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If there’s one thing that Instagram understood with the creation of Instagram Reels it’s that it’s not just content that’s king — it’s video content. With TikTok surpassing 1 billion global downloads within 18 months of its launch, the app’s endless feed of short, entertaining video clips quickly became an internet sensation.

But, in August 2020 — as countries like the U.S. considered banning TikTok due to privacy concerns — Instagram launched Reels as a set of new audio and video editing features similar to what users would find on TikTok. Flashforward to 2022, and this burgeoning video feature now accounts for up to 20% of user activity on Instagram.

With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why Reels remain a major play for Instagram — so we’re here to explain everything you need to know about Reels in order to use them to your advantage.

Aside from allowing users to record videos with sound or audio overlays, the Reel camera and editor also include the following features on mobile:

• Editing tools: Create augmented reality effects, transitions, and the ability to speed up or slow down videos.
• Audio attribution: Overlay the sound in videos with audio from other user uploads (while the app gives sound credits to the original account).
• Stitchable takes: Make a video with just one long take or a combination of quicker takes.
• Duets: Add your Reel to one made from another account for side-by-side interaction. Find the Reel you’d like to duet with and click the circle settings to “Remix a Reel.”
• Instagram Shareability: Share Reels with just friends on your Stories or profile, or publicly in the Reels tab or Explore page.

Since June 2021, it’s worth noting that ads are now supported in the Reels tab, the Explore page, and your Feed once a user taps into the Reel scroll. With the range of ways Reels appear to Instagram users — especially where people who don’t follow your brand reside — your business has the opportunity to reach new audiences across the globe.

Here’s an example of what a Reels ad for your brand could appear as below:

Video Source

What’s distinct about Reels ads — and Stories ads — is that Instagram allows users to decide which ads appear to them. If they do not wish to see the ad, they can simply skip it or select the menu in the bottom right to hide or report it.

Step 1: Enter Reels mode within Instagram.

First, you need to know how to get to Reels on Instagram. You can start your Reels in 3 ways:

Select the
+ symbol at the top right of your homepage and tap Reels.

Open the Instagram Stories camera and tap
Reels.
Select the Reels tab on the bottom of the app and tap the top right camera:

When you arrive at your Reels screen it should look something like this:

If so, you are now ready to begin recording, adding videos, editing, and overlaying audio if you haven’t found the right sound yet.

Step 2: Begin recording a video or adding pre-saved clips.

Before you record or create your Instagram Reel first make sure you have the latest version of the Instagram app. Then access the Reels screen according to your preference. Once you arrive at the Reels screen:

Simply hold the center circle button and begin recording to start filming a clip.
Tap the square in the bottom left corner to add videos from your camera roll, TikTok, or other platforms.
Begin piecing together video clips or recording a longer video for a total of up to 60 seconds.

If you let go of the record button but still have time left in your Reel video, you can hold the button again to start a second clip that starts immediately after the first ends. As you record one or multiple clips for your Reel, the progress bar and countdown at the top of the screen will show you how much recording time you have left.

How to Add Effects to Reels

To add effects to your video simultaneously, you can select the editing option located on the left side of the Reels screen:

Change the design of your video by tapping
Layout and choosing one of the grid options provided like this dual-screen.

Slow or increase your video playback by choosing the
Speed your video to set the pace.
Go hands-free and record by timer when you select the stopwatch symbol.

Choose between a 3 or 10-second timer, then drag the meter by the number of seconds you want your clip to be. To stop recording, re-tap the center circle button as you like.

Add a filter for additional creativity by selecting one from the bottom of your screen.

The filters for Reels are similar to Instagram Stories and many of these effects crossover between both video formats.

Step 3: Find audio for Reels.

Now it’s time to select audio and add it to your Reel. The audio feature enables you to overlay a pre-recorded sound from other users, songs available on Instagram, or your own audio.

If you are creating content around a specific song or sound bite, you may begin with this step prior to recording or adding clips. In either case, follow these steps to find the right tune to complete your Reel.

Select the
Audio musical note on the left side of your Reel screen.
Search music in the search bar or browse Instagram’s song or audio suggestions.
Choose the part of the song or sound you will apply to your video.

Then, voila — your audio is now added to your Reel. Make sure that you preview how it will align with your video by tapping Next, then adjusting clips accordingly.

How to Use Original Audio on Instagram Reels

Pro tip — if you do not see a Reel song you like, you can always add your own. To import your own sound:

Select the
Import button next to the Saved button.
Add the video with the audio you’d like to use.

Your Original audio is added and you are now credited for the sound — meaning your Instagram profile icon will as the audio icon.

How to Find Trending Instagram Reel Songs and Sounds

If you want to find trending Instagram Reels audio, there are a few different options available. One of the easiest ways is to browse through Instagram itself: scroll through the Reel sounds used by popular accounts or search popular hashtags like #trending songs or #trending audio.

You can also find trending Reel songs and sounds to use by tapping the Reels you find on your Explore page, clicking the song name on the bottom left corner, and taking a look at how many people have made Reels with that sound.

Once you decide if a song is popular — and upward trending — you can then save it for when you’re ready to bring your Reel to life.

How to Save Music on Instagram

If the sound is indeed too good to let it scroll past you, simply select Save Audio to keep it.

This audio will now live in your Saved folder so you can add it to a Reel when you’re ready.

You can also receive periodic notifications from Instagram letting you know if a song saved to make a Reel has passed a certain threshold.

So whether you’re looking for background music to add an extra flair to your Reel or letting the audio take you viral, there are plenty of resources for finding the right sound that’s in tune with your vision to quickly get your Reel posted.

Step 4: Post a Reel on Instagram.

Now that you have created your Instagram Reel and found the perfect track, posting it to Instagram is easy. To have your Reel live in no time:

Select
Next on the bottom right corner of your Reels screen to reach the sharing window.
Choose the best cover for your Reel by tapping
Edit cover on the top of your screen.

Select or deselect
Also share to Feed to tell Instagram whether or not you want your Reel to be seen on your Instagram profile.
If you do not want to post it to your Feed, make sure the slider is gray and not blue.

Add your caption and hashtags as you would with your regular Instagram posts.After you decide whether to share your Reel to the Feed, at the bottom of the screen you have the chance to:

• Tag people or brands in the video.
• Rename Audio used in the video to your liking.
• Add Location information on where Reel was shot.
• Add Fundraiser events you are supporting.
• Recommend on Facebook or show your Reel to anyone on the platform — Facebook friend or not.

• Include a paid partnership label when you tap Advanced Settings at the bottom.

Once you’ve added all of your preferences, you can now select the Share to Reels button in blue:

You’ve officially shared your Reel on Instagram! But if you start these steps and decide your minute — or less — masterpiece requires further edits, you can always save the Reel as a draft so you don’t have to restart:

Finally, Reels can also be sent as direct messages or even posted to your Instagram Stories, similar to the grid posts you publish to your Feed.

Instagram Reels FAQ

Do Reels show up on your Feed?

Your Reel will show up on your Feed like any other Instagram post with a film clapperboard icon on the top right of the video. So feel free to scroll through them like you would a traditional video upload:

They have the standard 1:1 square ratio or a 1080px by 1080px Instagram post size on your grid. But once tapped, they will have their distinct 9:16 aspect ratio with a width and length of 1080px by 1920px:

Plus, your caption will sit under the Reel like the rest of your Instagram post captions whenever you choose the best time to post them.

When’s the best time to post reels on Instagram?

As far as we know, there is no “right” time to post Instagram Reels per se, but like any other form of Instagram content, the timing of your posts can play a role in their engagement metrics. If you want your Reel to be seen by as many people as possible, then you should post during peak times: the time of day when most of your audience is active on Instagram.

You can find out what your peak time is by using your Business or Creator Instagram account and tapping Insights to go to your Professional Dashboard.

Here you will see when your audience is most active, their interactions, their likes, and more metrics that give you a better understanding of how to best reach your audience.

How to See Instagram Reels Insights

Once you tap Insights on your profile feed, you will be brought to your Insights Overview.

To see what days or hours your audience is most interactive:

First, select
Total Followers.Next, scroll to the bottom of the screen.Then, view
Most Active Times.

Select Hours to see how many accounts are active at specific times of day by tapping the blue columns. Use the arrows to switch days:

Select
Days to see how active your followers are on different days of the week by tapping the blue columns.

After you gauge how likely your audience is to interact with your Reel at a given time or day, you can now take it a step further and monitor your Reel’s performance:

Return to your
Insights Overview and select
Accounts Engaged.
Scroll down to
Reels Interactions.
See your most popular Reels according to likes.

By reviewing your Reels and audience Insights, you will be able to plan your content around what’s most engaging to your followers and post when they’re most likely to enjoy it.

What You Need to Know About the Instagram Reels Algorithm

Like most Instagram content, Reels are ranked by Instagram’s algorithm. This algorithm is based on a number of different factors that include post engagement, length, content, and more.

What you should remember about the algorithm is that there is no trick of the trade to rank higher in users’ feeds. While there are Instagram users who may try to garner high engagement through methods like contests and giveaways, these tactics will not necessarily lead to long-term success.

