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If you’re looking to improve your sales, implementing effective lead generation strategies is vital. By asking for referrals, conducting regular customer care calls, and nurturing past referrals, you can create a solid foundation for growth. Establishing credibility as a trusted information source and leveraging online platforms can further boost your reach. Each approach offers unique benefits, but one key strategy stands out for its potential impact. Discover which method could transform your sales efforts. Key Takeaways Leverage referrals by encouraging satisfied customers to recommend your services, enhancing credibility and improving conversion rates. Establish your authority in the industry by sharing insightful content and engaging in thought leadership to build trust with potential customers. Conduct regular customer care calls to strengthen post-sale relationships, identify upselling opportunities, and boost brand loyalty. Utilize digital platforms like LinkedIn to personalize connections and engage with industry-related content, increasing visibility and lead generation efforts. Implement creative lead generation tactics such as interactive content or local event sponsorships to stand out and attract new clients. Ask for Referrals Asking for referrals is one of the most effective strategies for generating leads, particularly during the sales closing process. Happy customers often provide referrals, making this method quick and efficient. By empowering your clients to gather their own leads, you improve your company’s credibility and strengthen those important relationships. Referrals have a higher conversion rate compared to leads generated through traditional marketing methods and can greatly boost your sales. You can also nurture these relationships by asking for referrals during customer care interactions, leading to repeat business, which is cheaper than acquiring new customers. Furthermore, consider offering incentives like discounts or rewards to encourage existing customers to refer new leads, making your referral process even more successful. Conduct Regular Customer Care Calls Conducting regular customer care calls is a crucial strategy for strengthening post-sale relationships with your existing clients. These calls not merely encourage repeat business by enhancing customer satisfaction, but they as well allow you to identify new upselling or cross-selling opportunities. Strengthen Post-Sale Relationships Regular customer care calls play a crucial role in strengthening post-sale relationships, as they provide an opportunity to address any concerns and reinforce customer satisfaction. By implementing this practice, you can achieve several benefits: Nurture Relationships: Regular calls help maintain connections, enhancing brand loyalty and customer retention. Generate Quality Leads: Satisfied customers are more likely to refer new clients, effectively creating a digital marketing lead generation strategy. Enhance Customer Value: Proactive outreach promotes appreciation, leading to positive word-of-mouth marketing and credibility. Stay Top-of-Mind: Consistent check-ins guarantee customers consider you for future purchases, making lead gen ads more effective. Encourage Repeat Business To encourage repeat business, making regular customer care calls is essential for maintaining strong relationships with your clients. These follow-up calls improve customer relationships, leading to increased brand loyalty and satisfaction. Engaging with customers post-sale is important, as repeat business is often cheaper than acquiring new ones. Proactive outreach can likewise uncover quality leads from current clients who may refer others interested in your products or services. Studies show that nurturing existing relationships through consistent communication increases retention rates, eventually boosting sales. By implementing a systematic approach to these calls, you can identify potential upsell opportunities, contributing to revenue growth from existing clients. This strategy not only solidifies loyalty but also improves your overall sales performance. Identify New Opportunities Maintaining strong relationships with existing customers opens the door to identifying new opportunities for growth. Regular customer care calls are fundamental for nurturing these connections. By reaching out, you can: Strengthen brand loyalty, making customers more likely to return. Discover quality leads, as satisfied customers often refer others. Improve customer satisfaction through proactive engagement, leading to increased future purchases. Stay top-of-mind, ensuring you’re considered when leads are ready to buy. With 68% of companies noting that leads require a long sales cycle, ongoing communication is imperative. Setting reminders for regular check-ins allows you to maintain these critical relationships, eventually driving sales and cultivating a network of potential new customers. Lead Nurturing: Keep in Contact With Past Referrals Though you might think that acquiring new leads is the key to sales success, keeping in touch with past referrals can be just as crucial. Lead nurturing involves maintaining regular contact to keep your brand top-of-mind, greatly increasing the likelihood of future conversions. Personalized follow-ups, such as targeted content based on previous interactions, improve engagement and build stronger relationships. Research shows that nurturing leads can result in a 20% increase in sales opportunities. Setting reminders to check in periodically guarantees you remain relevant and can assist when they’re ready to buy. Automating lead nurturing processes, like email campaigns or updates, saves time as you maintain your brand engaged with past referrals, maximizing your chances for future sales. Be a Trusted Source of Information To become a trusted source of information, you need to establish your authority in the industry by sharing valuable insights. When you provide relevant content, like blogs and guides, you not only educate your audience but likewise build a strong foundation of trust. This approach positions you as a go-to resource, increasing the chances that potential customers will turn to you when they’re ready to make a purchase. Establish Industry Authority Establishing industry authority is crucial for businesses aiming to be recognized as trusted sources of information in their field. Here are four effective strategies to improve your authority: Become a product expert: Understand your offerings thoroughly, as 70% of customers research before engaging with sales teams. Speak at trade shows or conferences: This can boost your reputation, with 63% of marketers noting live events generate quality leads. Publish insightful content regularly: This increases your online presence and improves search rankings, leading to 67% more leads monthly. Engage in thought leadership: By sharing valuable insights, you can build trust, as 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Implementing these strategies will position you as a reliable resource in your industry. Share Valuable Insights When you share valuable insights about your products or services, you position yourself as a trusted advisor in your industry. By providing helpful resources like informative blog posts, whitepapers, or guides, you assist customers in their research and improve their comprehension of your offerings. Engaging in speaking opportunities at trade shows or conferences establishes your authority and credibility, making you a go-to source for potential customers. Moreover, maintaining an active online presence and sharing industry-related news keeps your audience informed and engaged. Utilizing social proof, such as testimonials and case studies, further reinforces your expertise. These strategies collectively increase customer trust, which can lead to higher conversion rates and lasting relationships with your audience. Use the Internet to Highlight Your Expertise In today’s digital environment, a strong online presence is essential for showcasing your expertise and attracting potential clients. Here are four effective strategies to highlight your skills: Optimize your website: Make sure it’s user-friendly and contains relevant information about your services. Create valuable content: Write blogs, articles, or produce videos that share insights, positioning you as a trusted source. Utilize SEO techniques: Optimize your content to rank higher in search results, making it easier for leads to find you. Engage with your audience: Use social media platforms to interact directly, building credibility and trust. Network Online Networking online is crucial for broadening your reach and connecting with potential clients in today’s digital environment. Utilizing platforms like LinkedIn can greatly improve your lead generation efforts, as they attract users with greater purchasing authority than average website visitors. Personalizing your connection requests cultivates stronger relationships, making it more likely that these contacts will convert into leads. Engaging with industry-related content boosts your visibility and credibility, drawing in clients who share your interests. Actively participating in online forums showcases your expertise and builds trust, positioning you as a valuable resource. Finally, following up with leads from online networking events nurtures relationships, leading to higher conversion rates and a more considerable network of potential clients. Be Creative To stand out in a crowded marketplace, businesses must embrace creativity in their lead generation strategies. Innovative approaches can greatly improve your visibility and attract potential customers. Consider the following tactics: Create interactive content like quizzes or engaging videos to capture attention and boost user engagement. Sponsor local events or public initiatives to generate leads; for example, one company gained 400 leads and 10 sales from a single event. Encourage team brainstorming sessions to develop fresh and adaptive lead generation tactics. Use storytelling in your marketing campaigns to build emotional connections, making your brand relatable and memorable. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 4 L’s of Lead Generation? The 4 L’s of lead generation are Locate, Leverage, Launch, and Liaise. First, you locate your target audience by identifying where they spend time and how they consume information. Next, you leverage existing resources, like referrals, to improve credibility. After that, you launch lead generation campaigns through channels such as social media and content marketing. Finally, you liaise with leads by nurturing relationships and providing personalized follow-ups to convert them into customers. What Is the Best Strategy for Lead Generation? The best strategy for lead generation often combines various approaches to attract and engage potential customers. Utilizing content marketing and SEO can draw in interested audiences, whereas targeted email campaigns nurture leads effectively. LinkedIn is a valuable platform for B2B outreach, as its users typically have higher purchasing capacity. Moreover, hosting educational webinars can convert attendees into leads, and referral programs leverage satisfied customers to generate new prospects, enhancing overall conversion rates. Which Strategy Have You Found to Be Most Successful in Turning Leads Into Sales? The most successful strategy for turning leads into sales often involves personalized follow-up communications. By tailoring your interactions, you can increase conversion rates by up to 20%. Furthermore, consider utilizing webinars, as they can convert 30-40% of attendees into qualified leads. Don’t underestimate the strength of referrals either; satisfied customers can provide leads with a 30% conversion rate. Combining these approaches can greatly improve your sales outcomes. What Is the Best Source of New Leads for Good Salespeople? The best source of new leads for good salespeople often comes from referrals. Satisfied customers can improve your credibility, making it easier to attract new clients. Furthermore, utilizing platforms like LinkedIn allows you to connect with high-quality prospects who’ve significant purchasing influence. Don’t overlook SEO optimization, either; enhancing your search rankings can drive organic traffic. Finally, hosting educational webinars can effectively engage potential customers and convert attendees into valuable leads. Conclusion In summary, implementing these seven lead generation strategies can substantially improve your sales efforts. By asking for referrals, maintaining regular contact with customers, and positioning yourself as an industry expert, you can build valuable relationships and trust. Utilizing online platforms and creative content can further boost your reach. Consistently engaging with your audience and nurturing past referrals guarantees a steady pipeline of potential leads, ultimately contributing to your business’s growth and success in a competitive market. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "7 Proven Lead Generation Strategies to Boost Sales" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Why Discover success depends on outperforming expected early performance, and how entities, headlines, and images shape long-term credibility. The post How To Analyze Google Discover appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Struggling to fall asleep is irritating. Struggling to get enough sleep is at least partially debilitating. Research shows: People who sleep five to six hours are almost 20 percent less productive than people who sleep seven to eight hours per night. People who only get six hours of sleep per night have greater difficulty performing any task that requires focus, deep thinking, or problem-solving. People chronically sleep-deprived (think six hours or less) have a much harder time performing complicated tasks. So, yeah: Performing at your best requires getting enough sleep. But what if you struggle to fall asleep? Here are three techniques sleep science says you should definitely try. The 4-7-8 method Here’s how it works. First, place the tip of your tongue against your two upper front teeth, and keep it there. (The goal is to inhale and exhale around your tongue.) Then: Breathe in through your nose while you count to four. Hold your breath while you count to seven. Purse your lips and exhale—you should make a “whooshing” sound—while you count to eight. Repeat up to four times. While inhaling and exhaling deeply—and worse yet, holding your breath in between—sounds like it will make you less sleepy, that pattern activates your parasympathetic nervous system and helps switch your body to rest mode. That’s especially important if you feel stressed, since anxiety shifts your sympathetic nervous system (think fight or flight) into overdrive. Kick-starting your parasympathetic nervous system helps counteract that effect. And gives you something else to think about in the process. Keep in mind practice is the key. The 4-7-8 method may not help you fall asleep faster the first few times. But the more you use it, the more you’ll train yourself to relax. And even if you don’t fall asleep quicker, you will feel a little less stressed and anxious. A 2022 study published in Physiological Reports found that 4-7-8 breathing reduced heart rate and blood pressure for several minutes. You’ll feel calmer, more grounded, and better able to relax and let go. So, as with using the physiological sigh, you can also use the 4-7-8 method to regain focus when you feel anxious. The military method The military method is a two-minute routine created by the Navy Pre-Flight School to help pilots fall asleep. Within six weeks, 96 percent of the pilots could fall asleep within two minutes or less, even if they were sitting in a chair, listening to a recording of machine-gun fire, and had just drunk coffee. Here’s how it works: Relax your entire face. Close your eyes. Breathe slowly and deeply. Then slowly relax all of your face muscles. (If it helps, start with your forehead muscles and work your way down.) Relax your jaw, your cheeks, your mouth, your tongue, everything. Including your eyes; let them go. Drop your shoulders and hands. Let go of any tension. Relax your neck, your traps; feel yourself sinking into the chair or bed. Then start at the top of your right arm, and slowly relax your biceps, forearms, and hands. Repeat on the other side. And don’t forget to keep breathing slowly and deeply. Exhale and relax your chest. With your shoulders and arms relaxed, that should be easy. Relax your legs. Start with your right thigh; let it sink into the chair or bed. Then do the same with your calf, ankle, and foot. Repeat the process with your left leg. Now clear your mind. Granted, it’s hard to not think about anything. (I end up thinking about not thinking about anything.) If that’s you, try holding an image in your mind. Choose something relaxing. Picture yourself lying comfortably in darkness. But if that doesn’t work— Try repeating the words “Don’t think” for 10 seconds. If nothing else, that should help distract you from thinking about whatever it is that might otherwise keep you awake. Like the 4-7-8 method, the military method may take practice. Remember, it took pilots up to six weeks to regularly fall asleep within two minutes. But once you’ve gained the skill . . . The 10-3-2-1 method This routine takes a little longer to execute; think of it as daylong sleep prep. As Jess Andrade describes: 10: Stop drinking caffeine 10 hours before you plan to go to sleep to clear the stimulatory effect from your bloodstream. 3: Eat your last big meal (or last drink of alcohol) three hours prior to reduce reflux and ensure alcohol doesn’t impair your natural sleep cycle. 2: Create a to-do list for the next day two hours prior; as Getting Things Done author David Allen says, “Your head is for having ideas, not holding ideas. Without exception, you will feel better if you get stuff out of your head.” 1: Stop using screens one hour before you go to sleep, both to reduce exposure to blue light and to disengage. Granted, this technique takes more time and effort. Then again, combining the 10-3-2-1 method with the military or 4-7-8 method can only increase your odds of falling asleep quickly. Which increases the odds you’ll get sleep better and hopefully longer tonight. And be able to perform at your best tomorrow. View the full article

Chances are good that many investors are happy today is a holiday, and thus the stock markets are closed. That’s because over the weekend, President Donald The President announced the threat of new tariffs levied against America’s most prominent European allies. But this time, The President’s tariff threats aren’t driven by trade imbalances. Instead, they center around the president’s desire to acquire ownership of Greenland. Here’s what you need to know, including how assets that are trading today—gold and cryptocurrency—are reacting. What’s happened? On Saturday, The President took to social media to announce that he would impose additional tariffs on eight European nations that have spoken out against his plan to acquire Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark. The president announced that, beginning on February 1st, goods from those nations will be charged an additional 10% tariff when they enter the United States. The nations The President threatened to levy the additional tariffs against include: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. But The President didn’t stop there. He also announced that those additional 10% tariffs would rise to 25% on June 1 and “will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” Currently, there is already a 10% tariff on goods from the United Kingdom and a 15% tariff on goods from the other countries The President cited. The additional Greenland tariffs would raise the levies on goods from those countries to at least 25% next month and at least 40% in June. The President’s stated reason for wanting Greenland to become part of the United States is its strategic national security importance—the landmass lies directly between North America and Russia. However, Greenland is also home to vast mineral deposits and other natural resources with significant market value. The President’s desire to acquire Greenland is deeply unpopular with the American public, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this month, with just 17% of respondents approving of the goal. A 2025 Verian poll of Greenlanders found that an overwhelming 85% of respondents said they did not want their homeland to become part of the United States. How has Europe responded? European leaders are in crisis mode. Despite leaders on the continent telling President The President that Greenland is not for sale, The President’s resolve on acquiring the Danish territory has only strengthened. On Sunday, the European Council (EC) of the European Union issued a definitive statement on the matter. “Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. They are essential for Europe and for the international community as a whole,” European Council president António Luís Santos da Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote. They added, “The EU stands in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland. Dialogue remains essential, and we are committed to building on the process begun already last week between the Kingdom of Denmark and the US. Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty.” How had gold reacted? Geopolitical uncertainties tend to send investors fleeing from more volatile assets, such as stocks, to safer ones, such as gold. And The President’s weekend escalation over Greenland is following this trend. While stock markets are closed today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, assets such as gold and other precious metals are being traded. Gold, particularly, is seen as a safe-haven asset that investors flee to in times of uncertainty. As of the time of this writing, gold is currently at an all-time high of $4,671.10 per ounce. Silver is also at an all-time high of $93.20 per ounce. How have Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies reacted? Precious metals aren’t the only assets being traded today. Unlike the stock markets, which are closed on federal holidays, cryptocurrencies trade 24/7. And unlike gold, cryptocurrencies are generally not seen as safe-haven assets. Cryptocurrencies are historically volatile in the best of times. When geopolitical uncertainties hit, crypto tends to sell off as investors take profits and move into safe-haven assets. As of this writing, most major cryptocurrencies are retreating amid the rising geopolitical and economic uncertainty between America and its European allies. Crypto king Bitcoin is currently down more than 2% to $93,170 per coin. Ethereum is down nearly 3%, XRP is down nearly 4%, and Solana is down nearly 6%. Memecoin Doge is down nearly 7%. Where do things go from here? Right now, no one can say where The President’s Greenland escalations go from here. Most of the political establishment in America and the overwhelming majority of the international community are deeply concerned about the president’s insistence on acquiring the landmass. Numerous observers, including European leaders, have said that The President’s threats could undermine the very foundation of NATO, of which the U.S., Greenland, and European countries are part. Right now, European leaders are debating how to respond to The President’s threats if the president does not back down. If diplomatic efforts fail, the next most likely step would be for Europe to threaten economic countermeasures against America, including tariffs of its own on American goods, and perhaps even invoking what is colloquially called the “big bazooka”—officially known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI). As CNBC noted, the ACI is a trade policy tool in the EU’s arsenal designed to counter coercion by economically and militarily powerful countries. The ACI is a deterrent instrument that, if enacted, could restrict not just trade with a country, but also place a cessation on foreign investment and intellectual property rights. The ACI was created in 2023, but it has never been enacted before. All eyes will be on The President when he is in Europe on Wednesday, where he will address world and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. View the full article

