog post on “Are orange cats the best cat?” I like that Koala asks for the target keyword and allows the post to be written with or without real-time data. Koala also offers a “polish” feature, which can help clean up a blog post and improve readability.

What the Experts Say

Lucas Carval, growth specialist at Mention, says he uses Koala AI to help speed up his workflow.

Carval told me, “With custom instructions and data from the web, I can make a base for the topic I‘m covering, which I’ll then enhance with my own perspective, original data, and case studies.

[Then I use] SurferSEO to adjust the number of words, headings, images, and NLP keywords based on the articles ranking in the top 5 for the keyword I'm targeting.”

6. Jasper

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Have you noticed that some AI marketing bots can’t seem to nail your brand’s tone and voice?

Jasper, an AI marketing tool, solves that problem by learning your brand’s voice and analyzing your existing content, like product descriptions and style guides.

Once Jasper learns who you are, you can create entire marketing campaigns in seconds, including social copy and blog posts.

Plus, Jasper can generate images for your marketing strategy.

Launching ad campaigns has never been easier with Jasper. I like that it offers options for various ad headlines and asks users for examples of their preferred copy before generating results. This can save marketers so much time!

What the Experts Say

Mike Vannelli, creative director of Envy Creative, told me, “Jasper excels at generating engaging copy that resonates with our audience.

It's like having a creative partner who’s always ready with fresh ideas … Jasper shines in helping us maintain a consistent brand voice across multiple platforms while saving us hours on content creation.”

Sales and Leads

7. HubSpot

Every business needs a CRM that guides customers through the customer journey and allows the sales and marketing teams to come together to create magic.

That’s HubSpot. HubSpot AI enhances your workflow, from drafting content to optimizing your web pages to nailing your brand voice.

Email marketing is an integral part of sales, which is why your marketing and sales team make a dynamic duo. Creating email campaigns is straightforward with HubSpot AI.

I like that it gives me the option to create my own headlines or use AI to generate them — which is especially helpful for the times when my brain just cannot write another sentence.

What the Experts Say

Yevhenii Tymoshenko, Skylum‘s chief marketing officer, told me, “At Skylum, HubSpot has helped our marketing and sales tremendously. With it, we can track customer interactions, automate emails, and manage leads — all in one place.

The analytics show us what’s working, and we can improve our strategies. Overall, HubSpot helps us stay in touch with our customers and grow our business.”

8. LeadReply

Have you ever wished you had a clone of yourself to take care of Yelp leads?

Consider LeadReply your clone. LeadReply is an AI autoresponder that monitors your Yelp activity, instantly responds to customer queries, and personalizes your messages.

This AI marketing bot is especially helpful for industries where response time could make or break a lead.

As a solopreneur, I understand the importance of a tool that can automate specific tasks— especially if you’re the only one running your business.

I appreciate that LeadReply can take over catching qualified leads, which can help streamline your workflow.

What the Experts Say

Aaron Watters, CEO of LeadHub, told me, “In an industry where speed to lead can make or break a deal, this tool helps our clients respond to inquiries faster than their competitors — every single time.

Plus, it’s not just about speed; it’s the fact that we can personalize responses and follow up automatically, making it incredibly efficient and effective at converting leads into customers.”

Chatbots

9. Tidio

Chatbots are a great way to reach potential leads who are browsing your website.

An intuitive chatbot powered by AI can help answer customer questions, collect contact information, and suggest products, services, and resources your customers need.

I appreciate tools that can help free up some of my time. Tidio can answer up to 70% of customer inquiries without human interaction, meaning your team has more time to nurture and convert qualified leads into loyal customers.

What the Experts Say

Gary Warner, marketing manager at Joloda Hydraroll, told me, “We use Tidio as it was simple to install, the pricing plan was reasonable, reviews very high, and we were reassured that many big brands have already tried and tested their AI offering. It works on a mobile site, and we have it placed on every page.”

Warner also says the chatbot can deliver support in multiple languages, a big benefit for a global business.

Scale your business with AI marketing bots.

I think it’s safe to say that AI is here to stay. There are tons of AI tools available on the market, each promising to deliver different results.

Adding AI marketing bots to your toolkit has the potential to improve your workflow, whether by creating better marketing campaigns that convert leads or saving time by automating tasks.

And who doesn’t want better campaigns and more time to do meaningful tasks?

Before adding a new tool to your arsenal, research and explore all your options. You might find you need just one tool or multiple to streamline your business.