But what you can do to help your Reel content appeal to the Reels algorithm is keep these points in mind:

• Create content that is short, sweet, and relevant to the current social times.
• Post regularly so Instagram can expect you to produce a consistent amount of Reel content.
• Be creative with your content and help lead trends instead of just following them.
• Use Instagram’s tools to edit and improve your videos.
• Add niche Instagram hashtags that are relevant to your products, services, and base.

So with a little bit of creativity and production direction, you can be a Reel connoisseur in no time.

Viral Brand Reels Examples

Whether you’re looking to create fun and engaging content to connect with your audience, or simply trying out a new Instagram marketing strategy, a Reel is a versatile tool that can help you achieve your goals. Especially, considering that Reels has increased Instagram engagement for brands like the NBA at a rate of 22% compared to the traditional Instagram videos.

But what can it do for your brand as you aim to increase awareness, reach, or sales? Let’s take a look at some examples of how brands are leveraging Reels today to do just that:

1. Nike: A Brand Story

If you want your customers to believe in your brand, they need to believe in your story. For instance, one brand with exceptional storytelling on and off Instagram is — you guessed it — Nike. In this Reel, they let us into the lives of athletes who use Nike to train, win, and most importantly, live their lives.

Watch the screen as the Reel pivots between the NBA Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo as a child to him now as an NBA champion and listen to his emotional declaration on doing whatever it takes to succeed.

But what makes this spotlight on Giannis so impactful — 5 million views strong and counting — in just seconds is that this feeling is one many can relate to, especially their competitive base. Then, with the simple yet iconic black screen and white swoop, Nike is telling you that will help you win — that Nike is a part of what it takes. That’s a narrative that has made many backs this legendary brand.

2. HelloFresh: Products in Action

If your Instagram is all about selling a product, Reels are the perfect platform to show the quality of your creation in detail. If you’re promoting a service, Reels offers an opportunity to give your customers and followers a taste of what you do and how you do it.

For instance, take recipe ingredient delivery service HelloFresh:

This brand often uses Reels to cook their own recipes and showcase the delicious ingredients they provide for easy home cooking. By doing so, they are showing us the quality of healthy ingredients, ease of use, and taste satisfaction — the tenets of their products and services — and encouraging consumers to give it a try themselves.

3. Schiaparelli: A Behind-the-Scenes Peek

In this Reel, Italian fashion house Schiaparelli takes us behind the scenes of their haute couture design process, giving us a window into their brand that we wouldn’t have had otherwise — without a fashion degree.

By allowing us into the fold of their luxurious fabric selection, expert stitching, and creative fashion boards, the brand is showing us the expert execution it takes to create a one-of-a-kind Schiaparelli piece. We can now derive the value of the product through its craftsmanship, a value the brand knows, but one we may not immediately recognize.

The point is that now is the time to experiment with Reels to showcase your brand to the public. So constantly try new ways to create your Reel content. These short and snackable clips offer a unique opportunity for you to highlight your products, services, and personality in an authentic way. So consider these tips to put your brand’s best Reel forward on your next post.

Instagram Reels vs. TikTok

As you consider Reels, TikTok, and other emerging social media platforms in your marketing strategy, it’s important to weigh the pros, cons, and key marketing takeaways when determining if a channel or feature is right for your team.

Here are just a few things to remember as you consider Reels:

Reels compete against a unique, viral sensation.

Although Instagram has a huge audience that is loyal to its platform, many Gen Z users are used to going to TikTok for viral videos and general entertainment. Because the app has pulled in astounding fan loyalty in its short lifespan, you might find that Reels don’t have the same viral opportunities that TikTok videos might have.

What works on TikTok might not work on Reels.

TikTok is a highly experimental platform with a younger, but huge, global audience. Because of these factors, there aren’t many rules about what you should and shouldn’t post on there. Meanwhile, Instagram has been around for years, has a slightly older audience, and has some content norms or audience expectations set in place.

If you’ve already posted a handful of TikTok videos and want to test them on Reels, you can consider uploading a few, watching how they perform, and learning more about what works well on both platforms.

However, as you learn the differences between TikTok and Instagram audiences, you might find that high-performing TikToks aren’t as engaging to your Reels audience. If this is the case, you might want to consider creating specialized content for Reels.

Reels Take Your Instagram Marketing Up A Notch

Although you’ll want to keep the points above in mind as you consider testing out Reels, you’ll also want to remember the opportunities it offers. For example, Reels might be a great option for you if you’ve mastered Instagram, know what content your audiences want, and are eager to test out TikTok-styled content. If you do begin to test out Reels, it can’t hurt to brush up on your Instagram marketing skills and Instagram platform knowledge to ensure that your profile, other content, and — ultimately — your Reels will be on point for your brand and optimized for brand awareness.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness in June 2022.

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve likely decided to start or revamp your copywriting portfolio. With so many portfolios out there, it’s hard to figure out how to make yours stand out from the crowd.

What colors should you use? What kind of writing samples will show off your skills? Fortunately, I’ve put together a collection of copywriting portfolio examples that are sure to inspire you and guide you in the right direction.

Each copywriting portfolio example I’ve included is unique in terms of color, layout, and personality — highlighting the various ways you can approach putting a portfolio together and how it’s okay to get creative with yours.

How to Create a Copywriting Portfolio

When creating your copywriting portfolio, avoid cramming in too many of your writing samples. You’ll want to show off your diverse portfolio —that’s understandable — but too many samples can overwhelm potential clients and employers.

Instead, opt for five or six writing samples that capture the different styles of writing you’ve done, such as technical, marketing, and business writing. Be sure to also include a balance of humorous and serious pieces, B2B and B2C writings, as well as short and long-form content.

If you have little-to-no writing samples, build your portfolio by starting a website or blog to showcase your writing skills, or contribute to other websites. You can also write for nonprofits or work internships.

Another method to build your portfolio is to write mock-copywriting samples based on local businesses. Just be sure to let employers or clients know they are mock-samples and that you weren’t actually hired by those companies. The point isn’t to deceive, but to show what you can do.

Copywriting Portfolio Examples

Now that you have a few of your best copywriting examples ready to upload, it’s time to design your portfolio. You want a portfolio that stands out from the crowd, showcases your personality, highlights your skills, and is easy to navigate by potential employers.

To give you some inspiration, here are 25 examples of excellent copywriting portfolios broken down into the following categories:

• Homepage – The first page people see of your online portfolio and where you’ll likely house your work samples
• About Me – Where you’ll give readers an idea of who you are and what you do
• Services – What you can provide your clients

Each of these examples presents a different approach to copywriting portfolios that is sure to attract new opportunities.

Homepage

There are many different approaches to creating a homepage for your portfolio — however, it’s best practice to ensure your homepage features your name, your contact information, and complementary colors. Most copywriters choose to feature their work directly on their homepage, but some find a way to link to their samples.

Here are several examples of outstanding homepage templates:

1. Carline Anglade-Cole

The homepage for Anglade-Cole’s copywriting portfolio immediately establishes her as an expert in her field by bringing attention to the awards she’s garnered throughout her career. The photo on her front page shows her at a speaking engagement with a confident smile, and the photo’s caption clearly states her full name above “3X Award-Winning Direct-Response Copywriter, Author, and Consultant.”

The badges for her awards are also displayed throughout, with the American Writers and Artists Institute badge placed in the middle next to the link to subscribe to her email list. Beneath her email list are badges from other accomplishments, including winning the bronze Nonfiction Book Award. If you’re an award-winning copywriter, Anglade-Cole’s page is a great example of how you can place your awards front and center to establish credibility.

2. Gari Cruze

If you want your homepage to focus less on awards and more on who you’ve worked with, Cruze’s homepage is an outstanding example. This homepage heavily features high-quality photos from the different campaigns he’s worked on. Simply hover over each photo to see the name of the company or campaign, then click on the photo to see the copy he wrote and where it was published.

If you’re looking for a more straight-forward yet eye-catching approach to displaying your work, Cruze’s example can lead you in the right direction.

3. Evan Benner

Benner takes a similar approach by using a mixture of high-quality photos and GIFs to display his work on his portfolio’s homepage. However, Benner takes it a step further by including the year his work was published next to each photo. His homepage also includes a headshot and a small blurb about who he is and where he is based.

Potential clients and employers can easily navigate his portfolio by scrolling down where they can see more links to his About page (“Meet Evan”), copy, and the projects he worked on.

4. Jose Carlos Benítez

Copywriting portfolios don’t have to be all work and no play, so don’t be afraid to inject a little humor if you can. Benítez’s personality and sense of humor are sprinkled throughout his portfolio’s homepage.

Upon visiting his website, you’re greeted with a black screen with white text that starts with “Hello there, human! Or robot!” and ends with “Scroll down to see the blood, sweat and tears.” And for laughs, there’s a random button that says “This is just a button.” Spoiler Alert: The button doesn’t do anything but I definitely laughed after I clicked on it and waited 30 seconds for something (nothing) to happen.

Once you scroll down, you’ll see a display of GIFs of the different campaigns Benítez has worked on over the years. Similar to Cruze and Brenner’s portfolios, hovering over the GIFs will show the name of the company the campaign was for — and clicking on them will take you to his work.