Less than 200 years ago, scientists were ridiculed for suggesting that hand washing might save lives. In the 1840s, it was shown that hygiene reduced death rates, but the underlying explanation was missing. Without a clear mechanism, adoption stalled for decades, leading to countless preventable deaths. The joke of the past becomes the truth of today. The inverse is also true when you follow misleading guidance. Bad GEO advice (I don’t like this acronym, but will use it because it seems to be the most popular) will not literally kill you. That said, it can definitely cost money, cause unemployment, and lead to economic death. Not long ago, I wrote about a similar topic and explained why unscientific SEO research is dangerous and acts as a marketing instrument rather than real scientific discovery. This article is a continuation of that work and provides a framework to make sense of the myths surrounding AI search optimization. I will highlight three concrete GEO myths, examine whether they are true, and explain what I would do if I were you. If you’re pressed for time, here’s a TL;DR: We fall for bad GEO and SEO advice because of ignorance, stupidity, cognitive biases, and black-and-white thinking. To evaluate any advice, you can use the ladder of misinference – statement vs. fact vs. data vs. evidence vs. proof. You become more knowledgeable if you seek dissenting viewpoints, consume with the intent to understand, pause before you believe, and rely less on AI. You currently: Don’t need an llms.txt. Should leverage schema markup even if AI chatbots don’t use it today. Have to keep your content fresh, especially if it matters for your queries. Before we dive in, I will recap why we fall for bad advice. Recap: Why we fall for bad GEO and SEO advice The reasons are: Ignorance, stupidity, and amathia (voluntary stupidity). Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias. Black-and-white thinking. We are ignorant because we don’t know better yet. We are stupid if we can’t know better. Both are neutral. We suffer from amathia when we refuse to know better, which is why it’s the worst of the three. We all suffer from biases. When it comes to articles and research, confirmation bias is probably the most prevalent. We refuse to see flaws in how we see things and instead seek out flaws, often with great effort, in rival theories or remain blind to them. Lastly, we struggle with black-and-white thinking. Everything is this or that, never something in between. A few examples: Backlinks are always good. Reddit is always important for AI search. Blocking AI bots is always stupid. The truth is, the world consists of many shades of gray. This idea is captured well in the book “May Contain Lies” by Alex Edmans. He says something can be moderate, granular, or marbled: Backlinks are not always good or important, as they lose their impact after a certain point (moderate). Reddit isn’t always important for AI search if it’s not cited at all for the relevant prompt set (granular). Blocking some AI bots isn’t always stupid because, for some business models and companies, it makes perfect sense (marbled). The first step to get better is always awareness. And we all are sometimes ignorant, (voluntarily or involuntarily) stupid, suffer from biases or think black and white. Let’s get more practical now that we know why we fall for bad advice. Dig deeper: Most SEO research doesn’t lie – but doesn’t tell the truth either How I evaluate GEO (and SEO) advice and protect myself from being stupid One way to save yourself is the ladder of misinference, once again borrowing from Edmans’ book. It looks like this: To accept something as proof, it needs to climb the rungs of the ladder. On closer inspection, many claims fail at the last rung when it comes to evidence versus proof. To give you an example: Statement: “User signals are an important factor for better organic performance.” Fact: Better CTR performance can lead to better rankings. Data: You can directly measure this on your own site, and several experiments showed the impact of user signals long before it became common knowledge. Evidence: There are experiments demonstrating causal effects, and a well-known portion of the 2024 Google leak focuses on evaluating user signals. Proof: Court documents in Google’s DOJ monopoly trial confirmed the data and evidence, making this universally true. Fun fact: Rand Fishkin and Marcus Tandler both said that user signals matter many years ago and were laughed at, much like scientists in the 1800s. At the time, the evidence wasn’t strong enough. Today, their “joke” is now the truth. If I were you, here’s what I would do: Seek dissenting viewpoints: You only truly understand something when you can argue in its favor. The best defense is steelmanning your argument. To do that, you need to fully understand the other side. Consume with the intent to understand: Too often, we listen to reply, which means we don’t listen at all and instead converse with ourselves in our own heads. We focus on our own arguments and what we will say next. To understand, you need to listen actively. Pause before you share and believe: False information is highly contagious, so sharing half-truths or lies is dangerous. You also shouldn’t believe something simply because a well-known person said it or because it’s repeated over and over again. Don’t use AI to summarize (perhaps controversial): AI has significant flaws when it comes to summarization. For example, prompts that ask for brief summaries increase hallucinations, and source material can put a veil of credibility and trust over the response. We will see why the last point is a big problem in a second. The prime example: Blinding AI workslop I decided against finger-pointing, so there is no link or mention of who this is about. With a bit of research, you might find the example yourself. This “research” was promoted in the following way: “How AI search really works.” Requiring a time investment of weeks. 19 studies and six case studies analyzed. Validated, reviewed, and stress-tested. To quote Edmans: “It’s not for the authors to call their findings groundbreaking. That’s for the reader to judge. You need to shout about the conclusiveness of your proof or the novelty of your results. Maybe they’re not strong enough to speak for themselves. … It doesn’t matter what fancy name you give your techniques or how much data you gather. Quantity is no substitute for quality.” Just because something took a long time does not mean the results are good. Just because the author or authors say so does not mean the findings are groundbreaking. According to the HBR, AI workslop is: “AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.” I don’t have proof this work was AI-generated. It’s simply how it felt when I read it myself, with no skimming or AI summaries. Here are a few things that caught my attention: It doesn’t deliver what it claims. It purports to explain how AI search works, but instead lists false correlations between studies that analyzed something different from what the analysis claims. Reported sample sizes are inaccurate. Studies and articles are mishmashed. One source is a “someone said something that someone said something that someone said.” Cited research didn’t analyze or conclude what is claimed in the meta-analysis. The “correlation coefficient” isn’t a correlation coefficient, but a weighted score. To be specific, it misdates the GEO study as 2024 instead of 2023 and claims the research “confirms” that schema markup, lists, and FAQ blocks significantly improve inclusion in AI responses. A review of the study shows that it makes no such claims. This analysis looks convincing on the surface and masquerades as good work, but on closer inspection, it crumbles under scrutiny. Disclaimer: I specifically wanted to highlight one example because it reflects everything I wrote about in my last article and serves as a perfect continuation. This “research” was shared in newsletters, news sites, and roundups. It got a lot of eyeballs. Let’s now take a look at the three, in my opinion, most pervasive recommendations for influencing the rate of your AI citations. Dig deeper: Forget the Great Decoupling – SEO’s Great Normalization has begun Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. The most common GEO myths: Claims vs. reality ‘Build an llms.txt’ The claims for why this should help: AI chatbots have a centralized source of important information to use for citations. It’s a lightweight file that makes it easier for AI crawlers to evaluate your domain. When viewed through the ladder of misinference, the llms.txt claim is a statement. Some parts are factual – for example, Google and others crawl these files, and Google even indexes and ranks them for keywords – and there is data to support that. However, there is no data or evidence showing that llms.txt files boost AI inclusion. There is certainly no proof. The reality is that llms.txt is a proposal from 2024 that gained traction largely because it was amplified by influencers. It was repeated often enough to become one of the more tiring talking points in black-and-white debates. One side dismisses it entirely, while the other promotes it as a secret holy grail that will solve all AI visibility problems. The original proposal also stated: “We furthermore propose that pages on websites that have information that might be useful for LLMs to read provide a clean markdown version of those pages at the same URL as the original page, but with .md appended.” This approach would lead to internal competition, duplicate content, and an unnecessary increase in total crawl volume. The only scenario where llms.txt makes sense is if you operate a complex API that AI agents can meaningfully benefit from. (There’s a small experiment showing that neither llms.txt nor .md files have an impact on AI citations.) So, if I were you, here’s what I would do: On a quarterly basis: Check whether companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have openly announced support. Review log files to see how crawl volume to llms.txt changes over time. You can do this without providing an llms.txt file. If it is officially supported, create one according to published documentation guidelines. At the moment, no one has evidence – or proof – that an llms.txt meaningfully influences your AI presence. ‘Use schema markup’ The claims for why this should help: Machines love structured data. Generally, the advice “make it as easy as possible” holds true. “Microsoft said so.” The last point is egregious. No one has a direct quote from Fabrice Canel or the exact context in which he supposedly said this. For this recommendation, there is no solid data or evidence. The reality is this: For training Text is extracted and HTML elements are stripped. Tokenization after pretraining destroys coherent code if markup makes it through to this step. The existence of LLMs is based on structuring unstructured content. They can handle schema and write it because they are trained to do so. That doesn’t mean your individual markup plays a role in the knowledge of the foundation model. For grounding There is no evidence that AI chatbots access schema markup. Correlation studies show that websites with schema markup have better AI visibility, but there are many rival theories that could explain this. Recent experiments (including this and this) showed the opposite. The tools AI chatbots can access don’t use the HTML. I recently tested this in Perplexity Comet. Even with an open DOM, it hallucinated schema markup on the page that didn’t match what was actually there. Also, when someone says they use structured data, that can – but does not have to – mean schema. All schema is structured data, but not all structured data is schema. In most cases, they mean proper HTML elements such as tables and lists. So, if I were you, here’s what I would do: Use schema markup for supported rich results. Use all relevant properties in your schema markup. You might ask why I recommend this. To me, solid schema markup is a hygiene factor of good SEO. Just because AI chatbots and agents don’t use schema today doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. “One could say the same for llms.txt.” That’s true. However, llms.txt has no SEO benefits. Schema markup doesn’t help us understand how AI systems process content directly. Instead, it helps improve signals they frequently look at, such as search rankings, both in the top 10 and beyond for fan-out queries. ‘Provide fresh content’ The claims for why this should help: AI chatbots prefer fresh content. Fresh content is important for some queries and prompts. Newer or recently updated content should be more accurate. Compared with llms.txt and schema markup, this recommendation stands on a much more solid foundation in terms of evidence and data. The reality is that foundation models contain content up to the end of 2022. After digesting that information, they need fresh content, which means cited sources, on average, have to be more recent. If freshness is relevant to a query – OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity use freshness as a signal to determine whether to use web search – then finding fresh sources matters. There is research supporting this hypothesis from Ahrefs, Generative Pulse, and Seer Interactive. More recently, a scientific paper also supported these claims. A few words of caution about that paper: The researchers used API results, not the user interface. Results differ because of chatbot system prompts and API settings. Surfer recently published a study showing how large those differences can be. Asking a model to rerank is not how the model or chatbot actually reranks results in the background. The way dates were injected was highly artificial, with a perfect inverse correlation that may exaggerate the results. That said, this recommendation appears to have the strongest case for meaningfully influencing AI visibility and increasing citations. So, if I were you, here’s what I would do: Add a relevant date indicating when your content was last updated. Keep update dates consistent: On-page. Schema markup. Sitemap lastmod. Update content regularly, especially for queries where freshness matters. Fan-out queries from AI chatbots often signal freshness when a date is included. Never artificially update content by changing only the date. Google stores up to 20 past versions of a web page and can detect manipulation. In other words, this one appears to be legitimate. Dig deeper: The rise of ‘like hat’ SEO: When attention replaces outcomes Escaping the vortex of AI search misinformation We have to avoid shoveling AI search misinformation into the walls of our industry. Otherwise, it will become the asbestos we eventually have to dig out. An attention-grabbing headline should always raise red flags. I understand the allure of believing what appears to be the consensus or using AI to summarize. It’s easier. We’re all busy. The issue is that there was already too much content to consume before AI. Now there’s even more because of it. We can’t consume and analyze everything, so we rely on the same tools not only to generate content, but also to consume it. It’s a snake-biting-its-own-tail problem. Our compression culture risks creating a vortex of AI search misinformation that feeds back into the training data of the AI chatbots we both love and hate. We’re already there. AI chatbots sometimes answer GEO questions from model knowledge. Take the time to think for yourself and get your hands dirty. Try to understand why something should or shouldn’t work. And never take anything at face value, no matter who said it. Authority isn’t accuracy. P.S. This article may contain lies. View the full article

Each year on the holiday that bears his name, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his immense contributions to the struggle for racial equality. What is less often remembered but equally important is that King saw the fight for racial equality as deeply intertwined with economic justice. To address inequality—and out of growing concern for how automation might displace workers—King became an early advocate for universal basic income. Under universal basic income, the government provides direct cash payments to all citizens to help them afford life’s expenses. In recent years, more than a dozen U.S. cities have run universal basic income programs, often smaller or pilot programs that have offered guaranteed basic incomes to select groups of needy residents. As political scientists, we have followed these experiments closely. One of us recently co-authored a study which found that universal basic income is generally popular. In two out of three surveys analyzed, majorities of white Americans supported a universal basic income proposal. Support is particularly high among those with low incomes. King’s intuition was that white people with lower incomes would support this type of policy because they could also benefit from it. In 1967, King argued, “It seems to me that the Civil Rights Movement must now begin to organize for the guaranteed annual income . . . which I believe will go a long, long way toward dealing with the Negro’s economic problem and the economic problem with many other poor people confronting our nation.” But there is one notable group that does not support universal basic income: those with higher levels of racial resentment. Racial resentment is a scale that social scientists have used to describe and measure anti-Black prejudice since the 1980s. Notably, in our research, whites with higher levels of racial resentment and higher incomes are especially inclined to oppose universal basic income. As King well knew, this segment of Americans can create powerful opposition. Economic self-interest can The President resentment At the same time, the results of the study also suggest that coalition building is possible, even among the racially resentful. Economic status matters. Racially resentful whites with lower incomes tend to be supportive of universal basic income. In short, self-interest seems to The President racial resentment. This is consistent with King’s idea of how an economic coalition could be built and pave the way toward racial progress. Income is not the only thing that shapes attitudes, however. Some of the strongest supporters of universal basic income are those who have higher incomes but low levels of racial resentment. This suggests an opportunity to build coalitions across economic lines, something King believed was necessary. “The rich must not ignore the poor,” he argued in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, “because both rich and poor are tied in a single garment of destiny.” Our data shows that this is possible. This approach to coalition building is also suggested by our earlier research. Using American National Election Studies surveys from 2004-2016, we found that for white Americans, racial resentment predicted lower support for social welfare policies. But we also found that economic position mattered, too. Economic need can unite white Americans in support of more generous welfare policies, including among some who are racially prejudiced. At a minimum, this suggests that racial resentment does not necessarily prevent white Americans from supporting policies that would also benefit Black Americans. Building lasting coalitions During his career as an activist in the 1950s and 1960s, King struggled with building long-term, multiracial coalitions. He understood that many forms of racial prejudice could undermine his work. He therefore sought strategies that could forge alliances across lines of difference. He helped build coalitions of poor and working-class Americans, including those who are white. He was not so naive as to think that shared economic progress would eliminate racial prejudice, but he saw it as a place to start. Currently, the nation faces an affordability crisis, and artificial intelligence poses new threats to jobs. These factors have increased calls for universal basic income. Racial prejudice continues to fuel opposition to universal basic income, as well as other forms of social welfare. But our research suggests that this is not insurmountable. As King knew, progress toward economic equality is not inevitable. But, as his legacy reminds us, progress does remain possible through organizing around shared interests. Tarah Williams is an assistant professor of political science at Allegheny College and Andrew Bloeser is an associate professor of political science; Director, Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

If you’re looking to create stunning videos without spending a dime, you have several excellent free video makers at your disposal. Tools like DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks offer professional-grade features, whereas Shotcut provides an open-source option for those who prefer customization. Browser-based options like Clipchamp and user-friendly platforms like ACDSee Luxea make video editing accessible for everyone. Comprehending these tools’ unique capabilities can greatly improve your video projects, but which one suits your needs best? Key Takeaways DaVinci Resolve offers professional-grade editing tools and a free VFX app, making it ideal for high-quality video projects. Lightworks features a user-friendly timeline, perfect for beginners, though exports are limited to 720p in the free version. Shotcut is an open-source video editor with essential editing features and a customizable interface for diverse projects. Clipchamp allows browser-based editing with tools like green screen effects, facilitating quick and creative video production. FlexClip provides an extensive library of customizable templates, enhancing user experience and simplifying video creation for social media. Overview of Top Free Video Makers When you’re looking to create high-quality videos without spending money, several free video makers stand out due to their strong features and ease of use. DaVinci Resolve is a top choice, offering professional-grade tools and a free VFX app, Fusion, which improves your production capabilities. Lightworks provides a user-friendly layer-based timeline in its free version, allowing exports at 720p, whereas 1080p requires a subscription. Shotcut, an open-source option, has crucial editing features and a customizable interface, though it struggles with voiceover tools on Mac. Clipchamp thrives with direct browser editing and useful tools like green screen effects. Finally, ACDSee Luxea Video Editor is great for beginners, supporting keyframing and 4K video, though its free version limits commercial use. Creative Ownership and Content Rights When you create content using free video makers, you maintain full ownership and control over your work, ensuring your rights are protected. These platforms provide clear usage guidelines, so you know exactly how your creations can be shared and used. With no hidden clauses or ads, you can focus on expressing your ideas freely, as your content remains secure and private. Creator Content Control In an era where digital content is increasingly prevalent, grasping creator content control is essential for anyone looking to produce videos. With the best free video maker, you retain full ownership of your content, ensuring that your intellectual property rights are protected. There are no hidden clauses or surprise advertisements, which means you can share your work without unexpected commercial implications. Significantly, content can’t be repurposed or licensed without your permission, giving you complete control over how your work is used. Assurance of content privacy allows you to maintain autonomy over your projects and personal information. A clear comprehension of content usage rights empowers you to make informed decisions about sharing and distributing your videos effectively. Clear Usage Guidelines Grasping the clear usage guidelines regarding creative ownership and content rights is crucial for creators who want to safeguard their work. When using a free movie creator for Windows, you’ll find that you retain full ownership of your content. This means your work can’t be repurposed or licensed without your explicit permission. There are no hidden clauses or surprise advertisements, ensuring transparency in content usage. In addition, content privacy and autonomy are guaranteed, allowing you to manage your creations according to your preferences. You’ll have a clear comprehension of your content usage rights, eliminating confusion about how your work may be utilized. This assurance nurtures trust, encouraging you to produce and share your work confidently. Video Creation Tools and Customization Creating engaging videos has never been more accessible, thanks to a variety of video creation tools designed for both personal and professional use. These tools enable you to edit videos customized for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Stories, ensuring peak presentation. You can create dynamic product demos or marketing videos by transforming photo presentations into engaging slideshow videos, enhancing visual storytelling. The video editing timeline allows you to split, splice, crop, resize, and flip clips, refining your content flow. Features like Beat Sync help you synchronize your videos seamlessly with music, improving the viewing experience. Furthermore, custom animations for video elements can be easily created, adding unique flair to your projects without needing advanced editing skills. AI Video Creation and Editing Features As video content continues to dominate online platforms, AI video creation and editing features have emerged as invaluable tools for users seeking to improve their projects efficiently. Tools like Magic Design automate the editing process, trimming and cropping footage as well as adding suitable music. The Highlights feature uses AI to pinpoint and extract the best moments, enhancing your video’s overall quality. Furthermore, Magic Media allows you to generate videos from text prompts, making it accessible even for those without extensive editing experience. These ai video creation and editing features greatly reduce the time spent on manual tasks. For those using video editor software open source, you’ll benefit from an extensive library of over half a million music tracks, simplifying