Featuring a bit of your personality throughout the portfolio will give potential clients and employers an idea of the kind of person they’re working with — and their humor and vision might line up with yours.

5. Benji Shaw

If you want to include imagery in your portfolio, but prefer a more minimalist approach, then Shaw’s portfolio will spark a few ideas. This portfolio features a black background with his name displayed in a large, easy-to-read font in the upper left corner. Two large images representing his work are featured in the foreground, and more of his work is shown by simply scrolling down. Like in previous examples, clicking the images will take you to another page that gives greater detail on the projects he’s worked on.

6. Aly J. Yale

Another excellent example for minimalists, Yale’s portfolio doesn’t rely on a ton of imagery. Instead her homepage is straightforward, simple, and only features her name in large black text against a white background —along with tabs in the upper right hand corner that lead to her bio, homepage, and contact page.

If you scroll down Yale’s homepage, you see the logos of the outlets that have published her work.

Though I’d definitely suggest including a tab with links to your written work, this homepage shows that sometimes less is more and that you don’t have to rely on bold images to have a strong portfolio.

7. Davina van Buren

The homepage for van Buren’s portfolio is a great example for copywriters who are looking for a neat, organized way of promoting all of their talents, work, and social media in one place.

The content of the homepage is organized in a way that leads your eyes down the page. Its coordinated neutral colors are engaging without being too jarring. Also, notice how the tabs for the about page, portfolio, testimonials, contact information, and social media widgets are all neatly organized in a single row at the top.

This format is great if you’re a copywriter who prefers a clean-cut, business professional portfolio.

8. Stephan Marsh

This portfolio is a great example if you’re the kind of copywriter who wants to get straight to the point. With a tagline in big bold letters reading “Read less of what I say. See more of what I’ve done,” Marsh makes it clear that he does not want to waste anyone’s time. The top of his homepage even includes a self-contained PDF portfolio that can be downloaded immediately.

This portfolio shows that even a person of few words can still find a way to make a bold first impression.

9. Jennifer Cheek

I love this homepage example because it shows how a copywriter can add their own personal touch to a portfolio template. What makes this portfolio stand out is its fun pink hues and the adorable yellow canary logo on the left side of the page. Once again, don’t be afraid to show your personality on your portfolio’s homepage, and that includes your quirky side.

10. Anna Rogan

Rogan’s homepage, like van Buran’s, also leads your eye downward. As you scroll down you’ll see more of her work samples, but what makes her page really interesting is that each sample comes with a corresponding color change. This makes for a fun, aesthetically pleasing scroll through her work.

11. Kayla Dean

Dean’s portfolio is called The Literary Co. and starts by letting visitors know she has a wealth of experience, having created copy for more than 100 clients. Her portfolio also has a blog-style setup where potential clients can scroll down and see all of her latest work, case studies, and the brands she has worked with.

12. Dayarne Smith

Smith’s website opens with a large image of a woman at a keyboard and features all of her relevant tabs at the top of the homepage. Once you scroll down, you’ll see her portfolio with links to her work uniquely displayed in fun monitor illustrations.

13. Sara Frandina

Frandina leaned into the writing theme by having her portfolio’s homepage resemble notebook paper. She doubled down on the theme by crossing out a word in the tagline and “writing” in a new word.

In addition to having standard information tabs at the top of the page, Frandina also included tabs linking to her past works separated by categories — customer research, email sequences, launch copy, long-form sales page, and website copy. These tabs can be found by scrolling down the homepage.

About Me

This is where you showcase your personality and clearly define the expertise you bring as a copywriter. Notice that each example features a photo of the copywriter.

14. Kim Hobson

Figuring out what to say about yourself can be difficult. Where do you even start? Hobson found a way around that by breaking her About page into sections. In her introduction, she includes a photo of herself followed by a brief overview of what she does, where she is based, and how long she has been copywriting.

Below her overview, she lists five quick facts about herself — some of which pertain to copywriting and others that cover her personal life. Then she has a section that breaks down her professional background.

If you’re not sure what to put in your About page, you can follow Hobson’s formula by including a brief overview followed by a few fun facts and a breakdown of your career thus far.

15. Flourish Writing

Sarah, whose portfolio is called Flourish Writing, introduces herself using a funny anecdote about her first “published book” being written on craft paper and stored on her elementary school’s shelf for years. This anecdote lets the reader know Sarah has had a passion for writing since she was a child and that passion can also produce excellent work.

Complete with a photo of Sarah with her adorable pup, this About page gives the reader a clear idea of who Sarah is when she isn’t writing.

16. Shanice Perriatt

Perriatt’s About page is concise and well organized. Her opener clearly states her name and what she does: “I’m Shanice Perriatt – a digital marketer and content creator who blends the best of design and writing into compelling and engaging brand content.”

Like Sarah, Perriatt also gives us insight into her life and hobbies – going to the gym, scrolling through Twitter, and going to the movies. Finally, the bio ends with Perriatt telling the reader the position she holds now.

The muted pastel background complements the green around headshot, making for a clean, informative page.

17. Kayla Hollatz

Hollatz takes a different approach to her About page. First, it starts with a photo of Hollatz next to a brief statement detailing her objective.

After scrolling down, visitors see an “About You” page instead of an “About Me” page. This is where Hollatz presents an issue many clients face.

Finally, visitors can scroll further down to find an About Me page in which Hollatz presents herself as the answer to all of the potential client’s problems.

18. Andie Coupland

Coupland’s About page shows that it is perfectly fine to veer away from personal details and to keep things strictly business. While we don’t get insight into Coupland’s life outside of writing, we do get a clear description of her experience and what she brings to the table as a copywriter. Note that she also includes a link to her LinkedIn for more information.

19. Jacob McMillen

McMillen’s About page establishes credibility by focusing on his accomplishments. He also puts his own spin on the writer’s headshot by instead only showing half his face. It’s a bold move but the gray coloring complements the muted blue and white banner, so it doesn’t seem too out of place.

20. James Schlesinger

Like Hollatz, Schlesinger uses his About page to present a problem potential clients could be facing, then he presents himself as the solution by explaining exactly what he can do for them. Then he ends his bio with a call to action, urging readers to contact him for his services.

21. John Axtell

Are you looking for a punchy opener to grab the reader’s attention? Why not try “I love high kicks!” Maybe avoid that exact phrase, since that’s how Axtell decided to open his About page, but shouting a random fact about yourself is definitely a good start. Axtell took the opener a step further by including a photo of him doing a high kick.

If you decide to open with a fun fact, like Axtell, coupling that opener with a photo showing that fact can definitely show your personality and grab the attention of potential clients.

Services

Some copywriters opt to dedicate a separate page of their online portfolio to breaking down the specific services they provide. If you choose to do the same, here are a couple of examples you can reference:

22. Danielle Wallace

Wallace chose to separate her services into different clickable boxes that include icons and a mixture of script and typewriting fonts.

23. Sandy Dang

Dang displays her services in a more horizontal format with texts on one side and a large corresponding photo on the other. Each section of her service page includes a button that gives the option to book.

24. Jennifer Locke

Lock kept the format straightforward by simply stating what she can do for the client and including a button that allows potential clients to schedule a consultation. This could be a great method for copywriters who specialize in only one for two services.

25. Stuart Tarn

Of course, sometimes your portfolio is enough to show clients and employers what you’re capable of. Tarn organized his portfolio in a simple way that shows he can provide web, email, social, and print copy. Clicking on each image will take the reader to his previous work.

All of these copywriting portfolio examples are unique, but are all well organized, easy to navigate, and show a dash of personality while using complementary or neutral colors. Remember these points when putting together your own portfolio. Now, go out there and get that next big gig!

 

Instagram is an undeniably powerful marketing tool, but with over 200 million business accounts on the platform today, it’s critical that you take the time to create well-designed and thoughtful Instagram posts to stand out. You’ll need to apply a strategic design plan to your business’s Instagram to attract a loyal following and find success on the app, long-term.

However, creating a clean and cohesive Instagram feed takes design skills and time commitment you may lack, and with an algorithm that favors brands that post at least once a day, that could be adding to your stress.

If that’s the case, you’re in luck — in this post we’ll discuss how you can create pre-made Instagram post templates so you’ve got a stash ready to go. Plus, by ensuring you use the same templates for different posts, you’ll have an easier time creating a cohesive and aesthetically-pleasing feed.

Instagram Post Templates

Instagram templates can be used to serve different purposes, and we have a list of our own for you to brainstorm ideas and customize for free.

Panel Template

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For those trying to spread the word on an upcoming virtual or in-person panel, you can promote it using our Panel Template.

Customize it by adding the speakers’ profile photos and usernames to build hype and give followers the chance to get an idea of what they can look forward to.

What We Like: Your followers won’t have to DM you for panel information, as the example given in the template provides all the context necessary for them to plan to attend.

Quote Template

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Sometimes you want to keep up with the algorithm, and posting consistently using quotes in between announcements can help keep that relevance businesses need to be seen.

Interview insightful team members, or even use inspirational quotes that your followers would enjoy seeing as they scroll through their feed.

What We Like: The versatility of this template lets you change the background image to fit the tone of the quote you share.

Sales Announcement Template

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I don’t know about you, but when I see a sales announcement I get excited to check out what’s available.

When you’re looking to sell existing inventory, or share a seasonal offer, this sales announcement template gets straight to the point to capture attention. Change the background image to fit the occasion and you’ll have this post ready within minutes.

What We Like: This template isn’t cluttered nor pushy; those who are already fans of your product will want to go to your site to take advantage of the opportunity.

Quick Tip Template

Download this Template for Free

Sometimes your followers could be in need of some advice, that’s where our Quick Tip Template can fit that need.

If you’re catering to budding professionals or hobbyists, you can help them become more proficient in the skill they’re trying to develop. Change the imagery to reflect the tip of your choosing and share it with your followers.

What We Like: While it’s a simple template, it’s an easy way to engage with followers in between campaigns, and if you want to make the most of it, encourage commenters to share their own tips or advice they found helpful, too.

We’re Hiring Template

Download this Template for Free

Yes, you could just post job openings on websites like LinkedIn, but you could reach exactly who you’re looking for on social media channels like Instagram, too.

Customize this template to either showcase a variety of positions you have open, or for a certain position that you can expand on in your post description.

What We Like: You can reach a further audience with Instagram using this template and by using the post-boost feature to better target the persona you’re looking for.

Offer Template

Download this Template for Free

Promote things like eBooks or guides using our Offer template.

By giving followers a glimpse at your newer offers, you can use the post description to give them a call to action and download different types of resources. Customize it to reflect your brand’s color scheme and offerings.

What We Like: This chic template is the right amount of professional and minimalist approach that viewers will want to check out, as opposed to lengthy announcements littered with too much text in imagery.

New Product Template

Download this Template for Free

When you’re ready to launch a new product, you should meet your target audience right where they are on Instagram the day it goes live.

By using our New Product template, you can give your followers an idea of what they can expect with this new innovation. You can also switch out the imagery to reflect the product solution.

What We Like: Without using words, your followers can get a clearer idea of what your new product can do for them if they purchase it.

Review Template

Download this Template for Free

Whether it’s internal or external, sharing positive reviews of your brand or product can be a great way to add legitimacy to your business.

Use our Review template to share the positive experiences your clients or employees had from your business, this can attract customers and talent to the company.

What We Like: Sharing reviews can help customers build trust, and adding posts like these to your profile can aid in the process.

Podcast Template

Download this Template for Free

Podcasts are on the rise, so to help get the word out, you should be promoting on your Instagram.

This simplistic template is a great way to announce the creation of your podcast. You can use the post description to give your followers an idea of what’s to come and encourage them to spread the word.

What We Like: You can distinguish the type of podcast in the image if you choose or frame it as a surprise. The possibilities are endless.

These aren’t the only templates available in our offer, so download the pack to brainstorm even more ideas for your future posts.

1. Download Instagram post templates.

Let’s face it — you don’t always have the time, resources, or personnel to design noteworthy Instagram posts. That’s why we recommend using Instagram Post Templates for Business which you can build from and customize.

Here are some options to create and save Instagram post templates, so you can have stunning posts on-hand whenever you’re ready to publish.

Featured Resource: 22 Free Instagram Post Templates for Business

Need templates to get started? Download HubSpot’s free Instagram post templates for both traditional posts and stories, which you can tailor as you see fit when it comes to your brand. You can alter any parts of the template – the image, the copy, and the design elements – to ensure you’re publishing posts to grow and engage your follower base.

2. Choose your post format.

While traditional Instagram posts to your permanent timeline are more long-lasting and allow for comments and likes, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of Instagram Stories, which can be used for more immediate needs and occasions.

In fact, 500 million accounts use the Instagram Stories feature daily. So, when you’re creating your post, ask yourself if it warrants publication as a story or as a traditional post.

3. Choose an image.

Maybe you’ve decided your post doesn’t need a photograph and that text overlay on a solid-color background will work for you. If that’s the case, hop over to the next step.

If you’ve decided you do want to use a photograph – particularly if you want one as the background for text overlay – you’ve got a few options.

• Take a photo on your phone or with a camera. No need to be a professional photographer for your Instagram posts – you can learn how to take great photos with your phone here.
• Use a photo from your company’s files. This works well if you need to utilize team photos or product photography, which may be better quality.
• Use a stock photo that pertains to your business (just make sure you don’t use the same one multiple times!).

Whichever photo you decide to use, simply replace it as the background for the template you’re using in the HubSpot Instagram Post Template collection and resize the photo so it’s to your liking (and is good quality).

4. Add design elements.

Instagram post templates come with design placeholders for text with special fonts and other elements. Your next step is to alter, add, or remove any elements that you see fit.

This includes updating the copy to reflect the information you want followers to know and/or the action you want them to take.

5. Save the photo.

When you’ve done all you can in the template builder of your choosing, save your photo to be posted on Instagram. All you’ll have to do here is click File > Download > PNG Image or JPEG Image. Then, just name the photo file, email, or message it to yourself, and save it on your phone so you can post it.

6. Upload to Instagram.

Once you have your photo saved, it’s time to upload it to share with your followers. For a traditional post, open Instagram, click the + button in the bottom center, choose your photo, add any filter, description, or hashtags, and click Share. (Take a look at How to Post on Instagram: a Step-by-Step Guide if you’re still unsure.)

For an Instagram Story post, click on the camera icon in the top left of your screen, access your camera roll in the bottom left of the screen, choose your image, minimize the date that shows up to the point where it can’t be seen, and add any additional design elements – like a GIF or additional copy – to the image. From there, click Your Story on the bottom left.

Other Ways to Design Instagram Posts

Here are some other options to create and save Instagram post templates, so you can have stunning posts on-hand whenever you’re ready to publish.

1. HubSpot

As previously mentioned, HubSpot has some go-to templates for your Instagram posts and stories.

You can have access to fully customizable templates through Google Slides where you can alter the color schemes, images, and purpose of each template depending on the subject you’re posting about — many of which are already made to promote business events or product releases.

2. Fotor

If you’re looking for a free collection of templates to choose from, Fotor will give you over three thousand templates for any topic or occasion.

With Fotor, you can cater your post to reflect your brand image, while incorporating seasonal designs or special sales, or discount templates for your business.

3. Crello

Crello is an online graphic design tool made to enhance your content for many social media channels — providing users with plenty of templates to fill out your Instagram grid.

4. Creative Market

If you’re willing to shell out the cash, you might consider buying one of Creative Market’s Instagram Template bundles.

For instance, you could purchase this 1053 Quotes social media pack.

Alternatively, you can purchase a bundle with Instagram Story content, like this Animated Stories bundle.

Finally, you might consider purchasing a bundle to help you create a cohesive theme for your Instagram feed, like this The Grid template.

Curate Your Instagram Posts with Ease

We hope you found our guide and templates useful as you prepare to make a stylized Instagram feed. With these tools, you’ll be set to create and save pre-made Instagram templates, so you can focus on attracting a loyal following without tediously designing a post from scratch every day.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The shrug emoji 🤷 is a popular image used to convey confusion or emphasize a question.

There’s no denying the power emojis have when it comes to boosting engagement and emphasizing communication. Sometimes you just need a symbol to get the point across, and emojis serve that purpose.

However, it’s worth noting the shrug emoji wouldn’t exist without its predecessor, the shrug emoticon. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Though emojis have come a long way, I’m still a big fan of typed emoticons. Emoticons bring me back to simpler times when my phone still had a physical keyboard and AOL Instant Messenger was my main method of communication. Those were the days.

If you still have an affinity for typed emoticons like me, especially the ¯_(ツ)_/¯ emoticon, here’s how you can type it in two seconds flat on a Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android.

How to Type the Shrug Emoji ¯_(ツ)_/¯ in Two Seconds Flat

The shrug emoticon is one of the more intricate emoticons to type, so most people resort to copying and pasting it from a website, like CopyShrug.

But copying and pasting the emoticon is really only a good option if you use it sparingly. If you’re an avid user of the shrug emoticon, you’ll need to keep revisiting the website to copy and paste it, which is a relatively slow and annoying process, especially on your mobile phone.

To type the shrug emoticon as fast as possible, we recommend creating a text replacement shortcut with your device’s autocorrect feature (which might be the first time autocorrect actually comes in handy for you).

How to Type the Shrug Emoji: on Mac

1. Copy “¯_(ツ)_/¯”

2. Go to System Preferences

3. Click Keyboard

4. Press Text

5. In the Replace box, type “shrug”

6. In the With box, paste “¯_(ツ)_/¯”

How to Type the Shrug Emoji:

on Windows

Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t have an autocorrect feature, but you can download programs like
PhraseExpress to set up text replacement shortcuts and quickly type the shrug emoticon.