audio integration into your videos. Sound and Music Integration Integrating sound and music into your videos can greatly elevate their overall impact, making them more interesting for viewers. Many free video makers offer access to extensive licensed music libraries, providing thousands of soundtracks for you to enhance your projects. Features like Beat Sync automatically align your video clips with the rhythm of your chosen music, creating an enchanting experience. You can easily add sound effects and music overlays, boosting production value without needing advanced editing skills. Some platforms even provide music-inspired pre-designed templates, simplifying the creation process. If you’re using the best video editor on iPad, you’ll find collaboration tools that enable teams to work together on audio integration, ensuring the perfect sound for your projects through real-time feedback and adjustments. Sharing, Collaboration, and Support When you want to improve your video-making experience, utilizing sharing and collaboration features can greatly streamline your workflow. Many video editor freeware options, like Adobe Express and FlexClip, offer seamless cloud storage that allows team members to access projects easily. These platforms support real-time feedback and commenting on drafts, enhancing teamwork and improving video quality. You can furthermore export your videos in high resolutions, such as 4K, and share them across social media for wider engagement. Collaboration tools, including multi-user editing and shared branding assets, help maintain a consistent visual identity. Moreover, most open source video makers provide extensive customer support through help centers and tutorials, guiding you through any project-related inquiries as you enhance your editing skills. How to Create a Video Creating a video starts with uploading your media files, or choosing a video type on platforms like Adobe Express that provide customizable templates. You can easily edit your clips using a drag-and-drop interface, which allows you to cut, crop, and improve your video’s flow. Once you’ve added audio and made any necessary adjustments, you can resize, download, and publish your video to fit the platform you want to share it on. Upload Media Easily Video creation has become increasingly accessible, allowing you to bring your ideas to life with ease. One of the key features of many free video makers is the ability to upload media easily. You can upload files or record directly within the platform, utilizing intuitive drag-and-drop tools that streamline the process. Choosing a video type or selecting from free templates helps you create videos quickly and efficiently. As you build your project, you can improve it with audio tracks, graphics, animations, and effects, all without needing advanced editing skills. Plus, the platform supports various video formats, allowing for seamless resizing and customization for different social media platforms. Don’t worry about losing progress; the auto-saving feature keeps your work safe until you’re ready to download. Customize and Edit Videos Once you’ve uploaded your media, customizing and editing your video becomes a straightforward process. You can start with free templates or a blank canvas. Utilize drag-and-drop tools to cut, crop, and trim your video for a polished flow. Improve your video by adding audio tracks, adjusting speed, and animating elements for a dynamic look. Once satisfied, resize your video to fit various social media platforms before publishing. Here’s a quick reference table to guide you through the editing process: Action Tool Purpose Cut Cut video app Remove unwanted clips Crop Editing tools Frame your shots Add Audio Audio tracks Enrich your video Adjust Speed Speed controls Modify video pacing Resize Export settings Optimize for platforms The Best Free Video Maker Online When you’re looking to create professional-looking videos without spending a dime, several online tools stand out for their features and ease of use. Adobe Express offers an all-in-one editor with customizable templates and stock content, making it simple to design stunning videos. FlexClip’s user-friendly interface and extensive templates allow for quick, professional creations, even though you lack editing experience. Shotcut provides a long-standing open-source solution with crucial features, ideal for beginners. Clipchamp enables seamless browser-based editing with tools like green screen and stock libraries. Finally, DaVinci Resolve shines as top free MP4 editing software, delivering professional-grade features and the free VFX app, Fusion, for thorough production capabilities. Each of these tools caters to different video-making needs. Features of a Powerful Video Editing Tool Strong video editing tools come equipped with a variety of features that simplify the editing process and elevate the overall quality of your projects. For instance, good editing software for iPhone typically includes drag-and-drop editing, licensed music libraries, and AI-driven functionalities. These features allow you to refine your videos easily, customize animations, and manage projects collaboratively. Feature Description Benefit Drag-and-Drop Editing Easily upload clips, images, and audio Simplifies the workflow Music Libraries Access to licensed music and sound effects Improves audio quality AI Functionalities Auto-editing and highlight identification Saves time on edits Customization Options Control animations, filters, and color settings Aligns videos with brand Magic Design for Effortless Edits Magic Design for Video transforms the editing process by automating many tasks that typically require extensive manual input. This innovative feature uses AI technology to analyze your footage, selecting the most fascinating moments for you. As a result, you can create engaging videos quickly and efficiently, perfect for social media or marketing purposes. Furthermore, you can seamlessly add music to improve your videos, ensuring a mesmerizing experience for your audience. The tool supports various video formats, allowing for easy customization to meet specific platform requirements as it maintains high-quality output. When you compare video software, Magic Design stands out for its ability to greatly reduce editing time, making it a top choice for creators seeking magic design for effortless edits. Enhance Your Videos With Professional Effects To truly improve your videos, you can incorporate dynamic transitions and custom animations that raise the overall impact of your projects. By integrating professional-grade soundtracks and audio effects, you’ll create a more immersive experience that resonates with your audience. With these tools at your disposal, your videos won’t just look polished but likewise sound alluring, making them stand out in an increasingly crowded digital space. Dynamic Transitions and Effects Dynamic changes and effects can improve your videos by adding a professional touch that engages viewers. By incorporating dynamic transitions and effects, you can greatly enhance the visual appeal of your content. Many free video makers provide customizable transition styles like fades, wipes, and 3D effects, allowing you to create seamless edits. Utilizing effects such as slow motion and speed ramping transforms ordinary footage into engaging scenes. Moreover, advanced features like keyframing give you greater control over how transitions animate, improving the video’s overall flow. Don’t forget to integrate sound effects and synchronized music, as they amplify the emotional impact, contributing to a more immersive experience for your audience. These elements are vital in achieving a polished final product. Custom Animations for Impact When you want to raise your video projects, custom animations can play a crucial role in enhancing viewer engagement and storytelling. These animations allow you to control video elements and add professional effects that captivate your audience. Many free video makers provide one-click effects for animating videos, making it easy to create dynamic presentations without extensive editing skills. You can effortlessly add text overlays and cinematic shifts, giving your videos a polished look. Features like Beat Sync let you synchronize animations with music, enhancing the overall experience. With access to millions of professional stock assets and customizable templates, you can incorporate unique animations for impact, elevating your editing movie to a new level of professionalism. Professional-Grade Sound Integration Professional-grade sound integration is essential for creating enchanting videos that resonate with viewers. By using a video editor and cutter for PC, you can greatly improve your projects. Here are some key features to take into account: Licensed Music Library: Access thousands of soundtracks and effects to raise your audio. Beat Sync: Automatically align video clips with your chosen soundtrack’s rhythm for a mesmerizing experience. Layered Audio Tracks: Combine voiceovers, sound effects, and background music for a rich soundscape. With these tools, you can easily customize audio levels and import custom files, ensuring clarity and balance in your projects. The right sound integration not only boosts engagement but also gives your videos a polished, professional touch. Collaborate in Real Time Real-time collaboration is transforming the way teams create video content, allowing multiple users to edit projects simultaneously. This approach improves teamwork efficiency during the editing process, as everyone can contribute their ideas in real-time. You can leave comments or assign actions on specific scenes, which facilitates immediate feedback and adjustments among team members. With cloud storage, all collaborators have seamless access to files and designs from any location, streamlining the video creation workflow. Platforms like FlexClip support real-time collaboration, making it easier for teams to brainstorm and implement changes on the fly, regardless of where they are. This collaborative method significantly boosts productivity and creativity, resulting in higher quality video outcomes and faster project completion times. Explore Video Templates for Every Project Video templates serve as a valuable resource for anyone looking to create engaging content efficiently, regardless of their experience level. By utilizing these video templates, you can quickly produce high-quality videos customized to your specific needs. Here are three key benefits: Diverse Options: Templates are available for various projects, including social media posts, promotional videos, and educational content. Customization: Many free video makers provide extensive libraries of customizable templates, helping you maintain a cohesive branding style. Enhanced Engagement: Templates often feature animated elements and shifts, which can greatly improve viewer engagement. With the ability to easily swap in your media, video templates streamline the creation process, ensuring your content looks professional and is optimized for platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Get Inspired: Real User Creations You can find plenty of inspiring examples from real users who’ve created standout projects with FlexClip. From educational videos to marketing campaigns, these creative use cases showcase how different industries leverage the platform’s features for unique transformations. Unique Project Highlights When exploring unique project highlights, it’s evident that many users have transformed their creative visions into impressive videos using FlexClip. This video creator free download has empowered individuals across various fields. Here are three notable outcomes users have experienced: Increased Engagement: Many users reported significant boosts in social media interactions, attracting new customers. Versatile Applications: Educators and marketers alike have produced professional videos that resonate with diverse audiences, showcasing FlexClip’s adaptability. User-Friendly Experience: Beginners, like Nick Sinclair, have found FlexClip to be the easiest solution for video editing, emphasizing its accessibility. With an abundance of templates and resources, it’s no wonder FlexClip remains a go-to tool for creating high-quality videos swiftly. Creative Use Cases Exploring creative use cases for free video makers reveals a range of innovative applications across various fields. Users have effectively created engaging social media promo videos with tools like Adobe Express, enhancing their brand presence even without prior experience. Educators benefit by developing dynamic presentations and instructional videos that boost student engagement and learning outcomes. Marketers utilize templates in platforms like FlexClip to craft eye-catching product demos, increasing customer interest and sales. Furthermore, creators transform personal photo slideshows into enthralling videos, syncing visuals with music and adding animations for a polished finish. Nonprofits leverage free video editing software to craft compelling storytelling videos, raising awareness and support through impactful visual narratives. Consider a video creator free download to explore your potential. Inspiring Transformation Stories Many creators have utilized the strength of free video makers to transform their ideas into compelling visual stories, showcasing the impressive impact these tools can have on various projects. Here are some inspiring transformation stories: Jamie Lyn Ross used FlexClip to create educational editor movies, enhancing student engagement and improving learning experiences. Muhammad Hamza reported that his business saw higher client satisfaction and an increase in customers after incorporating videos made with FlexClip. Nick Sinclair praised FlexClip for being the easiest video editing solution for beginners, making video creation accessible for those without prior experience. These stories highlight how free video makers can considerably boost brand presence, increase social media engagement, and ultimately drive sales, making them valuable tools for any creator. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Free Video Creation Software? When you’re looking for the best free video creation software, consider options like DaVinci Resolve for professional-grade editing, or Shotcut, which is beginner-friendly and open-source. Lightworks offers a free version with advanced features but limits exports to 720p. ACDSee Luxea is another solid choice for serious beginners, whereas Clipchamp allows easy browser-based editing with useful tools. Evaluate your needs and choose the software that fits your editing experience and project requirements. Which Is the Best Free Video Generator? When looking for the best free video generator, consider options like DaVinci Resolve for its professional-grade features, or Lightworks, which offers solid editing tools in spite of export limitations. Shotcut stands out for its open-source customization, whereas Clipchamp lets you edit in your browser without heavy hardware demands. FlexClip is user-friendly, perfect for beginners, offering a variety of templates. Each option has unique strengths, so choose one that aligns with your specific video creation needs. How to Beautify a Video for Free? To beautify a video for free, use software like DaVinci Resolve or Shotcut, which provide professional tools for editing. You can improve audio by adding licensed music from platforms like Adobe Express. Utilize customizable templates from tools like FlexClip to create visually appealing designs. Implement features such as drag-and-drop editing, cropping, and built-in animations to refine your footage and engage your audience effectively, ensuring a polished final product without any costs involved. How to Create a Beautiful Video? To create a beautiful video, start by uploading your media and choosing a video type. Use drag-and-drop features to edit your clips, cutting and trimming for better storytelling. Improve your video with audio tracks from licensed libraries or personal uploads. Incorporate animations, text overlays, and shifts to add dynamism. Finally, resize and export your video in formats suitable for social media, ensuring it looks great across all platforms. Conclusion To conclude, selecting the right free video maker can greatly improve your creative projects. Tools like DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks offer professional-grade features, whereas options like Shotcut and Clipchamp cater to various editing preferences. With capabilities for sound integration, real-time collaboration, and extensive templates, these platforms simplify the video creation process. By leveraging these resources, you can produce stunning videos that reflect your unique vision, regardless of your skill level. Start exploring these tools to bring your ideas to life. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Free Video Makers for Stunning Creations" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re looking to create stunning videos without spending a dime, you have several excellent free video makers at your disposal. Tools like DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks offer professional-grade features, whereas Shotcut provides an open-source option for those who prefer customization. Browser-based options like Clipchamp and user-friendly platforms like ACDSee Luxea make video editing accessible for everyone. Comprehending these tools’ unique capabilities can greatly improve your video projects, but which one suits your needs best? Key Takeaways DaVinci Resolve offers professional-grade editing tools and a free VFX app, making it ideal for high-quality video projects. Lightworks features a user-friendly timeline, perfect for beginners, though exports are limited to 720p in the free version. Shotcut is an open-source video editor with essential editing features and a customizable interface for diverse projects. Clipchamp allows browser-based editing with tools like green screen effects, facilitating quick and creative video production. FlexClip provides an extensive library of customizable templates, enhancing user experience and simplifying video creation for social media. Overview of Top Free Video Makers When you’re looking to create high-quality videos without spending money, several free video makers stand out due to their strong features and ease of use. DaVinci Resolve is a top choice, offering professional-grade tools and a free VFX app, Fusion, which improves your production capabilities. Lightworks provides a user-friendly layer-based timeline in its free version, allowing exports at 720p, whereas 1080p requires a subscription. Shotcut, an open-source option, has crucial editing features and a customizable interface, though it struggles with voiceover tools on Mac. Clipchamp thrives with direct browser editing and useful tools like green screen effects. Finally, ACDSee Luxea Video Editor is great for beginners, supporting keyframing and 4K video, though its free version limits commercial use. Creative Ownership and Content Rights When you create content using free video makers, you maintain full ownership and control over your work, ensuring your rights are protected. These platforms provide clear usage guidelines, so you know exactly how your creations can be shared and used. With no hidden clauses or ads, you can focus on expressing your ideas freely, as your content remains secure and private. Creator Content Control In an era where digital content is increasingly prevalent, grasping creator content control is essential for anyone looking to produce videos. With the best free video maker, you retain full ownership of your content, ensuring that your intellectual property rights are protected. There are no hidden clauses or surprise advertisements, which means you can share your work without unexpected commercial implications. Significantly, content can’t be repurposed or licensed without your permission, giving you complete control over how your work is used. Assurance of content privacy allows you to maintain autonomy over your projects and personal information. A clear comprehension of content usage rights empowers you to make informed decisions about sharing and distributing your videos effectively. Clear Usage Guidelines Grasping the clear usage guidelines regarding creative ownership and content rights is crucial for creators who want to safeguard their work. When using a free movie creator for Windows, you’ll find that you retain full ownership of your content. This means your work can’t be repurposed or licensed without your explicit permission. There are no hidden clauses or surprise advertisements, ensuring transparency in content usage. In addition, content privacy and autonomy are guaranteed, allowing you to manage your creations according to your preferences. You’ll have a clear comprehension of your content usage rights, eliminating confusion about how your work may be utilized. This assurance nurtures trust, encouraging you to produce and share your work confidently. Video Creation Tools and Customization Creating engaging videos has never been more accessible, thanks to a variety of video creation tools designed for both personal and professional use. These tools enable you to edit videos customized for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Stories, ensuring peak presentation. You can create dynamic product demos or marketing videos by transforming photo presentations into engaging slideshow videos, enhancing visual storytelling. The video editing timeline allows you to split, splice, crop, resize, and flip clips, refining your content flow. Features like Beat Sync help you synchronize your videos seamlessly with music, improving the viewing experience. Furthermore, custom animations for video elements can be easily created, adding unique flair to your projects without needing advanced editing skills. AI Video Creation and Editing Features As video content continues to dominate online platforms, AI video creation and editing features have emerged as invaluable tools for users seeking to improve their projects efficiently. Tools like Magic Design automate the editing process, trimming and cropping footage as well as adding suitable music. The Highlights feature uses AI to pinpoint and extract the best moments, enhancing your video’s overall quality. Furthermore, Magic Media allows you to generate videos from text prompts, making it accessible even for those without extensive editing experience. These ai video creation and editing features greatly reduce the time spent on manual tasks. For those using video editor software open source, you’ll benefit from an extensive library of over half a million music tracks, simplifying audio integration into your videos. Sound and Music Integration Integrating sound and music into your videos can greatly elevate their overall impact, making them more interesting for viewers. Many free video makers offer access to extensive licensed music libraries, providing thousands of soundtracks for you to enhance your projects. Features like Beat Sync automatically align your video clips with the rhythm of your chosen music, creating an enchanting experience. You can easily add sound effects and music overlays, boosting production value without needing advanced editing skills. Some platforms even provide music-inspired pre-designed templates, simplifying the creation process. If you’re using the best video editor on iPad, you’ll find collaboration tools that enable teams to work together on audio integration, ensuring the perfect sound for your projects through real-time feedback and adjustments. Sharing, Collaboration, and Support When you want to improve your video-making experience, utilizing sharing and collaboration features can greatly streamline your workflow. Many video editor freeware options, like Adobe Express and FlexClip, offer seamless cloud storage that allows team members to access projects easily. These platforms support real-time feedback and commenting on drafts, enhancing teamwork and improving video quality. You can furthermore export your videos in high resolutions, such as 4K, and share them across social media for wider engagement. Collaboration tools, including multi-user editing and shared branding assets, help maintain a consistent visual identity. Moreover, most open source video makers provide extensive customer support through help centers and tutorials, guiding you through any project-related inquiries as you enhance your editing skills. How to Create a Video Creating a video starts with uploading your media files, or choosing a video type on platforms like Adobe Express that provide customizable templates. You can easily edit your clips using a drag-and-drop interface, which allows you to cut, crop, and improve your video’s flow. Once you’ve added audio and made any necessary adjustments, you can resize, download, and publish your video to fit the platform you want to share it on. Upload Media Easily Video creation has become increasingly accessible, allowing you to bring your ideas to life with ease. One of the key features of many free video makers is the ability to upload media easily. You can upload files or record directly within the platform, utilizing intuitive drag-and-drop tools that streamline the process. Choosing a video type or selecting from free templates helps you create