How to Type the Shrug Emoji: on

iPhone

1. Copy “¯_(ツ)_/¯ “

2. Go to Settings

3. Press General

4. Tap Keyboard

5. Choose Text Replacement

6. Select the “+” button

7. In the Shortcut field, type “shrug”

8. In the Phrase field, paste “¯_(ツ)_/¯ “

How to Type the Shrug Emoji: on

Android

1. Copy “¯_(ツ)_/¯ “

2. From your text message keyboard, tap the three dots

3. Go to Settings

4. Tap Dictionary

5. On a Google Pixel, press Personal Dictionary; using a Samsung device, tap Text Shortcuts

6. Select your language

7. Select the “+”

8. In the Shortcut field, type “shrug”

9. Tap the ” ¯_(ツ)_/¯” that shows up on the keyboard

There you have it! A quick and easy shortcut to help you type the shrug emoji in no time.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

YouTube thumbnails, the small, clickable snapshots that viewers see when they search for videos, can be just as important as a video’s title because they provide a preview of your video and entice viewers to click through. 

If your video has an ordinary or sub-par thumbnail, it won’t persuade anyone to watch your content. YouTube could deem the video irrelevant and won’t rank it in the search results or distribute it through the “Recommended Videos” feed. Since your video’s click-through rate is one of the most important ranking factors in YouTube’s search algorithm, especially during its first hour on the platform, an eye-catching thumbnail can make a huge difference in ranking number one for a query and not ranking at all.

Creating vibrant YouTube thumbnails can also instantly grab people’s attention and this can help you differentiate yourself on a platform full of standard thumbnails all screaming for attention. Below, we’ll guide you through an easy four-step process for creating visually appealing YouTube thumbnails that will cut through the noise, boost your video’s click-through rate, and lift your rankings.

Table of Contents:

• How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
• 8 YouTube Thumbnail Makers

 

1. Visit a free online YouTube thumbnail maker.

There are eight free online YouTube thumbnail makers listed below, but we featured FotoJet in this guide because it’s one of the only YouTube thumbnail makers that doesn’t make you sign up for a free account before you can create a thumbnail. Their robust thumbnail maker lets you customize and download your thumbnails completely for free — no email address necessary.

The free version of this online app lets you download small and medium-sized image files, but large and extra-large are premium features. This means you’ll get to be creative with your designs to ensure they appear as crisp as possible on YouTube.

2. Upload a photo or choose one of the thumbnail makers’ templates.

YouTube will let you upload any picture from your computer as your video’s thumbnail. But if you don’t have a vivid visual on your computer or you need some inspiration, Fotojet’s got you covered. It has over 23 free templates that can serve as your thumbnail’s foundation.

To create striking a thumbnail in Fotojet, consider including a talking head. People are naturally drawn to human faces because it’s an ingrained survival mechanism to help us quickly gauge someone’s emotions and determine if they’re a threat or friend. Research Gate also discovered that Instagram photos with faces are 38% more likely to receive likes and 32% more likely to receive comments.

3. Add text, clip art, or a background to your thumbnail.

Once you’ve picked your picture or template, you can make your thumbnail stand out even more by adding text, clip art, or a background to it.

To further clarify your video’s subject matter, consider adding your video’s title to the thumbnail. If your photo, graphic, or text is bright, consider placing it on top of a dark background. The color contrast will make your thumbnail pop. The same logic applies to dark objects and bright backdrops.

4. Download the finished product to your computer.

After you finish polishing your thumbnail, press the Save button at the top of the page to export your thumbnail.

Last, title your thumbnail. When you’re naming the thumbnail, include either the title of the video, or the primary keyword related to the video. Save the final file as a PNG or JPG. Its resolution will already match YouTube’s recommended resolution — 1280 x 720 pixels — so you don’t have to worry about resizing it later.

 

8 YouTube Thumbnail Makers

Along with Fotojet’s free online YouTube thumbnail maker, there are seven other thumbnail makers that can help you customize your own YouTube thumbnails. Before you create a thumbnail with these tools, though, you need to sign up for a free account on their websites.

1. FotoJet

FotoJet is a leading YouTube thumbnail maker that comes with templates to help you summarize your video into a click-worthy image. You can get started with FotoJet as soon as you land on the homepage — no email or account setup required. Choose from a variety of stock images, font styles, and clip art elements to customize your design, then export it in either a JPG or PNG format. 

2. Canva

With more than 2 million images in their library, hundreds of fonts, and customizable backgrounds and colors, Canva gives you more than enough resources to unleash your creativity.

You can sign up for the free or paid version of the online design tool, but be prepared to take your own images as Canva’s image gallery can cost up to $1 per photo. Don’t let that deter you. This robust tool is jam-packed with free design elements that can help you create click-worthy YouTube thumbnails.

3. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark lets you select from thousands of photos on the web and a variety of built-out themes with their own unique layouts, colors, and fonts to craft eye-catching YouTube thumbnails. Although the free version comes with a watermark on all content you download from the system, you can always upgrade to the paid version to have unique thumbnails that are truly your own.

4. Crello

With Crello, you can create engaging thumbnails by blending a multitude of designs, photos, backgrounds, text, and objects together. When compared to other popular design tools, Crello emerges as a less expensive option, but remember resizing your thumbnails could be a pain because of some improvements that need to be made within the app.

5. Visme

Choose from a wide selection of templates, photos, graphics, colors, and fonts to create a thumbnail in Visme. This app was made with video thumbnails in mind, so you won’t have to worry about sizing and finding the perfect layouts. Visme offers creators various templates to choose from so you can spend more time adding your finishing touches.

6. Fotor

Fotor provides templates under certain themes to help you create captivating thumbnails. It includes all the trending YouTube thumbnail features like photo frames, the lomo effect, and background remover. The options are virtually limitless with Fotor as the canvas for your YouTube thumbnail.

If your workflow can’t be completed all in one session, Fotor’s premium plan allows you to save the version history of your thumbnails so you can pick up right where you left off.

7. Picmaker

With over 100,000 graphics, 1,000 stock photos, stickers, borders, backgrounds, text, icons, and filters, and an automatic background remover, you can create a gripping thumbnail on Picmaker. If you have set brand colors, the free options won’t be the easiest to work with since you can’t save colors, logos, or fonts. But upgrading to just the starter tier opens up a variety of benefits including a brand kit, premium photos, and multi-sized designs.

8. Snappa

Snappa has over 500,000 stock photos, an assortment of professionally designed templates, and customizable graphics, shapes, and text to help you create a YouTube thumbnail. If you’re making over three thumbnails per month, Snappa might affect your workflow as the free version only allows three downloads per month. If three is enough for you, you’ll be glad to know there’s a drag-and-drop functionality to help you create your own custom thumbnail template.

Create Scroll-Stopping YouTube Thumbnails

Just like a peephole, the subject line of an email, and even caller-ID, a YouTube thumbnail gives the viewer a peek behind the curtain to see what’s on the other side. It’s a major component in a search result that will determine whether someone clicks and watches your video. Taking the tips and examples in this article, you’ll have to know how to make scroll-stopping YouTube thumbnails that will draw in new subscribers.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As an online store, you drive traffic online. This means that, when people search for products or services related to what you sell, you want your business to appear in their search results. Enter ecommerce SEO.

Read on to learn more about ecommerce SEO, why it’s important, how to create an ecommerce SEO strategy, and discover tools that will help you with your process.

What is ecommerce SEO?

Ecommerce seo is the process of making your online store visible in search results so that people doing searches related to what you offer are likely to come across your website. An optimized ecommerce site is more likely to rank highly in SERPs and drive organic traffic.

Ecommerce SEO is important because 60% of people research a brand online before making a purchase. When your site is optimized, they’ll be able to find your product pages in search results and learn about what you offer. When people can find your site and learn about what you offer, they’re also more likely to make a purchase.

This type of SEO is not that different from general SEO. Still, you will focus your efforts on optimizing your site to benefit your products, like writing high-quality and keyword-rich product descriptions.

Ecommerce SEO Strategy

1. Keyword Research

Your ecommerce SEO process should begin with keyword research for your site, especially for your product pages.

This research will help you learn the words most commonly used when people search for products related to your business. You’ll then want to use these keywords in the content on your site, so Google learns when to surface your website in SERPs and so searchers know what they’ll find on your page when they click.

The image below is a product page from Supergoop for one of its sunscreen products, Unseen Sunscreen. The brief product description uses keywords that people often search for when researching sunscreens: invisible sunscreen, scentless sunscreen, SPF 40.

Image Source

You can also conduct keyword research based on your competitors to see what they’re ranking for that you aren’t. Ahrefs Content Gap Tool is a high-quality option for doing this, and you can enter the URLs for your competitors and get a full report.

2.On-page SEO

On-page SEO elements help search engines understand what’s on your site pages, like your content and HTML elements. These elements often include your keywords, so keyword research is always the first step.

1. Meta Titles

Meta titles are the headings you use to describe what’s on your page content. When you write them, you’d want to summarize the main topic of your page with a related keyword. The image below is an example from Shopify, an ecommerce platform for businesses, where the meta title describes exactly what the business is for: selling online.

Image Source

2. Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are snippets of text in SERPs that describe what’s on specific pages. It helps searchers assess if the page is relevant to what they are looking for. This summary is only visible in search results, and when writing them, you should include your target keywords.

The image below is an example of a meta description from Dollar Shave Club that reads, “Everything you need in the bathroom – from razor blades to grooming products – automatically delivered to your door. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.”

Image Source

Within your meta descriptions, your ecommerce store can also greatly benefit from including reviews and star ratings for your products as it helps you build trust. You can do this by using review snippet schema markup.

3. URL Structure

Your URL structure refers to your subdirectories and slugs that categorize your website. Best practices are to keep your URLs simple, use relevant keywords, and always hyphenate your slugs.

The hierarchy of your URLs should be clear, so browsers and search engines know when your pages are getting more specific.  

Let’s take HubSpot URLs as an example. The HubSpot domain is hubspot.com.

If you’re researching HubSpot’s marketing software and its specific tools, the URL becomes hubspot.com/products/marketing, where

• /products is a subdirectory
• /marketing is a slug

Telling Google that /marketing is a product page that gets more specific. Then, if you’re interested in the social media management software, the URL becomes hubspot.com/products/marketing/social-inbox, where

• /social-inbox is an additional slug for a specific tool within a specific product

4. Product Descriptions

Product and category descriptions clearly explain what your product is. When writing them, you want to include the keywords you’ve gathered in your research.

On the Social Media Management product page from HubSpot, the product is described using relevant long-tail keywords that people will often search, like publishing content, social media ROI, and monitoring social mentions.

5. Structured Data

Structured data is the code on your website that explains the content on your page to help with indexing. You want to add structured data markups to your product pages to ensure optimization.

Google has an entire database of product-related structured data for shipping information, offers, pricing, and product availability — really anything you need to sell your products. You can simply copy and paste it into your site’s schema markup, add your unique elements, and check if it’s valid using the Rich Results Test.

6. Images and Image Alt Text

All ecommerce websites should use high-quality images to display their products. While they help drive a sale, images with the right keywords and descriptive alt text can help you show up in search results and image packs.

For example, here’s an image from the WordPress website with the alt text “Devices showing the WordPress mobile app.” The alt text describes what’s in the picture, and the description allows it to show up in image search results for WordPress Mobile.

Image Source

3.Technical SEO

Technical SEO is what makes your site run and easy to navigate. For ecommerce sites, focus on optimizing your website speed.

As you likely include a lot of text to describe your products, images to show off your products, and maybe videos for product demonstrations, your site can take a long time to load. Aim to compress all files on your site to ensure they can load fast enough that browsers aren’t frustrated and waiting for results. Conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time, so this is critical.

You also want to make sure that your code is clean because it can impact load times. All SEO practices work in tandem, so using the correct structured data can help you ensure your code is clean and easy for bots to read.

4. Backlinks

Backlinks, also known as off-page SEO, are important for ecommerce sites as they drive traffic. Seek out backlinks from sources with positive reputations, are authoritative, and relate to what you offer.

Some popular strategies for getting backlinks are reclaiming unlinked mentions of your business, getting mentioned in listicles, and using high-quality images that sites can use to link back to your content.

A creative way to get backlinks for an ecommerce site is through collaborations with influencers or affiliates. They can promote your products and share links to your site with their audience.

5. Optimize For Mobile

Optimizing your ecommerce site for mobile is a must for your SEO strategy, as mobile devices generate about half of all global website traffic and 41% of web traffic.

Responsive mobile design is how you ensure your ecommerce site can adapt to whatever device a visitor uses. This means mobile buttons that resize, images and graphics that scale, typography, and text size — really anything that can change based on the size of someone’s screen.

Ecommerce SEO Audit

Your ecommerce SEO audit will monitor the same elements that make up your strategy. Running one is beneficial because you’ll get a checklist of improvements to make that will benefit your rankings once you finish.

Here are some questions you can use to guide yourself during your audit.

Keyword Research

• Which keywords do you currently rank for? 
• What keyword opportunities can you pursue?

On-Page SEO

• Do you have descriptive meta descriptions? 
• Are your meta titles related to your page content? 
• Do your product descriptions use target keywords? 
• Do your product descriptions clearly explain what you’re selling? 
• Do your images have descriptive, keyword-rich alt text? 
• Do you use product-specific structured data? 
• Is your structured data valid by Google’s standards?

Technical SEO

• What is your current page speed?
• Are your images compressed?
• Are your videos compressed?
• Is your schema markup clean?
• Has your site been indexed by Google?

Backlinks

• What current backlinks do you have?
• Are your current backlinks from authoritative sources?
• What websites can you get backlinks from?
• Do you have any unlinked mentions to claim? 

Mobile Optimization

• Are your images scalable?
• Are your graphics and vectors scalable?
• Is your text scalable?
• Does your website automatically respond to different device sizes?
• Does your website pass the mobile optimization test?

Ecommerce SEO Tools

• Keyword Planner is a free tool that helps you conduct keyword research for writing rich product descriptions. 
• Google’s Mobile Optimization Test helps you ensure your site is responsive to screens of all sizes. 
• PageSpeed Insights will tell you your site’s current speed and give suggestions on how to improve your score. 
• Rich Result Test analyzes the structured data on your desktop and mobile site to ensure it’s valid for rich results. It tests specifically for Google SERP features. 
• Squoosh to compress the image files on your website.
• Ahrefs to conduct keyword research and analyze your competition. It’s a paid tool that also offers other high-quality SEO features for auditing your entire site, monitoring your rankings, and identifying opportunities to improve your rankings. 
• SEMrush helps you find opportunities to strengthen your backlink profile and optimize your site for local SEO.
• SEO Site Checkup is a full-service paid tool to help you test your meta titles, preview your site in Google SERPs, run responsive image tests, and create SEO-friendly URLs.

Over To You

Quality is the only SEO method that will get you anywhere, so make sure the information you put out there—whether on your own page or on directories and other publications—is the best possible quality you can provide. With the  methods outlined above, your ecommerce site will benefit from better SEO results.

Let’s face it – there are many marketing tactics that boost conversions. However, to make your marketing effective, leveraging the customer’s buying cycle is the key to a successful online business.

Understanding a customer’s buying cycle is how you can have the right marketing for a successful commerce site.

Online Buying Cycle

The online buying cycle is very similar to the original buying cycle; however the key difference is the online buying cycle occurs online. Because it is online; many ecommerce sites and brands will utilize social media platforms and email marketing as marketing tools to help market and sell to consumers and generate leads back to their ecommerce site. The buying cycle and online buying cycle will go through the five stages of closing a sale.

5 Stages of the Customer Buying Cycle

You can look at a customer buying cycle as a customer’s purchasing cycle. ;Many customers go through stages during their purchasing process to educate themselves before they either make a purchase. There are five stages that you have to consider:

1. Awareness

Awareness is the first stage in a customer’s buying cycle when customers realize that they have a problem that needs a solution. ;

A company will be able to reach the target customers given the right marketing strategies and campaigns.

For example, a customer is trying to lower plastic waste from water bottle usage. A customer then sees an ad for a water filter. The problem the customer is facing is met with a solution and now the next stage of the customer buying cycle begins.

2. Consideration

This stage is where the prospect is considering their options and ;your company can provide multiple solutions for a customer. As an ecommerce site, this is where your marketing, sales team, and products come in.

In this stage, you can provide detailed information to explain how your product will help solve their problem. To go back to our example, once the customer clicks the ad and lands on your site, you can list the benefits of the water filter, such as cleaner water, more cost effective than buying bottled water, and gives you a good boost in health. ;Once the customer understands that this product is what they need to solve their problem, ;they will move onto the next stage.

3. Intent

In this stage, a salesperson aims to earn the trust of potential customers. Whether you tap them emotionally or logically, this is the time where a salesperson convinces the potential buyer that their product is the best solution for their needs. You can accomplish this through reviews from existing customers, highlighting the benefits of the product, or through a social media campaign that creates a feeling within the customer. Once the customer is convinced and has seen proof that the product works, we move on to the next stage.

4. Purchase

At this point, your customer is ready to purchase the solution for their needs. While your customer is in this stage, you need to ensure that your pricing is reasonable and you make the buying process as simple as possible.

When the customer purchases, that is not the last step in the customer buying cycle. You don’t want the customer to be a one-time buyer. You will need to manage the customer’s relationship with your site to make them a returning customer. ;Maintain contact with the customer on their problem solving journey to make sure ;that the product works properly and that they are satisfiedThe purchase is just the start of a relationship with a customer; building a relationship ;keeps them in the buying cycle.

5. Re-purchase (Renewal)

The final stage of the buying cycle is repurchase of your product or service. This is where you manage your relationship with the customers. In the previous stage, we touched on the importance of making sure that the customer and seller have established a good rapport ;since this will encourage the customer to repeat business . To get to repurchase, it’s imperative that the customer is happy and satisfied. In addition, in this stage, you can ask ;a customer for a review or a testimonial on how this product or service helped them with their needs.

Create Targeted Content for Each Stage

Now that you know the breakdown of the five stages of a customer’s buying cycle, it’s time to start making the most of it. To get started, you need to answer the questions which are related ;to each stage. But how do you know what your customers are searching ;for to gather information? The answer lies in search queries.

;Look at this example:

• “flat screen tv” – This is a generic term that customers in the Awareness or Consideration stage use. “compare flat screen tvs” – The desire to compare products indicates this customer is further along in the cycle, such as the Consideration or Preference stage.
• “sony 42” lcd” – This a very specific product query indicates that a shopper is much further into the buying cycle, now likely evaluating prices (right before the Purchase stage).