videos quickly and efficiently. As you build your project, you can improve it with audio tracks, graphics, animations, and effects, all without needing advanced editing skills. Plus, the platform supports various video formats, allowing for seamless resizing and customization for different social media platforms. Don’t worry about losing progress; the auto-saving feature keeps your work safe until you’re ready to download. Customize and Edit Videos Once you’ve uploaded your media, customizing and editing your video becomes a straightforward process. You can start with free templates or a blank canvas. Utilize drag-and-drop tools to cut, crop, and trim your video for a polished flow. Improve your video by adding audio tracks, adjusting speed, and animating elements for a dynamic look. Once satisfied, resize your video to fit various social media platforms before publishing. Here’s a quick reference table to guide you through the editing process: Action Tool Purpose Cut Cut video app Remove unwanted clips Crop Editing tools Frame your shots Add Audio Audio tracks Enrich your video Adjust Speed Speed controls Modify video pacing Resize Export settings Optimize for platforms The Best Free Video Maker Online When you’re looking to create professional-looking videos without spending a dime, several online tools stand out for their features and ease of use. Adobe Express offers an all-in-one editor with customizable templates and stock content, making it simple to design stunning videos. FlexClip’s user-friendly interface and extensive templates allow for quick, professional creations, even though you lack editing experience. Shotcut provides a long-standing open-source solution with crucial features, ideal for beginners. Clipchamp enables seamless browser-based editing with tools like green screen and stock libraries. Finally, DaVinci Resolve shines as top free MP4 editing software, delivering professional-grade features and the free VFX app, Fusion, for thorough production capabilities. Each of these tools caters to different video-making needs. Features of a Powerful Video Editing Tool Strong video editing tools come equipped with a variety of features that simplify the editing process and elevate the overall quality of your projects. For instance, good editing software for iPhone typically includes drag-and-drop editing, licensed music libraries, and AI-driven functionalities. These features allow you to refine your videos easily, customize animations, and manage projects collaboratively. Feature Description Benefit Drag-and-Drop Editing Easily upload clips, images, and audio Simplifies the workflow Music Libraries Access to licensed music and sound effects Improves audio quality AI Functionalities Auto-editing and highlight identification Saves time on edits Customization Options Control animations, filters, and color settings Aligns videos with brand Magic Design for Effortless Edits Magic Design for Video transforms the editing process by automating many tasks that typically require extensive manual input. This innovative feature uses AI technology to analyze your footage, selecting the most fascinating moments for you. As a result, you can create engaging videos quickly and efficiently, perfect for social media or marketing purposes. Furthermore, you can seamlessly add music to improve your videos, ensuring a mesmerizing experience for your audience. The tool supports various video formats, allowing for easy customization to meet specific platform requirements as it maintains high-quality output. When you compare video software, Magic Design stands out for its ability to greatly reduce editing time, making it a top choice for creators seeking magic design for effortless edits. Enhance Your Videos With Professional Effects To truly improve your videos, you can incorporate dynamic transitions and custom animations that raise the overall impact of your projects. By integrating professional-grade soundtracks and audio effects, you’ll create a more immersive experience that resonates with your audience. With these tools at your disposal, your videos won’t just look polished but likewise sound alluring, making them stand out in an increasingly crowded digital space. Dynamic Transitions and Effects Dynamic changes and effects can improve your videos by adding a professional touch that engages viewers. By incorporating dynamic transitions and effects, you can greatly enhance the visual appeal of your content. Many free video makers provide customizable transition styles like fades, wipes, and 3D effects, allowing you to create seamless edits. Utilizing effects such as slow motion and speed ramping transforms ordinary footage into engaging scenes. Moreover, advanced features like keyframing give you greater control over how transitions animate, improving the video’s overall flow. Don’t forget to integrate sound effects and synchronized music, as they amplify the emotional impact, contributing to a more immersive experience for your audience. These elements are vital in achieving a polished final product. Custom Animations for Impact When you want to raise your video projects, custom animations can play a crucial role in enhancing viewer engagement and storytelling. These animations allow you to control video elements and add professional effects that captivate your audience. Many free video makers provide one-click effects for animating videos, making it easy to create dynamic presentations without extensive editing skills. You can effortlessly add text overlays and cinematic shifts, giving your videos a polished look. Features like Beat Sync let you synchronize animations with music, enhancing the overall experience. With access to millions of professional stock assets and customizable templates, you can incorporate unique animations for impact, elevating your editing movie to a new level of professionalism. Professional-Grade Sound Integration Professional-grade sound integration is essential for creating enchanting videos that resonate with viewers. By using a video editor and cutter for PC, you can greatly improve your projects. Here are some key features to take into account: Licensed Music Library: Access thousands of soundtracks and effects to raise your audio. Beat Sync: Automatically align video clips with your chosen soundtrack’s rhythm for a mesmerizing experience. Layered Audio Tracks: Combine voiceovers, sound effects, and background music for a rich soundscape. With these tools, you can easily customize audio levels and import custom files, ensuring clarity and balance in your projects. The right sound integration not only boosts engagement but also gives your videos a polished, professional touch. Collaborate in Real Time Real-time collaboration is transforming the way teams create video content, allowing multiple users to edit projects simultaneously. This approach improves teamwork efficiency during the editing process, as everyone can contribute their ideas in real-time. You can leave comments or assign actions on specific scenes, which facilitates immediate feedback and adjustments among team members. With cloud storage, all collaborators have seamless access to files and designs from any location, streamlining the video creation workflow. Platforms like FlexClip support real-time collaboration, making it easier for teams to brainstorm and implement changes on the fly, regardless of where they are. This collaborative method significantly boosts productivity and creativity, resulting in higher quality video outcomes and faster project completion times. Explore Video Templates for Every Project Video templates serve as a valuable resource for anyone looking to create engaging content efficiently, regardless of their experience level. By utilizing these video templates, you can quickly produce high-quality videos customized to your specific needs. Here are three key benefits: Diverse Options: Templates are available for various projects, including social media posts, promotional videos, and educational content. Customization: Many free video makers provide extensive libraries of customizable templates, helping you maintain a cohesive branding style. Enhanced Engagement: Templates often feature animated elements and shifts, which can greatly improve viewer engagement. With the ability to easily swap in your media, video templates streamline the creation process, ensuring your content looks professional and is optimized for platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Get Inspired: Real User Creations You can find plenty of inspiring examples from real users who’ve created standout projects with FlexClip. From educational videos to marketing campaigns, these creative use cases showcase how different industries leverage the platform’s features for unique transformations. Unique Project Highlights When exploring unique project highlights, it’s evident that many users have transformed their creative visions into impressive videos using FlexClip. This video creator free download has empowered individuals across various fields. Here are three notable outcomes users have experienced: Increased Engagement: Many users reported significant boosts in social media interactions, attracting new customers. Versatile Applications: Educators and marketers alike have produced professional videos that resonate with diverse audiences, showcasing FlexClip’s adaptability. User-Friendly Experience: Beginners, like Nick Sinclair, have found FlexClip to be the easiest solution for video editing, emphasizing its accessibility. With an abundance of templates and resources, it’s no wonder FlexClip remains a go-to tool for creating high-quality videos swiftly. Creative Use Cases Exploring creative use cases for free video makers reveals a range of innovative applications across various fields. Users have effectively created engaging social media promo videos with tools like Adobe Express, enhancing their brand presence even without prior experience. Educators benefit by developing dynamic presentations and instructional videos that boost student engagement and learning outcomes. Marketers utilize templates in platforms like FlexClip to craft eye-catching product demos, increasing customer interest and sales. Furthermore, creators transform personal photo slideshows into enthralling videos, syncing visuals with music and adding animations for a polished finish. Nonprofits leverage free video editing software to craft compelling storytelling videos, raising awareness and support through impactful visual narratives. Consider a video creator free download to explore your potential. Inspiring Transformation Stories Many creators have utilized the strength of free video makers to transform their ideas into compelling visual stories, showcasing the impressive impact these tools can have on various projects. Here are some inspiring transformation stories: Jamie Lyn Ross used FlexClip to create educational editor movies, enhancing student engagement and improving learning experiences. Muhammad Hamza reported that his business saw higher client satisfaction and an increase in customers after incorporating videos made with FlexClip. Nick Sinclair praised FlexClip for being the easiest video editing solution for beginners, making video creation accessible for those without prior experience. These stories highlight how free video makers can considerably boost brand presence, increase social media engagement, and ultimately drive sales, making them valuable tools for any creator. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Free Video Creation Software? When you’re looking for the best free video creation software, consider options like DaVinci Resolve for professional-grade editing, or Shotcut, which is beginner-friendly and open-source. Lightworks offers a free version with advanced features but limits exports to 720p. ACDSee Luxea is another solid choice for serious beginners, whereas Clipchamp allows easy browser-based editing with useful tools. Evaluate your needs and choose the software that fits your editing experience and project requirements. Which Is the Best Free Video Generator? When looking for the best free video generator, consider options like DaVinci Resolve for its professional-grade features, or Lightworks, which offers solid editing tools in spite of export limitations. Shotcut stands out for its open-source customization, whereas Clipchamp lets you edit in your browser without heavy hardware demands. FlexClip is user-friendly, perfect for beginners, offering a variety of templates. Each option has unique strengths, so choose one that aligns with your specific video creation needs. How to Beautify a Video for Free? To beautify a video for free, use software like DaVinci Resolve or Shotcut, which provide professional tools for editing. You can improve audio by adding licensed music from platforms like Adobe Express. Utilize customizable templates from tools like FlexClip to create visually appealing designs. Implement features such as drag-and-drop editing, cropping, and built-in animations to refine your footage and engage your audience effectively, ensuring a polished final product without any costs involved. How to Create a Beautiful Video? To create a beautiful video, start by uploading your media and choosing a video type. Use drag-and-drop features to edit your clips, cutting and trimming for better storytelling. Improve your video with audio tracks from licensed libraries or personal uploads. Incorporate animations, text overlays, and shifts to add dynamism. Finally, resize and export your video in formats suitable for social media, ensuring it looks great across all platforms. Conclusion To conclude, selecting the right free video maker can greatly improve your creative projects. Tools like DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks offer professional-grade features, whereas options like Shotcut and Clipchamp cater to various editing preferences. With capabilities for sound integration, real-time collaboration, and extensive templates, these platforms simplify the video creation process. By leveraging these resources, you can produce stunning videos that reflect your unique vision, regardless of your skill level. Start exploring these tools to bring your ideas to life. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Best Free Video Makers for Stunning Creations" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Convenience Matters: Food delivery apps provide a quick and easy way for consumers to enjoy their favorite meals without leaving home, catering to today’s fast-paced lifestyle. Diverse Options: Different apps offer varying focuses, from specific cuisines to a wide range of restaurant selections, helping users find exactly what they crave. User Experience is Key: The success of food delivery apps hinges on a user-friendly interface, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat orders. Consider Pricing Structures: Delivery fees and commissions vary across apps; understanding these costs is crucial for both consumers and small businesses looking to maximize profitability. Local Business Impact: Partnerships between delivery apps and local restaurants expand brand visibility and customer reach, benefiting both parties. Marketing Opportunities: Many food delivery platforms provide promotional tools that help businesses connect with new customers and boost visibility in a competitive market. In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is king, and food delivery apps have become a staple for busy lives. Whether you’re craving pizza after a long day or looking for a healthy meal option, these apps bring your favorite dishes right to your doorstep. With just a few taps on your phone, you can explore a world of culinary delights without stepping outside. But with so many options available, how do you choose the best food delivery app for your needs? From user-friendly interfaces to extensive restaurant selections, each app offers unique features that cater to various tastes and preferences. In this guide, you’ll discover the top contenders in the food delivery scene, helping you make informed choices and satisfy your cravings with ease. Overview of Food Delivery Apps Food delivery apps have transformed how you access meals. These platforms connect you with local restaurants, grocery stores, and food providers, making it easier to order from a variety of cuisines. The convenience of placing an order through an app allows for quick, hassle-free meals delivered directly to your doorstep. When choosing a food delivery app, consider the range of options available. Some apps focus on specific types of food, like pizza or healthy options, while others offer delivery from numerous local eateries. This variety ensures you can find something that suits your taste at any time. The integration of small businesses into the food delivery app ecosystem has been significant. Many local restaurants partner with apps to reach wider audiences, enhancing brand recognition and expanding their customer base. By being part of a franchise model or working independently, these businesses can capitalize on the growing trend of online food ordering. In addition, factors such as delivery fees, wait times, and user experience should influence your choice of app. Premium services might charge higher fees for faster delivery, while other apps may have promotional offers that benefit you as a customer. Exploring these options will help you find the best service for your needs. Ultimately, navigating the plethora of food delivery apps requires understanding your preferences and priorities. Whether you own part of a franchise or are loyal to your favorite local eatery, these platforms provide a smooth and enriching experience that caters to your culinary cravings. Criteria for Evaluating Food Delivery Apps Understanding the criteria for evaluating food delivery apps helps small businesses effectively connect with customers. Focus on key factors that enhance user satisfaction and improve operations. User Experience User experience significantly impacts customer retention and satisfaction. Apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash offer user-friendly interfaces with searchable menus, allowing customers to quickly find and order their desired food. Smooth navigation encourages repeat orders and enhances brand recognition, making it vital for your small business to ensure that your chosen app provides an intuitive experience. Consider platforms like Grubhub, known for its seamless browsing of restaurant options, which can influence consumer choice. Delivery Options Delivery options not only expand your reach but also cater to diverse customer preferences. Assess how well each app supports your small business’s menu and how it accommodates various cuisines. Many top platforms partner with local restaurants, ensuring that your menu can attractively feature diverse offerings. Evaluate apps based on their partnerships and delivery efficiency, as these elements can significantly affect customer satisfaction and overall sales. Pricing and Fees Pricing structures influence your bottom line. Review the pricing model and associated fees for each app, including delivery fees and commission percentages that might affect profitability. Factors like royalty fees or franchise fees can also impact your decision if you’re considering branching out through franchising. Transparent pricing helps you strategize your food delivery operations, ultimately leading to informed decisions that support your brand’s growth. Understanding these financial elements is crucial as they can enhance your marketing strategy and improve returns on your franchise investment. Top Food Delivery Apps Food delivery apps streamline meal ordering, making it easier for small businesses to expand their reach. Here’s an overview of the top options available. App 1: Overview and Features DoorDash stands out as the most popular food delivery service in the U.S., holding a 67% market share. With its extensive restaurant network, covering 80% of the U.S., it connects consumers to countless dining options. DashPass: Perfect for frequent users, DashPass offers free delivery and exclusive discounts, enhancing customer loyalty. AI-Driven Logistics: Advanced machine learning algorithms optimize delivery efficiency, helping your business serve customers faster. Fast Delivery: Known for efficient service, DoorDash may include higher delivery fees without DashPass, which could impact price-sensitive customers. App 2: Overview and Features Uber Eats operates globally in over 50 countries, making it an excellent choice for businesses focused on expanding their brand recognition internationally. Wide Restaurant Selection: The app features a broad network of local restaurants, helping users explore diverse cuisines. User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive platform enhances customer experience and can lead to higher order volumes for your franchise. Integrated Marketing Features: Uber Eats provides tools that businesses can use to promote new menu items and special promotions effectively. App 3: Overview and Features Grubhub offers an extensive service tailored to local markets, making it ideal for small businesses aiming for niche audience engagement. Large Customer Base: Grubhub has a strong presence in many urban areas, allowing restaurants to tap into a loyal customer base. Promotional Opportunities: With various marketing strategies, Grubhub helps businesses enhance their franchise marketing plan, driving visibility among potential customers. Order Management Tools: The app includes features to streamline order processing, assisting your staff in managing high volumes efficiently. By leveraging these food delivery apps, small businesses can improve their visibility, streamline operations, and ultimately boost sales. Comparisons of the Best Food Delivery Apps Exploring the best food delivery apps reveals key differences that can impact your small business’s success. Understanding these aspects helps you choose the most suitable platform for your franchise or local eatery. Restaurant Selection and Coverage DoorDash: This app operates in 4,000 cities across North America and Australia, covering approximately 80% of the U.S. market. Its vast restaurant selection includes options from sushi to fast food. With plenty of franchises on board, your establishment can gain significant brand recognition. Uber Eats: Known for its extensive reach, Uber Eats operates in over 6,000 cities across 24+ countries. This app offers a diverse range of restaurants, appealing to customers who enjoy both fast food and high-end dining. Joining this platform provides your franchise with greater exposure in a competitive market. Grubhub: While Grubhub partners with nationwide chains and local eateries, its coverage is less extensive compared to DoorDash or Uber Eats. Evaluating partnerships with Grubhub can yield opportunities for smaller franchises to attract localized customer bases. Seamless: Operating under the Grubhub banner, Seamless excels in key markets like New York City. It provides a platform for restaurants to engage with customers in specific regions, ensuring your small business connects effectively with local diners. User Experience and Additional Features Evaluating user experience is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction. Interface Quality: A user-friendly interface increases customer retention. DoorDash and Uber Eats excel in this area, offering streamlined ordering processes that enhance user engagement. Subscription Services: DoorDash’s DashPass and Uber Eats’ subscription models provide reduced delivery fees for loyal customers. These features can benefit your franchise by encouraging frequent orders, ultimately increasing your bottom line. Delivery Fees and Pricing Structures Understanding delivery fees is crucial in managing franchise costs. Competitive Pricing: All platforms charge delivery fees, which vary based on location and restaurant pricing. Assessing these fees allows you to strategically price your menu and maintain profitability. Franchise Considerations: Review franchise agreements that outline commission structures and potential franchise royalties associated with each app. Knowing your financial commitments can help in effective budgeting. Marketing and Support A robust marketing strategy enhances your brand’s reach. Promotional Opportunities: Many apps offer promotional features that can be leveraged to attract new customers. Exploring these options can enhance your franchise marketing strategy and improve overall visibility. Franchise Support: Utilizing insights from franchise development and operations manuals can streamline your onboarding process with these apps, ensuring compliance and maximizing your franchise growth potential. Aligning your small business with the right food delivery app requires careful analysis of these factors. By prioritizing restaurant selection, user experience, pricing, and marketing support, you maximize your potential to thrive in the competitive food delivery landscape. Conclusion Choosing the right food delivery app can make all the difference in your dining experience. With so many options available you can easily find an app that suits your taste and needs. Whether you’re craving local favorites or exploring new cuisines there’s an app ready to deliver. Remember to consider factors like user experience delivery fees