The next step is to create content that moves customers closer to purchase. For example, look for keywords that are related to the Awareness and Consideration stages. Using the previous example, you can provide a guide to selecting the perfect flat screen TV.

For the Preference/Intent stage, leveraging customer testimonials, providing specification sheets and telling your brand story will help push prospects closer to the Purchase stage, which is the perfect time to utilize a PPC ;ad with text that entices them to buy. To LeadL them towards Repurchase, you can send monthly newsletters with helpful tips and tricks . That way it will keep your brand on the top of their minds.

Make Content Available Through the Right Channels

Of course, the content you share is fully dependent on the product you offer and the profile of your customers, but there are basic commonalities on how to market in each stage of the buying cycle:

• Awareness: For the majority of ecommerce sites, this is all about being found via search engine marketing, particularly PPC and SEO.
• Consideration: Once customers find you in search engines, keyword-tailored landing pages are essential. . You can also use comparison charts that highlight the key selling points to help you stand out from the competition.
• Preference/Intent: Your website should do the talking here, especially your product descriptions and overall branding. This is a critical stage to capture contact information.
• Purchase: Get your coupons and discounts out there, whether it’s through your PPC ad text, a pre-sales email, or social media .
• Repurchase: Keep in contact with your customers via scheduled emails, social media, and personal outreach. Your customers are your best growth opportunity.

Create a Meaningful Customer Buying Cycle

While it’s common for online business owners to always focus on the sale, it’s important to remember that your flock of customers are scattered across the field. By herding them through the right gates using your marketing, you’ll be able to enjoy a much more dependable customer pipeline.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2011 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

In 1990, the key to SEO success relied on keywords. Today, it’s way more complicated.

The SEO landscape is constantly evolving, and marketers must evolve along with it. But to do that, it’s important reflect on the biggest SEO challenges this year — and create a game plan to address them.

Below, let’s review the top six SEO challenges brands are facing in 2022, according to data from HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Web Traffic & Analytics Report and other marketing experts.

Top 6 SEO Challenges in 2022

1. Staying on top of algorithm changes.

The HubSpot Blogs surveyed 400+ web traffic analysts to identify the top SEO challenges in 2022. The leading challenge — experienced by 50% of marketers — is staying on top of search engine algorithm changes.

This isn’t surprising — in 2020 alone, Google ran more than 500,00 experiments that led to 4,000+ changes to search. For many marketers, staying current with these changes is like hitting a moving target.

So, how can you succeed when Google keeps moving the goal post? The key is to respond to these changes strategically.

There’s no need to overhaul your entire SEO strategy in response to a minor change. Instead, your time is better spent staying on top of industry news. If a big algorithm change is on the horizon, the SEO industry will talk about it.

The second tip may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out – after an algorithm change, wait for the dust to settle before making any moves. Why? In some cases, Google reverts to a previous version if an update doesn’t go to plan.

2. Not ranking higher in search results.

Unlike paid search, SEO takes time to show results — and it’s usually a result of smaller efforts.

There are some “solutions” to fix a low ranking, such as pivoting to technical SEO and content marketing. SEO experts have also identified some factors that play into your ranking, like the E-A-T framework. E-A-T in SEO stands for “expertise,” authoritativeness,” and “trustworthiness.”

However, even more important is developing a long-term strategy that focuses on a handful of initiatives at a time. Remember, SEO is a long-term game. The work you put in today will pay off down the road.

3. Using keywords incorrectly.

One thing has managed to stay consistent in the SEO world: keywords. But today, rather than scanning for keywords, Google takes a high-level look at your website to get an overall sense of its authority, tone, and relevancy.

In other words, if you’re hoping that keywords alone will give you a boost in search results, you’re out of luck.

Instead, the goal with keywords is to understand user intent, or the deeper problem your users hope to solve. With this understanding, you can inform your content strategy and your larger, overall marketing strategy. Take a look at this helpful article on adding user intent to your keyword strategy.

Additionally, tracking search volume for your targeted keywords can help you understand why your website sees a sudden spike or drop in traffic. For instance, if a target keyword is experiencing a spike in search volume, you can write more blog posts on that particular topic.

4. Writing compelling titles and meta descriptions.

According to 400+ web traffic analysts, one of the most effective strategies for improving search ranking is writing compelling titles and meta descriptions. But writing catchy titles is easier said than done.

According to one recent study that analyzed 5 million headlines, emotional titles — either positive or negative — had a higher click-through rate (CTR) than neutral titles. In fact, both positive and negative titles improved CTR by approximately 7%. Additionally, web pages with meta descriptions get almost 6% more clicks than those without.

But, a word of caution here — while emotionally-charged titles can drive clicks, you run the risk of sounding too clickbait-y. For example, the same study found that “power words” — or words specifically designed to draw attention — can negatively impact CTR. Power words include terms like crazy, insane, and amazing — so use them sparingly, if at all.

5. Missing the mark on mobile.

Your SEO strategy should absolutely include mobile optimization. Why? As you might expect, mobile devices account for a large chunk of web traffic — 41% to be exact — making it essential to approach your website with a mobile-first mindset.

Further, Google now practices mobile-first indexing. This means Google uses the mobile version of your web pages when indexing and ranking pages.

The trend is clear — optimizing for mobile is key for traffic growth, SEO, and great user experience. It’s no surprise that almost 25% of companies invest in mobile as a top SEO tactic.

You don’t need to be a developer or have a large budget to optimize your website for mobile. Check out this helpful guide to learn how small tweaks can improve the mobile experience.

6. Leveraging video in search results.

If you Google “How to tie a knot,” the top search result is a video:

Increasingly, Google is incorporating video in search results — and this trend isn’t stopping any time soon. In fact, Google is working on more ways to experiment with short-form videos in search results, according to Google’s Product Manager, Danielle Marshak.

Google plans to surface videos by crawling and indexing them like any other type of content. So how can marketers leverage their video content for search? Here are a few strategies:

• Add video chapters. Chapters section your video by topic, providing a layer of context for viewers. It also makes it easy for Google to understand the content in your video and use different clips in search results.

• Optimize your title, tags, and description. Like web pages, videos also have titles, descriptions, and tags. Optimize these using SEO best practices.

Also, embedding videos into your website and blog posts doesn’t hurt — and can actually improve your bounce rates.

Back to You

SEO is like a mutual fund — it builds over time, one dollar at a time. In other words, it’s a long game. Marketers must have the right strategies in play for the long game. Start with the tips in this post to set you on the right path.

Quick riddle for you: What do you have in common with podcast hosts, YouTube sensations, TikTok stars, and Instagram influencers?

Stumped? Okay, okay. I’ll tell you the answer.

Statistically speaking, you probably also consider yourself a ‘content creator’, at least on some level.

Recently, HubSpot’s Blog Research team ran a study and found 30% of 18-24 year olds and 40% of 25-34 year olds call themselves content creators.

That number might seem high at first, but when you consider how deeply ingrained social media has become in our lives, it starts to make sense. 

What did surprise me, however, was this: When asked how many followers most of these content creators had, 84% reported less than 10,000, and 39% reported less than 1,000.

This confused me. In high school, I had roughly 100 followers. But I’d never considered myself a content creator. I guess, as it turns out, maybe I should have.

To investigate whether ‘everyone is a content creator’ is true — and what it means if it is — I spoke with three content creators and influencers about their relationship to the ‘content creator’ label. Let’s dive in.

Is anyone who creates content a ‘content creator’? 

Li Jin is an investor and co-founder of Variant Fund, a venture firm investing in the ownership economy. Jin, who’s been called ‘The Investor Guru for Online Creators‘, believes everyone is a content creator.

As Jin told The Information, “No matter which industry you’re in, people are all going to be creators … This embrace of virtual brand-building is already starting to happen but will accelerate in coming years, as doctors, CEOs and other established professions, including venture capitalists, realize the importance of cultivating online profiles.”

Jin adds, “Everyone will have to build influence online, because we’re living more of our lives online … All of us will have to adopt some of the skill sets and behaviors of creators in order to be successful.”

If a content creator is defined as someone who “produces entertaining or educational material that caters to the interests and challenges of a target audience”, then it makes sense to label anyone with a social profile as a content creator. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just me posting a funny Instagram video to share with my 300 followers, or a major TikTok influencer doing the same thing for her 3 million fans.

Leslie Green, HubSpot’s Senior Social Strategy Manager, agrees. She says, “Nike believes ‘everyone is an athlete’, and I also believe everyone is a content creator. There may be varying levels of skill, but if you have a phone with a camera, you’re a content creator.”

A few years ago, being a content creator — or influencer — required a certain follower count to earn the title, and it was a relatively exclusive club, reserved for brands, mega-influencers, or celebrities.

Now, anyone with a smartphone has the opportunity to become one. There’s something incredibly freeing about this: As we broaden the scope of what we mean when we say ‘content creator’, we’re inevitably opening the doors for more diverse voices. Which means consumers worldwide can find content creators who mirror their unique, distinct experiences.

In other words: Content doesn’t need to reflect one singular version of reality anymore. Now, it can encompass all of them.

Nicole Phillip, The Hustle’s Senior Social Media Manager, told me she sees major benefits to the fact that there are no guardrails when it comes to labelling yourself as a content creator.

As Phillip puts it, “Content creator is definitely an overused descriptor … But that speaks to how accessible the arena is, which in some ways is great for people who otherwise would’ve hit glass ceilings or invisible walls trying to get their work out there through conventional means.”

To become a content creator, you only need a smartphone. 

Admittedly, there are levels of skill, expertise, and influence within the creator economy, just like there are levels to any profession. But what’s surprising is that, unlike other professions, there’s no entry-level requirement to becoming a content creator.

You don’t need to possess certain skills or live in a specific region or be an expert in a particular field — you just need to own a phone or a computer.

Which is perhaps what makes it so enthralling for so many. Consider, for instance, how the hashtag #contentcreator reveals more than 9 million results on Instagram:

What’s equally interesting is the growth of the creator economy over the past few years — which Bloomberg reports is now worth more than $20 billion.

The creator economy, a term that refers to the marketplace of content creators as it relates to businesses, skyrocketed during the pandemic.

The pandemic also greatly impacted the requirements of becoming a content creator. As people were stuck at home with nothing but their phones, they had to make due. And, as it turned out, audiences didn’t care about super-polished content, anyway.

Instead, audiences appreciated and sought out the more authentic posts that spoke to the true state of the world.

As Phillip acknowledges, “Being a content creator used to mean you had a super large following and created original content that would consistently go viral to large audiences. Then, we started having micro and nano-influencers, which lowered the barrier to entry, so there’s no particular follower count necessary, either.”

She adds, “In terms of content types or quality, there’s an audience for every niche and ability, so someone who only has an iPhone 8 just recording their thoughts during their morning commute can compete in the same space as a celebrity makeup artist operating with a DSLR and an entire team.”

It’s undoubtedly thrilling to consider the possibilities of creative individuals with less resources competing in spaces with high-profile, mega-rich celebrities.

But that leads me to my next point: What’s the end game with all of this, anyway?

Becoming a content creator on social media is no longer a means to an end. 

A few years ago, becoming an influencer was oftentimes a stepping stone to fame.

A few names come to mind: Consider King Bach, who became famous on Vine and has since starred in multiple TV shows, including The Mindy Project and Punk’D; or Addison Rae, a TikTok dancer who was recently featured in Netflix’s movie He’s All That.

And yet, nowadays, becoming an influencer is in-and-of itself the goal.

One TikTok creator, Brady Lockerby, decided to become a full-time TikToker after recognizing the financial incentives outweighed her previous employment.

As she notes, she made roughly $50,000 in her corporate 9-to-5 job. By comparison, she now makes upwards of her yearly corporate salary in one month.

Lockerby told me, “The first time I posted on TikTok, I never expected it to turn into what it is today for me. It’s something that truly just fell into my lap. Once my TikTok career started to take off and I realized, ‘Wow, this could actually be my job,’ I made the plunge and quit my job. Freedom was probably the driving force.”

She adds, “It seems that nowadays most people are just in it for the money and receiving free items — but I believe that building authentic relationships is key. Whether that’s with your followers or a brand, if you don’t have that trust, no one will believe your content. You make the choice to put your life online, and it makes my heart warm to know that people genuinely care about not only what products I’m promoting that month, but about me and my life.”

It’s important to note: The money you make as a content creator is well-deserved. As easy as it is to earn the label of ‘content creator’, it’s not easy to make a living off of it.

In fact, Philip predicts that in the future, many will actually consider quitting as the market becomes increasingly saturated.

She told me, “People can get content from every corner of the internet, and to maintain an audience through such competition can be stressful and exhausting. I’ve seen this first-hand just working on branded social. There are no off days and you constantly have to feed the beast.”

It’s true: Content creation is a 24/7 gig. And if you don’t consistently post engaging content, you could lose your audience’s attention as they move onto the new creator of the moment.

But that shouldn’t deter you from embracing your role as content creator if that’s what you want.

As Green advises, “In 2022, content creators have more power than ever. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are competing for content and are actively helping to produce income for their most valuable asset — content creators. If you’re looking to break into content creation, don’t be discouraged. Brands and platforms are looking for your personality and expertise.”

Green continues, “My best advice: pick a niche, stick to one platform, and focus on volume. Social media may feel like a crowded space, but there’s room for everyone. Be patient, test a variety of formats, and stick to a cadence you can be consistent with month over month.”

Ultimately, just as art means something different to every individual, so too does content. Which means the narrow scope we’d previously defined as ‘content creator’ was too limiting. There’s value in leveling the playing field, and allowing anyone with a camera and a voice to be heard.

After all, every content creator has the unique ability to connect deeply to their audience — and whether that’s an audience of one or one million, there’s power in that.

Think about the best boss you’ve ever had. What made them great?

Were they open to new ideas? Did they lead with humility? Showed empathy when you needed it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this person could be considered a transformational leader.

Transformational leaders empower and motivate others to achieve extraordinary feats and, in the process, sharpen their own leadership skills.

Here, we’ll cover the basics of transformational leadership, define the key characteristics of this style, and see how it differs from transactional leadership.

To get a better idea of how transformational leadership plays out in the workplace, we need to look at its four primary elements:

• Idealized influence — this is the degree to which a leader models the behavior they want followers to emulate. In doing so, they gain trust and respect from their followers.
• Inspirational motivation — this is the degree to which a leader articulates a vision and outlines future goals. By aligning followers under a singular vision, they can drive the group forward.
• Individualized consideration — this is the degree to which a leader tends to each follower’s needs and acts as a mentor or coach. As a result, followers feel empowered to make individual contributions to the team.
• Intellectual stimulation — this is the degree to which a leader challenges assumptions, takes risks, and solicits ideas and feedback. The goal here is to stimulate creativity in their followers.

Now let’s take a closer look at the impact of this leadership style in the workplace.

Why is transformational leadership effective?

1. Promotes psychological safety.

Transformational leaders know that psychological safety is key for encouraging participation, bringing new ideas forward, and uncovering solutions. They urge people to think independently and challenge the status quo.

Part of fostering psychological safety is replacing criticism with curiosity. For example, if an employee misses a few deadlines, transformational leaders don’t spend too much time on fault. Instead, they might say, “I’ve noticed you missed a few deadlines this month. I assume there are some factors impacting your performance. Can you walk me through what those are?”

Ultimately, it’s up to the leader to model the behavior they want to see from their employees. In doing so, they foster an environment of trust and respect.

2. Prioritizes career development.

Transformational leaders act as a mentor or coach to their employees. They make themselves available to support and advise others when they need it. Most importantly, they look for opportunities – and even create opportunities – to help their employees get closer to their goals.

3. Boosts innovation and high performance.

Transformational leaders don’t shy away from risks, and they often push themselves — and their employees — outside of their comfort zone. Sometimes, this means failure. But other times, it results in exciting, innovative solutions. This motivates employees to keep raising the bar and improving team performance.

4. Cuts down on micromanaging.

Transformational leaders value employee autonomy more than oversight. They give space to employees to work autonomously and make decisions.

That said, this isn’t a complete laissez-faire style. Leaders provide clear instructions and the necessary resources for employees to do their job. Additionally, they provide appropriate, well-timed support without overstepping boundaries.

5. Nurtures a growth mindset.

Transformational leaders embrace new ideas, solicit feedback, and admit when they’re wrong. In other words, they aren’t afraid to learn and grow.

This type of growth mindset is contagious in the workplace, allowing employees to feel comfortable making mistakes, receiving constructive criticism, and keeping an open mind.

Transformational Leadership vs. Transactional Leadership

Transactional versus transformational leadership is not a question of good versus bad. While polar opposite, both are effective in different situations.

To state the obvious, transactional leadership involves a transaction. Leaders set goals and, in exchange for achieving them, employees receive rewards.

It involves maintaining a status quo, hitting specific targets, and controlling outcomes. While this approach may seem cold or impersonal, it’s an effective approach for mid-to-large organizations operating under rigid targets or rules.

For instance, imagine a sales team grinding to hit a certain quota per week. Or line workers at a manufacturing plant inspecting a certain number of products per day.

This is quite different from transformation leadership where employees are given autonomy and space to create and innovate. This is a fitting approach for organizations looking to retain and develop talent instead of meeting a fixed quota.

Transformational Leadership Examples

1. Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and People Officer at Chipotle.

“HR leaders need to have clarity on values, with a deep understanding of who the company is and what it stands for as an organization.”

2. Katie Burke, Chief People Officer at HubSpot.

“When things have gone sideways (big or small), we have always leaned into transparency and being upfront with people about what we have learned from the experience. We also try to actively celebrate failure. Doing so helps ensure we don’t just celebrate the things that go perfectly and that our leaders set the tone on failure as part of our journey.”

3. Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo.

“If you don’t give people a chance to fail, you won’t innovate. Most importantly, we want to create a company where every employee can bring their whole selves to work.”

Back To You

Transformational leadership could be the difference between a stagnant team and a high-performing one. It enables you to retain and develop talent while driving positive change. If you’re in a leadership role, consider how this style could take your team to the next level.