and restaurant selection when making your choice. By aligning with the best app you’ll not only satisfy your cravings but also support local businesses in your community. Enjoy the convenience of having delicious meals brought right to your doorstep. Happy ordering! Frequently Asked Questions What are food delivery apps? Food delivery apps are mobile platforms that connect consumers with local restaurants and grocery stores, allowing users to order meals or groceries directly to their doorsteps. They offer convenience, variety, and the ability to explore different cuisines without leaving home. Why are food delivery apps popular? Food delivery apps have gained popularity due to their convenience, speed, and variety of meal options, catering to the fast-paced lifestyle of consumers. They allow users to order from a wide range of restaurants, making dining more accessible and flexible. How do I choose the best food delivery app? Choosing the best food delivery app depends on several factors, including delivery fees, wait times, cuisine variety, user interface, and customer support. Considering what local restaurants are available and the app’s overall user experience can help guide your choice. Are there fees associated with food delivery apps? Yes, food delivery apps often charge delivery fees, service fees, and sometimes small order fees. It’s important to review these fees to understand the total cost and how they may impact your overall meal expenses when using the app. Can small businesses benefit from food delivery apps? Absolutely! Food delivery apps can enhance visibility for small businesses, connect them with a larger customer base, and streamline operations. By collaborating with these platforms, local restaurants can attract new customers and boost sales. What are some top food delivery apps? Some top food delivery apps include DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. DoorDash holds a significant market share in the U.S., while Uber Eats has extensive international reach. Grubhub focuses on local engagement, making it ideal for small businesses. How do food delivery apps impact user experience? User experience is critical in food delivery apps. A user-friendly interface, easy navigation, and efficient delivery options enhance customer satisfaction and retention. Many top apps, like Uber Eats and DoorDash, prioritize strong user experience to build loyalty. Do food delivery apps offer subscriptions? Yes, many food delivery apps offer subscription services, such as DoorDash’s DashPass and Uber Eats’ subscription model. These services often provide benefits like reduced delivery fees or special promotions for frequent users, adding more value to their experience. Image Via Envato This article, "Discover the Best Food Delivery Apps for Effortless Dining Today" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Convenience Matters: Food delivery apps provide a quick and easy way for consumers to enjoy their favorite meals without leaving home, catering to today’s fast-paced lifestyle. Diverse Options: Different apps offer varying focuses, from specific cuisines to a wide range of restaurant selections, helping users find exactly what they crave. User Experience is Key: The success of food delivery apps hinges on a user-friendly interface, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction and repeat orders. Consider Pricing Structures: Delivery fees and commissions vary across apps; understanding these costs is crucial for both consumers and small businesses looking to maximize profitability. Local Business Impact: Partnerships between delivery apps and local restaurants expand brand visibility and customer reach, benefiting both parties. Marketing Opportunities: Many food delivery platforms provide promotional tools that help businesses connect with new customers and boost visibility in a competitive market. In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is king, and food delivery apps have become a staple for busy lives. Whether you’re craving pizza after a long day or looking for a healthy meal option, these apps bring your favorite dishes right to your doorstep. With just a few taps on your phone, you can explore a world of culinary delights without stepping outside. But with so many options available, how do you choose the best food delivery app for your needs? From user-friendly interfaces to extensive restaurant selections, each app offers unique features that cater to various tastes and preferences. In this guide, you’ll discover the top contenders in the food delivery scene, helping you make informed choices and satisfy your cravings with ease. Overview of Food Delivery Apps Food delivery apps have transformed how you access meals. These platforms connect you with local restaurants, grocery stores, and food providers, making it easier to order from a variety of cuisines. The convenience of placing an order through an app allows for quick, hassle-free meals delivered directly to your doorstep. When choosing a food delivery app, consider the range of options available. Some apps focus on specific types of food, like pizza or healthy options, while others offer delivery from numerous local eateries. This variety ensures you can find something that suits your taste at any time. The integration of small businesses into the food delivery app ecosystem has been significant. Many local restaurants partner with apps to reach wider audiences, enhancing brand recognition and expanding their customer base. By being part of a franchise model or working independently, these businesses can capitalize on the growing trend of online food ordering. In addition, factors such as delivery fees, wait times, and user experience should influence your choice of app. Premium services might charge higher fees for faster delivery, while other apps may have promotional offers that benefit you as a customer. Exploring these options will help you find the best service for your needs. Ultimately, navigating the plethora of food delivery apps requires understanding your preferences and priorities. Whether you own part of a franchise or are loyal to your favorite local eatery, these platforms provide a smooth and enriching experience that caters to your culinary cravings. Criteria for Evaluating Food Delivery Apps Understanding the criteria for evaluating food delivery apps helps small businesses effectively connect with customers. Focus on key factors that enhance user satisfaction and improve operations. User Experience User experience significantly impacts customer retention and satisfaction. Apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash offer user-friendly interfaces with searchable menus, allowing customers to quickly find and order their desired food. Smooth navigation encourages repeat orders and enhances brand recognition, making it vital for your small business to ensure that your chosen app provides an intuitive experience. Consider platforms like Grubhub, known for its seamless browsing of restaurant options, which can influence consumer choice. Delivery Options Delivery options not only expand your reach but also cater to diverse customer preferences. Assess how well each app supports your small business’s menu and how it accommodates various cuisines. Many top platforms partner with local restaurants, ensuring that your menu can attractively feature diverse offerings. Evaluate apps based on their partnerships and delivery efficiency, as these elements can significantly affect customer satisfaction and overall sales. Pricing and Fees Pricing structures influence your bottom line. Review the pricing model and associated fees for each app, including delivery fees and commission percentages that might affect profitability. Factors like royalty fees or franchise fees can also impact your decision if you’re considering branching out through franchising. Transparent pricing helps you strategize your food delivery operations, ultimately leading to informed decisions that support your brand’s growth. Understanding these financial elements is crucial as they can enhance your marketing strategy and improve returns on your franchise investment. Top Food Delivery Apps Food delivery apps streamline meal ordering, making it easier for small businesses to expand their reach. Here’s an overview of the top options available. App 1: Overview and Features DoorDash stands out as the most popular food delivery service in the U.S., holding a 67% market share. With its extensive restaurant network, covering 80% of the U.S., it connects consumers to countless dining options. DashPass: Perfect for frequent users, DashPass offers free delivery and exclusive discounts, enhancing customer loyalty. AI-Driven Logistics: Advanced machine learning algorithms optimize delivery efficiency, helping your business serve customers faster. Fast Delivery: Known for efficient service, DoorDash may include higher delivery fees without DashPass, which could impact price-sensitive customers. App 2: Overview and Features Uber Eats operates globally in over 50 countries, making it an excellent choice for businesses focused on expanding their brand recognition internationally. Wide Restaurant Selection: The app features a broad network of local restaurants, helping users explore diverse cuisines. User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive platform enhances customer experience and can lead to higher order volumes for your franchise. Integrated Marketing Features: Uber Eats provides tools that businesses can use to promote new menu items and special promotions effectively. App 3: Overview and Features Grubhub offers an extensive service tailored to local markets, making it ideal for small businesses aiming for niche audience engagement. Large Customer Base: Grubhub has a strong presence in many urban areas, allowing restaurants to tap into a loyal customer base. Promotional Opportunities: With various marketing strategies, Grubhub helps businesses enhance their franchise marketing plan, driving visibility among potential customers. Order Management Tools: The app includes features to streamline order processing, assisting your staff in managing high volumes efficiently. By leveraging these food delivery apps, small businesses can improve their visibility, streamline operations, and ultimately boost sales. Comparisons of the Best Food Delivery Apps Exploring the best food delivery apps reveals key differences that can impact your small business’s success. Understanding these aspects helps you choose the most suitable platform for your franchise or local eatery. Restaurant Selection and Coverage DoorDash: This app operates in 4,000 cities across North America and Australia, covering approximately 80% of the U.S. market. Its vast restaurant selection includes options from sushi to fast food. With plenty of franchises on board, your establishment can gain significant brand recognition. Uber Eats: Known for its extensive reach, Uber Eats operates in over 6,000 cities across 24+ countries. This app offers a diverse range of restaurants, appealing to customers who enjoy both fast food and high-end dining. Joining this platform provides your franchise with greater exposure in a competitive market. Grubhub: While Grubhub partners with nationwide chains and local eateries, its coverage is less extensive compared to DoorDash or Uber Eats. Evaluating partnerships with Grubhub can yield opportunities for smaller franchises to attract localized customer bases. Seamless: Operating under the Grubhub banner, Seamless excels in key markets like New York City. It provides a platform for restaurants to engage with customers in specific regions, ensuring your small business connects effectively with local diners. User Experience and Additional Features Evaluating user experience is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction. Interface Quality: A user-friendly interface increases customer retention. DoorDash and Uber Eats excel in this area, offering streamlined ordering processes that enhance user engagement. Subscription Services: DoorDash’s DashPass and Uber Eats’ subscription models provide reduced delivery fees for loyal customers. These features can benefit your franchise by encouraging frequent orders, ultimately increasing your bottom line. Delivery Fees and Pricing Structures Understanding delivery fees is crucial in managing franchise costs. Competitive Pricing: All platforms charge delivery fees, which vary based on location and restaurant pricing. Assessing these fees allows you to strategically price your menu and maintain profitability. Franchise Considerations: Review franchise agreements that outline commission structures and potential franchise royalties associated with each app. Knowing your financial commitments can help in effective budgeting. Marketing and Support A robust marketing strategy enhances your brand’s reach. Promotional Opportunities: Many apps offer promotional features that can be leveraged to attract new customers. Exploring these options can enhance your franchise marketing strategy and improve overall visibility. Franchise Support: Utilizing insights from franchise development and operations manuals can streamline your onboarding process with these apps, ensuring compliance and maximizing your franchise growth potential. Aligning your small business with the right food delivery app requires careful analysis of these factors. By prioritizing restaurant selection, user experience, pricing, and marketing support, you maximize your potential to thrive in the competitive food delivery landscape. Conclusion Choosing the right food delivery app can make all the difference in your dining experience. With so many options available you can easily find an app that suits your taste and needs. Whether you’re craving local favorites or exploring new cuisines there’s an app ready to deliver. Remember to consider factors like user experience delivery fees and restaurant selection when making your choice. By aligning with the best app you’ll not only satisfy your cravings but also support local businesses in your community. Enjoy the convenience of having delicious meals brought right to your doorstep. Happy ordering! Frequently Asked Questions What are food delivery apps? Food delivery apps are mobile platforms that connect consumers with local restaurants and grocery stores, allowing users to order meals or groceries directly to their doorsteps. They offer convenience, variety, and the ability to explore different cuisines without leaving home. Why are food delivery apps popular? Food delivery apps have gained popularity due to their convenience, speed, and variety of meal options, catering to the fast-paced lifestyle of consumers. They allow users to order from a wide range of restaurants, making dining more accessible and flexible. How do I choose the best food delivery app? Choosing the best food delivery app depends on several factors, including delivery fees, wait times, cuisine variety, user interface, and customer support. Considering what local restaurants are available and the app’s overall user experience can help guide your choice. Are there fees associated with food delivery apps? Yes, food delivery apps often charge delivery fees, service fees, and sometimes small order fees. It’s important to review these fees to understand the total cost and how they may impact your overall meal expenses when using the app. Can small businesses benefit from food delivery apps? Absolutely! Food delivery apps can enhance visibility for small businesses, connect them with a larger customer base, and streamline operations. By collaborating with these platforms, local restaurants can attract new customers and boost sales. What are some top food delivery apps? Some top food delivery apps include DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. DoorDash holds a significant market share in the U.S., while Uber Eats has extensive international reach. Grubhub focuses on local engagement, making it ideal for small businesses. How do food delivery apps impact user experience? User experience is critical in food delivery apps. A user-friendly interface, easy navigation, and efficient delivery options enhance customer satisfaction and retention. Many top apps, like Uber Eats and DoorDash, prioritize strong user experience to build loyalty. Do food delivery apps offer subscriptions? Yes, many food delivery apps offer subscription services, such as DoorDash’s DashPass and Uber Eats’ subscription model. These services often provide benefits like reduced delivery fees or special promotions for frequent users, adding more value to their experience. Image Via Envato This article, "Discover the Best Food Delivery Apps for Effortless Dining Today" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In terms of loyalty programs, comprehending the best options can greatly improve your shopping experience. Many programs, like Starbucks Rewards and Sephora‘s Beauty Insider, focus on personalization and tiered benefits, whereas others, such as Amazon Prime and Target Circle, excel in providing seamless omnichannel interactions. Each program has unique features designed to boost customer engagement and satisfaction. So, what makes these programs stand out in 2025? Let’s explore the crucial components that drive their success. Key Takeaways Starbucks Rewards offers personalized rewards and tiered benefits, fostering customer loyalty with over 34.6 million members enjoying exclusive perks. Sephora’s Beauty Insider features a point-based system with tiered rewards, enhancing customer engagement through personalized beauty experiences and exclusive access. Amazon Prime exemplifies a successful paid loyalty program, providing significant value through discounts, convenience, and a vast selection to over 200 million members. Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, creating a seamless omnichannel experience that connects online and in-store shopping. Kohl’s Cash® incentivizes repeat purchases through cash back rewards, making it easy for customers to understand and redeem their earnings effectively. Overview of Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs have become essential tools for businesses aiming to improve customer retention and drive sales. They’re projected to grow from $13 billion in 2024 to $41 billion by 2032, underscoring their importance in retail. Among these, travel loyalty programs stand out as some of the best travel rewards programs available. Effective programs often feature tiered structures that allow you to advance through levels, enhancing your engagement and encouraging repeat purchases. Personalization is additionally critical; customized rewards based on your data can greatly boost satisfaction and retention rates. Successful programs combine earn-and-burn value with omnichannel convenience, catering to your preference for seamless shopping experiences, both online and in-store. As you explore various options, keep an eye out for the best travel loyalty programs that align with your travel habits and preferences, ensuring you maximize your rewards as you enjoy your trips. Omnichannel Loyalty Programs As consumers increasingly expect seamless shopping experiences, businesses are adapting by implementing omnichannel loyalty programs that connect interactions across both online and in-store platforms. These programs improve engagement and convenience, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards no matter how you shop. For instance, Target’s expanded Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, exclusive prices, and delivery benefits. Similarly, Nike‘s Membership Program and IKEA Family Program effectively engage customers across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent rewards. Point-Based and Tiered Loyalty Programs Point-based and tiered loyalty programs offer distinct strategies for rewarding customer loyalty. In point-based systems, you accumulate points with each purchase, which can be redeemed for discounts or rewards, making it easy to see the benefits of your spending. Conversely, tiered programs create levels of rewards based on your loyalty, providing increasing incentives that encourage you to engage more frequently with the brand. Point Accumulation Mechanics When you participate in a rewards program, grasping the mechanics of point accumulation can greatly improve your experience and engagement. Point-based loyalty programs allow you to earn points for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or services, enhancing customer retention. Simple structures, like earning one point per dollar, make it easy to see the program’s value. Conversely, tiered loyalty programs reward frequent buyers with different levels, such as Insider or VIB, offering increasingly better benefits. Programs like the best Delta Air Lines membership programs incorporate these mechanics, enabling you to progress through tiers and access exclusive rewards, nurturing a sense of achievement and encouraging continued loyalty. Tiered Reward Structures Grasping tiered reward structures can greatly improve your participation in loyalty programs. These programs allow you to earn points with every purchase, which you can redeem for discounts or rewards. Successful examples, like Sephora’s Beauty Insider, demonstrate how tiered structures create a sense of achievement. Members progress through levels, such as Insider, VIB, and Rouge, where increased spending reveals better rewards and incentives. This motivates you to shop more frequently. Furthermore, simplicity in earning and redeeming points is essential. Programs like PetSmart Treats, offering 8 points for every $1 spent, boost customer loyalty by clearly demonstrating the value of your participation. Comprehending these structures can help you maximize your benefits from loyalty programs. Value-Based Loyalty Programs Value-based loyalty programs are designed to resonate with consumers on a deeper level by aligning rewards with their personal interests and moral values. These programs create emotional connections that go beyond mere financial incentives. For instance, HeadSpace donates memberships to individuals in need, whereas Etnies plants trees for every sale, appealing to socially conscious consumers. By prioritizing sustainability and social responsibility, brands differentiate themselves in a competitive market, effectively attracting and retaining customers. Research shows that consumers are more likely to stay loyal to brands that reflect their values and support causes they care about. Brand Reward Focus Social Impact HeadSpace Mental wellness Donates memberships Etnies Sustainable fashion Plants trees for each sale Patagonia Environmental activism Donates profits to causes TOMS Social good Gives shoes to those in need These initiatives promote a sense of community, enhancing loyalty and engagement. Paid Loyalty Programs As consumers increasingly seek value in their shopping experiences, paid loyalty programs have emerged as a popular option for brands looking to improve customer engagement. These programs require you to pay a subscription fee, which in return, offers improved benefits and discounts. A prime example is Amazon Prime, boasting over 200 million members globally since its inception. For a monthly fee, you gain perks like fast, free shipping and access to exclusive content. Paid loyalty programs generate recurring revenue as they provide you with additional benefits, such as early access to sales or unique experiences. By enrolling, you often receive greater rewards compared to traditional free programs, encouraging a sense of value. Successful paid programs combine convenience with tangible savings, appealing to cost-conscious shoppers. Cash Back Rewards Cash back rewards programs offer a straightforward way for you to earn money back on your purchases, with a simple earning structure that many find appealing. By shopping with specific retailers or using affiliated credit cards, you can encourage repeat purchases, as the more you spend, the more you earn. Plus, the instant redemption options—like statement credits or gift cards—make it easy to use your rewards how you want. Simple Earning Structure Many consumers appreciate the simplicity of cash back rewards programs, which offer an easy-to-understand earning structure that allows you to earn a percentage of your spending back as a rebate or credit. For instance, many programs provide 1-5% cash back on eligible purchases, making it straightforward to track your rewards. This clarity in the earning process improves your ability to see the value you receive, motivating you to spend more frequently. Programs like Kohl’s Cash® have demonstrated significant impact, issuing over $25 billion in cash back rewards. The tangible benefits of cash back rewards not just reinforce your loyalty but likewise create a cycle of rewarding experiences through simple earning and redemption mechanics that you can easily navigate. Encouraging Repeat Purchases One of the key advantages of cash back rewards programs is their ability to stimulate repeat purchases. These programs give you a percentage of your spending back as a rebate or credit, making it easy to see the value of each purchase. For instance, Kohl’s Cash® has issued over $25 billion in cash back, demonstrating how effective these incentives are in driving customer loyalty. By rewarding you for your spending, cash back programs create a straightforward earn-and-redeem system. The simplicity of these rewards, often without complex redemption processes, improves user satisfaction and encourages engagement. Many customers appreciate the immediate benefits, which further motivates them to return for more purchases, cultivating a cycle of loyalty and repeat shopping. Instant Redemption Options As repeat purchases are a significant benefit of cash back rewards programs, instant redemption options take this appeal a step further. Cash back programs allow you to earn a percentage of your spending back, making it easy to appreciate the value of your purchases. For instance, Kohl’s has successfully issued over $25 billion in Kohl’s Cash®, demonstrating the effectiveness of cash back incentives in building customer loyalty. With simple structures, you can quickly grasp how much you’ll earn back, encouraging you to keep shopping. Instant redemption lets you use your cash back rewards immediately at checkout, enhancing usability. These programs often promote higher spending by delivering cash-like benefits, making them popular among consumers seeking tangible returns on their purchases. Referral Programs Referral programs serve as a potent marketing tool that encourages you to recommend products or services to friends and family. By incentivizing current customers like you, these programs help brands expand their customer base through trusted recommendations. When you refer someone, you often receive rewards such as discounts, bonus points, or exclusive access, which can improve your experience and make you feel valued. Brands that implement successful referral programs, like IKEA Family, effectively drive organic growth by rewarding members for bringing in new customers. Data shows that referred customers tend to have higher conversion rates and lifetime values compared to non-referred customers, which greatly benefits both you and the brand. In addition, these programs can boost customer retention by nurturing a sense of appreciation and connection between you and the brand. Individual Brand Loyalty Programs Many brands today recognize the importance of loyalty programs in retaining customers and enhancing their overall experience. Individual brand loyalty programs have become crucial in cultivating lasting relationships with consumers. Here’s a snapshot of some top programs: Brand Members (millions) Key Benefits Starbucks 34.6 Earn “Stars” for rewards, free refills, birthday perks Sephora 34 Tiered structure, birthday gifts, event access Nike N/A Exclusive products, personalized experiences, free shipping Amazon Prime 200 Fast shipping, entertainment services IKEA Family 150 Birthday rewards, exclusive discounts, points catalog Why These Programs Work in 2025 In 2025, loyalty programs succeed due to their prioritization of customer convenience through omnichannel integration, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards seamlessly across different platforms. Personalized experiences become key, as Data leverages data to tailor offers that resonate with your preferences and behaviors, nurturing deeper connections with Brands. Furthermore, paid membership options provide immediate benefits, encouraging consistent engagement and appealing to those seeking more value from their rewards programs. Omnichannel Integration Benefits As consumer expectations evolve, omnichannel loyalty programs have emerged as a crucial strategy for brands looking to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. These programs seamlessly integrate in-store and online shopping experiences, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards regardless of how you shop. For instance, Target’s Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, effectively engaging customers across various platforms. Similarly, Nike Membership and IKEA Family exemplify successful omnichannel integration. This approach caters to your desire for speed and simplicity, improving convenience and boosting customer satisfaction. Furthermore, brands utilizing data-driven personalization can create customized experiences that elevate loyalty and program effectiveness, ensuring you feel valued each time you interact with the brand. Personalized Experiences Enhance Loyalty Omnichannel loyalty programs set the stage for a new era of personalized experiences that greatly boost customer loyalty. In 2025, effective programs leverage data-driven insights to customize rewards that resonate with your preferences and lifestyle. Seamless access to rewards, both online and in-store, improves your engagement and retention. Personalized offers, such as birthday bonuses and exclusive event access, create emotional connections that nurture long-term loyalty. Furthermore, value-based loyalty aligns brands with your moral values, making rewards more relevant. Companies that prioritize clear communication and feedback see increased participation and a stronger community among members. Feature Benefit Data-Driven Personalization Customized rewards Omnichannel Access Seamless engagement Exclusive Offers Emotional connections Value Alignment Relevant rewards for consumers Paid Membership Value Propositions Paid loyalty programs have become increasingly essential for businesses aiming to improve customer engagement and retention in 2025. Programs like Amazon Prime and Starbucks Rewards offer significant benefits, such as free shipping and exclusive access, enhancing perceived value. This encourages you to subscribe, knowing you’re gaining tangible rewards. These memberships additionally create recurring revenue streams for companies as well as increasing customer loyalty through visible perks. In 2025, you’ll expect speed, simplicity, and personalization, making these programs more appealing when customized to your preferences. The integration of AI allows brands to adapt to your needs, improving relevance and redemption rates. In the end, paid membership tiers drive higher engagement, leading to repeat purchases and consistent loyalty. Key Components of an Effective Retail Loyalty Program A successful retail loyalty program hinges on several key components that work together to create an engaging experience for customers. To begin with, a clear earn-to-burn value guarantees you understand how to earn and redeem rewards. In addition, meaningful tier logic motivates you to progress through levels, revealing better rewards as your loyalty grows. Furthermore, personalized experiences cultivate emotional connections, improving your satisfaction with the brand. Additionally, omnichannel accessibility allows you to engage with the program seamlessly, whether online or in-store. Regular communication about rewards and promotions keeps you informed and engaged. Component Description Earn-to-Burn Value Transparent earning and redeeming process Tier Logic Levels that reward increasing loyalty Personalized Experience Customized interactions to improve customer satisfaction These components work together to create an effective retail loyalty program that truly engages you as a customer. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Successful Rewards Program? When considering the most successful rewards program, you should look at various factors like value, engagement, and customer satisfaction. Programs like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and World of Hyatt stand out because of their high valuation of miles and points, respectively. Moreover, tiered structures in programs like Starbucks Rewards and Sephora Beauty Insider create personalized experiences that improve customer loyalty. As the loyalty market grows, effective rewards programs will become increasingly essential for businesses. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program is often recognized as the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. This program allows you to earn miles based on the distance you fly, not just the money you spend. With miles valued at around 1.2 cents each, it offers excellent value. You can redeem these miles on over 15 airline partners, and there are no change fees for award tickets, enhancing flexibility and usability for travelers. Which Store Has the Best Rewards Program? When considering which store has the best rewards program, it’s crucial to evaluate factors like customer satisfaction, value, and benefits. Programs like Starbucks Rewards excel with their easy points system, whereas Sephora’s Beauty Insider offers personalized perks through its tiered structure. Columbia‘s Greater Rewards ranks highly for apparel, and Amazon Prime combines shopping and entertainment benefits. In the end, the best program will depend on your shopping habits and preferences. Which Flight Rewards Program Is the Best? When evaluating flight rewards programs, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan stands out as the best option. It offers miles based on distance flown, making it easier for you to achieve elite status. With miles valued at about 1.2 cents each, you gain significant value. Furthermore, Alaska’s Alaska Airlines partnerships with various airlines expand your earning and redemption options, enhancing your travel experience. This combination of strong earning potential and flexibility makes Alaska Airlines a top choice for frequent flyers. Conclusion In conclusion, effective loyalty programs combine various strategies to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. By incorporating omnichannel experiences, point-based systems, and value-driven initiatives, brands can cultivate loyalty among consumers. Programs like Starbucks Rewards and Amazon Prime exemplify these approaches, offering personalized rewards and tiered benefits. As the retail environment evolves, comprehending the key components of successful loyalty programs will be vital for businesses aiming to maintain competitive advantages and build lasting customer relationships. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best Rewards Programs: Top 10 Picks" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In terms of loyalty programs, comprehending the best options can greatly improve your shopping experience. Many programs, like Starbucks Rewards and Sephora‘s Beauty Insider, focus on personalization and tiered benefits, whereas others, such as Amazon Prime and Target Circle, excel in providing seamless omnichannel interactions. Each program has unique features designed to boost customer engagement and satisfaction. So, what makes these programs stand out in 2025? Let’s explore the crucial components that drive their success. Key Takeaways Starbucks Rewards offers personalized rewards and tiered benefits, fostering customer loyalty with over 34.6 million members enjoying exclusive perks. Sephora’s Beauty Insider features a point-based system with tiered rewards, enhancing customer engagement through personalized beauty experiences and exclusive access. Amazon Prime exemplifies a successful paid loyalty program, providing significant value through discounts, convenience, and a vast selection to over 200 million members. Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, creating a seamless omnichannel experience that connects online and in-store shopping. Kohl’s Cash® incentivizes repeat purchases through cash back rewards, making it easy for customers to understand and redeem their earnings effectively. Overview of Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs have become essential tools for businesses aiming to improve customer retention and drive sales. They’re projected to grow from $13 billion in 2024 to $41 billion by 2032, underscoring their importance in retail. Among these, travel loyalty programs stand out as some of the best travel rewards programs available. Effective programs often feature tiered structures that allow you to advance through levels, enhancing your engagement and encouraging repeat purchases. Personalization is additionally critical; customized rewards based on your data can greatly boost satisfaction and retention rates. Successful programs combine earn-and-burn value with omnichannel convenience, catering to your preference for seamless shopping experiences, both online and in-store. As you explore various options, keep an eye out for the best travel loyalty programs that align with your travel habits and preferences, ensuring you maximize your rewards as you enjoy your trips. Omnichannel Loyalty Programs As consumers increasingly expect seamless shopping experiences, businesses are adapting by implementing omnichannel loyalty programs that connect interactions across both online and in-store platforms. These programs improve engagement and convenience, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards no matter how you shop. For instance, Target’s expanded Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, exclusive prices, and delivery benefits. Similarly, Nike‘s Membership Program and IKEA Family Program effectively engage customers across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent rewards. Point-Based and Tiered Loyalty Programs Point-based and tiered loyalty programs offer distinct strategies for rewarding customer loyalty. In point-based systems, you accumulate points with each purchase, which can be redeemed for discounts or rewards, making it easy to see the benefits of your spending. Conversely, tiered programs create levels of rewards based on your loyalty, providing increasing incentives that encourage you to engage more frequently with the brand. Point Accumulation Mechanics When you participate in a rewards program, grasping the mechanics of point accumulation can greatly improve your experience and engagement. Point-based loyalty programs allow you to earn points for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or services, enhancing customer retention. Simple structures, like earning one point per dollar, make it easy to see the program’s value. Conversely, tiered loyalty programs reward frequent buyers with different levels, such as Insider or VIB, offering increasingly better benefits. Programs like the best Delta Air Lines membership programs incorporate these mechanics, enabling you to progress through tiers and access exclusive rewards, nurturing a sense of achievement and encouraging continued loyalty. Tiered Reward Structures Grasping tiered reward structures can greatly improve your participation in loyalty programs. These programs allow you to earn points with every purchase, which you can redeem for discounts or rewards. Successful examples, like Sephora’s Beauty Insider, demonstrate how tiered structures create a sense of achievement. Members progress through levels, such as Insider, VIB, and Rouge, where increased spending reveals better rewards and incentives. This motivates you to shop more frequently. Furthermore, simplicity in earning and redeeming points is essential. Programs like PetSmart Treats, offering 8 points for every $1 spent, boost customer loyalty by clearly demonstrating the value of your participation. Comprehending these structures can help you maximize your benefits from loyalty programs. Value-Based Loyalty Programs Value-based loyalty programs are designed to resonate with consumers on a deeper level by aligning rewards with their personal interests and moral values. These programs create emotional connections that go beyond mere financial incentives. For instance, HeadSpace donates memberships to individuals in need, whereas Etnies plants trees for every sale, appealing to socially conscious consumers. By prioritizing sustainability and social responsibility, brands differentiate themselves in a competitive market, effectively attracting and retaining customers. Research shows that consumers are more likely to stay loyal to brands that reflect their values and support causes they care about. Brand Reward Focus Social Impact HeadSpace Mental wellness Donates memberships Etnies Sustainable fashion Plants trees for each sale Patagonia Environmental activism Donates profits to causes TOMS Social good Gives shoes to those in need These initiatives promote a sense of community, enhancing loyalty and engagement. Paid Loyalty Programs As consumers increasingly seek value in their shopping experiences, paid loyalty programs have emerged as a popular option for brands looking to improve customer engagement. These programs require you to pay a subscription fee, which in return, offers improved benefits and discounts. A prime example is Amazon Prime, boasting over 200 million members globally since its inception. For a monthly fee, you gain perks like fast, free shipping and access to exclusive content. Paid loyalty programs generate recurring revenue as they provide you with additional benefits, such as early access to sales or unique experiences. By enrolling, you often receive greater rewards compared to traditional free programs, encouraging a sense of value. Successful paid programs combine convenience with tangible savings, appealing to cost-conscious shoppers. Cash Back Rewards Cash back rewards programs offer a straightforward way for you to earn money back on your purchases, with a simple earning structure that many find appealing. By shopping with specific retailers or using affiliated credit cards, you can encourage repeat purchases, as the more you spend, the more you earn. Plus, the instant redemption options—like statement credits or gift cards—make it easy to use your rewards how you want. Simple Earning Structure Many consumers appreciate the simplicity of cash back rewards programs, which offer an easy-to-understand earning structure that allows you to earn a percentage of your spending back as a rebate or credit. For instance, many programs provide 1-5% cash back on eligible purchases, making it straightforward to track your rewards. This clarity in the earning process improves your ability to see the value you receive, motivating you to spend more frequently. Programs like Kohl’s Cash® have demonstrated significant impact, issuing over $25 billion in cash back rewards. The tangible benefits of cash back rewards not just reinforce your loyalty but likewise create a cycle of rewarding experiences through simple earning and redemption mechanics that you can easily navigate. Encouraging Repeat Purchases One of the key advantages of cash back rewards programs is their ability to stimulate repeat purchases. These programs give you a percentage of your spending back as a rebate or credit, making it easy to see the value of each purchase. For instance, Kohl’s Cash® has issued over $25 billion in cash back, demonstrating how effective these incentives are in driving customer loyalty. By rewarding you for your spending, cash back programs create a straightforward earn-and-redeem system. The simplicity of these rewards, often without complex redemption processes, improves user satisfaction and encourages engagement. Many customers appreciate the immediate benefits, which further motivates them to return for more purchases, cultivating a cycle of loyalty and repeat shopping. Instant Redemption Options As repeat purchases are a significant benefit of cash back rewards programs, instant redemption options take this appeal a step further. Cash back programs allow you to earn a percentage of your spending back, making it easy to appreciate the value of your purchases. For instance, Kohl’s has successfully issued over $25 billion in Kohl’s Cash®, demonstrating the effectiveness of cash back incentives in building customer loyalty. With simple structures, you can quickly grasp how much you’ll earn back, encouraging you to keep shopping. Instant redemption lets you use your cash back rewards immediately at checkout, enhancing usability. These programs often promote higher spending by delivering cash-like benefits, making them popular among consumers seeking tangible returns on their purchases. Referral Programs Referral programs serve as a potent marketing tool that encourages you to recommend products or services to friends and family. By incentivizing current customers like you, these programs help brands expand their customer base through trusted recommendations. When you refer someone, you often receive rewards such as discounts, bonus points, or exclusive access, which can improve your experience and make you feel valued. Brands that implement successful referral programs, like IKEA Family, effectively drive organic growth by rewarding members for bringing in new customers. Data shows that referred customers tend to have higher conversion rates and lifetime values compared to non-referred customers, which greatly benefits both you and the brand. In addition, these programs can boost customer retention by nurturing a sense of appreciation and connection between you and the brand. Individual Brand Loyalty Programs Many brands today recognize the importance of loyalty programs in retaining customers and enhancing their overall experience. Individual brand loyalty programs have become crucial in cultivating lasting relationships with consumers. Here’s a snapshot of some top programs: Brand Members (millions) Key Benefits Starbucks 34.6 Earn “Stars” for rewards, free refills, birthday perks Sephora 34 Tiered structure, birthday gifts, event access Nike N/A Exclusive products, personalized experiences, free shipping Amazon Prime 200 Fast shipping, entertainment services IKEA Family 150 Birthday rewards, exclusive discounts, points catalog Why These Programs Work in 2025 In 2025, loyalty programs succeed due to their prioritization of customer convenience through omnichannel integration, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards seamlessly across different platforms. Personalized experiences become key, as Data leverages data to tailor offers that resonate with your preferences and behaviors, nurturing deeper connections with Brands. Furthermore, paid membership options provide immediate benefits, encouraging consistent engagement and appealing to those seeking more value from their rewards programs. Omnichannel Integration Benefits As consumer expectations evolve, omnichannel loyalty programs have emerged as a crucial strategy for brands looking to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. These programs seamlessly integrate in-store and online shopping experiences, allowing you to earn and redeem rewards regardless of how you shop. For instance, Target’s Target Circle combines free and paid tiers with personalized offers, effectively engaging customers across various platforms. Similarly, Nike Membership and IKEA Family exemplify successful omnichannel integration. This approach caters to your desire for speed and simplicity, improving convenience and boosting customer satisfaction. Furthermore, brands utilizing data-driven personalization can create customized experiences that elevate loyalty and program effectiveness, ensuring you feel valued each time you interact with the brand. Personalized Experiences Enhance Loyalty Omnichannel loyalty programs set the stage for a new era of personalized experiences that greatly boost customer loyalty. In 2025, effective programs leverage data-driven insights to customize rewards that resonate with your preferences and lifestyle. Seamless access to rewards, both online and in-store, improves your engagement and retention. Personalized offers, such as birthday bonuses and exclusive event access, create emotional connections that nurture long-term loyalty. Furthermore, value-based loyalty aligns brands with your moral values, making rewards more relevant. Companies that prioritize clear communication and feedback see increased participation and a stronger community among members. Feature Benefit Data-Driven Personalization Customized rewards Omnichannel Access Seamless engagement Exclusive Offers Emotional connections Value Alignment Relevant rewards for consumers Paid Membership Value Propositions Paid loyalty programs have become increasingly essential for businesses aiming to improve customer engagement and retention in 2025. Programs like Amazon Prime and Starbucks Rewards offer significant benefits, such as free shipping and exclusive access, enhancing perceived value. This encourages you to subscribe, knowing you’re gaining tangible rewards. These memberships additionally create recurring revenue streams for companies as well as increasing customer loyalty through visible perks. In 2025, you’ll expect speed, simplicity, and personalization, making these programs more appealing when customized to your preferences. The integration of AI allows brands to adapt to your needs, improving relevance and redemption rates. In the end, paid membership tiers drive higher engagement, leading to repeat purchases and consistent loyalty. Key Components of an Effective Retail Loyalty Program A successful retail loyalty program hinges on several key components that work together to create an engaging experience for customers. To begin with, a clear earn-to-burn value guarantees you understand how to earn and redeem rewards. In addition, meaningful tier logic motivates you to progress through levels, revealing better rewards as your loyalty grows. Furthermore, personalized experiences cultivate emotional connections, improving your satisfaction with the brand. Additionally, omnichannel accessibility allows you to engage with the program seamlessly, whether online or in-store. Regular communication about rewards and promotions keeps you informed and engaged. Component Description Earn-to-Burn Value Transparent earning and redeeming process Tier Logic Levels that reward increasing loyalty Personalized Experience Customized interactions to improve customer satisfaction These components work together to create an effective retail loyalty program that truly engages you as a customer. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Successful Rewards Program? When considering the most successful rewards program, you should look at various factors like value, engagement, and customer satisfaction. Programs like Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and World of Hyatt stand out because of their high valuation of miles and points, respectively. Moreover, tiered structures in programs like Starbucks Rewards and Sephora Beauty Insider create personalized experiences that improve customer loyalty. As the loyalty market grows, effective rewards programs will become increasingly essential for businesses. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program is often recognized as the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. This program allows you to earn miles based on the distance you fly, not just the money you spend. With miles valued at around 1.2 cents each, it offers excellent value. You can redeem these miles on over 15 airline partners, and there are no change fees for award tickets, enhancing flexibility and usability for travelers. Which Store Has the Best Rewards Program? When considering which store has the best rewards program, it’s crucial to evaluate factors like customer satisfaction, value, and benefits. Programs like Starbucks Rewards excel with their easy points system, whereas Sephora’s Beauty Insider offers personalized perks through its tiered structure. Columbia‘s Greater Rewards ranks highly for apparel, and Amazon Prime combines shopping and entertainment benefits. In the end, the best program will depend on your shopping habits and preferences. Which Flight Rewards Program Is the Best? When evaluating flight rewards programs, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan stands out as the best option. It offers miles based on distance flown, making it easier for you to achieve elite status. With miles valued at about 1.2 cents each, you gain significant value. Furthermore, Alaska’s Alaska Airlines partnerships with various airlines expand your earning and redemption options, enhancing your travel experience. This combination of strong earning potential and flexibility makes Alaska Airlines a top choice for frequent flyers. Conclusion In conclusion, effective loyalty programs combine various strategies to improve customer engagement and satisfaction. By incorporating omnichannel experiences, point-based systems, and value-driven initiatives, brands can cultivate loyalty among consumers. Programs like Starbucks Rewards and Amazon Prime exemplify these approaches, offering personalized rewards and tiered benefits. As the retail environment evolves, comprehending the key components of successful loyalty programs will be vital for businesses aiming to maintain competitive advantages and build lasting customer relationships. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best Rewards Programs: Top 10 Picks" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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Before you apply for a new role, it’s important to prepare for marketing salary negotiations and learn how to pursue fair pay with practical, realistic guidance. Whether you work in SEO, PPC, or somewhere in between, salaries remain a contentious topic. They are often hard to discuss, difficult to quantify, and challenging to change. While many resources cover salary negotiations in general, this article focuses specifically on negotiating pay for marketing roles. Difficulties with marketing salaries Several factors make marketing roles harder to benchmark than many other professions, complicating salary expectations and negotiations. No industry standard Unlike fields with national governing bodies and defined career grades, marketing lacks standardization. This makes it difficult to align salary bands across companies or compare roles on an equal footing. Inconsistent job titles Job titles in marketing vary widely. A VP of marketing at one company may perform duties similar to a junior account manager elsewhere, while in another organization, the title represents the most senior marketing leader. Because titles are used inconsistently, it can be challenging to assess role seniority and determine which salary ranges are appropriate. Major market shifts in recent years Marketers who last negotiated pay during the COVID-driven digital boom of 2020-2021 may find today’s job market markedly different. Just five years ago, businesses rapidly shifted to online-first marketing, driving strong demand for digital talent. Performance and organic marketers benefited from a candidate-favorable market, with new roles being created, frequent poaching, and rising salaries. Today, conditions have changed. The rise of AI, global economic uncertainty, and company downsizing have reduced salary pressure for many marketing roles. There is also more uncertainty around job stability, leading fewer marketers to change roles unless necessary. As a result, the salary levels seen in 2020-2021 are largely a thing of the past. Well-paid marketing roles still exist, but they are harder to find. That reality should inform your salary negotiations, not discourage them. Some marketing channels can be misunderstood Less marketing-savvy companies often advertise a single role intended to cover three or more distinct specializations, typically at bottom-of-the-market pay. Even organizations that better understand marketing skill sets may struggle to grasp the full complexity and breadth of knowledge required to perform a role effectively. This can lead to significant undervaluation of marketers. Given that marketing salaries can be difficult for employers to navigate, how can you ensure you are fairly compensated for your experience and expertise? The following nine tips can be broadly grouped into four areas: Know what you bring to the table. Know what is realistic. Identify and demonstrate what is valuable to the company. Stick to your boundaries. Know what you bring to the table We’ll start with the side of salary negotiations that, for some, can be very difficult: accurately valuing your own skill set. If you are in a position to negotiate a salary, you have either already been offered the job or you work for the company and are hoping to secure a raise. In either case, the company must already believe you are suitable for the role. That does not stop it from trying to secure your services at the most economical price. Knowing what you bring to the table is key to having the bargaining power and confidence to negotiate a fair salary. This does not just mean how much direct experience you have in the role you have landed. Tip 1: Demonstrate your experience in the industry Don’t underestimate how much employers value candidates who have knowledge and experience within their sector. You may also find that some industries struggle to hire marketing professionals, and your willingness to join that industry can command a higher salary. If you’ve worked in notoriously difficult industries, such as gambling, adult entertainment, or pharmaceuticals, you may be able to negotiate higher pay because of it. This can be due to the perception of difficulty in marketing within these industries. Dig deeper: How to become exceptional at SEO Tip 2: Promote your prior experience in and out of similar roles Your years of experience in a role may feel like an obvious bargaining chip when negotiating salary. However, don’t forget that an employer may also benefit from the knowledge and experience you gained outside the role you are applying for. Just because your previous job titles may not sound similar to the role you are negotiating now doesn’t mean the skills you developed there aren’t directly relevant. Review your CV and compare it with the role you are applying for. Identify the parts of your work history that align with the job description. Look beyond the obvious and consider transferable skills such as communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management. Tip 3: Highlight extra skills outside your job specification Think about the skills you’ve developed over the years that may not be listed in the job description but are likely to be important for success in the role. This can be particularly helpful if you are earlier in your career and lack directly relevant experience in similar positions. Consider what you learned through volunteer roles, a first summer job, or even hobbies. They may seem far removed from marketing, but you have likely gained lessons through those experiences that can support your current career. Tip 4: Show your financial impact in previous roles As with any ROI calculation, employers want to know whether the salary they may pay a candidate will deliver a return on that investment. If you are negotiating a higher salary than originally offered, you need to demonstrate why it is financially worthwhile for the employer. Be strategic in the examples you share. Rather than focusing only on increases in traffic or rankings, emphasize the revenue or cost savings you delivered. You may be limited by NDAs and unable to share specific figures, but you can still reference outcomes, such as increasing organic search revenue by 5x or reducing a PPC budget by 20% while maintaining performance. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Know what is realistic It’s one thing to understand your value based on the skills and experience you bring to a company. It’s another to assess that value accurately in the job market. Ultimately, salaries are limited by what employers are willing to pay. Tip 5: Be familiar with industry benchmarks Do some research when considering your salary. You may have been paid above or below the market average in your current or previous role, which can skew your expectations. Review job ads in your geographic area that require similar skills and experience, and note the lower and upper ends of the stated salary ranges. Be careful not to compare roles based on job titles alone. As noted earlier, marketing titles are often inconsistent, and you may be comparing your role with one that is more senior or more junior. Also consider the industry. Salaries in charities, for example, are unlikely to match those in tech or finance. Salary benchmarking reports can also be useful, such as: Remote, content SEO roles in decline: Report Salary and Career survey: How much search marketers make These resources can provide a more objective view of the market. Keep in mind that salaries vary significantly by country, so avoid comparing U.S. and UK salaries directly. Tip 6: Find out the internal salary ranges When applying for a role, it is always helpful to understand the salary range being offered, although this is not always possible. Some companies wait for candidates to make the first move on salary and may avoid sharing ranges to prevent offering more than necessary. This is why it’s important to follow Tip 5 first, so you understand what your skills and experience are worth in the broader market. Some organizations use salary banding. For example, a senior SEO specialist may be classified as a level 4 role, while a junior SEO role may sit at level 2. If a recruiter is unwilling to share the exact salary range, you can ask about role levels or banding instead. This can provide insight into where the role sits within the company hierarchy and what the potential salary ceiling might be. If you are able to identify the salary range, try to determine what qualifies a candidate for the top of the band. Is the company looking for additional “nice to haves” to justify the highest salary? In some cases, it may be reserved for candidates with experience in a specific industry. Once you understand which skills command higher pay, you can emphasize them in your CV and during interviews. Dig deeper: What 15 years in enterprise SEO taught me about people, power, and progress Identify and demonstrate the values of the company As many candidates discover during interviews, what a company truly wants is not always clearly stated in the job description or early conversations with recruiters. Hiring managers may not fully define what they are looking for in a successful candidate until they have interviewed several people for comparison. As a result, you may be unclear about what matters most for the role, making it harder to demonstrate your suitability and justify the salary you are requesting. Interviews can provide an opportunity to explore these values in more detail. Ask interviewers what “success” looks like in the role or how they would describe the traits of their top-performing colleagues. This can help you understand the characteristics and behaviors the company values. Tip 7: Demonstrate how you live up to those values Once you understand what the company values, identify how you can deliver that through the role. For example, if “initiative” is highly valued, you can use the interview process to highlight how you demonstrate initiative in your work. Use examples from past experience to show how you embody the company’s values, citing specific projects or situations where you demonstrated them. If “transparency” is important to the organization, you might reference a time when you acknowledged a mistake. Demonstrating alignment with the company, in addition to job proficiency, can make you a more attractive candidate and support a stronger salary case. Dig deeper: Becoming AI-native: The next leap for SEO professionals Stick to your boundaries When negotiating your salary, you need to know your absolute minimum. This is not just the lowest salary you can afford to accept. It also means identifying what you need from a role to feel respected and valued, and what the overall compensation package must include to support that. Going into negotiations with clear boundaries makes it easier to say no when an offer does not meet them. Tip 8: Consider other benefits that may offset a lower salary In some situations, accepting a lower salary may make sense. You may be moving into a different role where you have less experience and are starting at a more junior level. The opportunity to develop new skills can justify a lower salary. Other tangible benefits, such as strong health coverage, additional paid time off, shorter working hours, or a gym membership, may also make a lower salary acceptable. Tip 9: Identify other positives that may justify a lower salary You may be moving into an industry you care deeply about. For example, joining a charity may provide enough personal satisfaction to offset lower pay. Be sure to factor these considerations into your salary expectations when defining your boundaries. Tip 10: Decide how little is enough for you to walk away After working through the previous tips, you should have a clear understanding of the minimum compensation you are willing to accept, or remain in, a role for. Keep this in mind during negotiations. You may feel pressure not to lose the role by asking for more money, or worry about appearing overly focused on pay. Joining a company and immediately feeling underpaid is not sustainable. At the same time, asking for a raise as soon as you start is unlikely to help you establish yourself. You may be better off declining a role if the company cannot close the gap between its offer and your minimum salary expectations. Dig deeper: 12 skills every SEO specialist must master by 2026 Empower yourself in marketing salary talks You deserve to be paid what you are worth. Use these tips to define your value, account for any mitigating factors, and arrive at a salary you are willing to accept. Once you have that number, negotiating becomes a matter of clearly demonstrating the value you bring to the company compared with other candidates. If the gap between what a company is willing to pay and what you believe your skills and experience are worth is too large, walking away may be the better option. View the full article

Being a field dependent on big developer clients and even bigger sums of money, rarely do architects get to pick the projects they work on. Would they if they could? Absolutely. Fast Company asked architects and designers from some of the top firms working around the world to think about the kinds of projects they wish they could do, clients, budgets, and possibly reality notwithstanding. From the abstract to one very specific (and notorious) train station, seven architects shared building projects they’d love to tackle in 2026. Here’s the question we put to a panel of designers and leaders in architecture: What’s your dream project in 2026? An urban district reimagined The dream project for me isn’t a skyline object or spectacle, it’s a long-life system—a project whose structure is reused, materials are upgraded and recycled rather than replaced, and performance improves over time. Where sustainable strategies aren’t hidden in basements, or rooftops, but become part of the architectural experience. A dream project would be an urban district reimagined, edited with a scalpel (rather than a sledgehammer) with its declining building stock given a new life through subtle upgrades, modest interventions, and attention to craft and building performance. —Trent Tesch, Principal, KPF Solutions to current crises My dream project would be to design beyond the scale of a single building—at the district scale—to define a new way of living. We have the ability to overcome the segmentation we have created in the built environment and move toward convergent places where people can not only live, work, and play in the same space, but also innovate, learn, and care for ourselves and each other. Embedded in this approach are solutions to current crises like housing, access to food and care, and more: to think about community-building and what people need around them to ensure a safe, vibrant, and supported life. —David Polzin, executive director of design, CannonDesign An example of where design needs to go My dream project should break ground right near the end of the year — the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island. It will be arguably the most sustainable project ever undertaken in the city and an example of where design needs to go in the coming decade. —Colin Koop, partner, SOM A tangible vision of a ‘heaven on earth’ A dream project with a design ethos grounded in simplicity, sustainability, and the clear expression of engineering functions, this project would function as a living laboratory at a district-to-regional, maybe even country scale, exemplifying human-centered, climate-responsive urbanism. It would demonstrate how architecture can create healthier built environments, advance decarbonization, promote human well-being, foster thriving ecosystems, and deliver scalable models for resilient cities worldwide—a tangible vision of a “heaven on earth” in a built environment. —Luke Leung, sustainable engineering studio leader, SOM Breaking down silos Our firm’s portfolio has always been shaped by the idea of architecture as social and civic infrastructure, rather than isolated objects. Our dream project in 2026 is one that will allow us to further break down overly prescriptive disciplinary and programmatic silos, to the benefit of those who use the spaces we create. This could take the form of a new kind of mixed-use district, a daycare-driven residential building, woodland cabins, or reinvented urban infrastructure, but it would be guided, as all our work is, by the idea of long-term stewardship and deep collaboration with community and our peers in architecture, engineering, and beyond. We are most interested in projects where design builds capacity and trust, and where success is measured not only by what gets built, but by what it enables over time. —Claire Weisz, founding principal, WXY architecture + urban design Destinations for learning and gathering There is growing need for cultural and community catalysts that bring people together, especially in communities that are lacking destinations for learning and gathering. Design can support a sense of belonging and grounding to the physicality of architecture that is important in this day of instant gratification. —Nick Leahy, co-CEO and executive director, Perkins Eastman A nightmare-turned-dream? Pennsylvania Station! —Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder, PAU View the full article

Most organizations still hire for culture fit—even those that loudly champion diversity and inclusion. The phrase sounds benign, even wise: who wouldn’t want colleagues who “fit in”? But behind this feel-good notion lies one of the biggest obstacles to innovation and progress in modern workplaces. Culture fit has become a euphemism for cultural cloning: selecting people who already look, think, and behave like the incumbents. It’s a polite way of saying, we want people like us, because there’s nothing more comforting than working—and hanging out—with people who are just like you! The irony, of course, is that such homogeneity kills the very things organizations claim to want: creativity, adaptability, and innovation. As Adam Grant notes, originality thrives in contexts that tolerate dissent and deviance, not conformity. Yet the more organizations glorify “fit,” the more they drift toward cultish sameness. The difference between a culture and a cult, after all, is just one letter—and often one lawsuit. This tendency isn’t new. Social psychology has long shown that we’re drawn to those who resemble us; similarity reduces friction and uncertainty. But comfort is the enemy of progress. Uniformity might make life easier for recruiters and managers, but it makes systems fragile. Nature offers a cautionary tale: the Irish potato famine. For decades, Ireland depended almost entirely on a single potato variety, the Lumper. When a blight struck in 1845, the lack of genetic diversity turned one crop failure into a national catastrophe. Organizations that over-rely on a single “type” of employee risk the same fate—a cultural monocrop vulnerable to shocks, blind spots, and collective stupidity. The cost of fitting in too well Empirical research supports this. Studies show that while culture fit predicts short-term satisfaction and commitment, it’s often negatively related to long-term innovation and change readiness. A large meta-analysis by Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and Johnson found that person–organization fit strongly predicts employees’ attitudes but not their creativity or performance in changing environments. Similarly, Michele Gelfand’s cross-national study on cultural “tightness” found that organizations and societies that enforce conformity underperform in dynamic contexts, while “looser” cultures—those that tolerate rule-bending and deviance, are more innovative and adaptive. There are also considerable costs for businesses that hire for culture-fit: when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks at all! In line, cultural homogeneity reduces innovation, creativity, and curiosity, as well as increasing conformity and resisting change. By contrast, organizations that value constructive misfit—hiring people who stretch or challenge the dominant mold—show higher rates of creativity and problem-solving. Google’s famous Project Aristotle study on team effectiveness found that the best-performing groups weren’t the most harmonious or homogenous, but those with psychological safety—teams where people felt free to disagree without social punishment. The best cultures, in other words, don’t eliminate tension; they use it productively. Unfortunately, many companies still confuse alignment with excellence. “Fit” becomes the criterion for hiring and promotion, even as executives pay lip service to diversity. As illustrated in Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity is Overrated and What to Do Instead, in practice, “bring your whole self to work” often means “bring the parts of yourself that look and sound like the rest of us.” The result is a well-intentioned echo chamber. Everybody belongs—and nobody thinks. The case for the moderate misfit So, what happens if you don’t quite fit in? If you’re the person who feels slightly out of sync with the corporate rhythm—too analytical for the sales culture, too candid for the political one, too global for the parochial one? At first, it’s uncomfortable. You’ll have to work to fit in, even as the company insists you shouldn’t have to. “Inclusion” sounds effortless, but it usually requires emotional labor—the cognitive gymnastics of decoding unspoken norms, managing impressions, and adapting without losing yourself. Yet being a moderate misfit—someone who respects the system but doesn’t worship it—comes with real advantages. You bring a different perspective. You see what insiders can’t because you aren’t fully hypnotized by the culture. Research on task conflict shows that moderate levels of disagreement improve decision quality and innovation, as long as they’re respectful. The worst decisions in history (from Enron to the Challenger disaster) share one trait: too much agreement. You’re more likely to become a change agent. Because you don’t fully identify with the status quo, you’re less invested in preserving it. Decades of research on minority influence show that consistent dissenters (even when initially unpopular) eventually shift group norms. You’ll stay an independent thinker. Irving Janis’s classic work on groupthink revealed that cohesive groups under pressure tend to suppress dissent, leading to catastrophic decisions. Misfits disrupt that comfort. They’re less likely to self-censor or outsource their thinking to the hive mind. Even when they play along, they keep a mental escape hatch open—a capacity for self-reflection that prevents total ideological capture. And you might even grow. Working alongside people who aren’t like you forces you to reconsider your assumptions. A widely cited meta-analysis shows that exposure to difference reduces prejudice and increases cognitive complexity. Growth happens when you’re challenged; when you collaborate, debate, and adapt outside your comfort zone. Leadership, progress, and the art of misfitting Ultimately, leadership is not about comfort but progress. As Gianpiero Petriglieri reminds us, leadership is always an argument with tradition, a dialogue between what is and what could be. Fitting in completely, therefore, is not a strength but a symptom of stagnation. When everyone agrees, nobody leads; they merely administer. The playwright George Bernard Shaw put it even more bluntly: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Moderate misfits are those “unreasonable” people, balanced enough to survive within the system but different enough to question it. They’re the ones who stretch cultures, challenge orthodoxies, and prevent organizations from fossilizing. Yes, it can be exhausting to swim against the current. It takes empathy, restraint, and strategic impression management. But the payoff is immense: you remain curious, independent, and relevant in a world that worships conformity. To be sure, many don’t survive so pragmatically it is worth wondering whether you want to be part of an organization or system that regards and treats you as an outlier or part of the outgroup—it requires a great deal of willpower and resilience . . . the struggle is real!. So, here’s to the misfits, the ones who don’t quite belong, who ask inconvenient questions, and who resist the seductive comfort of sameness. They may never win the “culture fit” award, but they’re the reason culture evolves at all . . . if we are brave to hire them in the first place! View the full article

Google announced late on Friday that Gemini 3 Pro is now powered Google AI Overviews for complex queries. Google actually said this last November, but then edited its story to say it was just AI Mode that was powered by Gemini 3 Pro and not AI Overviews. Now both AI Overviews and AI Mode can use Gemini 3 Pro.View the full article

Google is appealing the ruling that it is an illegal search monopoly - which surprises no one. Plus, Google asked the court to pause the remedies during the appeal phase.View the full article

The fate of the Danish territory will not be decided by transatlantic tariffsView the full article

Google's John Mueller once again warned about hosting your website on free subdomain hosting service because they are magnets for a "lot of spam & low-effort content."View the full article

Artificial intelligence capabilities have rapidly shifted from nice-to-have extras to essential requirements across industries and job levels. Employers now prioritize candidates who can harness AI tools to multiply productivity, accelerate innovation, and solve complex problems with lean resources. In this article, experts reveal how mastering AI skills can unlock career opportunities, faster promotions, and competitive advantages in today’s job market. Own One System and Share Insights For me, the secret to standing out in the age of AI was pretty simple: if your company is starting to use AI, use it. Don’t wait for someone to tell you where to start. Pick one tool, go deep, and let curiosity lead you. When I was a learning designer at Zapier, I decided to focus on one thing, a new tool that had just rolled out: AI Agents by Zapier. I pushed everything nonessential to the side and gave myself two weeks to learn it inside and out. Along the way, I realized that to make my Agents even better, I needed to understand other tools too: AI fields in Tables, Chatbots, and AI steps in automation workflows. That one deep dive became a crash course in the future of work. I started filming myself as I learned, sharing the process and mistakes with others. Soon, teammates were reaching out for help. Product teams asked me to test new features and give feedback. And before I knew it, I’d become the go-to AI person — without a technical background. Eighteen months later, I was promoted to senior AI automation engineer. If you want to stand out and make yourself indispensable, start there: Go deep on something. Master one AI tool instead of dabbling in many. Share what you learn. Help your teammates, post your insights, and be generous with your knowledge. Be strategic. Know when AI is the right solution (and, importantly, when it’s not). Being proactive about AI isn’t just about saving time. It’s about showing that you can drive change, not wait for it. That’s what makes you valuable, no matter how much technology evolves. Emily Mabie, AI Automation Engineer, Zapier Start Companies With Generative Help Generative AI is not just a differentiator; it’s a career accelerator that can expand career opportunities far beyond traditional paths. AI literacy empowers individuals to create entirely new opportunities that would previously have been inaccessible to them without significant resources or institutional backing. One powerful example is how generative AI tools, even free ones like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, can enable someone to launch a company instead of simply searching for yet another corporate role. With AI, an aspiring entrepreneur with a business idea is empowered to research and draft a well-thought-out business plan in hours, create and iterate on a brand identity without hiring a creative agency, develop a full-fledged marketing plan, and even simulate customer feedback by asking AI to role-play as an ideal customer persona to review, critique, and evaluate offerings through their lens. This ability to work with AI on tasks that once required significant investment and teams of consultants, designers, and executive focus groups fundamentally changes the opportunities for career advancement. It lowers the barrier to entry for entrepreneurship, allowing individuals to test ideas, refine messaging, and build expertise at a fraction of the cost and time it would take without AI. It’s like having an entire team of executives, business planners, marketers, and writers at your fingertips. When I began building my consultancy, I used free generative AI tools to do just that. One of the biggest advantages my AI skills created was being able to use AI to role-play as my ideal customer persona, asking it to critique my offerings, evaluate my positioning, and highlight my blind spots. That iterative feedback loop gave me insights into how the C-suite would look at my services so I could better address their needs and concerns, and “speak” their language so it would be easier for me to build trust and, ultimately, close the deal. I believe the real power of AI skills is not that it just makes you better at your current job, but that it opens doors to entirely new ones. It helps individuals transform from simply being a “job applicant” to being an “opportunity creator.” That’s how AI is truly going to reshape the future of work. Because AI skills don’t just prepare you for the future — they give you the agency to create it for yourself. Kristin Ginn, Founder, trnsfrmAItn Scale Impact With Lean Force Multipliers AI skills are no longer optional—they are becoming fundamental for every job seeker, regardless of profession. The reason is simple: AI is transforming how work gets done in three very clear stages—first by automating routine tasks, then by enhancing our abilities, and finally by transforming what individuals and small teams can achieve. Most people stop at the first stage, using AI to save time on emails, reports, or documentation. But the real opportunity lies in the next two stages. When you use AI to enhance your thinking, creativity, and output, you suddenly operate at a much higher level. And when you reach the transformation stage, AI becomes a force multiplier—enabling you to do work that previously required large teams and significant resources. I’ve experienced this personally while building my company. Thanks to AI, we have been able to build and scale one of the best all-in-one AI platforms for teachers and students with a two-member team. Everything from product management to engineering to content, design, marketing, and operations has been streamlined because AI handles a significant portion of the heavy lifting. What would traditionally require 20–25 people can now be executed by a lean, agile team that is able to move quickly and deliver high-quality output across every area. This is the true power of AI—not just automating tasks but transforming the very structure of how teams and companies operate. This is why AI proficiency is becoming a defining skill for today’s workforce. People who know how to use AI don’t just work faster—they think better, create better, and adapt better. They become more strategic, more creative, and more capable. In every field—teaching, engineering, design, marketing, HR, sales — the professionals who embrace AI will accelerate, and those who don’t will find it increasingly difficult to stay competitive. The reality is that AI is not here to replace human talent; it is here to elevate it. It levels the playing field, giving individuals access to capabilities that once required entire departments. For job seekers, students, and professionals, mastering AI tools is the most direct way to stand out in a crowded job market and open doors to opportunities that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. And if a two-member team can build and scale a platform like ours using AI, imagine what individuals can do in their own careers with the same mindset. That’s the future of work. Binit Agarwalla, Founder, TeachBetter.ai Pair Technology With Irreplaceable Human Strengths AI skills are essential because they sit at the heart of how work gets done now. But here’s what matters more: AI can’t replace the human skills that truly differentiate us—listening, building relationships, making judgment calls. When people master AI tools, they gain time and headspace to focus on what makes them irreplaceable. You can work faster, produce better quality output, and tackle projects that once felt impossible. Combined with your human abilities—empathy, curiosity, strategic thinking—you become far more valuable to any organization. When I built my company, AI became my operational backbone. While I focused on listening to clients and shaping their transformation stories, AI helped me analyze feedback, test messaging, and turn rough ideas into polished content. This meant I could build a coaching practice at startup speed while staying focused on the deeper human work—understanding what people really need. AI gave me velocity. But the human insight—the listening, the connection, the meaning-making—that’s what made the work valuable. That combination opened doors to bigger stages and leadership conversations I wouldn’t have reached as quickly otherwise. The future belongs to people who can combine AI efficiency with irreplaceable human skills. Tünde Lukacs, Founder Executive Coach Keynote Speaker, The Change Republic Launch Software Through Prompt Mastery AI tools are erasing technical gatekeeping—opening up high-value, technical jobs and paths to starting companies to nontraditional candidates. There used to be a four-year coding college prerequisite to building production-quality software, gluing stuff together, or making things happen. The most striking effect of AI I’ve seen in the last year is people bypassing it. One of the most impressive career leaps I’ve encountered was of a former VC CFO whom I talked to recently. He used Replit’s AI pair programmer to build and launch his own SaaS app in under 3 months. He had zero software experience. He just sat down with Excel and workflows he knew from his finance job and threw them right into AI co-pilot to make an app. This was not possible two years ago. He couldn’t become a “real” engineer, and this app that he’s making is not an Excel-based macro. He literally taught himself how to make software with the AI acting as his partner in the driving seat. Prompt engineering—talking in English to make AI do complex things—is now as valuable a skill as coding was 10 years ago. We see that the primary accelerant is not coding per se, but prompt engineering. Many of the most effective users of our service are not coders. They have to figure out how to give the AI goals and constraints and hammer out a detailed process, all in English. They have to turn their thoughts into instructions that involve their home context. This skill is getting to be worth more than coding. Now people can go to sleep thinking up videos they want to show, and then by morning have those videos done, without having to learn VFX or hire a studio. That’s a sea change. That’s why I tell job seekers to put “prompt engineering” on their resumes. Runbo Li, Cofounder & CEO, Magic Hour Drive Uptake and Unlock Bigger Roles AI skills are becoming essential because, obviously, they save time and effort. And it’s not about just handing everything over to a tool and hoping for the best—instead, it’s about knowing what to ask, how to review the output, and when to trust your own experience over the suggestion. In essence, AI allows everyone to become a kind of manager rather than someone who just executes tasks. Employers know this, which is why they’re increasingly looking for people who can get better results with AI. And, if you’re the person who consistently does more without working more, you naturally become the one invited into bigger projects, strategy conversations, and cross-functional work. That’s where bigger opportunities tend to open up. A good example is our Sr. Director of Communications & Creative, who recently moved into an AI Operations Manager role. He stayed current on new tools, tested them, and openly promoted what worked across the company. In under one year, he switched from Replit to Cursor, which is typically seen as a tool for more tech-savvy users. Eventually, he also pushed for a company-wide effort to upskill by launching “AI Days”—a monthly initiative where everyone focuses only on AI projects for the day. We use that time to build custom tools with platforms like v0.dev, create custom GPTs, or test new third-party AI solutions to boost productivity. Dovilė Gelčinskaitė, Senior Talent Manager, Omnisend Adopt Smart Tools to Accelerate Advancement The requirement for AI skills is increasing rapidly, as virtually every occupation includes aspects of the artificial intelligence sector. The capacity for tools to obtain greater levels of intelligence, and the expectation that workers will be able to work side by side with technology, has increased dramatically. Those who possess the ability to effectively use AI will have the potential to work faster and achieve better outcomes. This skill has evolved to be a primary skill as opposed to an additional skill. Having an understanding of AI also opens up new opportunity avenues. You can transition to a different occupation, automate your mundane tasks, and illustrate your adaptive capabilities. This indicates that you are prepared for the future of work, not the present. A brief example from my experience. I hired a junior level analyst who had no prior experience in technical fields, but had extensive knowledge and understanding of artificial intelligence tools. This junior level analyst utilized AI tools for tasks such as data organization, analysis, and report creation. Within a few months of being with us, she became the premier person within the organization to utilize AI workflows and gained considerable recognition, leading to a promotion to a higher level role, as part of the product development team, much sooner than anticipated. The AI tools that this analyst used did not supplant her work, but rather enhanced what she was doing. Therefore, for everyone today, this is the opportunity available to them. Mr Edward Tian, Founder/CEO, GPTZero Adapt Swiftly and Clarify Decisions AI skills have become essential because the pace and complexity of work have outgrown what anyone can hold in their head. The job seekers who thrive are the ones who know how to pair their human judgment with tools that help them think, create, and decide more effectively. It’s no longer about what or how much we know. It’s what we do with this information and how we apply it in innovative and influential ways. AI isn’t the destination. It’s a method of reaching it. It is the way we clear mental clutter and speed up the work that bogs us down. When we define AI as a resource and a tool rather than an identity, the whole conversation shifts, allowing us to move faster, solve problems with greater precision, and spend more time on work that advances us personally and professionally. I am an executive coach and leadership development facilitator. Two recent clients proved how much AI can sharpen career clarity. One used AI to compare three possible career paths against his 20 years of experience, which helped him choose the strongest direction and craft a short bio for informational interviews. Another uploaded her 360 feedback and used AI to distill pages of comments into a clear summary for her managers, outlining the skills she wanted to strengthen and the support she needed to evolve. But let’s be real. There’s no “mastering” AI. How can we when this tool is evolving by the hour? The real skill is learning to adapt to AI, get comfortable with it, and shape it to our own work. AI is the how behind better thinking, better decisions, and, fortunately for job seekers, better storytelling about our value. When job seekers show they can work with a rapidly changing tool set, they signal agility, curiosity, and the kind of problem-solving that sets them apart in an AI-shaped workplace that’s changing in real time. Tina Robinson, Founder and CEO, WorkJoy Gain Capacity and Elevate Quality AI skills will transform an individual’s ability to be able to increase efficiency creating capacity to either do more or to utilize excess capacity to improve quality of their deliverables. The ability to do more and improve their effectiveness will allow those earlier in their career to develop quicker and accelerate through the organizational stack sooner. For more senior folks, in addition to the personal benefits of the above-mentioned efficiency and effectiveness principles, the knowledge and exposure of AI skills will allow them to build and transform their organizations to have higher levels of throughput, distinctive competitive muscle, and an ability to serve existing as well as gain new customer segments. For me, this was transformative when I was launching my podcast in Q2 of 2024. Having never done it before, I was initially relying primarily on manual editorial work using video and sound editing tools, manually transcribing interviews, and going through numerous keyword iterations to post a single video. This effort was taking over 40 hours for a single episode. In the last five quarters while I have had to invest my time in learning and keeping up with the pace of rapidly developing AI-enabled tools, my efforts on each episode are now down to less than four hours. From transcription, to video and sound editing, to intelligent copywriting, posting, and engagement, the use of AI-enabled tools has given me hours of capacity back and the product quality is far superior than what I was able to previously achieve with manual work. Rohit Bassi, Founder & CEO, People Quotient (PQ) Prove Relevance to Overcome Bias I’ve reviewed hundreds of job postings in the past year, and the common theme is showing some understanding of how AI can be used to become more efficient. You don’t necessarily need to be an AI expert, but you do need to show that you are upskilling and aware of how you can use AI to do your job better. This is important for job seekers of all ages, but especially for experienced job seekers who can often face ageism and/or assumptions that they aren’t staying on-trend with current technology. However, demonstrating AI skills can definitely mitigate ageism risk. I recently worked with an IT analyst client in his late 60s—we led off his résumé/LinkedIn with his generative AI experience and he landed his dream job within months in spite of the challenging market. The key is being clear that you know how to leverage this technology to improve the company’s bottom line. Colleen Paulson, Executive Career Consultant, Ageless Careers Harness New Leaps to Build Empires Many fear AI will replace white-collar jobs. I argue that AI will instead re-skill them, favoring those who master it as a strategic tool. Our primal “fight or flight” response makes us see AI as a foe, but every technological leap in human history has been driven by those who dared to harness a powerful new force. Consider the transition just a century ago: horses were the dominant mode of transportation. Those who daringly mastered the automobile and aviation, often through self-teaching, built the next generation of empires. Today, early adopters of AI are positioned to dominate the next half-century. New enterprises will be founded, and a new cohort of technology leaders will emerge. This is simply the natural progression of every technological revolution, from controlling fire to inventing the wheel. In my own case, I started small, using ChatGPT and Gemini to research and draft content for a liquor store blog I was operating. Initially, my prompt engineering was clumsy. However, as I improved, the tools made producing content (listicles, cocktail trends, spirits history) significantly more efficient. This AI-fueled content strategy provided strong SEO and value, helping the brand scale from a single store to three, eventually leading to my successful exit with a 3X ROI. I am now leveraging these newly acquired skills to capture Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) business—specifically, using AI to rapidly generate, refine, and optimize marketing content for discovery across platforms. This has enabled me to scale my marketing agency, which had not actively onboarded new clients in three years. What began as an efficient way to pump out content for a single store has transformed into a core, highly profitable service offering. At 52, I can attest that this proficiency is not age-limited; mastering AI adds tangible, immediate value to clients and unlocks significant career growth. Mr. Steven Paul Matsumoto, Founder, Chief Strategist, Stigmare Inc Prototype Solutions Fast to Win Offers Many companies today test candidates’ creativity by giving them a very specific problem to solve with little to no time. This is precisely where AI can help you in your next job application. Four months ago, I started at Productive, and one of the tests I had was to create a functioning cold outreach campaign from scratch in four hours without spending too many resources. In those two hours, I learned the basics of n8n and used it to create an almost completely autonomous sequence by connecting tools like Ocean.io, Apify, ChatGPT, and Reply.io. Of course, it did not work perfectly, but the concept was enough to get me the job. Milos Radic, Marketing Partnership Manager, Productive.io Automate Workflows and Earn Rapid Promotion I had a content manager at our marketing agency who was mostly responsible for ensuring his content team was creating the right content and enough of it, but he’d often have to help them out himself. He’s always been a huge AI fan, talking about new advances and boring most of us. Over a period of 3–5 months, he’d occasionally want to show me something he’d built that either integrated with or utilized AI to automate or semi-automate tasks and processes that were responsibilities of his content team. After about four months of this and him getting better and continually creating more automated tasks/work by AI, he’d reduced the amount of human work needed by the content team by almost 60%. My concern was always quality or mistakes, so I’d test things and double check, but the end result was consistently BETTER than human work. Long story short, he quickly received a promotion to a new job that didn’t exist at our company before, so I made it up, and his title became chief operational efficiency officer. He went from a lower-level manager to an executive in a few months due to his AI proficiency and ability to implement. Landon Murie, CEO, Goodjuju Marketing View the full article

OpenAI announced on Friday it will begin testing ads in the ChatGPT responses in the coming weeks. The ads will show on the free product and low-cost subscription tier, ChatGPT Go. The ads will show under the main response and not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you. Advertisers will not get conversations with ChatGPT. The ads will be clearly labeled as ads.View the full article